Happy New Year 2014!
Exercise in some form has been in my life as long as I can remember. But it became a vital part of my every day life when I became an entrepreneur. Having the history of a competing athlete I have really had hard time learning away from measuring all the results and competing with yesterday’s me. Exercise in my life today has one purpose and one purpose only: give me the morning boost for the day and feeling great. It has become part of my morning routine, and it really has made me significantly more productive. As a matter of fact, I am at my most productive state in the morning after the exercise.
I learned the secret of starting the day energetic in college, when I did my morning training and went to classes filled with energy, while my friends still had their eyes half closed and were sipping their coffee. Of course I was too much in an adrenaline high to be able to pay any attention during the class. But I learned how to kickstart the day.
In addition to morning exercise, I have another routine that I am following daily basis. Having a healthy first meal. It’s really to make sure I get enough of the healthy stuff in my body daily basis, but it also has a mental effect. I learned this from Eben Pagan’s Wake Up Productive. Eating healthy is obviously something we know is good for us, but it also impacts positively on our daily productivity us makes us sleep better. Having a healthy first meal also makes us having a healthy second meal and so on. It may sound strange, but it works. My usual first meal is a mix of fruits and vegetables blended into a shake. It just goes better down that way.
Staying fit physically is crucial, but it isn’t enough. Coping in the hectic pace of modern life can be a challenge mentally as well. Especially for those who are starting entrepreneurs or are working in jobs that stretches their nerve limits. I used to create stress for myself way more than I would have wanted. It became something that was always there. Studying the materials Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, I realized that stress is not real. It’s something we create ourselves, and therefore it doesn’t have to exist. This was really liberating, and really made the concept of stress management meaningless – how to manage something that doesn’t exist.
When I first heard the word meditation, I felt instantly distant to it. I have never been much of a religious person, and some how the word associated to that in my mind. I kept running into the word constantly, but it took me quite some time to get started with. It was really only then, when I realized that it’s only for my own personal well-being, and that I can really build my own meditation that works as a mental practice to get my mind ready for the day. It has incorporated itself to my every morning these days in a similar matter as exercise and healthy meal. This trio ensures that my day starts in the right way.