Would you know if you’re being manipulated? Controlled? Your ego wants to say yes, but how sure are you?

It’s no secret that recent strides in technological innovation have come with great costs. AI is beginning to do all critical thinking for us. Social media has caused mass anxiety and depression; a mental health crises of sorts. The attention economy has ripped our attention spans to shreds. We live sedentary lives, causing disease and obesity. We have lost the art of being bored.

Technology can not and will not be blamed for these negative externalities — even if they are, what’s going to change? Less technological advancement? That makes no sense. Rather than complaining just to complain and protesting just to feel like we’ve “done our part”, humanity must learn to adapt and thrive alongside that which is out of our control. We must adapt physically and mentally if we’re going to live fulfilling, healthy lives in the coming decades. Simply put, if you want to feel good, you’re going to have to become aware of how your habits are affecting you. In a word, we must become mindful.

Many of the brightest people in the world are unaware of how everything we consume has been engineered to get a reaction out of us. I mean, there are brilliant people behind the scenes making sure we’re engaged and reacting to all sorts of content. They work in the news, social media, Youtube, etc. These people are experts at eliciting certain emotions in order to draw specific reactions. You’ll never meet them and they are literally triggering you in order to get you to buy, sell, engage, or scroll. If you’re mindlessly consuming, you’re being manipulated and pulled in directions that rarely align with your goals.

Assuming you have goals, that is, no shame if not. It’s justifiable because we’re in the midst of a crisis of meaning. Cheap dopamine, a gamified existence, and comparison culture cultivate a hollow sense of achievement. Sure, you’re busy, congrats. But are you fulfilled?

One may feel as if they are unwinding while scrolling through their feed but in reality, they are being wound up by unseen forces. Forces that are priming the subconscious to react. Making us weak. Your attention is monetized, not meaning.

Shits not actually as bleak as it sounds though, I apologize for the depressing introduction. Technological innovation is on an exponential, upward trend. We’ll be curing cancer and reducing suffering in way unimaginable to us right now. It’s going to be great in the macro-sense.

All of the positives are null if you’re feeling weak and unhealthy in the micro-sense. All of the positives are null if you’re not using your body as it evolved to be used. It evolved to move and be tested. Our minds evolved for stillness and laser-like focus — not task switching each time we swipe (this is actually quite detrimental to the texture of our mind).

That’s why I aim to create universal preventative care. I will provide people relief from their stress through somatic awareness.

I will remove the biggest barrier of entry to fun and unique experiences that are healthy for the mind and body. By subsidizing up to 100% of wellness memberships and programs, I will provide people who would otherwise rather be sedentary and sick a chance to explore their options. I advocate for those who can’t afford to play the sports they want growing up. I advocate for the single mom who can’t afford to pay $200/month for pilates but needs community and exercise. I advocate for the millennial that has tried lifting weights and cardio yet can’t afford to try something that speaks to him, like a martial art. I advocate for exploration and commitment — so much so that if you prove commitment month after month, your subsidy is subject to increase.

If you’re a gym owner, you’ll lock down 10x the sales because “I can’t afford it” will cease to be an excuse. You’ll be able to help more people break the chains that fetter them to unhealthy habits and empty cognitive calories.

It’s time to wake up to what you consume. If you’re able to spend 10 minutes creating rather than consuming, you’re doing something extremely difficult and healthy for the mind and body. If you can spend 20 minutes alone with your thoughts today, you’re on your way to differentiating yourself from your peers. Create, don’t consume folks. Don’t conform to an agenda that isn’t your own.

Consider joining the waitlist below to help me demonstrate demand and subsidize more wellness memberships for those who need it. Get in ahead of the rest and secure your wellness subsidy today.

You Now Initiative Homepage

So, I was watching the UFC fights last weekend with a couple good friends and a few new ones. Since we were at a sports bar, it was reasonable to ask why I wasn’t drinking.

Now, when you don’t drink at 25 years old, people immediately raise their torches and pitchforks. It gets annoying, so in order to quell their baseless rage I started saying “Ah, for religious reasons”.

Typically the conversation ends there. Sometimes it doesn’t.

“Oh, what do you practice?”

Damn! The 10% of yappers who ask that question prompted me to develop the following, fully scripted response.

“Craniocentrism.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, in Craniocentrism, the brain is our temple and the mind, is our altar.”

“What the fuck?”

