Day 19 : Stop starting your day like everyone else (do this instead)

Okay, a couple people have asked me to explain some of the things that I'm doing and what the actual point is. So let me give you some background here as to why I've chosen the different practices that I'm implementing. So first of all, I want you to think about success. It starts the very moment that we wake up, right? Doesn't start when we, you know, begin our work or go to the gym, whatever starts the moment that you wake up. So here's why. The reason is that what you do in the first 60 to 90 minutes of your day can make or break your energy, your focus, and even your mood. And not just for the morning, but for the entire day, right? So this isn't some just mindset talk either. It's rooted and how our brain, our hormones, and our nervous system actually work. Excuse me. So, most people roll out of bed and they grab their phone, they start scrolling, reading emails before the brain's even fully engaged and awake. And then, you wonder why you feel anxious, scattered, or drained by mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Uh, you know, I mean, I— this was something I did years ago too, like with the first— when the phones first came out, they were so addictive, right? But you learn as you go, and the brain is highly plastic, meaning that it's primed for rewiring. And this is especially true in the morning, also at night before you go to sleep. But the things I do are science-based, science-backed habits that actually rewire your brain for success. And these aren't hacks, They're tools. They're tools that help your biology work for you instead of against you, right? So, before I get out of bed in the morning, I pray out loud to give thanks and glory to the Creator for keeping me alive, right? Now, that's just my thing. I'm a person of faith. That's what I believe. But I give thanks for, you know, God giving me another day. And this intentionally causes my mind to be aware of what I can be grateful for, no matter how I feel, because I may not be happy to wake up. I may wake up and I'm already in a mood, right? Who knows what I was dreaming about? But that helps me intentionally shift to being grateful. And then the next powerful thing that I do is I make a declaration of who I am. Now, this is my best self, the ideal me, regardless of how I think or feel, because What we say about who we are actually impacts how we show up and how we act. Now, I got to be honest, I've been inconsistent with the declaration thing for quite a few months. It was off and on, but today I made a commitment to include it every morning once again. I was doing this a year ago and just kind of got out of the habit, right? I allowed life to eat me up. But one other new tool that I added starting a day ago— not a day ago, starting at day 1 of this stretch— was getting morning sunlight. And the reason is, is because this is the circadian reset button, that morning sunlight in your eyes. It's one of the most powerful things you can do for your brain and your life, and it's also one of the simplest. You just get outside and get some sunlight. It's, you know, depending on where you live— I mean, I'm in Arizona, so it's easy here, but Here's why. So, the thing about the sunlight is our brain runs on circadian rhythm, right? It's that built-in clock. It controls everything from our energy to our hormones to our mood, but that clock needs to be set every day. And guess what the signal is that it listens to? Light. Yeah, that's right. So, you know, and it's not your phone screen light, it's not your kitchen light, you know, we're talking real sunlight hitting your eyes. So actually, I'm not sure about the phone light. I just know that those things aren't as good. They probably do not work. But when bright light enters your eyes in the morning, it triggers your brain to boost cortisol at the right time. Which wakes you up naturally and suppresses melatonin so you're not groggy. There's also some additional benefits about infrared light, early morning light coming into your eyes that I don't remember, so I'm not going to go into it right now, but natural light and sunlight, very different. But this also kicks off that timer that helps you fall asleep easier at night when you get the circadian rhythm corrected, right? And here's a big bonus too, it increases your baseline dopamine levels. So that boosts your mood and your ability to focus. And for me, that's something that's really important. Um, so, uh, and it doesn't take a lot, right? It's just 5 to 15 minutes outside in the morning, even on cloudy days. That can make a really dramatic difference. So this is something I researched, and I decided I'm gonna do this. I mean, how tough is it, right? Um, just rearranged my schedule a little bit. So, you know, if you want to operate at your best, morning light, it's like hitting start on your brain's operating system. So, you know, I encourage you to try it. Now, as for how I did today, excellent. I actually stayed on track, stayed on task. I followed my macros. I was able to manage my time well. I actually completed everything that I set out to complete today. So, That's a great feeling at the end of the day, right? And yeah, that's it. So what else? I think that's pretty much all for today. But if you have any questions, or you want to know anything about what I'm doing, please comment below or message me privately. And I do encourage you to try the morning sunlight thing, you know, within, within the first hour of waking up, if you can get out and get out get up and get outside. Now, if you're like me, most of the time when I wake up, it is still dark. So I try and maintain low light until I'm actually able to get out and get into the sun. You know, it's not a perfect system, so do the best that you can, but do some research on it. If you don't believe what I'm saying, you know, please go check it out yourself. I think you'll be impressed with what you find. And, you know, all I can say is that I'm 19 days into this deal, and I've already— I feel better, right? I've noticed the shift. I noticed the shift in how I sleep. And that's one thing that I've been very consistent with, is the morning sunlight. I was combining it with grounding too, and some days I haven't done that, but, only because like they were, they were like the, the lawn out where I go, the park out by my house, they were fertilizing it and I didn't want to stand there in my bare feet. So, um, but yeah, the morning light, easy to do. All right, I'm rambling. I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for watching.