Overhauling Your Habits, Routines & Lifestyle
Whatever your opinion of Tai Lopez may be, this saying by him above is undeniably true in regards to attaining a desired lifestyle and I recommend watching Tai Lopez's TEDx Talk if you haven't already. You alone are responsible for taking the steps needed to move forward in any given domain in your life and achieve success.
As the title says, this post will be about overhauling habits such as Diet, Sleep, Exercise & Reading (Exercising Brain) to help you gain Small Wins throughout a given day, and gain a positive mood, fitter body, smarter mind and a healthy lifestyle so you can be more successful. I'm going to write this post largely from my perspective and tell you guys my story and struggles in these areas as well as solutions. I hope that this post can resonate with many of you who are working on changing certain habits, whatever they may be.
And we all struggle at different points in our lives with bad habits that we hate we have. Sometimes we feel powerless like we are stuck in a loop and can't get out of it. But as Charles Duhigg stated in his New York Times Bestseller, The Power of Habit - “The Golden Rule of Habit Change: You can't extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it". We have to replace our bad habits with good habits and it's hard but it can be done!
Diet & Nutrition
This is a lifestyle factor that I have managed to largely take control of and I feel proud and much healthier after eating healthier. I'm a college student and college students tend to eat a lot of unhealthy food. Young people tend not to care about their diets generally for the most part in fact. I never really cared about my diet and nutrition either until after my freshman year of college. But having a poor diet affected me alot in high school and the first year of college, causing digestive issues and anxiety for having these digestive issues. The truth at the time was that I was aware I had these issues and that they were probably related to my eating, but instead of taking charge, I fell into the trap of feeling sorry for myself, not finding a solution and dragging on the same way for many years.
Unfortunately, this approach didn't bode well and I had to get worse and hit bottom by hitting a poor state of health, mentally and physically to say enough is enough and overhaul my diet. The interesting thing was that my poor diet also translated into alot of anxiety and GI problems (No weight-gain because I have a pretty high metabolism) and looking back I realize that it's no wonder. Our bodies are undoubtedly connected with our minds and our lifestyle factors can lead to a positive or negative correlation to not only our physical health but also our mental health. There are a few important changes that I will highlight below that helped me take back control of my diet, eliminate GI problems and (anxiety related to those problems) & become healthier and happier as a result.
Dietary Changes
- Drinking Almond Milk and Eliminating Dairy Milk [Important if you have problems with Lactose & Soy Milk]
- Eating Whole-Wheat Grains and Eliminating White Grains (Whole Wheat/Multi-Grain/Flat Bread vs White Bread, Etc.) [The most distinct and prominent example I can think of would be Bread but this can apply to Tortillas, Pizza, Pasta, Rice, Etc.)
- Eating Juicy Fruit Everyday (I eat Oranges everyday but I also like/recommend Strawberries, Melons, Mangoes, Grapes, Watermelon)
- Adding Lots of Vegetables in your Meals
- Eliminating Processed Foods
- Eliminating Sugary Drinks (Eg. Monster, Red Bull, Pepsi, Soda) [Simple Rule - No Carbonated Drinks or Drinks with High-Fructose Corn Syrup/ I Drink Organic Apple Juice, Orange Juice or Snapple]
- Eliminating Junk Foods & Junk Snacks (Eg. Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreos, Doritos, Ramen Noodles, etc.) [Baked Snacks like Whole Grain Cheez-Its, Whole Grain Goldfish, & Popcorners; Fruit Snacks like Welch's are Good Options]
- Eliminating Fast Food (Eg. McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc. [My exception to this rule would be Subway once in a while])
Again this lifestyle factor of having a healthy diet now, I have largely achieved through after about two years of discipline but commuting and living from home have also helped [The collegiate dining halls & meal plans tend to not be the greatest]. I get home-cooked meals and my parents make a lot of Indian Food which is generally pretty healthy cuisine.
This transition did not happen overnight. It took months of trial & error, relapsing and failing but I knew that I was on the right track and slowly but surely I was learning from my mistakes and optimizing my diet. At first, it was painful, but now admittedly, I feel great and I am very used to healthy eating that I find my meals both tasty and healthy which in turn attract me to them. These habits have been ingrained in me.
Benefits of a healthier diet include:
- Healthier GI Tracts & Gut Microbiome
- Better Mood, Reduced Anxiety & Depression
- Increased Energy
- Weight Loss
- Reduced Risk of Diabetes, Obesity & Disease
Sleep Hygiene
This is a lifestyle factor that I am working on changing right now. I know what I have to do luckily and now just need to execute. For about 3-4 years since college kicked in, I have had pretty bad sleep hygiene and have struggled to try to change it. Until recently, I even thought I had circadian problems or DPSD (Delayed Phase Sleep Disorder) and would act like a hypochondriac when I would see threads on Reddit about people talking very negatively about this all. Now I realize though, that those are just terms people use to justify their bad habits, and I can either sink or swim. I choose to swim. When there is a will there is a way. And I am tired of this bad habit of going to sleep late from 3-5 AM and waking up late from 11 AM - 2 PM on most days. I am also tired of complaining about it and coming late to class or events rather than doing something about it.
If I am going to sleep for 8-9 hours, I might as well as sleep in the evening at a reasonable time and get up early. After analyzing my habits carefully, I have realized that there is indeed a way to change my poor sleeping habits. I need to set a good sleep hygiene! I have recently purchased a h0meLabs Sunrise Alarm Clock from Amazon to help assist me in my journey! This alarm is awesome because the volume is much much louder, it wakes you up gently but firmly by incrementing the LED light brightness 30 minutes before your alarm is set to go off & it has a radio antenna (So I get to wake up to some cool radio beats as my alarm goes off 😲🎶). The LED lights also can change between 7 colors so I can use it when I am reading in bed before going to sleep as it's very cool and soothing.