“We believe that to nourish the brain is to nourish the soul. In prayer rooms we meditate — not to ask for salvation, but to cultivate clarity”

“Okay… cool.”

“We seek neural harmony, not blind faith. Thoughtfulness is our tithing. Wellness is our worship. I mean the brain is sacred mate, wellness is worship. I like to feel good, so I basically take care of my brain religiously.”

By this time, not only have they lost interest but I got a little kick out of spewing nonsense. I love busting this bad boy out because every time I do, even though it’s a joke, my subconscious starts to believe it. It gets easier to maintain optimal habits. It gets easier not to drink in the presence of alcohol. In reality, it gets easier to feel good when I otherwise wouldn’t.

Who knows, maybe one day it’ll catch on and we all become Noonauts (travelers of the mind). Bet your ass the world would become a better place.

Gosh, the word manifesto is horrifying. Wicked stigma there. Don’t fret, these are just some guidelines that I believe will help human beings become healthier, happier, and more connected in an age of comfort our bodies weren’t built for. Enjoy.

You Now Manifesto

[Conscious Evolution in the Age of Technological Acceleration]

We stand at a critical juncture in human history. We inhabit the bodies of our ancestors yet technology evolves at an exponential pace, reshaping our world, our minds, and our bodies. This rapid change has moved beyond our physiological capacity to adapt, leading to anxiety, depression, disconnection, and a crisis of meaning.

We are not doomed to be victims of this imbalance.

Only due to a lack of awareness do we allow consumerism and the attention economy to inhibit our ability to impose our will upon the world. To condition us into the perfect, mindless drone. The human body and mind possess ancient tools — meditation, breathwork, mindfulness, and embodied awareness — that can help us evolve consciously, reclaim our ability to focus, and thrive alongside technology. We do not reject innovation, only the institutions that dull our senses by way of it. This manifesto is a call to action for a new way of being: one that harmonizes technological progress with human flourishing.

Principles

The Body is Not Obsolete

— Technology often disconnects us from our physical selves, but the body is the foundation of human experience.

— We commit to practices that reconnect us with our bodies: martial arts, breathwork, intentional discomfort, and somatic awareness.

— The body can regulate the mind.

The Mind is a Muscle

— Just as technology evolves, so too can our cognitive and emotional capacities.

— We commit to training our minds through meditation, mindfulness, and critical thinking to enhance focus, resilience, and creativity.

— The mind can regulate the body.

Technology is a Tool, Not a Master

— Technology should serve human well-being, not exploit our attention or erode our autonomy.

— We commit to using technology intentionally, embracing digital minimalism, and rejecting systems that prioritize profit over human health.

— We are not tools of our tools.

Conscious Evolution is a Collective Responsibility

— The challenges of technological acceleration cannot be solved by individuals alone.

— We commit to building communities that support mindful technology use, share knowledge, and foster human connection.

— The principal focus is reducing unnecessary suffering in ourselves.

Slow Down to Speed Up

— The faster the world moves, the more we need moments of stillness and flow to recalibrate.

— We commit to creating space for gratitude, reflection, silence, and presence in our daily lives.

— We synergize the body and mind through martial arts.

Practices

• Meditation and Breathwork: Daily practices to cultivate inner peace, focus, and emotional resilience. Improve the texture of your mind one step at a time.
• Digital Detox: Regular periods of disconnection from screens and social media to restore mental clarity.
• Martial Arts and Exercise: Physical practices like resistance training and endurance training should be paired with a martial art to reconnect with the body and release stress.
• Mindful Technology Use: Setting boundaries on screen time, designing digital environments, and prioritizing meaningful interactions over mindless scrolling.
• Lifelong Learning: Engaging in activities that challenge the mind, such as reading, writing, and creative problem-solving. Aim to enhance your cognitive horsepower with metacognition and critical thinking.

Vision

We envision a future where humans and technology coexist in harmony — a future where technological progress enhances, rather than diminishes, our humanity.

The innate tools we possess will be highlighted at an early age in order to foster healthier, happier, and stronger human beings capable of living freely in a world so out of sync with our natural rhythms. This education will lead to a new generation of humans poised to use alchemy to think faster and suffer less. In this future, we are not passive consumers of technology but active participants in shaping its role in our lives. We are mentally sharp, emotionally resilient, and deeply connected to ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Take conditioning your subconscious into your own hands. Annihilate fear mongering. Annihilate the doom scroll.

