Take control instead of being controlled
When we wake, our initial action is to check our phones, scroll through social media, check our email or watch the news. This is the first mistake we make in taking control of our health, but one, if corrected, can have a profound effect on our health.
Our attention is an investment in our awareness, but we often invest our attention in things that only give us a poor return. We've become a world of continual consumption, and far too often, our consuming information is of a negative nature.
How we set the tone for our day can play a crucial role in how the rest of it plays out. For example, suppose we begin by giving our attention to the news. A negative perception of the world triggers us, and we induce that fear response triggering those fight hormones without experiencing that event that disempowers us. As a result, our thoughts become clouded, potentially leading to poorer choices in the food we consume, how we tackle the working day or whether we have the focus to go workout.
Taking control of our health doesn't mean having to go to the gym or doing a complete overhaul of our nutrition. Starting by understanding where our attention goes and controlling how we react to those events can profoundly affect us neurochemically. Our ability to not let the external world interfere with our internal frame of mind and control our emotions can profoundly affect how we perceive events and how we best navigate through them. The better our ability to respond from a neutral point, the more we can improve our emotional wellbeing, creating a positive environment for our physical wellbeing.
My morning begins waking naturally, then focusing on my breath, placing my palm on my heart then thanking my world for taking care of me. Then, rerunning positive moments from the day before (I'll clear negative moments in the evening, so I go to bed in a positive state), I'll set positive intentions for the day and a few targets to hit before my day end. I'll then get myself ready and, before leaving, consume 400ml of water with pink salt and lime juice. Finally, I won't look at emails or respond to any messages till I arrive at work. I'll also make sure I've done all I need to at work, therefore, using my time back home to relax. Creating boundaries helps bring our awareness back to ourselves again, not letting those external stimuli affect our internal frame of mind.
Things to takeaway:
If you're able to, don't respond to work emails before the start of your working day.
When was the last time there was anything positive in the news? If the information plays a role in your working life, do you need to consume as much? If the events aren't affecting your immediate reality, why continually give it your energy?
Create boundaries around social media. Those feeds or messages you may have aren't so important that they need your attention first.
Focus your awareness on the reality around you and not on the many devices that control our lives. Life is out there, and that connection with nature we're slowly losing. Reconnect.
Take time off social media, use those hours of scrolling to read a book, reconnect with people in person and most importantly, build that connection with yourself.
