Energy!

Energy!

Start your day right.

You want to start the day right. You want to feel fresh, energized, focused and ready for anything. The fact that this doesn’t happen has nothing to do with how really tired you got the day before, what challenges you think await you in the day ahead or just how many things you’re going to juggle.

In the gap between our expectations and the way we actually feel as we start the morning is measured the strength of our will. It sounds simple. In order to feel the way we actually expect to feel all we have to do is will it. This too sounds simple. We all know it ain’t but we haven’t always known why.

"In the gap between our expectations and the way we actually feel as we start the morning is measured the strength of our will."

Here’s what happens inside our head if we get up in the morning dreading the day ahead: cortisol, the stress hormone, is released in the body. This leads to increased glucose in the bloodstream, higher adrenaline levels and a spike in heart rate and blood pressure. In response to stress, the brain activates several neuropeptide-secreting systems. This eventually leads to the release of adrenal corticosteroid hormones, which subsequently feed back on the brain and bind to two types of nuclear receptor that act as transcriptional regulators.

In plain English the brain goes into high alert. But in order to do this as efficiently as possible some of the higher executive centers shut down. If you experience this you’re caught between a state of alertness caused by the fact that you perceive the day ahead to be a potential threat you need to react to and an inability to properly assess just how much of a threat it is going to be and adequately handle it.

In even plainer English that is not a good way to start your day.

Could it be different? Given the exact same data of things that will come up, unexpected events you will need to deal with and the remnants of the load of the way left behind, start the new day by breathing deeply a few times, smiling broadly in the mirror in the bathroom and reaffirming to yourself that first it’s great to actually be alive this morning and secondly there’s nothing you will face that you cannot deal with.

Both are true. It’s never a guarantee that any of us will make it through a night. Our brains and bodies depend upon a homeostasis (i.e. balanced equilibrium) of complex systems to keep us alive, any of which can go awry. Having woken up alive is a win in itself and having made it through the night and being who we are, we are actually more than well suited to deal with anything waiting in the day ahead of us.

Grab some coffee and maybe put some music on. These are not requisite, but they help.

Take another really deep breath as you get ready. Hold it to a slow count of four and exhale slowly. Repeat.

You will feel differently and you will be good to go.

Drawn from material from The Sniper Mind: Eliminate Fear, Deal with Uncertainty, and Make Better Decisions.

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If you'd like to learn more or connect, please do at https://davidamerland.com. You can follow me on LinkedIn, or find my Tweets as well. And goodies and tools are available via https://thesnipermind.com. If you liked this article, you may also like:

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Doctor Lew

firestarter & conjurer at The School of HARD KNOCKS

6y

I especially like your comment... COULD IT BE DIFFERENT. Habits soon dominate our living. I have a series of targets that I really want the majority of my efforts now to acheive. How I begin my days will ultimately bring me closer to those major goals. I begin my days visualizing the "target" and then I work backwards on the efforts and calculations necessary to zero in on those targets---then I begin my days. I just never thought of the "...sniper mentality" to define my efforts. But, exactly what you discribe works into a good habitual way to start each important day. The trick is... how our days "start" has a great deal to do with how the entire day will go. You are sharing such good advice Mr. Amerland. This is a book every success minded person needs to digest---before they pull the trigger on each days effort.

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