Change your mind and it'll change your life!
Some things in life are in the "can't survive without" them column, like eating and drinking water. Next in order of magnitude we have "must do", like having a job, doing your taxes and oil changes. Then we get into the world of "can do", "maybe do", and worst of all "should do". This last heap of chores consists of exercise, eating right, calling your mom, and learning to paint.
To some degree these items are self defining and have an obvious home in one bucket or another. I have recently become aware of how changing the way you think about some of the activities in your life can have a major positive effect towards achieving your goals.
Let's go right into the 4-wheelin' metaphor. Putting gas in your rig is a "can't survive without" item, just like a battery, spark plugs and plenty of other core components. You just can't get anywhere without these things and you'd look darn silly for trying. Like walking around holding your breath.
Next, the must do's incorporate things like changing your oil, transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, differential fluid, etc, etc. What differentiates these things from the can't live without is the fact that you can drive your 4x4 when the oil is past due or transfer case is low or the differential fluid is burnt up from the last wild trail romp. These overdue items don't stop you from driving like running out of gas, but you are doing damage to your rig.
Lastly, the things you should do, like wash your rig after get it all muddy, rotating your tires, changing your differential fluid after every wheelin trip, adding a system cleaner to your gas or oil, and torqueing your suspension and steering components to the exact spec.
Now let's look at some of these examples through the lens of having a goal with a deeply meaningful why and how that changes the level of importance.
If your goal is to have a show rig that you are taking to SEMA and other auto shows, how do you think about washing your rig? It becomes as important as putting gas in it! You can't even drive into the show room with a dirty vehicle. Alternatively, you may actually be less concerned about how (or if) it runs because it's really just for show.
If your goal is to race your rig at a 4x4 competition with hopes of a good finish, then keeping your engine, steering and suspension in tip top shape is critical! You need to think about changing your fluids, greasing and torqueing your suspension like you do putting gas in your rig. One busted component and your hopes of even finishing are dashed. You also don't want to wear out anything prematurely because if you are racing you already have enough expenses.
How does this apply to any area of life and why is this called "Think about it like, I think about my coffee". For me, drinking coffee is how I start my day and I feel out of sorts when I don't do it. Coffee is hardly a "can't survive without", or even a "must do" like taxes, it's barely in the "should do" column. But not for me, for me it is critical to getting into my peak state so that I can do my most important work and fulfill my goals which result in me being the happiest version of myself.
Exercise was my action that I needed to do more consistently to maintain my physical fitness so that I can achieve my goal of wrenching on my Jeep and hiking up a mountain with ease. Thinking about exercising like I think about my morning coffee, as a "must do" changed the way I felt about it and made it easy for me get it done first thing in the morning. I no longer brush off exercise as a thing I can skip to do other things.
Take one action in your life that you do with great consistency that feels easy, why are you so consistent and what benefit do you get? Now take an action you need to do more consistently to reach a goal you've set and think about how important it is to you achieving your goal. Next think about how you can incorporate it into your daily routine and think about it as a "must do" not a "should do". See how this changes the way you feel about it?
Now find those things that you struggle to do consistently, and know that if you could just get into a habit of doing them you will be making mileage towards your goals.