A Call to Action

The time to act is now. Begin today:

• Sit in silence for 10 minutes. Breathe deeply. Observe your thoughts without judgment.
• Turn off notifications. Reclaim your attention.
• Move your body. Feel the ground beneath your feet.
• Share this manifesto. Build a community of conscious humans.

We are not powerless in the face of technological change. Together, we can evolve consciously, harnessing ancient tools to meet the challenges of the future.

**Join the movement. Evolve consciously. Strengthen your body. Strengthen your mind. Thrive alongside technology.**

Search for “You Now Official” on Instagram or Tik Tok. The content I make isn’t meant to steal your attention. It’s only meant to get you thinking about how to ease your suffering. Now, get off your screen and enjoy life — if you’re feeling wild, go compliment a stranger or something mate.

Imagine this:

You’re 30 years old and have been successful in the areas of life you deem important. You have an excellent career, maybe a business of your own and you feel great on the day-to-day. You workout here and there but most of your free-time goes to being with family. Sounds ideal, no?

Behind the scenes of your ideal life, one thing has been nagging at you for years — you feel as if your growth as an individual has plateaued. Every new book you read or podcast you listen to has become more entertainment than growth because your mental bandwidth seems to be full. It’ll take too much deep work or studying to get the cognitive edge on your competition, to become smarter. Whatever the reason, this bothers you.

Well, believe it or not there is a solution to breaking out of this plateau. In reality, there are many ways you can push your cognitive performance past the 95th percentile that won’t take up a lot of time. And sure, you can do Duolingo 15 minutes a day, do random math problems, read, or write each day but there are more foundational and effective methods to becoming a superior thinker. I’m going to outline a couple ways you can do so now:

#1 Breathwork

I’m going to reduce the complex systems of the body (ie the cardiovascular system, autonomic nervous system, etc) for the sake of easy comprehension. Check it out: when you do 12+ minutes of breathwork, you increase blood circulation and the amount of Oxygen in the blood. This is what’s known as a Wombo Combo, more blood to the brain means more activity and awareness. More hyper-oxygenated blood means mental clarity, focus, and concentration.

Not only does breathwork help annihilate hangovers, keep you from getting sick, and allow you to excel in the gym, it keeps your mind fresh and active. The breath can reach places in the mind and body nothing else can, which is why if you go deep enough you may end up crying. Straight up. Check out my man Wim Hof’s guided breathwork tutorials on YouTube as well as his workshops. You won’t be disappointed.

#2 Exercise

Exercise is a panacea for health and mental acuity. I really don’t even want to touch this because it’s common knowledge. If you’re doing everything you can to think well, have a 1400+ rating in Chess but aren’t working out, start working out.

Side note: I like to play competitive video games. If I want to do well, I will literally do 50 pushups/jumping jacks to get the blood to my brain before I sit down and dominate my opponents. This little hack will help your performance in the short-term as well as the long-term, I wish I saw Twitch streamers doing a lot more of this.

You know what I always say, “smart man lift heavy, smart man think smarter”.

I also tend to say, “smart man run far, smart man feel better AND think smarter”.

I’m getting good at these compound sentences, no?

#3 Fasting

Kind of an odd one, counterintuitive even. I’ve always been told you need to eat breakfast if I want to do well on a test in school. This is not false, your brain needs nutrients to operate well. To operate even better, you should deprive it of breakfast and calories every once in awhile.

While in a fasted state, you tend to think clearly because the energy typically used digesting food is free and needs to be used up in a different way, a cognitive way. I’ve written about fasting many times, whether it’s intermittent or 24–48 hours each month, your body needs Autophagy. Autophagy, although not directly correlated with cognitive horsepower, is a necessary process in which our bodies recycle dead, useless cells to make new stronger ones and this occurs in the body and in the brain.

Quit feeling slow, quit eating because you’re bored. Take control baby, fasting is extremely beneficial for many things too, especially feeling tired all of the time.

#4 Critical Thinking

Critical thinking goes hand in hand with metacognition, the act of thinking about your thinking. An easy way to think critically more often is by listening to podcasts, speeches, or classes of people you generally disagree with. By learning to simply engage with content you, on the surface, do not enjoy, you’ll be able to experience another perspective, another way of thinking, and compare it with your own.

The comparison is key, do I agree or disagree with this statement? Okay, why? Boom, mental squats.

The simple act of truly opening yourself up to different perspectives will not only teach you deep truths about yourself, but it will beef up your brain.

