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MONDAY MOTIVATION

It’s Monday morning, the weekend was a blur, the alarm clock just went off at 6am and you’re telling yourself “just one more minute of sleep and I’ll be good.” If you’re like me, you typically sleep 4-6 hours a day, have several alarms on your phone, and very seldom get up before the last one goes off!

Monday mornings can be as painful as stubbing your big toe on the edge of the bed, but just like the pain we feel at that moment eventually goes away, (usually after a few pleasantries or expletives whichever comes first) the pain we feel whether aches, fatigue or just a plain case of the not ready to adult-itis, the grogginess will subside if we walk it out and keep moving forward.

Forward to handle our personal care and hygiene, forward to get the kids ready for school, forward to iron our clothes, forward to prepare for the day the best we can and head to work. Even with a daily routine that may feel as monotonous as Bill Murray waking up in the movie “Groundhog Day,” we have to make forward progress to ensure we’re reaching our goals or accomplishing our daily tasks consistently.

American TV host, actress, and author Mel Robbins wrote a book titled “The 5 Second Rule.” She had great insight and the idea to count backwards from 5 like a NASA space shuttle launch before getting out of bed. When we reached 1, we’d jump out of the bed and start our day. Not only did she use this idea to help her get things going in the morning, Ms. Robbins used this approach in decision making as she revealed that we have five seconds before our brain either accepts or denies an idea and acts on it (The 5 Second Rule Right Attitudes.com). 

I thought this concept was intriguing because some decisions we may need to make quickly without spending too much time on it (getting up for work or going to gym for example). This doesn’t mean we don’t plan out our day, but making decisions that are going to help create positive/productive habits, can be beneficial to prepare us to tackle our Monday and work week. 

Monday’s can set the tone or tempo for the entire week if we let it; so it’s important to start the week motivated and prepared as possible. Whether you use the Launch Approach or the “Here we go again but Thank God For A New Day Let’s Go” approach (after shaking off the sleepiness, a cup of coffee, and personal pep talk of course); getting up, preparing for the day, staying positive, and believing today will be a great, is half the battle of conquering the Monday Blues. Remember, we got this! Let’s own the day and make it great! Happy Monday! Happy Work Week!

Check out one of my most engaging blog posts “The Big Shift” below! Appreciate your support! Have a Great Year!

The Big Shift

STAY HYDRATED

So I was watching YouTube one morning and stumbled upon a video discussing kidney stones and what we can do to help prevent them. Not sure how I made it there from watching investing videos, but YouTube is known for leading us down a rabbit hole of randomness. The video struck a nerve though and made me think about my personal health more. It also made me think about drinking more water as kidney stones are something I never want to experience.

Staying hydrated and eating foods that are high in citrate like oranges, yogurt, and lemons can help prevent stones from forming. This is due to the reduction of supersaturation in urine and crystal growth prevention. It can also help with the volume of urine our kidneys produce (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

Basically it helps our kidneys create pee that extracts all the necessary waste out of our bodies. Pretty cool, right?! I thought so when I read it too! Our bodies are amazing and staying hydrated plays a vital role in our overall health and functionality. According to caryortho.com the institution of medicine suggests we drink 8 to 13 cups (1 cup equates to 8 fluid ounces) of water a day depending upon how active we are. Some sports drinks can help with hydration as well due to the electrolytes in them.

But nothing beats good ole H20! Whether in the summertime, fall, or winter, we want to do our best to stay hydrated. Coupled with vitamins and exercise, drinking water can help our bodies fight off diseases and boost our immune system. Drinking water before we’re thirsty, can help us hydrate more effectively, however, drinking when we’re thirsty can help us better regulate our water intake.

There are numerous benefits of drinking more water: healthier heart and joints, stronger immune and digestive system, glowing skin, but I want to focus on increasing our energy level and brain functions. (https://www.caryortho.com/6-benefits-of-staying-hydrated/).

Drinking 8 to 12 ounces of water in the morning before eating or drinking anything else, can help kick start our day! It can help us concentrate, help with fatigue, and improve our mood overall. We can set a timer to help us remember to drink water or try to drink more water with our meals each day. I love drinking coffee in the morning, but drinking water first thing can help us wake up and get focused as well.

Have a big meeting to attend? Try drinking some water to see if it helps with anxiety and focus. Don’t drink too much though or you may be doing the pee-pee dance and that’s not fun in a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting, especially when your hosting it… But since drinking more water in my diet, it seems like I have a little more energy, especially first thing in the morning. It has helped some with fatigue I deal with as well, but I’m still a beginner water consumerer (yes I just made that word up, smiley face). Hopefully I’ll graduate to an advanced water drinker one day!

Staying hydrated spiritually (prayer, reading the Word and self-help/motivational books, meditation, exercise, spending time with loved ones) can help with our overall health and focus for the day as well (https://www.kevinathompson.com/spiritually-dehydrated/ ).

Taking time to make sure we’re preparing ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually each day, can yield positive results: in our performance at work, quality of time spent at home, and in our everyday activities completing tasks. So if you’ve thought about drinking more water, today would be a good day to start! Enjoy your day and remember the benefits of staying hydrated!

*Latest Blog Post and Podcast Episode*

“Quiet Quitting: Thinking Outside The Generational Box” Available Below: