At 5am I woke up this morning and really didn’t fancy going to the gym, but I went. And I didn’t want to do the final preparation for a looming presentation in four days time, but I have. And right now, this is the third attempt to write four-i; sometimes the ideas come easily and the words flow, but today it’s a bit of a struggle.

We all have days like these, but I believe what separates those who achieve their goals from those who merely set them is how they deal with the “off” ones.

I remember my good friend Fiona Blayney from Real+ in Sydney talking about “mind over mattress” and how she puts her gym gear beside her bed the night before a scheduled run as she just couldn’t face the thought of stepping over her kit and not putting it on – of course once it’s on then you have to go for it. But whilst this is a brilliant tip to keep your workout commitments what about the work ones?

I think that how you start the day makes all the difference and that forming great habits is key. As I sip a mug of hot water with lemon at 5am, I reach for my phone and read my purpose, values and mission (see above). Of course I don’t need to read them on my phone, I know them by heart, but I find the habit of reading them to myself is a great way to activate my system appropriately. Pete Wilkinson, one of our brilliant speakers and author of “Unstoppable” goes a step further, he writes his values out every single day into a notebook that’s always by his side.

Another tool I have is my “Achievements List” which I’ve mentioned before. This is a list of all the things I’ve accomplished, business and personal in the year to date, and I have lists for the last three years still on my phone for further inspiration when needed. I ask myself, “how can I add to this list today?” and find that question gets me going in the right way.

The third list is my 2016 Goals which has the following sections:

• Physical
• Mental
• Social
• Personal
• Spiritual
• Financial
• Business

I also have a single word that encapsulates all of this that I keep in my mind when the going gets tough – for 2016 it’s “Onward”. What might your “trigger” word be?

Reviewing these lists is an excellent kick start to the day – especially the off ones.