What you “don’t do” can be more important than what you do.
The motive is strange.
When we go to bed late at night, we crave to change our lives and make great plans. But when tomorrow comes, it’s all gone—we put off the alarm, turn around, and hope for better times.
The funny thing is, our motivation is always there. It is part of our DNA to survive and thrive, make our lives better, produce healthy offspring, and be a hero. But our daily actions often kill that drive, leaving us stranded on the couch.
“First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” – John Dryden
If you want to experience relentless drive, endless energy, and roof-blasting motivation instead, ditch the habits that drain them from you.
Hiding from the sun
When you ask people what makes them feel energized, you often get the same answers.
food. water. Practice. loud music. Double shot of espresso followed by Red Bull and Coca-Cola. Fair call for all of these things — but there’s another important resource.
It’s very obvious that most people miss that.
Sun light.
Time and time again, studies show that exposing yourself to bright sunlight in the morning has a lot of health benefits and increases your energy levels. on his podcastNeuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman emphasizes the biological imperative for mental and physical health of getting 2-10 minutes of sun each morning upon waking as an energy management habit:
“First of all, it’s not a great thing in biology. It’s ingrained in the core of our physiology. We’ll talk about all of that, but everyone has to, whether or not you live somewhere cloudy or somewhere sunny, whether there’s cloud cover Whether or not that day, strive to get bright light in your eyes, ideally sunlight during the first 30 to 60 minutes after waking up.The reason for this is very simple. […] In fact, when you start doing this, you’ll notice that your body will start to feel more energized and will feel more energized more quickly.”
If you don’t, you’re shooting yourself in the foot because you’ll miss two powerful blows.
- Exposure to sunlight in the morning triggers the release of cortisol. This is a natural wake-up signal and promotes alertness and focus throughout the day.
- It adjusts your circadian rhythm, making you sleepy at night. You’re helping your body release melatonin, the sleep hormone, at the right time — which improves the quality of your sleep and helps you start the next day off with a good rest.
Sun exposure is simple – just follow these guidelines:
- In the morning right after waking up, go outside and face the sun for two to ten minutes (twice as long if you’re behind a window). If it’s cloudy, expand this time to 30 minutes. If the sun has not yet risen, use the bright light at the top.
- In the afternoon or evening, go outside for 20 to 30 minutes again. This helps your sensory cells and hormonal cycles adjust more, making you more alert during the day and sleepier at night.
- Dim the lights in the evening and avoid artificial lights between 10pm and 4am. If you don’t, you’ll trigger an early release of cortisol, which spoils the quality of your sleep. You’ll also suppress dopamine production, which can seriously impair your mood.
The sun sets our body’s natural rhythms – work with it, rather than against it.
Maintaining a sedentary lifestyle
I recently read something that made me shake my head like a dog with itchy ears.
A health coach recommended walking 20 minutes a day as exercise. So far, walking is just fine – it has a lot of scientifically proven experience Health benefits. What amazed me was that 20 minutes of walking was thought of Practice.
Our ancestors could not even have breakfast without it.
This is just one of the effects of our sedentary lifestyle. We park behind us at work, in the car, and on the couch at home. According to the Washington PostIn the United States, an adult sits an average of 6.5 hours per day.
When you fall flat on your butt, your body is finished. You get into lazy mode, so you start to feel lazy. but that is not all.
Long sitting increases your risk from cardiovascular diseases, possibility of death from diabetes, heart disease and obesity in general risk early death.
This does not mean that you have to stand all the time – according To Harvard Biology Professor Daniel Lieberman, you just have to avoid eating vegetables.
“Experiments that ask people to interrupt long periods of sitting even for a short time — say, just 100 seconds every half hour — lead to lower levels of sugar, fat and so-called bad cholesterol in the blood. […] and stimulating muscles to quench inflammation and reduce physiological stress.” — Daniel Lieberman
Aside from the health benefits, it will also keep your body functioning properly and increase your energy and energy.
So instead of sticking to the couch, find ways to keep moving.
- Play with your dog or kids
- fold laundry
- Do light stretches
- Stand to look out the window
- Do a light cleaning
Keep yourself active and driven instead of paralyzing yourself in the same position for hours.
Eat foods that drain energy regularly
Your body is an engine – and engines need fuel.
If you fill the car with the wrong fuel, it gets stuck or dies. If you feed your body the wrong fuel, it won’t function at stellar levels either. Don’t expect to feel like a king if you eat like a beggar.
However, nutrition is a complex topic. There are thousands of tips for what you want He should He eats. But to increase your motivation and energy, just avoid the following:
- Any kind of fatty fast food. Chewing on a burger will stick you to the couch for hours because that’s how long it takes to digest it.
- sugars and sweets. When you eat a lot of sweets, you get a sudden burst of energy — and then crash once you’ve burned it out.
- Excessive caffeine intake. There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee to boost your energy levels on a slow day. But too much messes with your sleep and makes you dependent – it saps both your energy and drive.
Now all that is left to increase your energy is: drink a lot of water.
National Academy of Medicine recommend At least 13 cups (3 liters) for men and 9 cups (2 liters) for women per day — more if you’re in a hot climate or you exercise. To start your day, drink a pint in the morning – we lose a lot of fluids during the night and this will help you get back into high gear.
Don’t feed your body bad fuel and don’t let it dehydrate you – this will leave you feeling more energized and powerful than any coffee ever had.
Entering a reactive state in the morning
“How you start your day is how you live your day. How you live your day is how you live your life.” – Louise Hay
Many men set themselves up for failure when they wake up.
In the morning, I’m still fresh. I just had a night of deep restorative rest. The world has not yet taken hold of you with all its problems and there are no fires to put out.
But then, you do what most guys do — and you pick up your phone.
Messages roll. Appointment reminders go off. A notification of an email from your boss appears on the screen.
This puts you in reaction Posture – You respond to your surroundings and allow them to drain your energy. When your day starts with a ton of tasks, it’s no wonder you lose motivation.
Instead, go to active Situation – Decide what you will do. Take some time to yourself to meditate, write a journal, or eat breakfast. Don’t overburden yourself before your day begins.
In the evenings, I put my phone on airplane mode – this ensures that no distracting notifications pop up on the screen. Keep it that way until lunchtime, after you’ve done the most important things of the day. You may need your phone before, but you don’t need to check all its notifications right after you wake up.
Start your day right to maintain your drive and energy.
Spending a lot of time thinking
Your mind is your best and worst asset.
It helps you solve problems and improve your life – but it also keeps you stuck in endless loops of ruminating on the past and worrying about the future.
You could spend hours thinking about what your boss said, how to communicate better with your partner, or how you’re going to lose stubborn belly fat. When you do, you will find a bunch of reasons why this or that might not work. It’s the way your brain works – it is always looking for problems.
Overthinking saps your drive, energy, and motivation. No matter how much effort you put in, you will always hit a virtual wall. Face it with action.
- Set time limits for when and how much you can think about something. Don’t let it control your life.
- Write down your thoughts. If you don’t, your brain will go around in circles, burning more energy with each round.
- Take small steps. Ask yourself, “What’s the next little thing I can do?” Then go make it happen.
You can create your own motivation and motivation. Don’t get stuck in your head. move instead.
Work creates energy.
Summary to increase your energy, drive and motivation
You already have it all inside you. You are genetically wired to be a badass. You just need to stop doing what drains you.
- Stop a sedentary lifestyle and move more often.
- Stop excessive masturbation and put the energy into something worthwhile.
- Don’t answer your phone first thing in the morning – enter the active state instead.
- Don’t eat fast foods that deplete energy every day.
- Stop wasting your time and energy on overthinking.
