🚨 The 10 Habits That Saved My Life (Literally)

How I Went from Feeling Out of Control to Becoming the Captain of My Mind

Let me be real with you for a second…

I used to be a master at self-sabotage.

I’d wake up already overwhelmed. My mornings started with scrolling and overthinking.

My day ended with regret.

I knew what I should be doing, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it.

Sound familiar?

The worst part? I thought the solution was “more motivation.”

More hustle. More discipline. More beating myself up.

But none of that worked.

What changed my life wasn’t more pressure; it was a system.

A system to take back control of my mornings, my emotions, and my habits, without burning out.

That system became the foundation of my book:

Self-Control: Who’s Running the Show?

And today, I want to share 10 of the self-control habits that changed everything for me (and now, for my coaching clients too).

Let’s go:

1. I Took Back My Mornings (Before the World Could Steal Them)

Much has been written about morning routines, so I won’t go over them in detail here.

Pretty common sense by now, I think, if the first thing you touch is your phone, you’ve already lost the day.

Now, I follow the Captain’s Morning Ritual that locks in my mindset, mood, and mission before I interact with anyone or anything. I teach this to every client I coach; it’s a game-changer.

Want to build real discipline? Start by owning the first 60 minutes of your day.

2. I Built a 1-Second Rule That Saved Me From Myself

Here’s the rule:

Pause. Breathe. Choose.

It’s wild how many bad decisions we make in the 1 second after a trigger.

I trained myself to pause—even for a breath, and everything changed. It gave me back my power.

3. I Started Tracking Time Like I Track My Finances

We budget money, but we bleed time.

People talk about time management and all that nonsense. You cannot manage time; the only thing you can manage is you.

Once I started auditing where my hours went, I saw what was really costing me progress.

Spoiler: it wasn’t Netflix. It was distraction drift and constant micro-switching.

4. I Became a ‘No’ Machine (and That’s How I Found My Power)

I stopped being the “yes-man” to everyone else’s chaos.

Every “no” became a boundary.

Every boundary protected my mission. And when I said “yes,” it actually meant something again.

You have the power to say “no” without guilt or explanation, honouring your own boundaries.

Likewise, say “yes” only when it aligns with your true intentions, not out of obligation. This clarity in your choices builds self-respect and authentic connections.

5. I Upgraded My Routines Into Rituals

Anyone can go through the motions.

But when I turned daily habits into rituals, they became sacred.

Working out wasn’t just fitness—it became a way to honour my identity.

6. I Called BS on My Own Excuses

Excuses are sneaky.

They sound like logic, but they’re just fear with makeup on.

Instead of shaming myself, I started coaching myself:

“Is this actually true?

Or just a story I’ve repeated so much that I believe it?”

7. I Rewired My Environment So It Worked FOR Me

Your environment will either sabotage you or save you.

No junk food at home.

No energy vampires in my inner circle.

No dopamine drip-feed from phone notifications.

Discipline didn’t save me—design did.

I took charge of my space. No Netflix. Ditched Amazon Prime. I was done letting my mind get hijacked by noise that had nothing to do with the life I’m building.

I stopped feeding the machine—said no to the TV talk, the twisted narratives, the subtle conditioning.

And you know what?

That one decision gave me back my focus.

My peace. My life.

8. I Scheduled Temptation (So It Didn’t Hijack Me)

I don’t avoid pleasure, I plan for it.

Netflix, junk food, dopamine hits, they’re not evil, but they’re close to it.

When they’re random, they rob your focus. When they’re scheduled, they become part of your strategy.

Remember, God is presence! Distractions are the opposite!

9. I Learned to Transmute Emotions (Not Suppress Them)

Self-control isn’t about bottling up feelings; it’s about emotional alchemy.

Sad? I journal.

Angry? I hit the gym.

Bored? I breathe, then act with intention.

I stopped numbing and started transforming.

10. I Committed to Becoming a New Version of Myself

Habits aren’t just things you do.

They’re votes for your future identity.

I asked myself:

“If I were already the kind of man who had unshakable self-control, how would he speak, walk, eat, love, lead?”

And then… I became him.

👇 Ready to Become the One Running the Show?

This is just a taste of what I break down in my book “Self-Control: Who’s Running the Show?” and inside my 6-week challenge.

📘 Grab the book.

🎯 Join the challenge.

⚓ Step into your identity as the Captain of Your Life.

Because let me tell you something:

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken.

You’ve just been playing by the wrong rules.

And it’s time you wrote your own.