The Chris Cuomo Project - Procrastination is The Enemy: How Small Steps Today Lead to Big Changes

Episode Date: January 2, 2024

In this introspective episode of Cuomo on the Couch, Chris Cuomo discusses why waiting until New Year's resolutions to improve your life is counterproductive. He argues that change should start with small, incremental steps taken today rather than some arbitrary future date. Cuomo reflects on his own struggles and urges listeners not to repeat his mistakes when it comes to weaknesses like procrastination. The key is leaning into flaws through discipline, no matter how difficult. Join Chris Ad-Free On Substack: http://thechriscuomoproject.substack.com Follow and subscribe to The Chris Cuomo Project on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday: https://linktr.ee/cuomoproject Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right. It's a new year. Is it a new you? I hate that idea. And I'm going to tell you why. And I'll tell you what I'm not doing any differently. Look, no shame in my game, I've been using AG1 for over five years. Why? It works, it's easier, and it's less expensive. That's why. Since 2010, they've been getting their formulations right and tweaking their formulas. Why? Well, because the science changes, okay? It's not like politics, where people decide to believe one thing, and no matter what happens with the facts, they never shift.

This is the opposite. Ooh, prebiotics work with probiotics, but in this way. D works with K, and this type of B works with that. They have the scientists doing it, so I don't need all the bottles, I don't have to spend all the money,

and I don't have to figure out when to take what and why. More importantly, it's not just the regular list of vitamins. It's the extras, okay? The adaptogens, the prebiotics, the probiotics that support your body's universal needs. Gut optimization, immune support, stress management. That's what foundational nutrition is about. And these are the people at AG1 who've been doing the work to get it right.

Okay. I tell friends, I tell family, I get no complaints. Okay. If you want to take ownership of your health, it starts with AG1. Try AG1. You get a free one year supply of vitamin D3K2 and five free AG1 travel packs. Okay? That's what happens with your first purchase. So make it. Go to drinkag1.com slash CCP. Drinkag1.com slash CCP. Check it out. I'm Chris Cuomo. Welcome to the Chris Cuomo podcast. Thank you for subscribing and following. Thank you for being an independent thinker, a critical thinker, a free agent. What does that mean?

You wear your independence. That's why I'm trying to sell the merch, that and so that we can collect money to give away to charities that we kind of crowdsource in terms of ideas. But I'll make the final choice. It's my money. And I want to thank you for reaching out to News Nation

and checking me out every weekday night at eight o'clock and at 10 o'clock Eastern. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. Substack, you didn't want ads? Boom. Substack. And to make it more than just an ad play, it's an access play. Okay. I'm going to do phone calls. I'm going to do Zooms. I'm going to do group sessions. About what? Well, about news, about personal journey, about what works professionally, what works from a wellness perspective.

There's going to be a lot there that will be very different. And it can be one-on-one as well. I want to create our own community, a Quo-munity. But it's not really about Cuomo. It's about you and how I can help you with whatever you're dealing with. If by only letting you know what I have tried and failed at so that you don't repeat the same mistakes. And that's what takes me in to the new year, new you.

There is no new you because there's a new year. Start today. How many of us wait until the new year? That's when I'm going to hit the gym again. That's when I'm going to start the diet. That's when I'm going to call him up. That's when I'm going to call her up. That's when I'm going to reconnect. That's what I'm going to ask the boss. Look, it's why all of these great thinkers tell you don't hit snooze. Because once you start the delay game, it never fucking ends, okay? I know this. I do this. I, too, am a procrastinator.

That is the majority of us. Very few of us are David Goggins. I mean, that's why you know that name. That dude is 101. Okay. He pushes through mental barriers the way I push through a pint of ice cream. I just warm it up and I'm good to go. And he's the same way. He gets warmed up and he just goes, he breaks, he keeps going. He sees every challenge as an opportunity. He sees every limitation as an ability to overcome. Really, really strong mentals on that guy. I love that word, mentals, by the way.

I got that from the running back from the Seattle Seahawks, who then went to the Raiders, Marshawn Lynch, beast mode. You got to take care of your mentals, he said. I love that. So what's the main point? Don't wait for the new year. If it is the new year, don't pick a starting point in the future. It's just now. It's just today. It's just this moment. That's all there is. These grand designs, there's a reason that Christians have the expression, man plans,

God laughs. All you have is now. I want to get in better shape. Do something now. Why can't? I'm at work. Eat differently. Why can't? I do some calf raises. Why? I can't do that. Well, then tonight I'll go take a walk. Why? I can't have plans. You see what I'm saying? Listen, this is all bullshit. And I do the same thing, okay? And I do it in lots of different ways that are really, really self-destructive. How about this one? 10 days ago or so, I get sick.

I feel it in my face. I always get sinus infections. Why? I have a weak immune system congenitally. I have a weak immune system from stress and some chemical imbalances. I have a weak immune system, scar tissue in my sinus cavities, scar tissue from getting too much. A little bit of it is just anatomical. Some of it is from too many years and you get scar tissue.

I had it surgically fixed once. I probably need it again. I don't want to do it again. So I start to get a cold and I don't want to have a cold. So I forget to act like a responsible person and I'll beat it. I don't need meds. I then start flying all over the country for work. Faces getting hotter and hotter. I'm sweating, low-grade fever, all that action. I wait four or five days until I get back from all these airplanes and everything else. I'm dying. I've been living on NyQuil and Afrin. So stupid. Why? Because I wanted to delay the acknowledgement of weakness. I wanted to delay the vulnerability. So now I'm on like steroids and antibiotics and all this other shit because I can't lose my voice

and be in bed for two days like everybody else. I gotta be on TV. I gotta do my job. And I can't look like shit and sound like shit any more than usual. So it was a mistake. Well, how does that feed into procrastinating? It's about delaying the inevitable. Why? Because it's going to be difficult. And I didn't want to like actually give into the reality. Okay. So now I pay the price. to like actually give into the reality. Okay. So now I pay the price. And I see this in so many people around me, my own family, my friends. And I've taken a long time to kind of research and

think and read and do real study on why this is in ways that simplify the situation, not that go into some neuro psychological, you know, conditioning and all this. So look, here's why. What does it speak to? People seek the easy way. Unless you're culturally conditioned by upbringing or community otherwise people especially in modern society are used to convenience used to ease why work out when i can put on these leggings that like have 90 pounds of compression and make me look like uh i'm taylor swift when uh i look more like five Taylor Swifts. We take the easy way. Take that Ozempic.

Why? Why diet? Why kill myself with exercise? Now I don't want to eat. Now my stomach empties more slowly so I don't have appetite and people lose weight. Easy. Everything you want is hard, okay? Things that matter in life are hard.

It's hard to be fat and deal with that sense of self and your health and your limitations and your ego and your sense of self-confidence. And it's hard to be fit. So to quote Mike Tyson, which again, 20 years ago, I would have never thought I'd be doing this unless it was about something absurd. But the guy really has come a long way in terms of his thinking. You have to do what you hate and do it like you love it.

Now, that's really interesting. And that's his take on discipline. Discipline doesn't mean punish. Discipline doesn't mean harshness. Discipline means to follow. Comes from the word disciple, okay? Like Jesus's disciples. And that's the reality.

You have to change your mindset. And that's not about a future date. Look, it can be, but that is usually counterproductive because you're just putting it off and giving you more of a chance to screw up. And again, I do this all the time and you may look at me and say, well, but look at you, you're in shape.

I'm in shape despite this because I have to compensate all the time. I'm in shape despite this because I have to compensate all the time. I have to work out like a savage to make up for the fact that I'll binge eat because I'm stressed out or I'm upset about something. And I'll then eat a pint of ice cream or like, I'll get my dosage of THC wrong and get the munchies and like eat two pints of ice cream. And then I'll work out like a savage for four days and not eat anything. That's stupid. That kind of yo-yo behavior. And it really goes to what I'm going to do as a reset for this year. And I feel like I do it every year since I got more into try to think about the why of things and the philosophy of things. I have so many

repetitive negative behaviors that hurt me, that hurt others, that take advantage of me, that take advantage of others, knowingly, unknowingly, consciously, unconsciously. And does it have to be that way? Not to this degree. And for me, it's about micro adjustments, micro adjustments. Little things lead to big things. Kai Greene, the great bodybuilder, says thoughts become things. It's true. But I think it's better that thoughts about little things drive little things to lead to bigger things. We don't fake the funk here. And here's the real talk. Over 40 years of age, 52% of us experience some kind of ED between the ages of 40 and 70. I know it's taboo, it's embarrassing, but it

shouldn't be. Thankfully, we now have HIMS, and it's changing the vibe by providing affordable access to ED treatment, and it's all online. HIMS is changing men's health care. Why? Because it's giving you access to affordable and discreet sexual health treatments, and you do it right from your couch. HIMS provides access to clinically proven generic alternatives to Viagra or Cialis or whatever, and it's up to like 95% cheaper, and there are options as low as two bucks a dose. HIMS has hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers. So if ED is getting you down, it's time to pick it up. Start your free online visit today at HIMS.com slash CCP. H-I-M-S dot com slash CCP.

