9 Everyday Habits of an Average Man
A few weeks ago, I reviewed my daily morning routine. In the review, I began to notice some coincidences that could translate into my business and personal life So what are they? Well lets start.
First: Wake Up and Get Out of Bed
You have to get up and do something. The day has to start. If you stay in bed nothing will ever happen. If you shy away from starting, nothing will happen. If you don’t wake up out of your dream world, reality will never be able to set in and you will not be able to move in a direction to accomplish your dreams.
Second: Drink Water
Water is important in order to sustain life. Water is needed multiple times throughout our days, its not good enough to take a drink only once a day. When you get a glass of water, you take a moment of reprieve from what you were just doing. Your mind takes a break. Throughout the day, you need to take short breaks to allow your mind to rest, recoup, rejuvenate, and continue on. A friend of mine who is an an audio engineer, takes breaks through out a mixing session, to allow his ears to rest. When editing photos, I need to allow my eyes to rest, otherwise creativity on the edit of the photos disappears. Short breaks are vital to success throughout the day.
Third: Take a Walk
This is my official start to the day, having a moment of quietness and solitude. It is a time of contemplation, processing the coming day, navigating through any issues, whether personal or business. It is a time to spend in prayer and meditation. The morning walks are the calm before the storm. Most days, I finish the walk inspired and with a checklist of tasks to tackle for the day. Everyday start a new, clear the clutter and reorganize the priorities of the day.
Fourth: Use the Restroom
Naturally, we all have to do this. Our body is designed to remove the waste from the food we have consumed during the day. If the waste is not removed it becomes toxic, slowly deteriorating our organs. This is the same In our personal and business lives. We need to remove the waste. The excess items we hold on to for no reason. The tasks others want us to do, but we shouldn’t focus on. This could be spam email, unwanted phone calls, mundane business practices, menial tasks, or plain old drama. Remove it daily so it doesn’t become toxic.
Fifth: Shower
Just like you need to remove the waste so it doesn’t become toxic, you need to clean what you intend to keep. The things you do not clean becomes dirty, disorganized, falls in disrepair, and then it can become waste and toxic. You can clean in different ways. For example, tidy your desk. Organize and empty your email box. Vacuum and dust your home. Improve a business process. Resolve a looming conflict with a colleague, friend or loved one. Everyday you should take something and clean it.
Sixth: Eat
Just as important as drinking water, is consuming food. Our bodies do not need food as much as we need water, however, we do need nutrients to sustain our lives. Nutrients, not junk food. Everyday we should continue to feed ourselves good things by reading books, listen to podcasts, watch informational/educational videos, read the newspaper. However you consume information, consume INFORMATION. Grow in your knowledge, which can bring wisdom. If you do not continue to grow daily, you will be operating on the fumes of your past experiences and soon will run out of gas.
Seventh: Work
I was raised with the phrase, you don’t work, you don’t eat. We must put our hands to the plow, cast seeds to the field, and nurture the crop in order to receive a harvest. Results requires work. Little work produces little results. Great work produces greater results. Get rich quick work, produces short term success. However, when you cultivate the field, take the time to nurture the crop, add nutrients to the soil, the time invested produces abundance. So be diligent in what you set your hands to do.
Eighth: Talk to People
Share your ideas, your experiences, the things you love. If you become reclusive then how will you understand your neighbors, your family, your friends, or, just blanket, anyone. You alienate yourself from the greatness of others. The creativity others poses in their own right. A now friend of mine, admired my creativity, saying he wasn’t creative. In asking what he did for a living, knowing he lived on a ranch in Oklahoma, he told me he made handcrafted, custom designed leather saddles for the ranchers. I laughed and told him he was just as creative as I was, just in a different way. When we become vulnerable to share our lives with others, people can be crude and hurt us. However, this is a risk you have to take in order to find the joy in sharing your life with others.
Ninth: Relax
Take time to breath, relax. whether that is a hobby or just not doing anything at all. This could a movie, spending time with friends, riding a bike, mountain climbing, knitting, whatever it is, just not something the produces income. It is an activity that brings you personal happiness. Relaxation does not mean sleep. Sleep is for the body, relaxation is for the mind. If you take time to relax and fall asleep, you are exhausted. The time for relaxation is gone, rest is needed.
What are your daily habits that can translate to a good lesson of life? Share yours in the comments!