The world these days it seems, especially in American culture, that you need to have what your neighbor has, and that having is never enough. We are constantly losing personal power by buying into this mentality, and allowing ourselves to be bogged down by this lack mentality that leads to giving our power and money away to jobs we hate and by buying what we think we “need” in order to experience approval in society. I have learned recently how to regain and maintain your personal power by installing a few daily habits into your life. I have noticed a dramatic difference in my mood and overall feeling when I do these habits daily, and when I don’t.
The habits are as follows:
1. Meditation. I have decided, after attending the 10 day meditation retreat and continuing to practice meditation daily, that a day without meditation is a day not fully lived. I personally meditate for an hour a day, utilizing the Vipassana technique, but I believe as little as 20 minutes a day utilizing any type of meditation would be beneficial to a person. From doing meditation I have noticed a constant state of happiness regardless of circumstances, eased anxiety, and an overall sense of limitlessness. This has allowed me to travel (which I previously hated), go on adventures I never would have before, meet tons of interesting, cool people, and have a ton of fun leading a fulfilling life. If you don’t do anything else on the list I highly suggest meditation. For a further study into its effects, I suggest watching “The Dhamma Brothers”, a movie on Netflix about men in an Alabama prison that do the 10 day meditation retreat, and its effects on them.
2. Enlightened Eating. There are many supplements and fad diets out there that work. Enlightened eating is a concept my brother Trent came up with that allowed him to keep a muscular, ripped physique while eating natural healthy foods. He is currently finishing his book on the subject. I decided to give his diet a try after I returned from the meditation retreat in February and noticed I felt and looked better from eating their Vegetarian diet. After approximately a month, I have lost about 15 pounds of fat and have a six pack again, with little to no exercise! This diet includes Green Smoothies for breakfast, no gluten, and no dairy. And as a result you will have an improved mood, enhanced physique, and tons of energy! This also goes hand in hand with meditation.
3. Wake up early. You will be amazed at what you get accomplished when you wake up between 5-7 AM everyday. If you hit the ground running everyday, you will easily be more productive and accomplish a major task before most people are even awake! By following the same wake up routine 7 days a week, you will naturally have a circadian rhythm that sets, allowing you to go to bed when you’re tired, not necessarily at a certain time.
4. Cold showers. As silly as this sounds, cold showers are extremely beneficial! First thing in the morning, they wake you up better than any cup of coffee would! If you google it you will see the scientific proof that there are several tangible benefits to taking cold showers. You also feel great for several hours afterwards as well. Try it for yourself and see what you think.
5. Daily working out. This varies for each person, but you should definitely be working out at least 30 minutes to an hour a day. Yoga is great, walking/jogging/swimming are all good cardio, lifting weights, playing sports, anything to get your blood pumping is very good for you!
6. Become a “Producer”. Meaning begin to produce something, whether it be writing, making food, etc. Anything that you are giving of yourself. This will allow you to break out of the consumer mentality most Americans are subconsciously slave to. You will gain power because by producing rather than constantly consuming, you are in a much more powerful position and making a difference in the world.
7. Put away your phone. So many people are hypnotized by their phone these days. It sucks so much out of you to constantly be on it, as you are missing out on real interactions, and what is right in front of you. Put it away, go outside, enjoy the weather and the beauty that surrounds you.
Start with these seven. If you do not see a dramatic improvement in your life in one month, please comment and let me know what happened. I hope you will see as much results as I have! Comments? Suggestions? Would love to hear them
