The First Thing You MUST Do After Waking Up.

I used to hate waking up in the mornings.

Absolutely hated it with every fibre of my being.

I always felt like I had to drag myself out of bed to get going, had zero energy to do anything in the morning and all I could think about was going back to bed.

I was pretty sure I was a nocturnal creature trapped in a human’s body.

Until I did this one thing which changed my mornings and started to make waking up in the mornings a whole lot less dreadful now.

It’s free, convenient and easy to do.

Drink 2 glasses of water right after you wake up.

This should be the first thing you do and think of when your alarm goes off.

Don’t reach out to your phone and check your emails.

Don’t roll around in bed hoping that a 5 or 10 minute snooze is going to make you get up from bed any easier instead.

And definitely don’t make up excuses to stay in bed any longer.

Get up and drink 2 glasses of water.

Actually, if you haven’t drank any water since you woke up, go and get your 2 glasses of water now!

Your body has gone for hours without water and it needs water to function optimally.

And dehydration = tiredness, lowered productivity and loss of focus.

That explains why we’re so sluggish and lethargic in the mornings, and possibly throughout the day too.

A lot of us tend to wake up in the mornings forgetting to prep ourselves for the day ahead.

Drinking water is just one of those ways to prep yourself for a long day ahead.

Sure, some of us may need a cup of coffee or tea to get by, but water works just as well with no side effects, if not better.

And drinking water isn’t just for the mornings after you wake up from sleep.

Drink a ton of it throughout the day too.

Drinking water has a lot of benefits that we overlook.

From being more productive, to having more energy and also being in a better mood.

Never underestimate what adequate hydration does for your body.

But of course, no amount of water will help you if you didn’t get enough sleep.

So.

Sleep well.
Drink plenty.

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The Simplest Way to Appreciate Others.

Make it a point to acknowledge the people around you.

You don’t have to think through what you want to say to them.

Just put on a smile and say a simple hi.

Let the conversation flow from there.

We neglect the value of a simple hi and a smile.

For some, it could even make their day.

Even if they don’t respond very enthusiastically to you, it gives them the impression that you’re an approachable and friendly person. Knowing that, they’re more likely to return the favour in the future.

Acknowledging others is a great way for them to feel appreciated, especially for people we’re not very close with.

Try it out one of these days as an experiment.

You might be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

All you have to do is just approach someone that you’re not very close with or rarely talk to, and just say hi with a genuine smile.

You might find yourself bonding with someone you never thought you’d be able to.
You might find yourself being friendlier and more open to others.
You might find that it’s actually not that hard to just approach someone and strike up a conversation.

It’s okay if nothing much happens after you’ve said hi.

That isn’t the point anyway.

It’s absolutely fine if there’s just silence after you’ve said hi.

It’s an experiment anyway so you don’t have to be hard on yourself.

Just have fun with it.

The point is to acknowledge others without expecting anything in return.

The focus is on the other person and how they feel, and by acknowledging them, you’re already making them feel good in some way.

Why People Dislike You.

Do you talk about yourself more than you listen to others?
Do you complain more than you compliment?
Do you do nothing when a situation calls for your help?

If you answered yes to almost all of the questions above, then you now know some of the reasons why people dislike you.

And there’s a common theme here in those questions.

People tend to dislike those who are selfish and negative.

When you talk about yourself more than you listen to others, you’re being selfish because it signals that you don’t care enough about the other person to listen about what they have to say.

When you complain more than you compliment, you’re being selfish and negative because you just want to talk about your problems and what’s bothering you instead of finding the good in things.

When you do nothing to provide help when it’s needed, you’re being selfish because you don’t care enough to lend a helping hand.

So whenever you’re going to react to a situation, think and ask yourself if your reaction will make you seem selfish or negative.

If it does, then it’s most likely a bad idea to execute said reaction.

It sounds weird to analyze our actions like this but that’s precisely the point – a lot of us don’t do that.

Then we end up offending others, they start talking behind our backs and it all escalates to unnecessary drama.

We don’t want any of that.

People love those who are kind, friendly and positive.

Just focus on these three traits and you’ll be instantly likeable to people around you.

Smile and laugh easily.
Be helpful and courteous.
Compliment and praise freely.

And do all of this genuinely.

A smile instantly makes you appear friendly and warm.
Helping others and being courteous signals to others that you’re kind and thoughtful.
And people love to be appreciated by your genuine compliments and praises.

Try to imagine and visualise how these actions will make the other person feel.

Put yourself in the shoes of the person who’s receiving all of the above actions.

How does it make you feel if someone were to do all the above actions to you?

Does it feel good to be helped and to receive compliments?

If I were you, I’d say definitely!

And those are just a few ways likeable people become likeable – by making others feel good with their presence.

How To Spot A Negative Person And Why You Should Get Rid Of Them.

Here are a few things that negative people tend to do ALOT:

• Complain / gossip
• Worry
• Tell you what to do
• React negatively to criticism
• Stay within their comfort zone

It’s fine and normal for a person to do any of the things mentioned above but if it’s happening excessively, then it’s a a big sign that the person could be negative and pessimistic.

These are the types of people you want to try and avoid.

Being around negative people is draining, uninspiring and you’ll tend to pick up after their negative ways. And we don’t want any of that.

This might mean cutting out friends and people that you’ve been with for a long time.

It’s one of the hardest things to do but it’s VERY liberating.