And you will get personalized ED treatment options. HIMS.com slash CCP. Prescriptions, you need an online consultation with a healthcare provider and they will determine if appropriate. Restrictions apply. You see the website, you'll get details and important safety information.

You're gonna need a subscription. It's required. Plus, price is gonna vary based on product and subscription plan. The Chris Cuomo Project is supported by Cozy Earth. Why? Because I like their sheets. That's why. A lot of people don't get a good night's sleep for a lot of reasons. One of the ones that you can control is bedding.

One out of three of us report being sleep deprived. Okay, well, what is it? Well, it stresses all kinds of things. But the wrong sheets can make you hot, can make you cold. I'm telling you, I don't even believe it either. But Cozy Earth sheets breathe. And here's what I love about them. Cozy Earth's best-selling sheet is a bamboo set, okay? Temperature regulating.

Gets softer with every wash. I'm not kidding you, all right? Now, so if you go to CozyEarth.com and you enter the code, enter the code Chris, and you can get up to 35% off your first order. CozyEarth.com and the code is Chris. For my yearly reset, as a reminder of the, you don't wait till New Year's, all right?

So here we are in the middle of December and I have already started doing what I always do this time of year, which is I started a new fitness regimen. I believe in changing it up like every three months. Why? A couple of basic reasons. One, muscle confusion.

The body learns and adapts very quickly. You ever see the sloppy, marginally in shape person in the gym who's like on that one cardio machine for like an hour and 10 minutes while you do an entire body workout and they're still kind of skinny fat or soft or whatever? That's because the body adapts and you've got to create muscle confusion and metabolic confusion. Look it up. You'll see.

Do your research. Don't try anything without doing your research. Not because some warning about talking to your doctor before you exercise. You know that you're not a dope. It's just know what you're doing and understand the why of why you're doing it. It's just common sense. Too many people go into things blindly. Why do you drink that? Why do you eat that? Oh, someone told me that. Really?

Someone with as many dumb asses as we're surrounded by? And that person is probably under the influence of some other dumb ass? Do the research yourself. Do the research yourself. So I change the fitness regimen about every three months. Why? Muscle confusion, lack of boredom.

I'm older, gives me different goal targets, gives me different chances at that euphoria of accomplishment. So, well, like what, what does that mean? Well, last year at this time, I did a gain mode where for three months I ate and lifted a lot more weights than usual and did all this power stuff.

I'm not doing that again. That was too hard. And I did get bigger because I used to be much bigger and heavier. So I have some muscle memory working in my favor, but I don't wanna be any bigger. I felt I was so heavy. I was like 230 something pounds. It's just too much. So what I'm going to do is the next three months, I'm going to

spend on athleticism. Now I got to be careful at my age because I'm going to pull my hamstring, you'll hurt yourself. So I'm going to work on jumping ability and sprinting ability, sprinting in quotes, because I'll probably only wind up going like 85%. Because I don't want to hurt myself. And I have realistic goals, and I really just want change, and I just want to push myself. And it's about micro-targets. So micro-targeting is what? Micro-targeting is, well, I don't know. I just made it up.

No, I'm kidding. Micro-adjustments, micro-targeting is, well, I don't know. I just made it up. No, I'm kidding. Micro-adjustments, micro-targeting is little things. Read about intermittent fasting. Read about what you need at breakfast. Read about when you should take in certain things. If you give a shit. Now, if you don't give a shit about any of this kind of stuff, then don't do it. Make micro-adjustments in relationships that matter to you or dynamics that do matter to you. Maybe it's about something in your house that you've wanted to change and have it. Maybe it's a friendship with a sibling or a loved one or a lover or at work. Micro adjustments. What does that mean?

Take small steps. Just really small steps. No, too small. I'm going to start bigger. No, too small. I'm going to start bigger. Take small steps. Okay, it's diet. I eat cookies again. Ah, shit. Here we go.

Eat one less cookie than you want. Oh, but that's meaningless. I'm not going to lose weight. It gets you going in the right direction. And you do it now. And you make the adjustments immediately. That is the best way to create change. Not in the new year, I'm going to do this. And through the holidays, I'm going to eat like I'm dead man walking. And this is it. I'm the condemned. So I might as well do this. That is weakness. And before you make any change in your life,

you have to accept a couple of things. First one is weakness is human. We are all weak. I am probably more weak than most in terms of vulnerabilities and flaws and habits and idiosyncrasies and mistakes and regrets and major fuck-ups that'll never go away and I have to live with and pay for in multiple ways for a really long time, probably until I die. Jeez, would you kill somebody? No, but all pain is personal and how you feel about it is how you feel about it. And you got to work on that. And I do. But you're going to have your weaknesses. So don't shy away from them.