There are many more methods to grow at a rapid pace and achieve your goals. If you need some support or an individualized game plan, always feel free to reach out!

Check out my Website!

• Firstgenerationcyb.org
• Read my book!

If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to shoot me an email at consulting@thaddeuserby.com.

I’m a nice guy, a friendly chum, precisely because I don’t know what other people are going through at all, all I know is that life is suffering. But guess what, now I’m privy to the subtle horror of the lives of my clients and I now believe it would be safe to make the following generalization:

People of all ages are worse off because of social media and they don’t even know it.

Now chill out before you come for my soul — I’ve defended social media to an extent in my other posts so I won’t do that here. I won’t because most of my clients (and I’m assuming many others) didn’t even realize their mental bandwidth, energy, and motivation were being sapped by the vampire in their pocket. To be clear, the problem that became more prevalent around 2012, yet is as old as time, is the inability to control one’s own mind. The problem is a lack for awareness whenever your monkey brain takes the wheel.

You’re probably thinking, “who is this guy, I can control my mind easily” but you’re wrong. Think about it, the only people who are in full control of their mind are the people whose habits 100% reflect their goals. The people who have done the work to reflect on their goals, determine the habits/lifestyle that will take them in that direction, and actually become the person capable of living their ideal life. This is quite the feat yet we’re all equipped to do it, given we cut out some unnecessary stimulation. Whether you are a free spirit and looking simply to experience life/cultures, or someone looking to build an empire, your habits will dictate your success or lack thereof.

Side Note: I’m not preaching about the hustle, it’s important to rest and incorporate down time, mental breaks, and the occasional dozen donuts into your life (depending on your goals).

Now, thats all well and fine. Goals, habits, whatever. The first and most important step to taking control of your mind (attention) is gaining an awareness of what you’re doing in your free time. Most of my clients are hard working individuals who feel they literally have no time to reach for their dreams and even have trouble focusing at work. During our consultations, I asked them to “pull up [their] screen time mate”. This type of awareness is a slap in the face — imagine feeling as if you literally have no time and realize that you’re spending 5 hours a day on Tik Tok, email, or Instagram. These apps were engineered to take away your time like creepy little bed bugs who bite you when you’re asleep. Sure, these apps bite you but they put you to sleep too. Best believe I know what it’s like to wake up from a doom-scroll-daze.

The suffering I mentioned earlier can be mitigated by taking control of your mind. One method of attaining this is by realizing that your thoughts are not always true — one should learn to laugh at themselves and some of the thoughts they have. By selectively ignoring some thoughts, one is learning to strengthen and control the mind by filtering what influences their actions and feelings. The easiest way to start this journey is by becoming aware of your Negative Self-Talk. Simply saying (or thinking) “nah, that ain’t true” is a game-changer, even if you don’t believe it in the moment.

Training your awareness in this way will bleed into every facet of your life, making you a much more present, conscious individual. In fact, it’s like a hack which allows you to focus a bit better in your day-to-day. It will reduce your energy expenditure, allowing you to wage war against the vampire in your pocket (if that’s your prerogative).

You know how Frodo really wanted to keep the Ring even though he knew he shouldn’t? Thats basically us and our precious, unproductive screen-time. Become like Sam and take note of these tendencies, it may just help you move down a more authentic and enjoyable path in life.

If you made it this far, might as well check out my Website!

If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to shoot me an email at consulting@thaddeuserby.com.

“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own” -Bruce Lee

Until recently, I had wrestled with this singular thought; ‘I’ve read so many books, but to what end’. What had haunted me was that I felt as if I had fallen into the habit of reading yet not leveraging the knowledge acquired within the text.

I’m sure you know the feeling; you read a non-fiction book and consciously embody the valuable methods, techniques, and philosophies of the text for an extended period of time. For example, the book Breath by James Nestor had changed the fundamental way I did almost everything for about a year straight, all in the name of increasing the strength of my mind and body. Yet, after revisiting the piece, I’ve found that some of the habits have fallen off. This was spooky to me, was I really moving forward? Improving my habits and cognitive horsepower?

Obviously, I definitely don’t remember every piece of information that I’ve read and this is normal. No one does. We live in a society where everything and everyone is competing for a chance to get a slice of your sweet, sweet attention, even if only for one second — one second is all the time one needs to influence our decision making. To plant an idea in our subconscious. Believe it or not, our attention has become the most valuable and lucrative currency on the planet. So, it’s virtually impossible to utilize your mental bandwidth in a way that would allow you to remember everything you’ve consumed, especially in such a noisy modern age.

