Vivek George, founder of MindHome, outlines three science-backed morning habits: 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise to trigger endorphins, 5-10 minutes of meditation, and 2-3 minutes of cold-water exposure. Together they take about an hour and boost mood, focus, and productivity.
Hey guys, today I'm excited to share 3 simple science-backed steps to help you start every day happy and excited. Hey guys, I'm the founder of MindHome. My name is Vivek, and like many of you, I've thought a lot about how to have a happy life. And like any big goal, what people usually say is break your big goals into small pieces. So how do you break down having a happy life into small pieces? Well, you think about having a happy day, right? If every day is happy, then you're going to have a happy life. So now you might be wondering, how do you have a happy day? Well, your best chance of having a happy day is to start your day in a positive state. It's a bit like playing an instrument or going for a long jog. You need to warm up, right? And so starting your day off in the right state is like warming up for, you know, playing the piano or going for a long run. As Tim Ferriss, the famous inspirational coach, says, when you're morning, win your day. And actually, research supports this. Research has shown if you start your day off stressed, your memory and your focus actually decline. And I've seen this in my own life. For the last 10+ years, I've been on a very conscious pursuit to try to find enduring happiness into my own life. I've pursued different groups and books and seminars and various other things to find inner peace and, you know, just to quiet the noise that was constantly going on in my head. And I'm thankful to say in the last year I found that peace. That said, I still have my moments where I don't feel my best. Happiness isn't a destination. It's not, uh, it doesn't come in a pill or in a book or whatever. It's a routine. Unromantically, it's a, it's a practice that you have to do every single day. And while there's plenty of ways to hack your brain into a positive and happy place, these 3 steps together are easy to do, they're cheap, they're actually free, and they're all backed by science. And together they're a powerful cocktail to help you get your mind in the right place in less than an hour to feel productive and to feel focused and to feel happy, to conquer your day. So the very first one is run. So there's a reason why they say runner's high. Um, when you start running and take a leisurely jog, even your mind releases endorphins from the actual same place where you experience love. While I love to run, the same effects can be felt in various forms of aerobic exercise. Where you increase your heart rate. Wendy Suzuki, the neuroscientist, actually talked about this in her TED Talk. I think it was last year where she mentioned how exercise was one of the most transformative things we can do for our minds. So how do you get these feelings from exercise? So for me, I run every single day for 2 miles, and that usually is what I need to sort of getting those endorphins going from my run. Wendy suggests 30 minutes of exercise, any sort of aerobic routine that you enjoy. Will get you to that state where you're feeling the effects from exercise. 2, meditation. The benefits of meditation in various aspects of our lives is pretty well documented. And in particular, one of the major benefits of meditation is the calm and peace that it brings into our life. It's been shown that it helps with anxiety and general mental stress. So how to get into meditation. Well, for me, I've been practicing for quite some time and I have a, a pretty rigorous routine of doing 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. But for you, if you're just getting started, I would recommend maybe 5-10 minutes, um, at the start. And you can use apps such as Insight Timer, which has many guided meditations in it. As a small plug, I actually have my own meditation routine called Meditate Year. Uh, if you go to meditateyear.com, it's totally free. It's a a gift of mine to the world of meditation. Number 3, lastly, cold showers. So founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, inspirational coach Tony Robbins, bestselling author Tim Ferriss, and many other athletes and celebrities have often talked about how taking cold showers to start their day is an essential part of it. Yes, I know taking cold showers aren't fun, but the calm and peace that you feel after you take a cold shower, plus the Various other benefits from taking a cold shower make it a practice worth trying. While the antidepressive effects of cold showers has been shown, the research is still early. That said, whole body cryotherapy, basically exposing your whole body to cold temperatures, has definitely shown to have benefits in dealing with stress and anxiety and depression. For me, every morning when I take a cold shower, after a few minutes, uh, when I turn it back to being warm, the feeling of relaxation and calm is completely obvious. It almost feels like, uh, how I feel after a massage, totally relaxed and super happy. So how to do this for yourself: turn your shower as cold as possible, go in it for 2-3 minutes, and then once you're in there for a couple minutes, turn it back to like normal temperature. And once that warm water hits you, you're going to feel so relaxed, so happy, uh, It's gonna be hard not to smile, actually. If 2-3 minutes seems too much to start off with, try 30 seconds. I've noticed similar benefits when I've done that as well. So to sum things up, first, run or do some sort of aerobic exercise, you know, somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes per day. Two, meditation. If you're just starting off with meditation, 5-10 minutes is fine, but you know, 20-30 as you continue to develop in your practice. And lastly, cold showers, ideally 2 to 3 minutes, if not longer if you can. But if it's too tough at start, try to start with 30 seconds. Well, some days don't work out the way I would like it to be. When I usually look back on my day, I'm almost always happy and content about how things worked out. Life's never going to work out perfectly as I want or as you want, but when you start your day off happy, it's almost like coming to each moment or each situation coming from a positive perspective, not unrealistic, but positive. A bit like a glass half full versus glass half empty. So by focusing on your happiness, this is one of the most impactful ways to live a more fulfilling and happy life. A happier you is a more productive you. A happier you is a more kind and generous husband or wife. A happier you is a more positive colleague to be around. Working to start your day positively allows you to be the best version of yourself every morning you step out the door. Thanks everyone for checking out this video. If you enjoyed it, please consider giving us a thumbs up, share it with a friend that maybe could be helpful for them. If you have any other tips that help you start your day positively, please leave a comment below and subscribe to our channel. Thank you so much, and I'll talk to you soon.
