This Two-Minute Morning Practice Will Make Your Day Better

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1:00Neil Pasricha:When life events leave you feeling stressed out and anxious, Neil Pazricha, author of the best-selling book, The Book of Awesome, among others, suggests a simple two-minute practice to improve the quality of your days. First, check to see if you may be suffering from decision fatigue. Let's face it, between our jobs, children, elder care, we all have too much on our plates these days. Pezrich's low-tech coping mechanism for tough emotional times is a pack of 4x6 index cards on which he writes a few things he will focus on each day. This I will focus on exercise helps break down giant projects into simple tasks.

1:42Neil Pasricha:For Pezrich, a looming book deadline becomes writing 500 words, and a non-existent exercise regime becomes going for a 10-minute walk at lunch. But while these daily directives reduce decision fatigue, clearing the negative thoughts from the rest of our lives can be trickier as research shows that humans are hardwired to search for the negative. Turns out, our brains contain an almond-sized amygdala that secretes fight-or-flight hormones all day, and evolution has programmed our amygdalas to look for, find, and solve problems. This naturally ingrained tendency is why we want to stare at bad news, sad news, and controversial news endlessly, and it takes a toll on our minds.

2:28Neil Pasricha:But, a study comparing people who wrote down what they were grateful for, to those who wrote down their hassles or events, shows that writing things one is grateful for every week over a 10-week period brings increased happiness and increased physical healthiness. Pazricha suggests adding to your tasks for the day cards the line, I am grateful for, but finds the key to this exercise is being specific. Listing things like, my family, my dog, my job, won't work. He writes things like, the way the sunset looks over the hostel across the street, or when my mom dropped off leftover mutter paneer. And finally, a study in science magazine called Don't Look Back in anger reveals that minimizing regret increases contentment.

3:17Neil Pasricha:Simply put, if you share your worries, you'll more readily free yourself from them. To put these findings into practice, Pezricha suggests adding this third line to your index card regimen. I will let go of. The rude things I said to the driver honking at me. The friend I miss calling back. I will focus on. I am grateful for. I will let go of. This small research-based ritual made a big difference in Pesricha's life, and it can do the same for you. Of course, no one will be completely stress-free and happy all the time after practicing this daily routine. But of the thousand or so minutes from your day that you're awake, if you can invest two of them in prepping for positivity.

4:04Neil Pasricha:You'll find yourself happier during the remaining 998.

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