Therefore, it is futile to despair over the inability to recall everything you’ve consumed. I think many people have this idea floating around in their mind that if they’re not consciously acting on the content they read, then they are wasting time. This idea kept one of my clients from reading in general. They felt that taking the time to read and apply the concepts felt like an insurmountable amount of work, work their busy schedule didn’t allow for. Assuming one is actually reading and processing the content, I believe, whether we are aware of it or not, our brains will hold onto ideas that strike a chord with us. Bruce Lee knew what was up (per usual).

So, if you’re reading a piece of text (or watching a video) and you hit a line that causes a reaction, re-read that bad boy and mentally note that it struck a chord with you. Throw down a sticky note to revisit it if you’re feeling wild. If you really want to remember it, close your eyes for 30 seconds and focus on your breathing, this will give your brain time to cement the idea into your mind. The trick is to give your brain time to really process the idea before switching your attention to another topic (such as a notification you just got on your phone).

If it’s (subjectively) important, the information will stick. I understand this method may seem like you’re half-assing your work, but in reality you’re conserving energy and letting your subconscious do the heavy lifting of learning.

On the flip side:

It’s also true that some may use the fact that they have the required knowledge as an excuse to not act in their lives. That they can always start tomorrow. I think this is what I was truly afraid of seeing in myself. If you’re looking to avoid this state of mind, an awareness of this idea is a massive step in the right direction no matter what your goal is. Metacognition baby!

Just as everyone is different on the cellular level, everyone will absorb different ideas from the same text, adding to what one has uniquely absorbed in the past. Even if we’re unaware of this occurrence, our subconscious is at work — working for us or against us, depending on what kind of media we consume. Our subconscious doesn’t discriminate the type of information it holds onto so we must act as a screen for the information we process. This can be hard, especially when quick dopamine hits are so readily available via social media and good ol fast food.

That being said, when your life flashes before your eyes, what do you want to see more of? Big Chungus or your loved ones? One of the two is going to be more fulfilling in the end, mate. Optimizing your mental bandwidth right now is the ultimate game of delayed gratification.

I do mean to oversimplify the complex neural networks that make us who we are because I’m writing not only for myself, but those who struggle with (or simply don’t have time for) analyzing the most recent, scientific literature. Those who were born into a profit-driven society that is selling toxic food and obliterating the common person’s ability to concentrate and focus. One where no one can seem to realize that unrestricted screen use is driving the massive increase in anxiety and depression in our youth (besides a small group of academics such as Johnathan Haidt). I write for the lay man, man.

So, keep reading. You’re doing fine. Making the effort to learn whether you actually do or not is better than not trying at all.

You don’t need crazy drive like Eren Jaeger but you also don’t want to get locked into a short-term dopamine loop and make no progress at all like most of America. Find a happy, reasonable medium based on your goals and get to work. Revisit the quotes at the top of this page and think about what they mean to you, I’m just one man with small ideas. Hopefully they’re helpful ideas to some.

If you need some support or an individualized game plan, always feel free to reach out!

Check out my Website!

If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to shoot me an email at consulting@thaddeuserby.com.

In a world where suffering is inevitable, protecting the texture of your mind is one of the most important things you can do as a human being. Take into account how you feel most of the time, how fast your mind moves, and about what you tend to ruminate on.

The texture of your mind is the nature of your existence, your frequency, your general vibe and, thanks to Neuroplasticity, it is subject to change. Neuroplasticity is a phenomenon that allows us all to change how our mind is wired (for better and for worse) based on our actions, thought patterns, and experience.

I help people change, grow, and sharpen their state of mind for a living, so this article will provide you with a few quick, actionable tips meant to jumpstart your journey.

Cut out potato chips and sugary drinks for a month

This is quite the experiment — the magic will happen when you stick to drinking water, coffee, or unsweetened tea every day for a whole month (cutting out potato chips is simply the cherry on top). I guarantee you’ll begin to feel sharper, lighter on your feet, and less anxious.

Don’t go in expecting a full Super Saiyan-type transformation but be mindful of how you feel each day and I promise you’ll notice a difference, especially if you often indulge in soda/sugary alcoholic drinks with your meals.

