THE CHECKLIST
12 APRIL 2022 (11 MIN READ)
My intention with this article is to lay out the foundations of what feeds my body, mind, and soul—in the form of a checklist that anyone can carry through into their everyday lives. I am not a doctor by any means, but what I am is a former deeply unhealthy drug addict who wanted to kill himself for years, and who got himself out of that state naturally. I did this by allowing myself to be a lab rat for three straight years, trying out all sorts of supplements, routines, and foods, eventually finding the magic formula for myself, but encountering some pretty terrible side effects along the way. What works for me may not work for you, but if even one part of this checklist shifts your life into a more positive light, then that’s more than enough for me.
Without further ado, this is my ultimate checklist for physical, mental, and spiritual health:
MORNING
I begin my morning by slowly getting out of bed and focusing on deep breathing. My phone is on airplane mode at this point in time. We must give our bodies and minds time to wake up. If we go straight for our phones and look at notifications, we are throwing ourselves into a mental war zone to start off the day. This can burn through your energy storage and prime your day for immense anxiety. How we start the day dictates the tone of our day, which is why I try to make my morning as peaceful as possible.
I make sure to drink at least half a liter of water once I’m out of bed, with a supplement called G.I. Detox. A ton of heavy metals, pesticides, and nasty junk run rampant in today’s food, which this supplement flushes out of the body as best it can. I have definitely noticed a healthier gut ever since taking this supplement.
After my glorious morning dump, I get in the shower and take my time enjoying the hot water, but once I feel myself shift to a more wakeful state, I crank that freezing cold water! I stay under the cold water for about a minute, trying my best to focus on my breath and not allow my mind to freak out. This habit actually helps you to be better under stressful situations since you learn to have more control over your mental reactions. Even better than this, cold water exposure releases feel-good hormones in the brain, such as norepinephrine, endorphins, and dopamine. This primes your brain to be in a dope state (pun intended) for the day.
Once I’m done with my shower, I go into a ten minute meditation—where I breathe in for about five seconds and out for ten, breathing through my diaphragm/belly throughout. This breathing pattern activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which, in essence, is the body’s relaxation state. Within the meditation, I go back in my mind to a moment where I have felt an overwhelming wave of gratitude, then I move to love, and finish with aliveness. Again, this is priming the brain to tap into those feelings more often throughout the day.
I follow my meditation with my morning prayer—asking God for assistance with the things I cannot control and giving me strength to take action on what I can control. I also thank Him for the blessings in my life, no matter what is going on in my life. I end by stating my intention for the day.
At this point, my phone is still off! I make my way to my garden and face the sunlight for about eight minutes, closing my eyes and pointing them towards the sun. This habit sets your circadian rhythm, which dictates your mood. Ever wonder why you feel significantly more crappy when you over/under sleep? Because you are breaking your circadian rhythm. Facing the sun before you start your day tells your body that it's time to go!
Once that’s done, I lay down and press down on my stomach, feeling throughout for points of pressure. These points of pressure usually correspond to emotional trappings, such as repressed joy or anger. Often, I will press down on a certain point and immediately start laughing. The energetic blockages in your stomach will affect your ability to digest your food, allowing the daily massage to aid in your digestion. Your stomach produces most of your neurotransmitters, so if you have a sore stomach, chances are you have a sore mind.
I then make my way to the kitchen and start making breakfast. I follow a Paleo diet, with an emphasis on more fat and protein, rather than carbohydrates and sugar. This is due to the fact that I have noticed a correlation in my life with the amount of carbs and sugar I eat with how depressed I am. Additionally, less carbs and sugar have deeply helped with my ability to focus. These days, my breakfast consists of four boiled eggs, greek yogurt with bee pollen and a little bit of honey, followed by a matcha tea. I prefer matcha over coffee because it contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which promotes GABA in the brain—a neurotransmitter that stimulates relaxation. So, unlike with coffee, matcha gives you a more relaxed caffeine high, rather than a cannon that immediately shoots you off into the deep end. Coffee can also be hard on your stomach due to the acid it creates.
