I have an excellent mentor who shared some tips with me to establish a morning routine and to help me get my day started right. One of those tips is reading through a grateful list. I read through it each morning before doing anything else. Here are a few morning gratitude practices you might consider to start your day right:

1. Have a grateful list - As I mentioned, a grateful list is a useful tool of mine. It gets my thinking oriented to gratefulness and reminds me that no matter the challenges in my life, I have plenty to be grateful for.
2. Spend time reflecting - I’m not as good at this one, but I think it’s important to have a certain amount of time every day to reflect and think without being distracted with an audio or computer. This is a practice that can help us ‘stop and smell the roses.’
3. Go for a walk - A good way to reflect on gratefulness is in nature. For me, nature brings a lot of peace in my mind and is a reminder that as humans we were made to be outside and appreciate the fresh air.
4. Tell someone you appreciate them - Why not practice gratitude by simply sharing or telling someone you are grateful for them. You could do this in person or through a note.
5. Say ‘I am grateful’ several times per day - It’s one thing to think it but words have power and it’s good for our ears to hear we are grateful. Heard and practiced often enough, we become grateful people.

All of these practices will continue to be opportunities for my personal growth. I have heard it said that you can’t be grateful and frustrated at the same time.

I know that water is the most important health choice I can make. It’s the fuel for the body and according to most sources our body is 60% water. When we are dehydrated our systems shut down and this impacts our functioning in all areas of life.

That said, I haven’t always done a great job of making sure I’m hydrated and getting at least half my body weight in ounces of water per day. Here are a few hydration hacks I use to make sure I don’t forget to drink:

1. I use the WaterMinder app - I use the app to log my water intake as well as receive notifications or reminders when I need to drink.
2. I use a 25 oz Yetti water bottle - I keep it full on my desk as well as take it to the gym. My goal is to drink 4 - 5 bottles per day.
3. I think about dividing my day - If I divide my day into quarters, it helps me know when I need to have drunk a certain amount of water. Obviously, I don’t want to be chugging a bunch of water right before I go to bed so I try to cut off in the evening.
4. I use my Whoop - My Whoop measures the impacts of hydration on my daily recovery. I log it in my journal and then can see the impact on my recovery score.
5. I get around fit people - If you want to be inspired, it’s often helpful to get to the gym around other inspiring people who are working out and staying fit!

I’m curious to know your hydration hacks. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

To me stress is an indicator that I have a lot going on and I actually like that. I like to stay busy because busy creates momentum. That said, the feeling of stress is an indicator usually when overwhelmed. It’s recognizing the signal that I need to gain new perspective or reset my thoughts because I only feel what I think. After recognizing it, here are simple strategies I use to manage stress and reset:

1. I go for a walk or exercise - For me, I can’t be stressed and exercise at the same time. I get my mind focused on the walk or exercise and my mind can’t be focused on more than one thing, so I drop whatever was stressing me and focus on my health.
2. I pull away and read - Reading is another great way to deal with stress. I go to my current reading list, read from my Bible or read over affirmations to change my thoughts about work or whatever is stressing me.
3. I take a nap - If my body isn’t adequately rested it’s not going to perform properly. I know that when I don’t have enough rest I will often lack focus and become more easily agitated. A nap helps me restore my system.
4. I listen to music - Music can often take us to a different place. It’s a great mood and mindset changer for me when I listen to Christian music or some of the latest pop hits.
5. I journal - Writing is probably the best way for me to get control of my thoughts. That’s actually one of the reasons why I’m writing a post per day for the next 30 days. It helps me focus on something besides work. I use the Day One app to journal and it’s handy because I can just type away on my phone, computer or iPad.

I know there are many other ways to manage stress but this list includes my favorites. Not bad, huh?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Admittedly, I’m not great at this. Somedays I feel like I am moving from one task or activity to another without any rest. But stillness is important. Spiritually, it helps me let go and let God. Stillness provides rest and clarity for me. Here are 3 ways I am striving to make time for stillness:

1. Quiet time in the morning - I have found a great time for stillness and quiet is the early morning. I have morning routine that includes time for my spiritual disciplines and reading. This is often the best time of my day because it’s time to reset and refocus.
2. Walks without electronics - I have recently started taking some walks without my phone or with my phone but not listening to any audios. I like this because I can unplug but sometimes it’s nice to listen to something with positive input.
3. Meditation apps - There are lots of apps you can download and listen to that help you focus your mindset. I like Abide which is a Christian meditation app that allows me to select different lengths of meditations depending on how long I need to refocus.

I know there are many other ways to make time for stillness such as sitting in nature. I think the key is to be intentional about it.

Here are 5 small changes I think anyone can make to improve mental wellness:

1. Drink more water - Download a water tracker app and drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day. I’m not a nutritionist but water keeps your system working properly, including your brain.
2. Take breaks from social media - I can’t stress this one enough because I do believe it leads to more stress and wasted time. Micro learning on social media is good, but in balance. Endless scrolling is letting others steer the ship in terms of what goes into your brain.
3. Go for walks - Nothing beats a good walk on a sunny day. Vitamin D and fresh air. I love going for walks! Bonus - go without your phone.
4. Focus on gut health - It’s been said by experts that gut health is the second brain and impacts all aspects of your body. I drink Nutrilite Begin™ Daily GI Primer each morning as well as take an excellent probiotic.
5. Smile - I once heard it is healthy to do smile - ups (like pull - ups) each day to practice getting your happiness going. That’s a joke but when you smile, often times you’ll get one in return. Who doesn’t like to receive a friendly smile?
6. Have a rest day - I like Sundays for a rest day to spend time to reset, refocus and rest for the week ahead.

There you have it. Just a few things I’ve incorporated into my life that have been helpful.

I love rest days and usually take one on Sundays if I had to pick a certain day. I’m also paying more attention to the importance of sleep to increase my performance in all areas of life, including the gym. Here are 4 reasons rest days are important to me:

1. No one can go 100% all the time. A rest day is good for physical health, but also mental health.
2. I believe in a biblical sabbath and taking a day of rest to recenter and refocus on God. It’s only because of Him I have the health to perform.
3. I believe rest has a compounding effect just like exercise. Overtime, the results are exponential and can perform at higher levels.
4. Rest days and periods provide time for muscle recovery and growth. I know that muscles need time to repair in order to hit new levels of growth. This is especially important if you hit weightlifting hard at the gym.

Two products I’m using related to recovery and rest are CBD cream and my Whoop. Whoop calculates measurements such as my sleep, recovery and overall strain. It helps me know when my body is ready to go or when I need to rest and recover. I also use a high-quality CBD cream to reduce muscle soreness from the gym and aid my recovery. Check out the links to both products to learn more.