Learn Something New Each Day

Learning is a powerful tool, it doesn’t matter at all what you learn either. Choose something interesting to you and watch a five minute youtube video. Check out a documentary or listen to a quick 10 minute podcast. There are many options and whether or not you think you dislike learning, it has tremendous effects on the brain and your state of mind. Our brain evolved to be used, to learn and change, and when we use our bodies and brains as they evolved to be used, we will ultimately benefit from a health/mental health standpoint. I’d recommend finding an interesting non-fiction book and reading for 10 minutes a day. Chances are you’ll learn something snazzy each time.

Take a walk

Guess what, we evolved to walk for miles and miles a day. Have you ever been on an important phone call and started pacing around the room? This isn’t a coincidence — the body in motion always leads to improved blood flow and cerebral processing. Wild huh? I try to take a walk whenever I have the chance (especially after lunch) because it’s a great opportunity to reset my state of mind. I recently learned on the Modern Wisdom Podcast that Tim Ferris walks for hours each day, even during Zoom meetings as well. Try walking more than you’re used to each day and feel the changes in your mind and body.

This could look like parking farther away from Target or the office. Take your dog on an extra long walk (they’ll love it). Throw in your headphones and jam out to some music for a couple miles. Maybe take a walk and call your family, do what you gotta do but get those legs moving!

Personally, I like to go stimulus-free and leave my phone behind. My thoughts are loud and generally unimportant at first but end up calming down, allowing me to be present with the nature around me.

Try Fasting

If you live in the United States, it’s likely you’ve been exposed to a culture that promotes eating Breakfast, Lunch, Supper, Dinner, and snacks throughout the day. No doubt we’re blessed to have enough food to keep us alive and healthy but we have to be smart about what we eat and how much.

Giving your digestive system a break is extremely healthy and beneficial for our body and mind. Instead of eating right before bed and immediately upon waking, I’d try intermittent fasting for a couple weeks. Create a window for eating (eg. 12:00pm-8:00pm) so that you’re not consuming calories for a full 14–16 hours each day.

This will lead to a decrease in brain fog and some fat loss too. Go ahead and eat as much as you want during the eating window, it’s the fast itself that benefits you.

When you’re getting started, try water, black coffee, or tea to curb your hunger. Don’t consume more than 50 calories either, this will break your fast and begin your eating window.

Now let me just say being hungry is not fun, but if you can push through the uncomfortable feelings (and sometimes pain), everything else will become easier. This is the best way to build general discipline because regulating your diet and dealing with hunger in general is one of the hardest things we can possibly do.

The reason fasting makes your mind clearer and sharper is because the energy typically used to digest food will now be free to be used in other areas of the body. Free to be used in the brain.

What do you typically do to improve your state of mind? How do you relax and mitigate stress? I’d love to know.

If you need some support or an individualized game plan, always feel free to reach out!

Check out my Instagram Page and Website!

Read my book!

If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to shoot me an email at consulting@thaddeuserby.com.

There’s nothing worse than feeling weak, tired, or just straight up unmotivated most of the time. Baseline energy is one of the most important aspects to living a fulfilling and positive life yet unfortunately, many people don’t have the practical knowledge to help themselves.

Consider the following, maybe you’ll discover what is holding you back from living a more full life.

Dehydration

Common sense you say? Yeah, I know, but are you actively making time in your busy schedule to drink water? It’s similar to protein intake if you’re lifting weights and looking to put on muscle — no one ever eats enough protein without being conscious about it and making an effort.

If you live in a wildly dry climate like Colorado or Arizona, it can be even harder to stay hydrated throughout the year. Although counterintuitive, one of the most simple solutions is to drink a large glass of water with a pinch of salt first thing in the morning. I’d recommend Celtic Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt although it truly doesn’t matter too much as long as you’re throwing back a glass or two each morning. This will jumpstart your day, just like a protein shake in the morning if you’re looking to get shredded.

Poor Sleep Quality

There are many reasons one may be sleeping poorly and the most common (in my experience) is an inconsistency in one’s routine. Finding and sticking to a bedtime and time of waking will begin to reset your circadian rhythm, inevitably leading to better sleep. There is no panacea for improving sleep as it is a complex issue — there are unique solutions to unique problems which are proven to increase your energy during waking hours. Not only that, it’ll make it easier to sleep and stay asleep.

