Do you find yourself feeling sluggish and unmotivated some
days? While there may be other reasons for this, one thing to consider is how
you start your day. How you start your day may have a profound impact on your
energy levels and motivation throughout the day. You set the tone for your day
in the first few minutes your awake. Once set, this tone is very hard to break
away from. That can be bad if your tone is low in energy and slow, but it can
be good if the tone you set for yourself is motivating and energizing.
I find that when I look at the way I was before and the way
I am now, the way I start my day has had a profound impact on my ability to
accomplish my goals. Fifteen years ago, I was a patrol officer working the
evening shift (3:00pm – 11:00pm). I often didn’t go to bed until after 1:00am,
by the time I took off my gear, drove home and unwound from my busy day. One
benefit of working that shift, and not having kids at the time, was the luxury
of getting out of bed whenever I felt like it…and I did. In fact, I felt at
that time a strong need to “ease myself into my day”. That meant getting up
when being in bed too long started to be uncomfortable. That was normally just
before noon when I started to get hungry for lunch. I would get out of bed at
that time, mope to the kitchen to pour a bowl of cereal, and then mope over to
the couch, where I finished waking up in front of the TV. This usually took
well over an hour. Eventually I dragged myself to the shower to get ready for
work. Everything I did in the morning was slowed paced. I was in no hurry. I
remember vividly how I would sit in briefing at the beginning of my shift,
nursing a coffee, still trying to wake up (at 3:00 in the afternoon!). Luckily
when the shift got going there was plenty to keep me on my toes or I’d probably
stay in this funk all day. However, by the end of my shift I longed for my
couch and eventually bed again. I had no time, or energy, to do much of
anything but work and sleep, work and sleep. I actually coveted my couch and
sleeping time… forsaking exercise, house cleaning, and social engagements if
they interfered. I had trained my body so well to adapt to this cycle I also
found that I had to “ease myself” into my days off from work as well. I never
got anything done and I was packing on the pounds.
I used to think that sleep and rest was the most important
part to staying healthy. I focused on the notion that if I was well rested than
I could focus better at work and in life. What I didn’t know was that even
though sleep is very important for our overall health, too much can be bad.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, people of varying ages and other
factors need varying amounts of sleep to function normally but the average for
an adult appears to be between 7 and 9 hours a night. According to researchers
for the NSF, sleep durations longer than 9 hours a night were linked to
obesity, depression, diabetes, other illnesses and accidents, and increased
mortality as well.
I first heard about the benefits to starting my day by being
energetic from motivational speaker, Tony Robbins. Robbins advocates beginning
your day with an “hour of power”. This is essentially starting your day by
enthusiastically clapping your hands, jumping out of bed, with a smile on your
face (even if you had to force it) and begin moving for your first hour awake.
He suggested beginning your day with exercise but really any kind of productive
activity that got you moving would do. The idea was that if you started your
day energetic and enthusiastic, that energy and enthusiasm would stay with you
through the day.
I decided to try approaching my day this way. My mornings
began to look a lot different from that point on. I made sure I got up after 7
to 9 hours of sleep (instead of the 10-11 hours I was getting before) and spent
the first hour of my day exercising (usually while listening to a motivational
speaker on tape or high energy music). I had to force the smile for the first
week or two because old habits are hard to break. It took a while to get used
to starting my day with a “bang” instead of a “moan”, but the results of doing
so were immediate. Even on the first day of doing this I could feel that I had
more energy throughout the day. I was more productive (it helps not sleeping
the day away) and my attitude was so much better. I remember my boss telling me
he saw the difference in me right away as well. The bi-product of this was
weight loss and muscles tone, two side effects I’ll take any day.
I found that the saying is true, “A body in motion stays in
motion… a body at rest stays at rest”. Try starting your day in motion and see
how it works for you. I’d love to hear how you do J
I’m not
perfect…I’m just trying to figure out this whole health thing, just like you.
Thanks for letting me share my experiences with you J
Please consult your
doctor before beginning or changing your diet and exercise regimen.
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