It’s even tougher if you’re living with them or if they happen to be one of your family members, but you can’t possibly live a happier and more meaningful life if you’re surrounded by negative energy.

Any source of negative energy has to go.

You’re doing yourself a disfavour by keeping them in your life.

There are a few ways you can do to start distancing yourself from them.

Say no to meet ups. Simply turn down their offers to meet up or hang out or chill. And have a real reason too, so don’t lie.

Stop replying and answering to their text messages and calls. I’m not suggesting you to flat out to stop answering every call or text message but you could slowly cut down the amount of contact

Expect bad reactions. You’ll know when you’ve distanced yourself from said negative person successfully when they talk about how further apart the both of you have been. They might even start behaving in a hostile way to try to get your attention. See this as a good thing and know that it will pass.

This all seems a bit selfish but it’s what’s needed.

You have to be willing to make sacrifices to live a better life and this is just one of them – cutting out toxic people from your life.

I’ll say again it’s tough, but it’s absolutely necessary.

Stop shooting yourself in the foot by surrounding yourself with negativity.

This Action Will Make You Instantly Positive And Grateful.

If you’re feeling down, low and depressed, know that there are others who are in a much worst situation than you are.

If you’re upset that you didn’t get to eat that super expensive dish for your birthday, realise that there are kids in the world who don’t have food to eat.

If you’re upset that you didn’t get to meet your boyfriend/girlfriend today, realise that there are long distance couples who don’t even get to see each other every week and relationships out there with abusive partners.

If you’re upset that you didn’t manage to clinch that business deal, realise that Tim Ferriss was turned down by 25 publishers before he found one to publish his work.

Realising that there are others who are in worse condition than you are is an instant mood changer.

If that doesn’t work, try watching a video or two about starving children or people living in poverty.

Seriously.

We take everything that we have for granted and we always want more and more and more and it never ends.

This has to stop sooner or later and realizing that there are others who are in far worse positions than you are is a big step in that direction.

Be kind to yourself and count your blessings.

Stop wanting and start appreciating.

Produce More Than You Consume.

We are all consumers by nature.

We go grocery shopping, we buy snacks and food to eat, we buy clothes to wear, and we watch movies and Youtube videos to de-stress and relax.

Sure some of these consumptions can’t be removed because we need them to live but there are others that are just unnecessary and useless.

The bad thing about consuming more and more is quite obvious – we waste more of our time, energy and our money.

Take watching Youtube videos for example.

It’s absolutely fine if you’re watching a few of them to de-stress after a long day but I know of people who fall into the trap of binge watching and they just spend countless hours watching videos on Youtube, mindlessly consuming video after video. I fall into this trap every now and then too.

Or let’s take consuming snacks as another example.

Sure consuming them every now and then is fine but then binge eating on the other hand becomes a problem. You start gaining weight, spending more money and your overall health starts to decline.

“Okay so over-consuming is bad but what do you mean by ‘produce’ then?”

Producing simply means creating.

We’re already producing in our 9-5 day jobs (although not for the entire duration).

We produce work on a daily basis, be it doing your homework if you’re a student, working on a project, churning out code if you’re a programmer or writing song lyrics if you’re a songwriter.

Anytime you’re working on something, you’re most likely producing.

And you have to start producing more than you consume.

“So how do you produce more than you consume then?”

You need to get a rough idea how much you’re producing and consuming on a typical day.

It’s hard to measure but you could get a rough estimate by examining your daily routine.

List out every action in your daily routine and also how long it takes to complete each of them.

After you’re done, count how many of those actions are ‘consuming’ ones and how many are ‘producing’ ones.

More often than not, we tend to have daily routines that involve more consuming than producing which isn’t very ideal.

You might be thinking that working a 9-5 job is already quite a large amount of hours producing but be honest and ask yourself if you’re really spending all that time producing.

You might also want to consider taking out some of those ‘consuming’ activities from your daily routine and start putting in more time to producing!

Churn out more ideas if you’re working on a project.
Write more if you’re planning to finish a book or report.
Code more if you’re a programmer.

Create more, consume less.

Attract Good Things Into Your Life (30-Day Experiment).

“If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand.”
– Bob Proctor

I’ve always been inspired by UFC fighter, Connor McGregor, and his beliefs in the power of the mind.

He always talks about the power of visualisation – how he always visualizes success and victory even in times of struggle.

He replays images of his fights in his head, how he counters his opponent’s right hook, how he’s going to win his matches, even calling the match down to the round number.

And now he’s the UFC lightweight champion.

He’s proof that our minds and thoughts will ultimately become a reality.

See it as if it has already happened in your mind.

And then work towards it.

It’s just a matter of time before it happens and manifests before you.

Believe and work towards it.

You just have to continue working and believing in the vision while it’s coming your way.

It’s called the law of attraction.

And I’m embarking on this 30-day experiment to see what it does for me and how much it’ll impact the quality of my life. Actually it’s currently day 12 for me now.

I’ve always heard about it but I’ve never really given it a serious shot so I decided to commit a month to try this out for myself and you’re free to join me in this journey too!

For the entire journey/experiment, I’ll be dedicating some time before I sleep to visualise my goals and ambitions.

I also have a ‘Law Of Attraction List’ note in which I list down all the things related to my health, wealth, personality and spirituality that I want to attract.

For something that requires very little effort (it’s just visualising and believing right?), the benefits and returns have been quite shocking so far.

Really.

But I’m not going to spoil the fun for you though.

Try it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.