I start each morning by crying.
At least, I have been for the past week, and guess what? I feel amazing.
Each morning, I set my alarm fifteen minutes early to follow along with a mindset-priming session on youtube. Most people don’t guess the days I seem happiest start with tears, but one of the exercises prompts me to visualize some of the happiest moments that I’m grateful to have had in my one unrepeatable life.
As I’m sucked back out of the memory and into my bedroom, I remember how lucky I am. The sad parts of my life shrink down. I feel my selfishness float up, and despite my manly efforts, my eyes water at how ridiculously blessed and ignorant I am.
And from there, my day starts as right as a day can start.
I sincerely hope you don’t feel in an emotional rut. But we all go through low periods. You wake up with less energy and autopilot through the least exciting of morning routines. You fill up on coffee (and probably sugar) to beat back unending fatigue and scroll your phone for dopamine. And by the end of it all, arrive to work barely on time and unexcited to be there.
A chronic case of the “Saddies” sucks the life out of you, your health, and your desire to change your body. We all go through this.
It’s bleak, it’s real, and it’s not what we want. We want to bring energy and vibrance to the people we love and the projects we work on. So, how do you overcome the heavy urge to stay under the covers and repeat the same routine? How do you leave the house or the hotel room internally singing (or externally yelling in the elevator at the scared senior citizen next to you) ” I’m Looking good, feeling good, oughtta be in Hollywood!” and excited to be part of a magical fuckin day as it unfolds?
Outside of licensed counseling, it starts with where directing your focus. Take note: Where focus goes, energy flows.
If you constantly focus on your past pains or problems, guess what? You grow more pain and problems. Have you ever woken up in a lousy mood three days in a row? Noooooo, you didn’t. You woke up in a bad mood one day, didn’t interrupt that energy to return to life, and repeated the same poor mood cycle.
What if you set a fifteen-minute timer on day one and spent that time ONLY thinking and doing things that brought you immense joy with people you love? What if you only stood in the posture of a joyous person with your chin high, a smile on your face, and shoulders back? OR, hell, even your arms out wide for a hug on the elevator? It matters, don’t you believe me? No? Do it right now for 5 seconds and see if you still doubt the power of physiology in your control.
You can stop laughing and smiling at yourself now.
It’s impossible to feel bad when expressing joy through your body and mind. Once you’re out of the pattern of the “Saddies” or the “Lousies,” you’ll have more energy back. Apply it in the fastest, most straightforward step towards what matters to you, and keep building. Your business, your fitness, your kids, Fixing an awkward moment that just happened in the elevator, it’s up to you.
Disclaimer:
Loss and grief will still occur, and you’re human if you’re feeling them as they pass. Don’t try to erase that stuff. Feel them. What I’ve given you is a way to crack through prolonged sloth and low mood. Do it as many times as you want in a day to bust through the bad mood.
Exercising your control to improve your mood is the secret weapon you may have been missing to get your progress back on track. You’ll gain back energy, spill out the “Happies” onto others, and see some more of the good stuff constantly happening around you.
REMEMBER; you’re a single cell that grew into trillions of collaborative cells, creating consciousness at every moment as it rides a space rock at 67,000mph around a star through the vast unknown for all time.
Life can be pretty dope, even if we have a blanket over us at the moment. Just pull the covers back and have a look.
Jeff
