20 Daily habits for optimal energy

1. Set a positive intention for the day ahead upon waking. Set your inner compass for a great day. Be grateful to be alive and positive in that you can achieve your goals.
2. Let there be real light and not fake light. Hence, do not look at your phone or computer. Do not turn on lights to go to the toilet. Where possible ensure your first light is natural light to wake you and your hormones up.
3. Tongue scraping is easy and cool to do. it eliminates built up toxins from your tongue accumulated whilst you slept. Best to get rid of these before drinking your water. Or you could simply tape your mouth like I do before sleeping.
4. Re-hydrate yourself after becoming dehydrated whilst you slept. I personally have 3 big glasses of water. The first is plain water. Then I have one with baking soda and apple cider vinegar (this alkalizes your body but also has a laxative effect so be careful here) and one with European bottled water and lemon juice. I always prefer my water cold for the positive metabolic effects upon my body.
5. Morning sun on your skin and in your eye clock is critical. This helps set your circadian rhythms and sets an hormonal cascade from your pituitary gland.
6. When getting your dose of morning sun energy try and be bare footed for the benefit of the Earths magnetic energy. We get energy from the sun and the ground. It is free.
7. Gratitude exercise is essential in today’s hectic pace of living. I do gratitude journaling in the sun whenever possible and add in positive affirmations too.
8. Breathing exercises such as Wim Hof, Buteyko etc. can also be relaxing and a form of meditation. Meditation is also beneficial so as to calm your mind and body. 4-7-8 breathing is also good as well as remembering that it is always best to breathe in through your nose. There is a great book called “Shut Your Mouth”.
9. Nitric oxide release exercise is also fun and easy. It takes just minutes and is excellent for blood circulation. Google Dr. Zach Bush and nitric oxide to see his short video. I also spin to my right 33 times because it makes me feel good. No medical reason. I just like it. Now I live in the Southern Hemisphere I spin to my left.
10. Eat breakfast like a king to also assist with your circadian sleep cycle. I try and eat within the light cycle of the sun and prefer my biggest meal to be in the morning. I personally greatly limit my eating after dark with my last food consumed at around 4pm. This then means I have a natural regular intelligent fast of 16 hours if I have a big breakfast at 8am or so the following day.
11. Eat food that nourishes and energizes your brain and body. These foods would include seafood, eggs, leafy green vegetables, quality grass fed meats, good fats like olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil. Nuts (not peanuts), dark chocolate, seasonal vegetables and fruits are good but the quantity depends on your context. If unhealthy and / or not getting much sun for the day I would restrict fruits.
12. Snacking less often will be easy once you eat more energy dense food and enjoy more energy from the sun and ground.
13. Avoid the temptation to eat fake, low energy, nutrient deficient food stuff like vegetable oil, sugar, low fat anything, grains, processed food, processed meats, soy, corn, white potatoes and most legumes (hard to digest).
14. Maximize your sun exposure any time throughout the day. Do not get sun burned obviously but enjoy sensible sun exposure on as much skin as you can. I so not wear hats or sunglasses any more.
15. Limit use of fake indoor lights and gadgets throughout entire day. This is especially important at night. I use blue light blocking glasses at night and cover my skin from the fake light too.
16. Walk more and be more active throughout the day. You will be more energized with your Primed lifestyle so put that energy to good use. Walk to appointments where possible. Use a stand up desk etc.
17. Connect with people personally and less over computers and cell phone devices. We need to reconnect with people and get physical contact with people we care about. Hugs are a great source of the beneficial oxytocin that makes you feel great.
18. Learn more so as to exercise your mind. Listen to an educational podcast. Read a hard cover book. talk to an elder and learn the lessons they have to share.
19. Try Virgin Coconut Oil oil pulling for oral health. VCO is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and antimicrobial so as to kill harmful germs in your mouth. I oil pull as part of a walk / jog to Primed meetings so as to get the added benefit of nose breathing muscle memory.
20. Prioritize sleep. All 19 points above will help you sleep early, deeper and longer. Wind down without gadgets at least an hour before bed and see the 20 Sleep Hygiene Habits later in this book. Remember that you only regenerate and repair when you sleep. This is when all your fabulous stored sun, ground and food energy is able to do its physiologic work so you can be refreshed for another great day tomorrow.

My story:

The habit that helped me the most was to eat a great energy and nutrient dense breakfast like eggs and seafood with leafy greens. This allowed me to power through busy days without needing to eat again till late afternoon. I also love my habit of getting morning sun and doing that with bare feet.

Analogy:

Mike changed just two morning habits. He changed from oats to eggs. He got more morning sun. He felt more energized. Of course. He MUST because the energy inputs were increased because eggs have more enegy than the simple carbohydrate oats and the sun is free energy (as well as blood flow, stored energy on skin, dopamine, beta-endorphin, vitamin D etc.)

Food for thought?:

One small habit change can have a profound effect. The effect can be magnified many times to your advantage (or disadvantage). Consider the habit of waking with positive intent for a great day and a heart of gratitude. Now compare that to thinking about what could go wrong and thinking negative thoughts of anyone?

If you tend to have negative thoughts learn to flip it. Develop the habit of opposition thinking where you do not look at the bad in the person but what good there is and what lessons the person taught you. Sometimes the lesson is to no longer associate with that negative, poor influence person who has bad manners and bad habits.

Really take note of what the vibrant, energetic and kind people do.

See the light:

Do you want your first thought in the morning to be of positive intent and success or full of negativity?

Do you want your first light to be natural sun light or fake cell phone light?

Do you want to have a better sleep?

Do you want to have more positive energy inputs in your life and less energy drainers?

It is up to you. Start adding in GREAT habits and these will crowd out the old unhealthy habits. Then build on that and do more good and less bad.

Concentrate on the positives like breathing fresh, clean air. Loving natural light. Loving life giving, energizing quality water. Like LOVING great food that supports hard working farmers and not people in factories that put fake food into packets.

Did you know?:

You can break your bad habits faster than the 21 day mantra quite often quoted. Set your intention upon waking, take a multi-level holistic approach and go for it.

I have written this book so you can prioritize the habits that might have the most impact and lead to sustained success. These habits include natural light, water and grounding as priorities. Also real food and gratitude practices as well as trying to avoid eating late and prioritizing sleep. Thse are cool habits upon which to build even more positive habits.

Lastly, do not feel bad if you are not perfect and you slip up. Remember our Better Every Day mantra? It is not about perfection as that is too lofty a goal for anyone and not sustainable long-term.

I would add that the sicker you are the more urgent developing fun, energizing habits become. Analyze your goals often.

Take action:

Tick the habits you are already doing.

Highlight and write out the habits you wish to implement / improve upon.

Think about the other habits and have a time frame to incorporate them into your life if you think they might be of value to try.

Take note of the habit changes and feel the impact on your body and brain. If positive impact ensues then maintain and improve.

For anything negative limit and reassess why.

Your individual context of where you live, your lifestyle and other environmental factors influence your energy production and flow (mitochondrial activity) more than your food but also dictate what food might be best for you.