HaLT: The Stages of Relapse & Importance of Discipline

Chris Williamson is one of the best new podcasters around. Great interviewer and goes deep with some top guests. Bedros Keulian was no different. I learned a key term called HALT. 

Hungry, Lonely or Tired. These are the stages when you relapse to your old bad habits, lose control or fall back on progress. It’s important to understand how each of these feelings affect you. For me I get especially irritable, affected or weak when I am tired. 

This is also why building strong habits are so important for progress in your life. 

It’s why the military drills you like crazy to overcome these stages. Some anonymous Navy SEAL once said: “Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard.”

So instilling strong regular habits into your brain, drilling your mindset to be more optimistic and be more action oriented is key to growth. There are many times when you are Hungry, Lonely or Tired, especially when you travel. Long flights, bad food, no sleep because of crazy schedules and jet lag.  

This is where discipline and the strength of routines come into play. I force myself to do the cold showers, meditation and work out routines even when I am tired or seem to be running out of time. You make the time because if I don’t do these things I feel like I am breaking a promise to myself. And there are big differences in your performance and effectiveness during the day when you don’t follow through. Discipline and routines help you overcome the stages of HaLT.