873. Three words that keep you on track: Commit. Improve. Maintain.

Commit, Improve, Maintain

In this episode, I’m exploring a robust framework that can completely change how you approach your goals, challenges, and life. I learned it from Greg Harden’s book Stay Sane in an Insane World, and it all comes down to three words: Commit, Improve, and Maintain.

I’ll walk you through what it means to commit to a process, find your lead domino, and build trust with yourself daily, no matter what. We’ll talk about why improvement isn’t about being perfect but about building momentum, one small decision at a time. Finally, I’ll break down what it really means to maintain—not just to stay where you are but to consistently evolve and grow, no matter what life throws your way.

This episode is for you if you’ve ever felt stuck, frustrated, or overwhelmed—or even if you’re doing well, but know there’s another level waiting for you. By the end of this conversation, you’ll have a clear roadmap to take control of your life and build unstoppable momentum.

So let’s get into it. Commit. Improve. Maintain. Let’s make it happen.

Transcript

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All right. 3, 2, 1. Let's get it. Welcome back to what your problem, the podcast, I'm your host, Marsh Buice and today I want to share something that is absolutely transformative. Something I believe that can change your approach. To your goals, your challenges. And even your everyday life, it's a concept that a pool from Greg Harden's book stay sane in an insane world. Love the title. And it boils down to three words, commit. Improve. And maintain. These three words, simple as they sound. They hold the key to building a better life. So whether you're feeling stuck. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Or even if things are going super good for you. And you just looking at, go up to that next level. This episode's for you. So let's break this down super, super quick for you, because I believe in getting you in getting you out and get you on with your life. So let's start with commitment. This is the foundation without commitment. Nothing else happens. So the first question that you got to ask yourself. Is what do you want your life to look like? And don't take stock and necessarily where you are right now. That's deceiving where you are right now is a result of where you've been. Okay. So. What do you want your life to look like moving forward from here? Drop all the baggage. I get it. We all have baggage. We all want a better life. But in the commitment aspect of it, just take a minute and say, look. This is what I want my life to look like. Not what others expect of you, not what you think you, that you should want, but what do you truly want? What's the thing, man, and if you're not sure what that is. Just take a look at your frustrations. That's often a clue. I mean, think about it. What do you complain about most? Is it your health? Is that your energy? Is it your finances, your relationship, whatever it is. That's your starting point. That's your lead domino, the lead domino. I love this. Just the, just think about a lead domino. The lead domino is what hits everything else. So the lead domino is the one thing that if you push it over, everything else falls into place for you. So for most people, it's probably fitness. Why? Because when you're physically stronger, you're more disciplined. You're confident. You're energized. You show up better for your relationships for your work. And mostly for yourself. So here's my challenge for you. The only thing I want you to commit to is 90 days. I don't like months. I don't like three months, even though it's the same thing. It just sounds longer. But when you say 90 days, like in your journal, every single morning, you just write down whatever day it is. So start from 90 and countdown. So today is day 90. Write it in the top right-hand corner. It's not a lifetime. But it will set the course for a better lifetime aren't you tired of stopping and starting and stop quitting. So the first thing you got to do is just commit, commit to 90 days. And why I say 90 days is because it's long enough to create momentum, but it's short enough to stay focused. It's not forever. But I'm telling you, dude, if you do this for 90 days, your entire life. Is going to change. Because you'll be focused and you'd be like, oh my God, you can overcome a decade or more of neglect. And just 90 days, aren't you worth the investment? So, what I want you to do is I want you to set your non-negotiables. These are what I call your, no matter what rain, sleet, or snow. off I go. So I'm, in other words, you're no matter what is , nothing gets in the way of it. Not your family, not your work, none of that. Like even sometimes it may mean that you rock off of just a little bit of sleep. Whatever you get it in, you can take a nap later. So commit to this as 90 days. I commit to this. So work of a simple process, I bang the drum about a process all the time. So working out every day. Even if it's as little as 20 minutes, spin 15 minutes of random reading. You may, the 15 minutes is arbitrary, 15, 20 minutes, whatever. You may be one of those type of people that likes to read a book cover to cover. If that's you cool. You may get bored with reading what you're reading and you feel like it's a slog. So do random reading. I do both. So the random reading is I pick a chapter out of a random book every single day. And I read that one chapter. Normally it's about 15, 20 minutes. Today I was reading out of a Rabbi Kushner his book., when bad things happen to good people, I didn't get through all the chapter, but I got a big bulk of it. He was talking about the book of job. And so I got something that the biggest thing is, is it's just priming your mind. Because. It's important to be physically fit. But you've also got to be emotionally and spiritually fit too. So that's why I like that 15 minutes of priming every single day. And then write one page. Now there's a couple of ways you can write, you can write about what you just read and riff off of that. You can write word for word if that's what you want. This is for you, but write at least one page. This is going to empty your mind and clarify your thoughts. You'll think clearer, you'll think quicker and you'll be more receptive to the day itself. You just got to remember man consistency over intensity. So don't start off on a fireball. Of intensity you're. You're going to Peter out, be consistent. That's the biggest thing. Be average. I say that all the time, you gotta be average to be great. Meaning that consistency over intensity. You got to build your averages in and as you do. The intensity, because you start to see the results. The intensity will naturally gravitate up because you're going to be like, oh yeah, game on. I've got the hammer down, man. I'm winning. I want to