4 Tips for 2022
One of the strongest challenges of this 2022 will be to stay disciplined, intended as the control of one’s time, one’s habits, and one’s emotions.
Michel Siffre, a French speleologist, was locked up inside a cave for more than two months to conduct an experiment. His goal was to study the perception of time in a context where time could not be measured. For this, he remained in the dark, without clocks or calendars for more than sixty days. He had the ability to read, write or sleep as he pleased. The only light he had was the artificial light of some lamps.
And this is where it gets interesting.
When his assistants went to get him out of the cave at the end of the two months, Michel was convinced it had been in the cave for a month. How is it possible that time had passed so quickly?
We have always been told that when we are bored, time passes slowly and that’s true. What they didn’t tell us, however, is that the mind is unable to remember moments that are very similar to each other.
The extreme repetition of the days and the lack of clear routines that mark the time for our mind can test our self-control.
Michael Gervais, a high-performance psychologist, has put together a few strategies to stay motivated and keep our leadership high during this time.
Let’s see them together.
1 — HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE
The first exercise is to do, as soon as you wake up in bed, inhalation of 10 seconds and a consequent exhalation as long as possible.
Immediately after, you need to give yourself a mental intention for the day.
What are the most important things to do today?
What can I do that can make me feel better?
What am I grateful for?
The third step is to place your feet on the ground, out of bed, and focus on the sensation of contact between the sole of the foot and the floor. This helps us ground ourselves and make ourselves present.
2 — SLEEP AND EAT WELL
Sleep is one of the greatest regulators of stress and emotions, essential in this period.
Quick tips for better sleep: always go to bed at the same time, avoid electronic devices before sleeping, always wake up at the same time.
A key thing to induce sleep is to read a book, 15–30 minutes before bed. I have been reading Stephen King’s new book for over a month now. I’m still at page 80 because I keep falling asleep.
It goes without saying that sleeping less than 7 hours leads to large deficits and that the ideal would be to exceed 8 hours.
In this period, there is nothing more important than keeping our circadian cycles healthy.
In this period, it is easy for stress to increase the desire for sweets and carbohydrates, however, they should be avoided as much as possible and favored vegetables, proteins (without antibiotics), and healthy fats. Staying hydrated is important.
3 — CREATE CONNECTIONS
There are those who are lucky enough to share spaces with loved ones and those who can hear them with a simple call. Living in the UK, I’m far away from my parents and friends since every one of them is in Italy. I give them a call every week just to make sure we are all safe and sound.
In this period, it is essential to maintain a connection with the people we love.
Remember to call those who have always been close to you, to thank them, for your gratitude.
4 — WORK OUT OR MOVE
It doesn’t matter if you have weights or a workout schedule. Sometimes when I don’t feel like training too much I put on earphones and run around my university campus. It helps me manage stress and feel more at peace with myself.
We do not train to become as big as The Rock or to lose the belly (or rather, not only). We train for the burst of happiness hormones (serotonin) that are produced in our bodies. The point is to do what we enjoy the most and to produce good mood hormones.
I hope these 4 pointers can be a good gift for the start of 2022.
Thanks for your time,
Federico
