## Chapter 5 — Me Time > ### "_The First Physical Habit Starts in Stillness_" You’re mentally prepared. You’ve braced for resistance. Now it’s time to **build your first physical habit**— and it’s deceptively simple. We’re not jumping into a workout yet. We’re not counting macros. We’re going to trick your brain into craving a healthy ritual. --- > **Step One:** > Create _space_ before you fill it with effort. --- ### 🧘 The Rule Be in the **same place**, at the **same time**, for **one hour** — every day. That’s it. --- ### ✅ Requirements - **Preferably at home** - **Alone** - Ideally in a room with a door you can close (or lock) - Headphones help - Bedroom, garage, closet — whatever you can claim as _your zone_ You don’t need to train. You don’t need to “optimize” it. Scroll your phone, read, listen to music, journal, sip coffee, watch YouTube (even this series). Avoid social media if you can — it fragments attention and drains peace. --- ### 🧠 What to Say to Yourself > _“I deserve at least one hour to myself every day. > There is nothing wrong with that.”_ Repeat it if guilt creeps in. **You’re not being selfish. You’re showing up.** --- ### 📆 Stick With This for 30 Days No workouts yet. No discipline marathons. Just presence. This one-hour block builds **consistency** and anchors a **peaceful identity loop**. You’re teaching your brain: > “This is the time I protect for me.” Over time, that space becomes your **dojo** — a place for reflection, calm, and eventually: **growth**. --- ### 💥 Why Not Start at the Gym? Because gyms are full of friction: - Driving - Packing - Waiting for machines - Chit-chat - Noise - Effort We’re not ready for all that yet. This isn’t about effort. It’s about **system design**—and your system starts in stillness. --- ## 🧱 Challenges to Expect ### 1. Enforcing Boundaries You’ll need to tell your people: > “This is my hour.” Partner. Roommate. Kids. Friends. **They will test it.** Offer them support for their own hour if needed— But make this clear: _you’re doing this either way._ --- ### 2. “I Don’t Have Time” or “I Don’t Have Space” > Everyone has time. > If you’ve got time to send memes, you’ve got time for yourself. **Space?** Get creative. My first “me time” space was a garage with horse stall mats and a heater. It worked. Actually, it changed everything. --- ## 🔦 My First “Me Time” My job used to drain me. Texts, fires, people problems — all during my workouts. I started skipping the gym. It felt like more stress. So I tried training at 5 AM. Failed. Then I found **Alarmy** — a math puzzle alarm app. Set it to 10 easy problems. First morning? Groggy. Phone buzzes: `4 + 7 = ?` Still buzzing… solving… now I’m in the hallway, phone in hand. By the last problem, I was _awake_. Did I go to the gym? Nope. It was winter. But I stayed in the garage. And that garage became everything. Coffee. Silence. Pushups. Thinking. I could hear the fridge hum. The walls creak. The stillness was sacred. > That space became my sanctuary. I never returned to a public gym after that. --- ### 🔁 Recap We’re **still not talking about diet or training**. And that’s intentional. Right now, you’re just: - Creating **awareness** - Building a **boundary** - Showing up for **yourself** - Every day. - Same time. - Same place. - One hour. This is the **first real move** toward lasting change. --- > [!tip] > **Your life can change** in a garage, a closet, or a quiet corner. > > Not because of effort— > But because you finally showed up. --- ### 🔗 Continue the Journey 📘 **[[05 Plan the Remodel|Next: Imagine Your Best Self →]]** 🔗 _[[Download The Vault|Vault Companion Download]] 🔁 _[[00 The Order of Things|Back to Series Overview]]