The Closest Thing to a Miracle Drug

Dear Fabulous Traveler,

Fabulous is a Journey.

To successfully complete your Journey, you will need a great reservoir of energy.

There will be hurdles, there will be obstacles, and there will be moments of doubt, but knowing that you can always get inspiration from your vibrant energy will give you the conviction to advance despite any setback.

Do you know the best way to keep your energy flowing?

Build a solid, daily, exercise routine.

Exercise Is the Anchor

This Is You One Year From Now

Just imagine this, Fabulous Traveler: You are successful in building a strong exercise routine. A year from now, this could be you:

You wake up and instead of snoozing the alarm you jump right out of bed; you feel a rush of energy to start the day. Even if your job is very demanding, you don’t get stressed. You are able to confront the demands of the day with confidence. Finally, at night, you don’t feel like sitting on your couch and playing with your phone; you’re ready to go out and meet new people or spend more time with your family.

Before you begin with the deeper behavior changes, you'll ingrain two keystone habits into your life. Exercising is the first one.

Create an Anchor in Your Life

Having one routine set in stone will also give you an anchor in your life: as you start building more rituals, you will find that they contribute to an ever-stronger chain that provides you with support, strength, and stability.

After you’ve built the habit of exercising, you’ll realize that you can certainly get rid of this addiction, or confront that procrastination. Each time doubt tries to crawl into your mind, a strict exercise routine will be there to repel it: the sense of accomplishment that will accompany your exercise habit will motivate you to achieve your other goals.

When you feel great from exercise, it’s easier to eat healthy foods, get plenty of sleep, and stay productive.

Born to Run

This Journey will reference running as a primary form of exercise, but if you prefer other forms of exercising or can’t run for any reason, you can choose an alternative. You can bike, swim, or do other forms of cardio, such as rowing.

This Journey shares the core principles and philosophies that will work with any kind of exercise.

Explore ways to exercise in any situation. Don’t rely on too much equipment; that reliance would allow a lack of equipment to turn into an excuse.

This is why running is the primary focus on this Journey. Relative to other forms of exercise, running has a lot of advantages. You don't need a partner or any special equipment. You don't have to go to a gym or a specific place, and you can even keep up the habit when you go on vacation. As long as you have a pair of running shoes, you can run to your heart's content.

At first, running will seem difficult. After 10 minutes, your joints may hurt, you might be overheating, and your heart will be pounding. Don’t get intimidated; this is only because your body hasn’t developed the muscles and tendons involved in running. As you get stronger and your cardiovascular fitness improves, you will be able to run longer distances and at a faster pace.

Keep in mind though that the most important thing is not the speed or the distance, but consistency. Your final goal is to exercise most days, but for now, start with three times a week. This will allow your bones, joints, and muscles to heal between runs until they’re strong enough to run every day.

Make Exercising Part of Your Life

Integrate exercise into your life; the easier you make it to start, the less willpower it will take. If you like to run in the morning, set up your clothes the night before.

If you prefer to run in the afternoon, bring a change of clothes to work, so you can run immediately after.

If you enjoy running on treadmills or tracks, get a gym membership and fit it into your routine. Remove as many obstacles as you can.

You'll receive a specific letter about this farther down the road, but for now try to integrate exercising within your daily routine.

The Running Journey Plan

Your 3-step plan Fabulous Traveler:

Step 1: Your Commitment Contract

In a recent study, researchers found that subjects who planned their exercise routines in detail, including where and when they would exercise, were much more likely to start exercising. Fabulous Traveler, take a few minutes to fill out this commitment contract: it will help you to be precise about when and where you will exercise.

For now, this is all you need to focus on: 21 days of commitment to your exercise plan.

Step 2: Your Goal

Start by exercising three times this week. When you tap on the “Accept” button, the exercise habit will be added to your morning routine.

Create a separate Fabulous routine for exercising. You can call it something along the lines of “Fitness is the path to greatness!” Give it an expressive title; you can even use a smiley face or three exclamation points. Make it personal and persuasive! Take some time to craft a creative title for your new routine.

You can also edit the ritual to activate only three days. For example, choose Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday to start.

Step 3: Your One-Time Action

Get ready to start exercising. Organize all of the materials you’ll need, and purchase any equipment or memberships necessary for your exercise plan.

If you’re buying running shoes, try on four or five pairs. Jog around the store and let your feet decide. Don’t fall for the “advanced technology” shoes, just choose a shoe that feels good. In a recent review of the science of running shoes and injuries, researchers found that the most important feature of a running shoe is comfort.

How Should I Exercise?

In the exercise section of the Fabulous Guides, you’ll see the “Runners Realm” exercises. You can start there.

If you can’t run for any reason, you can start with the 7-minute exercise incorporated into Fabulous. Do it three times this week. If you feel tired, move in place, but do complete the entire seven minutes. Everyone will start with a different fitness level; the key is to get your heart pumping.

You're already on Your Way

In the coming weeks, you will learn about recent research related to the science of rituals and how elite athletes are using rituals to make their exercise routines more meaningful.

Most importantly, Fabulous Traveler, enjoy your exercise sessions. Don’t think of exercise as a chore; see it as your daily reward. This is your special alone time where your mind is free and your body is strong.

Choose a road, grab your running shoes, and let’s start the Journey!