Five habits

But seriously, here are 5 things you can do before you even start your day to improve every part of your life.

1. Meditate. 
   
   Just trust me. I don’t do this because of the woo-woo spiritual stuff. There are physiological things happening in your brain (and body) that have been tracked in scientific studies.
   
   If you have never meditated, I suggest you start with the Headspace App.
   
   Among other things, meditation has been shown to improve the quality of sleep, increase focus and maximum focus time, improve athletic performance, reduce stress and anxiety, and relax muscle tension.
2. Write.
   I had the worst time ever getting this habit started…
   But now it might be my favorite thing I do everyday.
   
   It is the simplest idea in the world: just write 2 pages about whatever you want. Even if the two pages are just complaining about having to write two pages. CONFESSION: sometimes my 2 pages is purely bitching and complaining.
   
   I originally picked this up from Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages.
   
   I have observed that this helps me keep track of how I am feeling and what my mind is up to. I track my goals and write down activities that I need to do that day (not necessarily a to-do list, because I write fun things I want to do also, like training for a handstand or yoga).
3. Intermittent Fasting.
   This is the new popular “buzz word” in the health industry. Believe me, I would know, I work in the health industry.
   
   I have done hours worth of writing on fasting of all varieties.
   
   
   But intermittent fasting (IF) is AWESOME! There are plenty of health benefits, but I find that I have increased focus and mental clarity when I don’t eat breakfast. 
   
   You know that after-Thanksgiving-I-need-a-nap-feeling? Well, that happens to a smaller degree when you eat at all. If you skip breakfast, don’t have that morning drag and work becomes easy-breezy.
4. Cold Showers.
   One time, I told my friend Tommy that I take a cold shower every morning and he said, I quote, “That sounds miserable.”
   
   Alright, alright. For the first couple of weeks, it is miserable. I won’t lie to you.
   
   But cold exposure therapy has insane benefits like improved blood circulation (including to the brain, so you can wake up and get productive that much faster), increased fat loss, brown fat (the good kind of fat) activation, and you wont believe this but decreased symptoms of depression.
5. Get Your A$$ Out of Bed.
   People say that you have a limited supply of self-discipline for each day.
   
   I could not disagree more. In fact, I have the opposite experience: when I get myself out of bed and conquer the 4 things in the list up there, it is like my self-discipline is rolling down hill. Momentum, baby!
   Next thing I know, I am having a salad for lunch and cranking out extra-special BONUS handstand pushups at the gym.
   
   And all that starts with having the teensy bit of self-discipline to get out of bed before the rooster crows.

There you have it! That’s my recipe for a better day. And better days add up to an improved life.

There is also a ton of things you can do before you go to sleep that will change your life! You can see my thoughts on that over here: The Greatest Sleep of Your Life.

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