In this self‑help video, Aaron Doughty outlines a five‑step morning routine designed to boost mood, productivity, and overall well‑being. He argues that the first actions of the day set the emotional and physiological tone for the rest of the day, creating momentum that prevents people from feeling like victims of circumstance. The steps are: (1) smile – a simple facial cue that triggers serotonin release; (2) drink water (preferably with lemon) – re‑hydrates the body, improves oxygen flow and balances pH; (3) meditate for 10‑20 minutes – observing thoughts without judgment, which, according to Harvard research, reduces amygdala activity (stress) and increases pre‑frontal cortex activity (creativity, emotional stability); (4) practice gratitude for 5‑10 minutes – shifts mindset to abundance and stimulates oxytocin release, fostering trust and social connection; (5) exercise – cardio or gym work that raises oxygen, dopamine and serotonin while regulating cortisol, leading to confidence and reduced stress. Doughty shares personal experience of using these practices for several years and cites scientific studies to back the claimed neurochemical benefits. He concludes by recapping the routine and encouraging viewers to adopt it, ending with a call to like, subscribe, and watch future content.
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So today's video is on my morning routine and 5 steps to having a happier and more successful day. So what I want to speak about today is that we have the ability first thing in the morning to completely take control of our day and to take control of our state. So the reason this is important is because When we do that in the morning, we give ourselves momentum so that throughout the rest of our day, we're constantly feeling better. We're constantly more in tune with how we prefer to be versus being a victim of our circumstances or a victim of whatever's happening in our lives. So here's the first one. The first of the 5 is smile. Smiling, it's so simple, and right in the morning when we wake up, If we were to smile, what we would find is that we would start feeling better after a minute or two of doing it. And the reason that is, is because when we smile, when we put on our happy face, what happens is our brain doesn't know the difference between really smiling and not smiling. So it starts to release serotonin. And what serotonin is, is the happy chemical. So if we smile right when we wake up in the morning, we feel a little bit happier. And I've been doing that for probably about 3 years now. When I wake up in the morning, I smile. So simple. Second one is water. So water is 70% of our bodies or more. And when we wake up in the morning, we're dehydrated. So the way that we counteract that, sounds so simple, is to drink water. To drink 1 or 2 glasses of water right upon waking up in the morning And what that does is it gets more oxygen, more flow throughout the system. And the one little tidbit I'd like to add to that is that do it with lemon water. Lemon water helps digestion and it also helps balance the pH of the body. So lemon water, number 2. So the third one is meditation. And meditation is something that I've been doing for probably 3 or 4 years now, and it's the first 20 minutes of my day. After I smile and after I drink my water. And when I meditate, what I do is I just sit in the moment and I observe my thoughts. I'd normally do it with closed eyes. I observe the thoughts that come into me and I focus on my breathing. And as I observe the thoughts, I don't judge them. I let them kind of flow through. And what I realized is that when I do this, I then put myself into more an observer. I become more of an observer than I do of somebody who reacts. So I've noticed that as I do this and then I go throughout my day after the meditation, I'm able to remain in that observed mode. So I observe what's going on rather than judge or react to whatever's happening. And there's actually science that backs this up. So let me drop a little bit of science on you. And if you check the link below, it'll give you a little bit more of an extensive research on what that is. But what this Harvard University showed or found is that when people meditate for just 10 or 15 minutes a day, they have less of the brain activated that deals with stress, and they have more of an activation of what's called the prefrontal cortex. What the prefrontal cortex is, is the part of the brain that's more dealt with creativity and more dealt with, uh, feeling more emotionally stable or having more emotional well-being. And then what the stress part of the brain is, is what's called the amygdala. And people that, uh, what they found in this study is that the amygdala was more activated in the people that didn't do this, that weren't in the group that were doing the meditation daily, than the ones that weren't. And the ones that were meditating daily had more activation of the parts of the brain that were more related to creativity and emotional well-being. So there is research coming out that's showing the benefits of meditation, and it's something that if we apply in our lives, we're able to get the benefits out of it if it's something that resonates with us. So meditation, something I've been doing for probably 3 or 4 years now, and it's the one probably most important thing that I do in my morning routine. But that's nonetheless number 3. Fourth one, the fourth one is gratitude, and this is something that is important because what it does is it sets the pattern up for the mind to look for the things that you feel grateful for, the things that you feel thankful of. It also gives more of an abundance mindset because when you're focused on what you have, you tend to draw more of it into your life, or you tend to at least acknowledge the things that— acknowledge more of it. So you set yourself up for a better pattern. I've been doing this also for a couple years, and I've noticed that my general state is increased because I feel more grateful for the things that I already have, and I'm able to more easily focus on what I want in a better frame of mind than a lack frame of mind, for instance. One more thing about gratitude, a little bit more science in the link below, but what gratitude has showed— what the research has shown is that gratitude Actually, feeling gratitude daily makes the body release more of what's called oxytocin. And what oxytocin is, it's the chemical that's linked naturally in our body to feeling trust and to feeling more connected to other people. So the idea is that if we spend more time feeling gratitude, even if it's just for 5 or 10 minutes, we're going to increase the amount that oxytocin is released in our body. And that in return will make us feel more connected to other people. And make us feel generally better. So the fifth one, 5, is exercise. Every morning I exercise, and what I do is I normally go to the gym, I do a little bit of cardio, and then I'll focus on whatever I'm working out for the day. But exercise is so important because what it does is it not only does it increase the oxygen in the body, but it makes us release more of what's called dopamine and serotonin, which are the happy chemicals once again that flow through our body. And then it also makes us naturally release release the cortisol so that we don't hoard it in our body, so that we don't feel stressed. And exercise is something that's important. It's something that if you do, you feel more confident and you feel more— have a better general state of being. So just to recap, in my morning routine, I smile, put on that happy face first thing in the morning. The second one is I drink that water. Because our body is so much water that we need to add a little bit more to it so that it remains in homeostasis. The third one is meditation. Meditation balances out the hormones in the body, makes us feel less stressed. The fourth one is gratitude, remaining in an abundant mind frame versus focusing on lack. The fifth one is exercise. Exercising so that we balance out the hormonal system in our body and we allow ourselves to feel confident, to feel good, and to feel awesome. So that's it for today. Hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to subscribe below or like the video if you liked it. And other than that, see you next time.
