#LEVELUP | 4 THINGS TO DO RIGHT NOW TO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE!

We all want to live our best lives, right? Unfortunately, we’re not Madden video game create-a-players. Sadly, we can’t turn fatigue & injuries off and be💯in every aspect of our lives, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.(That’d be rad though, huh?)

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Snap, back to reality. Here’s a look at what I’m actually doing, and you can too. The idea is to look holistically at 4 building blocks, and apply them regularly to #LevelUp today, this week, this summer, and life. And this goes for whatever you’re passionate about or good at: fitness, family, cooking, photography, mental health, creating the best summer ever, anything really.

If you’re looking to level up, here are 4 key things to help you live your best life right now.

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1️⃣Elevate Your Mindset

Start here. Understand how you’re fueling your mind, even before your feet hit the floor. Do you turn off your alarm, pick up your phone and check your favorite social media app or do a quick email scan? By doing this, you’re allowing others to shape your morning & your mood, so you have to audit those sources. Are you jumping right into drama? In the case of checking email “just to make sure nothing urgent happened overnight”, only to then snap off answers to 1 or 2 of those that only take a few minutes to reply, you’re starting the day on someone else’s terms, not yours. These actions can affect your mindset.

I start each day grateful that I woke up, which may sound cliche to some but it helps spur an optimistic perspective all day long. (If you hard look at the alternative, it might help with your perspective too.) I also start fresh, with a clean slate, and throw away failures or “wish-I-woulda’s” from the day before, and that allows me to make better micro-decisions early because I’m coming from a proactive place and not a reactive one.

If you want to go a step further, finding & understanding your “IT” is such an unlock. What makes you special, that you’re passionate about? What drives the fire inside you?

Once you have that, you have a launchpad to everything else. All of your daily micro-decisions can now be tied to something. They have purpose. YOU have purpose.

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2️⃣Take Action

You now have purpose and you’re feeling fired up to rock the day. GO! DO! Hydrate, then build daily #ActionEquity. This concept is at the heart of our #WalkTheWant tagline. You’ve talked about the want, now take action and walk the want. For us, “action” is often going out looking to create positive change in the world and coming home with stories of how we did. It’s doing activities we enjoy. It’s actually showing up to the gym to put in work to be in better shape, not for the Zac Efron-in-Baywatch abs, (regardless of what my ego tries to tell me), but because I want to have energy to run with my son AFTER I’ve worked all day and then worked out. Or because I want to be in shape for my yearly backpacking trip. It’s doing something daily that moves me toward the goal posts. It’s practicing a talent. It’s actually typing this post instead of *thinking I should* write this post and then publishing it instead of re-reading it repeatedly, trying to make it “perfect.” It’s calling a family member or friend to tell them I love them because talking to them enhances my mood. It’s lacing up the sneakers and going for that run — rain or shine. It’s getting up from your desk and taking an actual screen-time break. It’s going for a walk, getting some sunlight, fresh air and increasing mobility and circulation, which can create new perspective and provide inspiration. Its being kind and complimenting others and building them up. It’s all of that, and more.

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3️⃣Optimize Recovery

Okay, so you’ve been DOing. Has that led to you feeling stressed or tired? Often times, action leads to positive results which can lead to additional responsibilities and stress. Also, at some point you will hit a mental, or physical (metaphoric) wall. There’s this misconception that you have to hustle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so you can be trendy & add “24/7 hustler” to your Instagram bio. You physically can’t, no matter how much caffeine you pump into your system. Eventually, your body and mind need to rest & refuel. Have you heard the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup”? That’s because you need to fill yourself first. Only then can you begin to help those around you. And the more you fill yourself, the more you can do and the more people you can help. As my dude Gary Vaynerchuk is fond of saying, “It’s not about how much sleep you get, it’s about what you do when you’re awake.” So you CAN hustle AND rest.

Recovery for me often includes reading, audiobooks, podcasts, and mini-vacays to hotels. Recently, I’ve found a fondness of trips to the arcade for skee-ball, bowling, or shooting water cannons at a screen full of electronic zombies — of course, much to the delight and rambunctious laughter of a happy 4-year-old.

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4️⃣Embrace Nutrition

I’m not a nutritionist. But this can be a tough one. I know because I was sabotaging any success due to an an unhealthy addiction to caffeine, sugar and fast food, primarily Taco Bell. And while I worked out, I didn’t have nearly enough in the way of veggies, good fats, protein and water to counterbalance all the cheesy gordita crunches and energy drinks. I have changed though. I am making smarter decisions and learning to be mindful of what I’m putting into my body and how much — more water, vegetables and fruits, nutrients, quality foods, etc…and less fast food. But it’s not about completely depriving yourself of your favorite snacks, that’s no way to truly LIVE, especially if you have a fondness for certain sweets. It’s about moderation, discipline and listening to what your body is telling you it needs. And don’t beat yourself up over a sugar-binge or a fast-food weekend. It still happens to me. I just get back to oatmeal or eggs & avacado, or a homemade burrito full of veggies (shoutout to Lady Sipp who makes some legendary healthy burritos), healthy salads and PLENTY of water. I’ve even embraced nutrition to the point of gamifying water. I have little messages at different levels of my water bottle that inspire me to keep drinking. (I’m trying to find the best water-proof way to make these work because it makes drinking water fun and some of you have already asked for them.)

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I’m so pumped about life; about the present and the future; about he hope of something greater that awaits, and the joy of attaining it. We’re all capable of so much greater. Imagine if we all did a fraction of the things we know we should… We’re putting in work & making positive decisions to level up and build around these 4 things: mindset, action, recovery, and nutrition, and constantly finding ways to elevate, enhance, optimize, embrace, amplify each of these things throughout each week.

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#ThankYOU so much for your time and attention. Here’s to you leveling up, your success stories, and enjoying your best summer and best life period!

I’d love to hear your additions and perspectives in the comments below ⬇️⬇️⬇️