How to Completely Change Your Life in 6 Months.

Read time: 4 Minutes

It was March 2020. (oh boy…)

I had just found out that I had two weeks off of school because of something called the “coronavirus”. (haha)

Little did I know that I wouldn’t be going back to school for another 6 months. 

I wasn’t unhappy in my life per se, but after my gaming Youtube Channel had failed, I felt hopelessly lost.

For that past year, I had directed my energy into school which had got me straight A’s, but my newfound free time made me realize that something was missing. 

That’s where it all started…

How I Accidently Changed My Life In 6 Months.

^ 14-year-old me

As a middle-schooler finding myself with more time than I knew what to do with, naturally I started spending more time on social media.

That’s when I found online business & self-improvement youtube.

I became instantly hooked.

In 2 short months, I went from a scrawny nerd who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life to…

• Getting up at 4:30 am & taking morning cold showers every single day.

• Doing calisthenics (bodyweight training) 4x a week.

• Completely quitting scrolling social media & watching Netflix.

• Spending my days working at a marketing agency and starting my first online business as a 14-year-old.

In just a short 6-month period I had become unrecognizable to my family & friends.

It was a complete rebirth.

How the hell did I pull this off? How did I make this level of transformation in such a short time?

Since then I have made this transformation several times using something called ‘monk mode’ (coined by Iman Gadzhi) allowing me to level myself up to heights I never possibly thought I could reach.

What Is Monk Mode?

That might sound…extreme, but it’s not what you think.

This has nothing to do with shaving your head, wearing a robe, and living in the Himalayan mountains.

It’s a 3-to-6-month self-improvement transformation.

Committing yourself to change for just a couple of months is the key to altering the trajectory of your life for the better.

So how do you actually get into this magical mode of monks?

Without further adieu…

Here’s my step-by-step guide on how to monk mode.

Enjoy.

The 3-Step System to Monk-Mode

#1: Isolate.

Cut off anything that is taking you off course from your main goal in life. 

Here’s a list of people, places, and things that I cut off to give you an idea of what is required to make this transformation.

• Friends who were negative & unsupportive. (most of them at the time)

• Bad habits that were bringing me down.

  • social media, Netflix, unproductive youtube, etc.

• Consuming content that didn’t align with who I wanted to be.

• Watching the news every night with my mom.

  • (though she was very disappointed, she did understand)

Before you ask…yes it was difficult.

But as Thanos says…

The How: Deep Dive

If you’re interested in learning about how to actually go about isolating yourself the right way, I’ve written multiple pieces of content on how to do so.

Resources:

I wrote a newsletter on My Foolproof System to Breaking Bad Habits as well as a Youtube video on the same topic.

You can read that by clicking the link here → access the newsletter here

And access the video by clicking here → access the video here

These will help you in learning the rights systems to isolate yourself so you can stop getting dragged back into the pit of misery you’re trying to escape. (harsh…but I know what it’s like)

#2: Evolve.

Now that you’ve cut out your bad habits, it's time to turn it up a notch by adding in the good.

Here are some habits that I started during this 6 month period I still practice today: 

• Getting up at 4:30 am.

• Working out 4+ times a week.

• Deep work for 90 minutes every morning.

• Journaling nightly.

• Keeping my screen time < 2 hours per day

This might seem like a lot of change for a short period of time, but it’s not as daunting as you think. 

Once you have the free time and the momentum from your first few positive habits, adding more becomes surprisingly easy.

The How: Deep Dive

I also have a few pieces of content on building these positive habits. If you’re interested feel free to check them out.

Resources:

I wrote a newsletter on How to Build Habits You’ll Actually Stay Consistent With as well as a Youtube video on the same topic.

You can read that by clicking the link here → access the newsletter here

And access the video by clicking here → access the video here

These will help you in learning how to build positive habits that allow you to evolve into the 2.0 version of yourself.

#3: Adapt.

Like an animal in a new habitat, you will adapt to your environment. 

It will be uncomfortable, but getting comfortable with being uncomfortable will take you to new heights you would have never imagined you could get to.

• Try new sh*t.

• Start new projects

  • Start that youtube channel.

  • Build that online business.

  • Finally take some action on that dream.

• Get outside your comfort zone

Getting outside the ‘box of comfort’ is the secret to success as it forces you to adapt. 

Final Thoughts

Even though I had never heard of ‘monk mode’ when I made my first transformation, those 6 months of dedication has allowed me to achieve so much more in the last 3 years than I thought. 

If you feel like you’re not on the right trajectory in life, 3-6 months of dedication will fix that.

If you feel like you’re not performing at your highest level, 3-6 months of dedication will fix that.

Go all in.

Thank you so much for reading.

I really hope you got a ton of value from this as it completely changed my life and can 100’% change yours too.

Until next time!

Yours Truly,

-Matt “Monk Mode” Harriman

PS:

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

1. Grab my FREE self-reflection guide to break your burnout & make consistent progress in life & business easy.

2.  Book a 1-1 Strategy Session to gain clarity on your routine, habits, and systems.