The Truth About 75 Hard

• Have you heard of 75 hard? I heard it first from a facebook friend who was doing it and I thought it was just for gym going males. Then a mentor who has 5 children mentioned she had done 75 hard and that it had changed her, now that that perked my ears! I had to know what this program was about!
• I came to learn that 75 Hard is not just a fitness challenge, it’s a mental toughness program.
• I liked the idea that this was not a fitness challenge but a mental toughness program, I thought I understood what that looked like but in hindsight, the real journey unfolded as you progressed.

What Is 75 Hard?

75 Hard has five key rules that are non-negotiable!

if you can’t do any one of the tasks – it is not considered 75 hard!

The rules are:

1. Two 45 Minute exercises – One of the exercise has to be outdoors, and nothing like I am out in my garage doing my workout – out where the sky is clearly above you, you can’t even take an umbrella if it is raining! and yea it doesn’t matter, rain, shine, hail, storms! You gotta do the outdoor exercise!
2. A gallon of water a day!
3. Read 10 pages of a non fiction book every day!
4. Take a progress picture every day
5. Choose a clean diet – no junk food, absolutely no alcohol

All these for 75 days, if you fail to do any of the task even the pesky progress pic – you start Day 1 again!

You may or may not be asking yourself why you would subject yourself to such extremes? that’s the Hard in 75. But why subject yourself to this? because you want a challenge, because you are tired of the endless binge eating, or drowning your sorrows in alcohol. Because your life has been on the same loop you just want a new beginning, because you are tired of carrying around two of you in one body, because you’ve just about had enough in an area of your life. In other words, people embark on this challenge for different reasons but ultimately the main reason is transformation.

Why Did I Embark on this Challenge?

I am a big believer in mindset and building mental toughness. I have read books and watched various top perfoming athletes like Late Kobe Bryant – admire their grit, their resilience and winning mentality, I have always desired that kind of grit, but the books gave me good motivation and as we know –

motivation is fleeting, discipline is what will get you results

Unknown

I lacked the discipline, however I actually didn’t recognise this lack until I did 75 Hard!

lets look at the key takeaways I had.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Breaking Through the Excuses

• 75 Hard exposes the excuses we make in life, the shortcuts we take, and forces you to face them head-on.
• 75 hard made me realise my own tendencies to cut corners – like not giving 100% on exercises doing it to tick a box! 75 hard doesn’t give you space to procrastinate, because you will pay hard for it! like working out at midnight because you procrastinated all day! 75 Hard will make you uncomfortable in doing unhealthy things!
• Once you recognise these patterns in you, and consistently overcome them through daily 75 hard tasks, then you will start breaking the habit! You learn to be honest with yourself and gain the self awareness to stay on traack

The Power of Focus and Saying No

• You learn what real focus means, especially when it comes to prioritising tasks and making sacrifices for your long-term health and well-being.
• Real focus meant saying no to events that didn’t serve me, it meant saying no to unhealthy food choice, because I was focused on eating right, working out right and listening/reading to personal development books, so any event that didn’t align with my focus was cancelled.
• It is liberating to be deliberate in your daily choices – It makes you feel confident about yourself and your choices.

Living a High-Value Life

• A high-value life doesn’t revolve around luxury—it’s about valuing yourself enough to make healthy, empowering choices every single day.
• I had friends guilt me into eating something that I knew and they knew was not on my diet (makes you want to rethink friendships), I went to events where I had to say no to a thousand people offering junk! I would carry my gallon of water everywhere! some people were tired of seeing my gallon of water, some made jokes – but guess what? I knew the benefits I was getting so who cares what they say …. and that is one thing that 75 Hard brings out in you! The mental toughness to say No to your very close circle it is empowering because you are choosing something good over a temporary indulgence.
• It is weeks past 75 Hard and I am still maintaining the same habits, I am more productive and more focused in Life, I tried to go back to eating as I used to eat, but that old self is gone! after feeling bloated and most uncomfortable there was no way I could go back to eating unhealthy, so I am still maintaining the High value Life.

Consistency—The Secret Weapon

• Consistency is key to long-term success. It’s not about monumental tasks, but about doing the simple, everyday things that compound over time.
• 75 Hard made me recognise what consistency looks like! it also exposed areas in my life that I was inconsistent – like even this blog, my other business, no wonder I was getting inconsistent results and here I was thinking I needed another strategy and the next best shiny object!
• 75 Hard shifted my mindset in a profound way about consistency, it was one major key that was missing in my life and I didn’t see it before. With consistency, I am seeing results in areas I have set goals – it’s the grit you put in every single day

Finishing What You Start

• 75 Hard taught me the importance of finishing what you start and being more intentional about the projects you commit to.
• I had this habit which I justified (permission to judge me) I would start a book and get 3/4 of the way and then I would start another – never finishing the books, it happened in other areas of my life, because the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.
• I didn’t buy any books for 75Hard, instead I took the ones I had started reading, and this time started all over and made sure to finish! there is liberation in finishing what you start, and now anything I take one, first I truly have to think if I want to do it, because I know once I commit – I sure will stick to the end. This habit is essential in your life for real!

The Loneliness of Self-Discipline

• Growth often means going against the grain, and sometimes that can be a lonely path.
• This is a personal journey and as such – not many people will understand you! you want someone to talk to and share, I was lucky to have an accountability partner who I would text everyday after I had done all my tasks, that was great! the best thing – otherwise doing it a lone is such a lone journey but it is okay along the way you learn to embrace the journey and recognise why it is called personal development – not even your partner/other half will understand you are on your own! and that’s how its meant to be!
• This lone journey is necessary for your transformation, eventually you will find your tribe, but you learn Self Empowerment!!

What’s Next After 75 Hard?

• I had dreams of eating all the foods that I had missed, actually I had missed only one food – chapati and day 76 I made chapati and indulged in half a chapati – I would usually have 2 whole ones! so I still was taking it easy! That chapati messed me up so bad! I felt so uncomfortable! also I slack a little on the water and my friend I will take 1000 bathroom trips over the constipation, bloat and yuckiness I felt, I have chosen my hard! Give me bathroom trips anytime!
• After a few days of feeling awful I knew I was not the same person that had started 75 hard, I had built a different body, and mindset, there was no going back to that other person so version 2.0 gotta keep going
• I am now focusing on long term consistency, I may have the odd sugar, sweet, carb but not as much, I love how I feel, I love the focus, clarity and the physique I am in! and I am not yet done. I have set new goals and I will be starting Phase 1 of 75 Hard in November.

Embracing the New Me

• 75 Hard has redefined who I am and what I am capable of.
• If you read this far consider the program not just as a fitness challenge but as a gateway to mental toughness and personal growth.
• I am learning to embrace discomfort as it this leads to a more fulfilled and disciplined life. Self development is an ongoing journey, I will continue with the tasks while adding on challenges, I am currently doing a life long challenge of taking cold showers, I have a love/hate relationship with cold showers but the rewards are amazing!

Final Tips:

• Be ready for discomfort: personal growth comes with challenges.
• Stay committed: Stress the importance of following through, even after the program ends.
• Consistency is king: small, daily actions lead to big results over time.