Poor sleep is 100% fixable with the proper methods. Don’t give up and assume your sleep schedule, failure to wake up, or insomnia is incurable. It’s almost surreal waking up in the morning with loads of energy — I know firsthand the horrors of terrible sleep and the effects it had on my day-to-day. If this is you, you’re not alone.

Chronic Stress

If you’re reading this article, it’s likely you’re a hard worker with a thirst for knowledge. Being a hard worker typically means there’s a lot on your plate and people who depend on you, sounds like a recipe for stress to me.

Think about it, stress is a tool our ancestors used in extreme cases like being chased by a lion or running from a moose. Typically life or death situations. Once you climb that tree, you can calm down and enjoy a more natural state of mind. That’s right, despite what The Man says, being stressed is not a natural state of being. Not our natural frequency, if you will.

Now that we’re living a relatively comfortable life, we create stress in other ways such as deadlines, constant social media use, and work in general. Our bodies weren’t built to handle chronic stress which is why the stress itself has other detrimental effects on top of lowering baseline energy. It can lead to anything from autoimmune diseases to cancer. No bueno.

Luckily, there are tools to mitigate the seemingly inevitable stress we feel each day — tons of highly personalized tools that will make life more enjoyable and increase your energy.

Many people simply “don’t have time” to relax and take their mental health into their own hands. There are tools for these people as well, tools like Breathwork. I’m not talking Wim Hof here folks (although that is key if you have 12–15 minutes to spare), I’m talking simple breathing patterns for when you’re writing emails and in meetings. Many of the solutions are quite simple yet not widely known.

Sedentary Lifestyle

C.R.E.A.M. Cash Rules Everything Around Me.

It’s truly a timeless expression, and it dictates our lifestyles as well. If you sit in an office for 8 hours a day, it can be tough getting more than 5,000 steps a day. If you work a job where you’re on your feet most of your shift, you’re in a great spot.

If you have a love for video games, reading, or really anything other than exercise you likely aren’t moving your body enough before or after work. Throw in the low energy you’re already experiencing and you have a recipe for even lower energy. Sounds to me like a slippery slope, one of declining health.

Again, there are highly personalized solutions to this problem as well. I’d recommend right off the bat going for a walk as often as possible. Say you’re in the office and it’s lunch time. After you eat, go on a walk around the block or around the building. If your supervisor questions your motive (which they won’t), tell them “walking after eating improves digestion” or that “[your] sedentary lifestyle is lowering your baseline energy”. What do you say to that? Also, why would your boss question a good stretching of the legs and focusing on your health unless they’re some sort of creep.

Ultimately, moving your body more can be simple and easy. It doesn’t have to be going for a run in the morning, or lifting weights if you really don’t want to. If you opt to do both of those activities though, in the span of a week you’ll be (a little sore and) feeling 10x better energy-wise. That’s a guarantee. I’d also recommend stretching for 10 minutes every day.

Poor Diet

You’re thinking, “Thaddeus, say no more”. I understand, this is common sense but 100% worth illuminating. I have no doubt this is the main reason many people wake up feeling like a bag of shit. People wake up feeling like a pile of beans for the simple fact they aren’t eating enough legumes in general.

Get in your protein, eat your leafy, fibrous greens, and start eating less. You don’t need a number 4 combo from Burger King and the 1700 calories that comes with it for dinner each night — that’s what I had for dinner yesterday to treat myself and it was so worth the grogginess I felt this morning.

My motto is “everything is fine in moderation”. If you think something is healthy for you, it probably is. Veggies, lean meat, and lots of water. Avoid sugar. It’s pretty simple.

When was the last time you had two chicken tamales, a full sized carrot, and a tall glass of H2O for dinner? Probably never but the simpler your meal is the better.

Again everyone’s body is different although covering the basics is a great start. Kick the sugary drinks and potato chips, you’ll be feeling powerful in no time. You’ll thank yourself in the morning.

Consistency is key to developing your ideal lifestyle. I challenge you to kick old habits and try your best to feel better and improve your energy for a solid 2–3 weeks. You’ll feel levels of energy you didn’t think were possible and it’ll be easy to maintain your habits.

P.S. you’re probably deficient in Magnesium too (most people are). Not kidding, it’s unbelievably helpful to get a blood test and see your deficiencies in black and white. I recommend this to all of my clients.

If you need some support or an individualized game plan, always feel free to reach out!

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If you’d like to get in touch, feel free to shoot me an email at consulting@thaddeuserby.com.