My Quest to Be Better - Part 3

Continuing with my Quest to Be Better, part of the lesson that I've learned so far is that having a better day and operating more effectively is not only about exercise and nutrition. Self regulation is also part of continuous self improvement and a main component in My Quest to Be better.

This epiphany came months into My Quest. I was so laser focused on tracking steps and water and sugar intake that I didn't prioritize or really even consider the impact that my emotions have on my overall well being. We are sometimes so focused on "doing" that we forget about the importance of "stopping."

Like most other homes where weekdays typically start with a cacophony of noise with everyone getting ready for work or school and rushing not to be late, the thought of stopping to breathe sounds preposterous. Thoughtout my entire life my focus has been on completing the task at hand to the best of my ability and moving on to do the same with another task. Powering through seems to be ingrained in us from an early age in the US. Throughout my decades of travels, this is a key difference that is often apparent between culture in the US and many other countries. People in a lot of other countries actually know how to relax.

I started with a changing a couple parts of the morning routine that I realized could be more relaxed. I realized that the bright lights all turned on first thing in the morning provided a very abrupt start for everyone's nervous systems. This is an easy change that can have a big impact on the start of the day.

The second item was noise level. I admit that I'm not the best at regulating how many decibels come out of my mouth at any given time. I made a conscious effect to consistently decrease my volume in the mornings. This may seem like an obvious fix to many people, but I never thought that such an easy change could have a big impact. Everyone in my family was less stressed in the morning when the noise level of the house decreased significantly. And since I am one of the noisiest things in the house, I have a huge impact on setting the tone. With this change, everyone moved at a more relaxed pace, enjoyed their coffee a little longer, and kept their noise levels down.

The third change was consistently playing music at a low volume. There is a reason why ambient music is so popular - it sets the tone of the situation. Playing soft music at a very low volume facilitates relaxation. When I did this consistently in the mornings with my family, everything was more relaxed, even if it wasn't apparent to us all that music was playing because the volume was so low.

If you're ever online you have probably seen that stress can have a signficiant and negative impact on our bodies causing fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, rapid heart rate, and other health issues. So by flipping the script and changing the tone and decibel level of our mornings, we can set our bodies up to operate more effectively during the day. In addition, being more relaxed allows us to think more clearly and move through our day more deliberately instead of only reacting to whatever comes our way. These are huge benefits from making such small changes to the start of your day.

Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of My Quest to Be Better. Stay tuned for more about My Quest to Be Better.