win even more. So consistency over intensity. The goal is to build trust with yourself because each day you keep these internal commitments to yourself. This is the source of confidence. This is what builds that confidence. And here's the magic. When you keep those internal commitments to yourself. Then you're going to find it easier. To honor the external commitments to. Not the, should I gotta, man, I'm gonna get around that. I'm gonna do it this weekend. No, every single day, bro. If you keep these small commitments to yourself, You'll feel better about yourself. You'll be more confident because you'll have character building days when you ain't feeling it. When you're tired, when you want to just lay up. And you get it done anyway, and you feel so good at, on the backside of that. Boom. Get it done. Now, once you've committed, the next step is to improve. Improvement is not about perfection. It's about progress. When you're in, in, in the improvement layer. You gotta say. Is this action in alignment with the person that I want to become. If the answer is yes. Move forward. If not just course, correct. Just adjust. There are going to be days where you win the decision to move on. They're going to be days where you blow. The opportunity. All right. Learn from it either way. Keep moving. You got to think of every day as an opportunity to move the needle. I love the concept of moving the needle. Just imagine like that. That needle on a, like a speedometer or RPM, you know, and that thing just ticks up when you give it gas. That's what that moving the needle is. So every decision that you make. Whether it's working out. Staying disciplined with your time or even saying no to something that doesn't serve you, bro. That's a win. And here's the thing about improvement. Improvement. Builds momentum. And the momentum compounds. So when you make consistent positive choices, Those small wins. They add up and suddenly you're not just making progress. Bro, you're building a lifestyle. And then you can share that with others. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You're going to slip up. It's not about perfection. Okay. It's the day after. Perfect. Right. So you're going to have those days where just didn't go. Perfect. You're going to have these commitments and for week man, you were just perfect. And then all of a sudden you stumbled focus on the day after. Perfect. Expect the day after. Perfect. This is what's going to build that commitment. This is what's going to build that character. This is what's going to build that resilience get after it. Don't stop. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to fuck up. Learn. Keep going. Because improvement. It's about failing. Failing. As a process failure is an identity key failing. Keep iterating, keep evolving, keep climbing. And finally let's talk about maintenance. I love this one. This is my absolute fate favorite. So you have commit, improve, maintain now from the outside. When I first read that, I'm like, oh yeah, maintain, maintain to most of us. Think it's think it's about staying where you are, but Greg harden flips the idea on its head maintenance is about consistency. And positive changes and peak performance is not about coasting. It's about continuing to evolve. Life's going to throw you curve balls. That is absolute given. But when you're committed to the growth. You just adapt and adjust. The maintenance phase is active. It's about. Moving the needle. It's about a positive mindset and peak progress. It's about holding on to the progress that you've made. And then building on it, not having to start in a deficit every single day. You win the decision you win the day you win. The moment you go on each day is a result of your past efforts. But it's not the final outcome. And don't get head fake bad that you're going to have those days that just blow up. That's a result. That's not an outcome. You control the keys to the outcome and the outcome. Only comes. When you commit, improve, maintain day after day. Stay consistent. Just stay consistent with your actions every single day. So how do we put all this together? Commit improve, maintain. Is your daily checklist. This is what I love about it. It's just kind of a quick check back or it's even when you're in the cross hairs of a decision where you say commit, improve, maintain, commit, improve, maintain, you just feel like you're just in the gutter. Some days commit, improve, maintain. Commit. Is this an alignment improve? Am I moving? Moving the needle maintain. Positive mindset, peak performance. Boom, never stop. So when you're faced with a decision. Quick thing. Quick question. Does this honor my commitments. Am I committed to myself? Does this help me improve? Am I maintaining positive momentum because dude, there's, there's negative momentum to. There is such a thing as negative momentum. So the negative momentum is the all of the sudden's. All of a sudden you're 20 pounds overweight. All of a sudden you're 50 grand in credit card debt. That's a negative momentum that's because you've lost your way of commitment, improving, maintaining. But when you get on that, see, this is what keeps you on track commit, improve, maintain, commit, improve, maintain. When you do this, these three principles. Are your compass it's your framework for growth, and this is what's going to keep you grounded in life. And keep you from getting overwhelmed and focused. And not all big lip and because shit's not happening fast enough for you. It's going to come together. Remember the timeline we're on eventually and ultimately eventually you commit, improve, maintain eventually. That momentum is going to build up. You're going to reach that tipping point. You're going to see the results of the changes. Remember, change starts immediately. The results take time, commit, improve, maintain. When you do that. Eventually. You'll see the changes and ultimately. You will succeed. Let me leave you with a doll from Epictetus. He said true happiness. Is a verb. Love that. See happiness. It's not something that's done passively. It ain't just going to come to you. True. Happiness is a verb. Happiness is not something you wait on is something that you create. Through the actions. Through dynamic performance dynamic. Means constant state of change. Constant progress. Through dynamic performance and meaningful progress. It's not a destination. It's a direction. So when you commit, improve and maintain. You're not just making progress. You're building a life of purpose of resilience. Of fulfillment. So, let me ask you this. What's your next step. Just commit to 90 days start small. build momentum. Momentum. And watch what happens. Thanks for tuning in. Today, if this episode resonated with you. Please share it with someone who might need to hear it. And remember as always keep it. simple, keep it moving. Never settle. Stay tough peace.