A Stranger in a Strange World

A tool I've found to be effective in helping me find motivation during the humdrum of the day to day monotony of life is reframing how I think about certain tasks. There are activities we know to be beneficial for our well-being yet for one reason or another it's all too hard to accomplish them. Here's how I break through that wall: rather than thinking that I have  to do something, I think that I get  to do something. A simple yet effective technique. I don't have  to exercise, I get  to exercise. I don't have  to meditate, I get  to meditate. I don't have  to read, I get  to read. Because at the end of the day taking care of our minds and bodies feels nice. We don't have to do anything in life, we're just fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do all the bizarre hobbies we find along our path in this mad world. Ask yourself: what do you think you have  to do that you actually get  to do?

Establishing a morning routine has been instrumental in motivating me to be productive on a day to day basis. After expressing my gratitude to the universe I take what I like to call "an internal shower." I have a liter of water by my bedside and chug the entirety of it before even getting out of bed. This rehydrates my body,  gets my digestive system moving, and wakes me up. Next I meditate . Some days my practice is as short as 2 minutes while other days I devote 15 minutes of my day to improving my mind and spirit. There are many types of meditation available to me but my primary practice is mindfulness. Mindfulness is focused on observing the breath and being in the present. Occasionally I'll dabble in transcendental, contemplative, & metta (loving-kindness) meditation as a way of keeping things interesting. At least once a week I utilize visualization techniques as a form of meditating on what I want from my future. Following my meditation session, I make...