When Do You Feel Your Best
When do you feel your best?
Your body is constantly giving you feedback about how it is doing. I’m sure you are well aware when your body is not at its best–you feel the aches, pains, lack of energy, and signals that you’re not 100%. This negative feedback is important to pay attention to and hopefully, you are able to make adjustments to address them, but if what we hear and see from friends, family, and our social networks, most people are not. It’s become normal to have ailments and not feel at our best and just to push through or take a pill.
Before I finish today’s note, I do want to acknowledge that I understand there are health ailments and situations where pushing through is the only option. I know that not everyone is in a position to escape their body’s issues and feel 100%...although I would encourage anyone in this situation to keep reading and consider what the rest of the note is going to say—even if you can improve how you feel by a little bit, that’s an improvement.
Even if you usually feel less than 100%, there have been days when you woke up and just felt great. Or, at the end of the day when you are usually exhausted and achy, you aren’t ready to slow down because you feel energized. Reflect on these days to determine what your body needs (or doesn’t need) to feel best.
Think back—what did you do?
Did you do anything differently?
What did you not do?
What could have led to your improved performance?
Maybe it was too long ago to remember what you did on your last great day, or the days leading up to that day. If you can’t recall, make a conscious effort to pay more attention to how you feel each day and make note of what makes you feel even the slightest bit better each day.
Make a list.
As your list grows begin to prioritize those activities and see if you begin to feel better. Connect with your body by being more aware of the signals it is sending you and look to increase the positive signals by giving it more of what makes you feel good. Listen to your body…it will tell you everything you need to know about what it needs and doesn’t need. Most of us are too busy and distracted to pay attention, except for the negative signals we receive because it causes discomfort and pain.
Over the weekend, I noticed that I felt really good Friday evening. It was a few hours after a late afternoon workout and I felt energized, I felt lean and strong, and I just felt good. I even told my wife that I loved how I felt—it was all internal, it was a feeling nothing about the outside of my body. I was able to connect that feeling back toward the end of 2022 and the beginning of this year when I felt like I was operating at 110% pretty much every day.
I know exactly what my body needs to feel its best, although I’m embarrassed to admit I’m not always giving it what it wants. I wish I could tell you I’ve mastered the art of always doing what I know my body needs but like you, there are distractions, interruptions, and excuses I fall back on.
To feel my best, I know I need to:
Wake up early.
Do some breathwork exercises, meditate, and journal.
Do a short workout like a Peloton Ride or Tonal workout–ideally both.
Yoga at 9:30.
Eat 2 clean meals–usually lunch and dinner but can be a late breakfast and dinner.
Spend time outside in the sun (when weather permits).
Get to bed before 11:00.
It’s really not complicated.
I know these activities, combined with being around people I love and enjoy, having time to create, and spending time outside when the weather is nice will allow me to feel my best. And most days, I’ll get a good amount of them in but sometimes I’ll get to bed late which will lead me to sleep in a little later and not having time to do my morning routine before Leo wakes up. Each day I miss those activities I get frustrated with myself because I know I feel more energized, focused, and at my best.
I’m always working at being more disciplined to make sure I never miss or deviate from these activities…I won’t pretend that I’m doing these every day.
An observation I think is worth pointing out: it’s not a coincidence that the activities that allow me to feel and be my best fuel and connect my spirit, mind, and body.
Can you list the activities that you know will make you feel your best if you just get them in every day?
If you can, how can you begin to make sure you do as many of them as possible each day?
If not, I encourage you to begin working on putting together your list–a little trial and error may be necessary, but take note of what makes you feel better and try to do more of whatever that may be. And if you’re not sure where to start, look to how you can bring more attention and care to your spirit, mind, and body.
Disclaimer: Since I’m not a doctor, I want to stress the importance of talking with a healthcare professional as you begin to make changes to make sure you are in a position to be able to do so and don’t cause more harm to your body in your attempt to feel better.
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