So these are my proposed Sleep Hygiene Rules for myself and anyone else who wishes to follow :)
Before Going To Bed (Be Showered):
- Optional - Take a Melatonin at 8 PM
- Go to Bedroom by 10 PM
- Remove all Electronic Devices (Eg. Phone, Laptop) from nearby
- Bring a Water Bottle on Bedside Table
- Double-check Sunrise Alarm
During Bed:
- Turn on Reading Light (And for me - Super Cool Changing LED Lights 😵)
- Read a Book for about 1 - 1.5 Hours
Before Sleep:
- Keep Room Cool - Turn on fan for a few minutes & Turn off Heat
- Turn off fan and all lights
- Take a few deep breaths or meditate & fall asleep
Waking Up:
- Wake up early around 7-8 PM refreshed by the Sunrise Alarm :)
- Get out of bed & Make my bed
- Conquer the Early Morning
** Important - It is okay to be bored for a few minutes to fall asleep - REMEMBER - Do not grab electronic devices and use digital media at this point (You have made it this far). I strongly believe that a large part of my troubles in sleep have been caused by the rabbit holes of using digital media late at night. I can't sleep so I go on digital media and then I can't sleep because I am on digital media (This is a poor way of thinking; you need to accept the silence of the night and quiet your mind before you go to sleep, again it is OK to be bored, just take a few breaths and meditate but don't you dare grab that damn iPhone!)This is caused by our desire as millenials to be constantly entertained, but digital media interferes with your sleep cycle and can be a rabbit hole (especially Reddit or YouTube at the wee hours of night).
This is something I need to do not only because it's the right thing to do but my current sleep cycle is unsustainable. In fact, everyone needs to get up at a reasonable time and have a good sleep routine, especially when they start an internship, work full-time, or even start their own business & are self-employed. So, I plan on changing this and implementing my Sleep Hygiene system. I know depending on who you ask waking up at 7-8 PM may not seem like a difficult challenge, but it is my current challenge and I will tackle it as such and take the first step of resetting my internal alarm and circadian sleep patterns to normal.
Exercise & Fitness
To be honest, I have been slacking on going to the gym for the past few months. I fell off the wagon, and it happens to the best of us. However, I should have definitely gotten back on the wagon much sooner and I am planning on building back my fitness regimen I had earlier. My regimen can apply to pretty much everyone, and they may tailor it to their needs. If you are planning on going to the gym and building a routine but don't know what to do in the gym I will tell you the regimen I used to follow.
Workout Regimen: (I have linked Regimens for each Workout Day from BodyBuilding.com)
Depending on your schedule and your goals, I recommend going to the gym for 4-5 days a week (Pretty Consistent) or 5-6 days a week (Highly Consistent) for an hour or two per day. 4-6 days may seem like alot and it is alot. You will have days where you don't feel like going to the gym, especially when you first get started for the first week or get started again after falling off the wagon for a long time like I have. You will also have days where you don't feel like pushing yourself at the gym and you want to either leave early or half-ass your workout. And there will be other days where you say that you already went enough times for the week and you have other stuff to do.
Just remember that the fact that you are at the gym working out your body means that you are already ahead of most people. Don't compare yourself to others at the gym who might intimidate you because they look crazy ripped or fit. Just be consistent and be mindful of your progress. Try to go for more reps per set every week and increment your weights up every month so that you are pushing yourself further. You will feel better physically and mentally and you will realize that you have another thing to be proud of and look forward to in the day. Some days, going to the gym sucks and is a drag, but most days it can feel pretty damn good and you will feel good about yourself getting stronger everyday.
The 5 Factors of Working Out at the Gym:
- Go a consistent range of days (Eg. 5-6) every week
- Have a consistent workout routine to track progress more easily
- Perfect your form for each set so you are working out your muscles optimally
- Push yourself (Increment reps per set or weights up)
- Make sure to Drink plenty of water during your workout; Stretch before and after
- Have a protein shake afterwards to recover and build muscles faster
Read Alot of Books & Articles
I love reading books and articles and this is something I am doing well on even now. And I am not talking about reading boring, rote college textbooks 😌. Last night I read almost a 100 pages of a book! I read a lot of Non-Fiction New-York Times & Wall Street Journal Bestsellers. I'll read Bloomberg articles and random PDFs on topics that interest me as well. The other day I was reading a PDF about workforce disruption and I read a PDF about disruptive technology trends from ARK Invest. I read everything from neuroscience, human potential, self-help, entrepreneurship, finance & economics, Wall-Street, futurology, technology, AI & robotics, and disruption & innovation. I love reading because I love self-learning and I love learning about these topics which fascinate me.
Why You Must Read Alot
Reading also has a way of opening your mind up and exercising your brain by making you think more critically and creatively. It also is surprisingly fun when you are really into the book, you sort of feel fully immersed in the author's words and try to form pictures and mental models of the messages they are conveying. I would say that I am relatively articulate and have a pretty solid vocabulary and understanding of the topics I have mentioned above. I have become a better versed-writer and a more articulate speaker after reading books by these New-York Times Best Seller, so there is also the added benefit of that. It has not only made me a more critical thinker, but has also made a more creative, curious, forward-minded and lateral thinker.
Here is my reading list which includes completed, current & prospective books if you are interested.
My Reading List:
- Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
- Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
- The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler
- Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
- The Industries of the Future by Alec Ross
- The Internet of Money by Andreas M. Antonopoulos