Lean into them. Stoics. Amor fati. Nietzsche coined the phrase, but it's stoic philosophy. I know he was an existentialist. You know, nothing matters, nihilism and all that bullshit. But he actually evolved on that. But whatever, study Nietzsche in your own time.

The point is, amor fati means love all that's made. Love what happens. What do I mean? Why would I love bad shit? You don't love bad shit, but you try to look at it as, what do I learn? How do I avoid the bad shit next time? What can I do to get past this bad shit? How can I use it to an advantage? All right. A lawnmower threw a rock, shattered a window in my house. Had to replace it. It was a gazillion dollars. So I was like, hey, you know what? I always hated that this room,

that that window didn't open anyway. Modern house, you know, just panes of glass. So I switched it to that kind of window. I mean, it's not exactly a win-win, but shit, it was a bad situation. I might as well do something with it. See what I'm saying? When I get injured, like when I hurt my neck win-win, but shit, it was a bad situation. I might as well do something with it. See what I'm saying?

When I get injured, like when I hurt my neck and I couldn't really work on upper body, I started doing a ton of lower body stuff. Why? I might as well do something. Lean into your weakness. So that's the first thing is that we're all weak, okay? And the second thing is you got to lean into your weakness. Don't do the work of the weakness for the weakness. Put it off until New Year's. Don't do it. If it matters, start today. Just start in a little way. You can add to it then. You know, you can blow it out later, but start now. And you have to make a choice, okay? I believe that change works better for me when it is multivariate, when it is comprehensive. What does that mean? So when I'm going to start something new, and again, I'm starting something new all the time because I believe in micro adjustments, all right? I'm going to get into a cleaning mode when I'm getting into a diet mode,

and I'm going to go through my closets, and I'm going to take all the clothes that I don't wear, and I'm going to give them away, and I'm going to do the same thing with my shoes, and I'm going to go through my investments, and I'm going to see what money I haven't spent on legal bills and see where there is and what I can do. I start trying to look at everything, everything. I make lists of relationships I've neglected in my life, relationships I've given too much time to in my life. Now you'll notice I haven't mentioned work a lot and I haven't mentioned it on my list at all. Why? Work mattered too much to me. And when it was taken from me, And when it was taken from me, it destabilized me.

It scrambled my eggs. It embarrassed me that it meant so much to lose a platform at CNN, that I never realized my level of celebrity and people who knew me and all the shine from the pandemic and all this other stuff. I never really appreciated it. So what? And I was sickened by my need for that. and all this other stuff. I never really appreciated it. So what? And I was sickened by my need for that and my being upset that I never really appreciated it. And I made a decision

that I'm gonna do things differently. And to me, I like comprehensive. So when I'm in a phase of trying to do things differently, I do a lot do things differently. And to me, I like comprehensive. So when I'm in a phase of trying to do things differently, I do a lot of things differently. I'm building a model car right now. I'm reading a different kind of book than I usually do. Now, and some of the things I just fail on, I have a book that I wrote for you guys

about the pandemic and lessons we learned that I'm afraid we're going to repeat, not necessarily with another pandemic, but with other types of mass infections of the social variety. And I just can't finish it. I had a publishing deal. They went bad on me when CNN fired me. I'm in litigation on both sides. And I could self-publish it. I own it. But I just haven't gotten around to do it. Why? I feel like I'm going to put it out. And for some people,

it'll be useful, but it'll make all these other people call me some kind of like vax pusher or some other bullshit. You know, look, I took the vaccine. I haven't had any boosters. Why? I've had COVID like four times. And my doctors say that I should have enough immunity. So I don't take them. So I'm not pushing it on you. I was just being honest with you at the time. They're telling you we should take it. I'm taking it because I want to be out in society. I don't believe it's going to hurt me. So I took it. And I said to you, you don't want to take it, don't take it. But you can't expect to get access to all the things that everybody else is going to if they're taking it, because that's the rule. You know, I feel the same way about assault. Hey, you want to go punch that guy in the face because he's an asshole go ahead

But there's a chance you're going to get arrested and you're going to have to pay for it You know, i'm not telling you to do it. I'm just telling you that if you don't do it, you know, there's consequences you get my point So I haven't done it But that's okay because nothing is perfect. You're not going to get everything done, but you will get nothing done by delaying, okay? So I'm telling you, I've learned this. I've done it. You know how many gym memberships I've started and then had to freeze and forget?

