POSITIVE ADDICTION #1: RELENTLESS EARLY MORNINGS

If you are one of those who believe the saying “The early bird catches the worm” simply means the worm should have slept longer, it is time to change that belief.

I get up at 6:00 a.m. every day . . . including weekends. It is quiet time . . . time to think and plan.

It probably won’t surprise you that there is a growing body of scientific research that shows the benefits of rising early:

          •    Morning people are more proactive and positive, therefore, more likely to succeed.

          •    Morning people accomplish more. They don’t just promise, they actually do it.

          •    Morning people receive better grades, go to better colleges, and get better job opportunities, all leading to better relationships throughout life.

          •    These are not flukes or coincidences. Morning has been proven by researchers to be the time people are the most full of hope and optimism, therefore the best time to make good decisions.1

If you are not already a morning person, let me give you some advice on how to change and incorporate Positive Addiction number one into your personal life:

          1.    Do it slowly. If you normally get up at 7:30 a.m. . . . set your alarm one minute earlier every day for three months. If you normally get up at 8:00, set your alarm one minute earlier every day for four months. Easy.

          2.    Cut back on your TV time and go to bed earlier. Studies show that watching television for long periods of time not only damages your chances of success, but also cuts five years off your life.²

                     The other reason to cut back on TV time, especially late-night TV, is that it features negative and depressing shows about violent and dysfunctional people and it’s filled with advertisements about ambulance-chasing lawyers, bad credit, bankruptcy, and drugs. I call this late night TV wasteland “junk food for the mind” because watching these depressing shows and advertisements has about the same effect as putting junk food into your body. It is poison. The last images you watch at night will be the images you dream about all night long. This is the exact opposite of the positive way I want to wake up each morning.

          3.    Do you have trouble sleeping? Don’t worry. As you read on and adopt several of the Positive Addictions that follow, you will be ensured of sleeping soundly, without drugs. If you need another energy boost during the day, although it is something I have never needed or done, new research has shown that a short power nap boosts immunity, reduces stress, and repairs damage from a lack of sleep.3

Once you’re getting up early, what’s the first thing you should do in the morning? Take relentless early morning walks!

Here are a few words of wisdom about walking from great thinkers of history:

          •    “Walking is man’s best medicine.”—Hippocrates

          •    “Of all exercises walking is the best.”—Thomas Jefferson

          •    “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.”—Friedrich Nietzsche

          •    “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”—Henry David Thoreau

          •    “No city should be too large for a man to walk out of it in a morning.”—Cyril Connolly

          •    “My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.”—Aldous Huxley

          •    “The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.”—Charles Dickens

          •    “It is not talking but walking that will bring us to heaven.”—Matthew Henry

          •    “In the morning a man walks with his whole body; in the evening, only with his legs.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

          •    “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”—John Muir

          •    “Take a two-mile walk every morning before breakfast.”—Harry Truman (advice on how to live to be 80 on his 80th birthday)

          •    “It is solved by walking.”—Ancient Latin Proverb

          •    “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”—Chinese Proverb

          •    “If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”—Raymond Inmon

Clearly I can’t take credit for being the first to see the benefit of a morning walk. And with all these testimonials, I doubt any of you can question the benefits. Let me tell you why a morning walk is so important to me . . . and why it will be to you also.

          •    Starting my day with exercise is a perfect way to set the tone for the day—positive and action-oriented.

          •    Just being outside walking and looking at nature provides me mental relaxation and reduces stress.

          •    Sunshine produces Vitamin D and releases positive endorphins in my body.

          •    Being alone and communing with nature, I have time to pray and express my gratitude to God.

          •    I earn my breakfast by exercising before I eat.

Perhaps the most important thing I do on my morning walk is “think.” Because I’m outdoors amongst nature and fresh air . . . in a positive mood because my skin is soaking up Vitamin D and my body is in motion . . . many great ideas come to me while I’m out walking in the morning. During my morning walks at my homes in Las Vegas and Park City, Utah, I have had many of my greatest inspirations.

On a macro scale, my walks have been where I’ve come up with the ideas for books to write, television shows to produce, and new businesses to launch.

The benefits of a walk, just like the benefits of sleep, have been shown by scientific research. But for all you gym rats, did you know that researchers at Glasgow University have reported jogging or walking outdoors is TWICE as good as a workout in the gym for mental health?4

Research also shows:

          •    A jog in the forest or walk in the park helps depression and anxiety.

          •    Being around trees and grass lowers brain stress level.

          •    Activities in a natural outdoor environment were the only ones shown to be associated with a lower risk of poor mental health.

          •    Exercise in a gym is good for your physical health, but it does NOT lift depression.

There are a host of other health benefits to be gained from walking—starting with weight loss, reduction in your chances of cancer (in particular breast cancer), dramatically lower mortality rates from diabetes, reduction in high cholesterol, and lower rates of dementia.⁵

To succeed in this competitive world, you need every edge you can get. Waking up early is a real edge. So are my other Positive Addictions—all of which are quite naturally done in the early morning, at a time when your brain is most positive, creative, and receptive to new ideas.