Physical refers to your body. You might think this means exercise and you’re right. It also means diet and rest and recovery. I’m not a fitness trainer or a doctor, but this is what has worked for me:
- Physical activity every day. This doesn’t mean going to the gym every day, it just means finding opportunities to be active. This could be doing stretches. This could mean going for a walk. This could be hopping on the treadmill for an interval run. This could mean lifting weights. I get it, finding time to exercise is tough in our busy lives - here’s the trick that has worked for me: find something you enjoy and do that. For me, that used to be playing badminton (a lot of badminton! - I played four consecutive days a week). Now it’s going through one of many kettlebell workouts on YouTube.
- Restricted time eating. I eat dinner around 6 or 7 and I don’t eat my next meal until lunch the next day. I usually drink coffee or tea in the morning and that’s it. On the weekends I don’t follow the same practice because I enjoy having breakfast with my family.
- Rest and recovery. Sleeping 8 hours (or more) every day. Not working out when I feel pain (which is different from feeling sore). I also take it easy if I feel like my body is off (you will know the feeling of not being 100% when you’re as old as me).
- Avoid negative people in your life. You know these types of people: they’re always complaining. They’re always talking about how they got the short end of the stick. They’re talking about their bad luck all the time. These people are talking about how everything is someone else’s fault. Avoid these people at all costs.
- Think positively. One of the more magical things I learned was telling myself before bed if I was only going to get a few hours of sleep, how I was going to have the best sleep of my life and waking up a few hours later (way fewer hours than the 8 or 9 hours I usually get) and finding myself well-rested. It made me think that our self-talk is a lot more powerful than we think it to be. When people say they’re tired or busy or not healthy, I think it’s more than just words. I’m not saying that if you’re tired and you never say you’re tired will magically revitalize you, but don’t aggravate the problem by saying you’re tired. In fact, as an experiment, the next time you feel like you want to say you’re tired, tell yourself you are full of energy instead and see what happens.
- Learn something new for an hour every day. It probably sounds like a huge amount of time and in some ways it is. But let me ask you: are you looking at social media? Mindlessly watching videos on YouTube? Netflix? Tik Tok? Playing video games? It’s certainly not going to be easy to switch out one of those activities for something like reading, but that’s why it’s called a daily practice. You strengthen your reading ‘muscles’ by reading longer and longer every day. First read something you enjoy so you can build the habit. And don’t try to slog through books you don’t enjoy.
- Write 10 ideas every day. What should I write about Wang? Write 10 business ideas. Write 10 book ideas. Write 10 ways you would improve your company. Write 10 ways to encourage employees to come back to work. Write 10 benefits of hybrid work over remote work. The possibilities are endless. The point of the exercise is not to generate ideas (although that’s a great side benefit). The point of the exercise is to make your brain ‘sweat’ because the first 5 - 7 ideas come easily, but when you get to the 8th, 9th and 10th ideas, that’s when you think hard about the next idea. If 10 ideas is too easy, go for 20 or 100.
- Journal your thoughts. Journaling doesn’t sound like a spiritual practice, but there’s something about reflecting on specific questions, specific problems you’re having, or just life in general that helps you unpack and learn new things. I don’t do this for a long time, usually 10 minutes in the morning, but I find getting my thoughts down on paper helps to clear my head for the rest of the day.
- Practice gratitude. I like this practice from James: if you find yourself unable to fall asleep at night, practice gratitude. Identify 10 things you are grateful for. Or if you easily get to 10 and you’re still awake, go for 50 or 100 things you are grateful for.
The daily practice doesn't sound magical. It doesn't seem like it will transform your life. Heck, it's so simple anyone can do it. That's the point. Whatever your situation (and especially if you're going through a challenging period in your life), focus on the daily practice. Get enough sleep. Get active. Write down 10 ideas. Perhaps it won't help you at all (at first), but you will be surprised at how much better you will be in facing the challenges in your life.
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