I recently heard a quote by Naval Ravikant, an Entrepreneur and successful angel investor.
“Modern man is mentally overstimulated, physically inactive, and overfed. Rely on meditation, exercise, and fasting to restore your natural balance.”
Naval Ravikant
The quote helped remind me to be more mindful, and slow life down my life. Specifically, as we tend to be, we can enter busy periods in our lives where we put our self-care behind us. However, too much of that can also lead to burnout.
Being reminded of all this, I decided to put my self-care practices first, even ahead of my busy schedule. Overall, I feel mentally sharp, have more energy, and feel present living each day.
1. Conquering Mental Overstimulation
When I get stressed, instead of working on the blog, art, or other activities that bring me joy – I spend time on my phone. Which we know is not the best for us mentally. The whole reason for this post is Apple sent the ScreenTime notification, and I was appalled at the amount of time I spent on the phone.
To limit screen time, I minimized screen time and was very deliberate when going on the internet. Such as, “I am only going on the internet to find vegetarian recipes” or to check email.
With the extra downtime, I reflected on what my ideal life means to me, practiced more meditation, and enjoyed quiet activities like reading or drawing.
At the end of the day, I noticed I was happier, more satisfied with what I accomplished, and relaxed – letting me get even better sleep!
2. Getting Active
I work in a job that promotes a sedentary lifestyle. With long hours and most of them while sitting down.
I made a point to exercise every single day – some days it was HITT exercises in my apartment, others it was a light run, and some days I simply walked around the neighborhood enjoying the nice weather. What is important is doing exercise every single day, at least 30 minutes if possible.
I also worked on improving my posture at work. Mainly I’ve found a few exercises that have improved my posture.
- Feet shoulder-width apart, almost parallel but pointing slightly away from each other.
- Send your shoulders back, shoulder blades should be flat against the back and at a position where you can squeeze them together. Lift your heart.
- Bring your hips forward till about 1/3 of your weight comes onto the balls of your feet and your glutes engage.
3. Restoring the Natural Balance
For fasting, I limited the amount of processed food that I allowed myself to have. Instead of stress eating sweets, I would have fruit or not even have the food if I realized it was a form of stress eating.
From there, it became easier to look for other healthier choices, like eating more vegetarian-based meals and limiting my intake of meat (which always makes me a little tired).
With the increased discipline and energy being restored, I was able to be conscious of my choices, increase my energy, and focus on actions that helped me in the long run.
Conclusion
By limiting screen-time, being deliberate with choices, and being mindful in the moment – you can slowly re-take each day from a miasma of busy and work, to one where you feel confident and in charge.
Don’t get me wrong, the stress didn’t go away – but I did have more clarity and energy to tackle the problem, which led to an increased sense of confidence.
Key Take-Aways
- Modern life has made it so we are over-stimulated on activities that only benefit us in the short-term
- To counteract these short-term wins, we need to limit screen time, practice daily exercise, and finding ways to fast incorporates discipline and healthier choices into our lives.
Action item
Try to live this quote for a week. Schedule time on your calendar and get an accountability buddy to do this exercise with you. Journal how you feel throughout this process as well – and see the benefits for yourself!