Come on, start now and start small. Start like, and again, diet is just easier to talk about. It's harder to do, by the way. But, you know, little people have swear jars. That's not my thing. I don't give power to language that way. I really think it's fucking stupid that, oh, he said the F word. Vulgarity is what's happening in Gaza.

Vulgarity is what's happening on the campuses. Vulgarity is the shoplifting that's going on. Vulgarity is the incivility, walking past homeless people. That's vulgar to me. Not using a curse word. It'd be a break. The N-word scares my children like it was a bomb. But are they going out of their way to make connections

with people of different races and faces? Or are we obsessed with how we treat each other or just how we speak about each other? That's what political correctness has wrought. Don't say that. Oh, but you can still feel it and act on it as long as you just don't let anybody know. Say, I don't care what you call me

as long as you treat me the right way. You see what I'm saying? Now, is how you speak to someone part of how you treat them? Yes, but we've gotten way out of whack on this. Why? We don't value things the right way. And that's all part of this cycle, okay?

You want to make change? Good. You don't want to make change? Fine. You want to make change? Okay. What? Write it down.

I want to change this. I want to it down. I want to change this. I want to change that. I want to change this. Start today. Start today. Start something small. Say hello to somebody. Give somebody a hug.

Tell somebody you're sorry. Take a walk. Hit the gym. Don't stuff your face. don't be an asshole. You know what I mean? Whatever it is, start small, start now. That's what I'm doing. I'm actually in the city three days this week.

I'm usually only in one. Why? Because there have been people that I've been putting off seeing and it's wrong. If they matter to you, put in the time. And I want to do better, so I'm here. Now, this is not starting small. For me to be away from my kids for three days is something. But it's balance, it's balance.

And they're teenagers, they don't really want me around anyway. So for the new year, start now. Start small. Forgive yourself for forgetting and missing and relapsing. The biggest reason that people fall off diets is that they fall off the diet and then make it a trend. They have a bad meal and then they say, well, the whole day's blown. I just had that chopped cheese bullshit sandwich that Greg brought me, so I might as well eat Chinese tonight. No, keep it small. Step in the wrong direction, step back. It doesn't have to be one step forward, two steps back. Okay? Inertia's okay, right? Stagnation's okay. It's okay. But you just want to do what you can to nudge it forwards

so you don't stay stuck there. And little things will make that easier than big things. It'll work a trick on your mind. Thoughts become things. Micro adjustments can become major achievements. Micro adjustments can become major achievements. That's why you got these leaders who say, in the morning, wake up and make your bed.

Why? Because it just sets you on a path of doing things the right way. Makes sense. It makes sense. Don't hit snooze. Now, do I hit snooze? Yeah.

Well, do I do all these things that I'm telling you not to do? Yeah. Why? Because I'm a flawed mofo. That's why. But I also know what the fix is. And I know what the right way is. It doesn't mean I do it. Very often, I'm speaking to you about things that I understand that I've learned very often the hard way. And I don't want you to make the same mistakes. I don't want you to go through the same process. I want you to benefit. The best messages I get are from people who said, hey,

you know, I heard this, I read that, and I did this differently. I'm like, oh man, am I happy for that person? I'm glad that they did it the easy way as opposed to how it has been for me. Now look, there but for the grace, there are a lot of people who have it a lot worse than I do. And I know that and I'm appreciative of it. But look, at the end of the day, you're not living anybody's life but your own. And all pain is personal.

I'm not a guru. I'm not a psychologist. I'm not playing one on TV. And I don't give a fuck what any hater says about what I do until and unless they want to say it right to me, and we'll have a discussion about it. But I promise you, most of the people who come at me would not come to me. I promise you that. Why? Because people are weak and noisy and they benefit from it on social media. There's a commodity in being crass and by attacking that it's a proxy for strength, but they're just fucking noise. Listen to your own voices, the people that you care about, and start small. Micro adjustments

become major achievements. Start now. Start small. That's what I'm going to try to do, and we'll keep talking, especially if you're on the sub stack, and I'll tell you what I'm into. We can do things together. We can give each other challenges and see who falls short. I'll probably wind up paying a lot of these bets, but that's okay. That's okay. If it helps you get to a better place, that's helping me get to a better place. So I wish you the best, but wishes are nothing without actions. So think about it. It's hard. It's hard to do, but it's hard to not do because you're going to pay the price either way. The best to you for the year, and the best to you for making it the best for you. Micro adjustments, major achievements.

Let's get after it.