Good morning,
Champ,
Or good afternoon if you're an artist type in Brooklyn stumbling out of bed at noon.
This is a morning kickstart routine I designed primarily for myself,
Because most of what's out there is either too mystical or slips into Andrew Tate-esque kind of stuff.
I'll try to hold the middle ground.
There are going to be four parts.
First,
Body warm-up and power of will priming.
Second,
Gratitude buffer for fear and anxiety.
Third,
Loving-kindness buffer for anger.
And fourth,
Daily gauze execution priming with a whoop technique.
I'll explain each part as we roll.
Part 1.
Body warm-up and power of will priming.
First,
Get out and do your usual workout.
If you already have a 20-30 minute routine,
Hit it now,
Don't negotiate with yourself.
No routine yet?
Go for a mild run,
Again,
20-30 minutes.
Absolutely can't even run?
Drop into an open space,
Balcony,
Living room,
Cab.
Do jumping jacks,
Jump rope,
Just for a few minutes.
What's the purpose?
Raise heart rate.
Burn a few calories.
Flip the brain into an alert but calm state.
And most importantly,
Train your willpower muscle.
Next time,
For other things,
It's going to be easier.
It's going to be easier to follow through when you need to.
Hit bars,
A comeback sweaty,
Glowing and rosy-cheeked.
Part 2.
Gratitude buffer for anxiety and fear.
Now we tackle anxiety,
Just a millennial facet of fear,
One of my personal poisons.
Science says rapid gratitude isn't the most powerful lever,
But it's simple and repeatable and doesn't need the specific framing that the more powerful technique of reappraisal does.
Here's a rapid gratitude micro-drill.
First,
Pick three things you feel grateful for,
Big or small,
Permanent or passing.
Examples.
Anticipating coffee smell in just half an hour.
Having a job that pays the bills.
A friend who cares.
Just nice weather.
For each item,
Inhale for four.
Picture it as vividly as you can.
Hold one beat.
Exhale for six while saying thank you silently.
Why gratitude?
It widens your attention lens,
Nudging the brain from threat scanning to resource scanning.
So fear does not script your day.
Let's take a little pause to ponder on those three items and to thank the universe and yourself for having them.
Off you go.
Part 3.
Loving kindness buffer for anger.
Anger.
My other personal thing.
The millennial names for it are microaggression and irritability.
We're going to use a method called loving kindness meditation or LKM.
It might sound soft,
But research consistently shows it's one of the most powerful ways to reduce irritability.
To reduce resulting frustration,
Smoothing your social interactions throughout the day by reducing the automatic risk-seeking behaviors.
I'll guide you three brief steps,
Each around 30 seconds.
After each step,
You'll have a moment to actually practice it.
Step 1.
Self.
It's a standard LKM step.
We start with ourselves because grounding the mindset gives you clarity and calm,
Preparing you to better handle further steps.
Silently repeat a positive intention such as,
May I act with clarity and calmness today.
Take a slow,
Deep breath and imagine yourself feeling composed,
Clear-headed and centered.
Off you go.
Repeat a positive intention and take a deep breath.
Step 2.
Inner circle.
Now extend kindness outward.
Choose someone close to you.
A friend,
Family member,
Colleague or partner.
Someone you naturally care about.
We pick someone from your inner circle because it's easiest to build compassion towards those you're already connected with.
Picture them clearly and sincerely with something positive like,
May they nail their important meeting or may their morning go as smoothly as mine.
Visualize them succeeding or feeling genuinely happy today.
Off you go.
Pick a close person,
Wish them something truly and sincerely positive and visualize it.
And now,
Off to Step 3.
Wildcard.
Finally,
Pick someone neutral or even challenging.
Maybe the irritating cashier you saw yesterday,
Pesky neighbor or just a random stranger you passed in the street.
We include this step because practicing compassion,
Practicing compassion toward people outside your comfort zone significantly further reduces your overall anger.
Offer them a genuine wish.
May they find ease today.
As you breathe,
Notice your own feelings shifting towards calmness and away from aggression,
Away from irritation and anger.
That's it.
These are three steps to intentionally cultivate kindness and scientifically dial down anger,
Irritation and stress.
No magic,
Just proven practice.
Part 4.
Daily Goals Execution Priming with a Whoop Technique.
This is final and most impactful leg.
Whoop for priming your daily goals.
Whoop of course stands for wish,
Outcome,
Obstacle,
Plan.
Arrive here with today's to-do list already sketched.
From it,
Identify three tasks that are truly important and are at some risk.
Maybe hardest,
Most likely to fail or the domino that moves others.
Cycle,
One minute each.
Quick reminder,
Wish,
Outcome,
Obstacle,
Plan.
Wish,
State the task clearly in one sharp sentence.
Outcome,
Close your eyes and vividly imagine the payoff for about 10 seconds.
How it feels,
What you'll see,
What you'll hear and the satisfaction it brings.
Obstacle,
Name the internal blocker,
Distraction,
Hesitation,
Perfectionism,
Laziness,
Fatigue.
Trust your gut,
The first thing that pops up is usually right.
And finally plan,
Create one concrete if-then statement.
For example,
If slack pings before the draft is done,
They are muted for 30 minutes.
Lock the whoop for this task in,
Open your eyes,
Take a deep breath.
And tackle the next task with the same four steps.
Off you go,
I'll give you some time.
Just a quick reminder champ.
State a wish,
Visualize the outcome,
Name the obstacle and create a succinct contingency plan.
Wish,
Outcome,
Obstacle,
Plan.
Why whoop?
Because clearly identifying obstacles ahead of time and visualizing exactly how you overcome them triples.
Triples your odds of not folding when resistance hits.
Crucially,
Visualizing the process itself rather than just fantasizing about results is proven to boost the follow through.
Well,
That's it.
That's the four part morning kickstart.
You've primed your body,
Cooled nerves,
Dialed down anger and backed in the three wins champ.
Yalla Habibi,
Go get it!