I also make sure to blend my matcha with coconut oil, which when combined with caffeine molecules slows down the transportation through your system, creating a caffeine drip opposed to a dump. Since the caffeine drips into your system over a longer period of time, you are much less likely to crash later in the day.
The morning supplements I take are: essential amino acids, liposomal vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K2, zinc, ashwagandha, vitamin B12, vitamin B complex, AdrenaVen, CoQ10, lion’s mane, and creatine.
Now that breakfast is done, I turn my phone on and answer any texts/emails that need responding. Since my mind is in a good state at this point, the stress caused by notifications are not as likely to throw off my day.
At this point, I get going on whatever work I have to do for the day, usually working for about four hours straight. However, for every hour of work I do, I make sure to stop and breathe for five to ten minutes, regulating my nervous system and avoiding burn out. I believe this stop and breathe technique feeds yourself with the energy you have been losing due to the stress of work.
AFTERNOON
Once lunchtime hits, I do another five minute meditation and massage my stomach. This habit before I eat allows me to really appreciate and savor the food, since I’m not in a state where I will anxiously scarf it down, which has also really helped with my digestion. Most of bloating comes down to swallowed air from eating too fast.
In terms of lunch itself, I usually eat a piece of salmon with sweet potato and a colorful array of vegetables. This is the only time of day where I will eat a carbohydrate source, as it helps me with my afternoon workout.
While I’m eating lunch and for a little bit afterwards, I’ll watch something funny—usually a comedy podcast. I’m a huge fan of Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant 2 podcast on YouTube. Laughter is always the best medicine, and we often completely forget about it amidst our societal obsession with productivity.
Once my food has digested, I lie down for about thirty minutes and take a nap. I love the app NuCalm, which plays sounds that allow your brain to fall into the state you desire—which for me in that moment is deep relaxation. I choose to take a nap because I like to have two separate, productive portions of the day, rather than one that starts super focused and then veers to catastrophic exhaustion towards the end. I think of my nap as a halftime break, where I get to recharge for the second half of the game.
After my nap, I drink my special afternoon concoction of sencha tea, cordyceps mushrooms, and MCT oil. I like the addition of cordyceps because they give the body energy, which is great pre-workout. And in combination with the green tea, your mind and body are firing together beautifully. Once this magic elixir has been gulped down, I head to the gym.
I work out about six days a week. Four of those days I focus on full-body workouts through strenuous strength training. And the other two, I usually go play basketball. I like to workout because of the connection it creates with my body and the ability it has to move trapped energy through me. And it also has tremendous mental benefits—if I stop working out, then I immediately become significantly more depressed. It’s the best antidepressant in the world, and this is coming from somebody who has tried almost every pharmaceutical known to man.
Once I get back from the gym, I make sure to hydrate properly with electrolytes, and then I eat a snack. My go-to snacks at the moment are: bone broth, cow liver jerky, ghee, berries, 70%+ cacao dark chocolate, and raw cheddar cheese.
The rest of my afternoon is dedicated to reading. I aim to read at least one book a week. The way I do this is by splitting the book into seven sections and making sure I tackle one every day. Like anything, reading has to become a dedicated habit to make any progress. I highly recommend scheduling out time every day to read.
After reading, I run through any small things I have left to do that pertain to work and once that is done, I transition to relax mode.
EVENING
Osho argues that your ability to do things is reflective of your ability to be. In other words, how well you allow yourself to just be a human and enjoy doing nothing will actually benefit your ability to work harder. Put even simpler, to avoid burnout you have to make sure to relax well. This is why I make sure to enter a state of relaxation at the end of the day, every day.
To do so, make sure to engage in something after your work day that deeply relaxes your nervous system—to mark a transition towards a state of relaxation. Personally, I like to stretch out, foam roll, and breathe deeply. And two to three times a week, I will get into a sauna as well as an ice bath.
After the relaxation activity is completed, I essentially do whatever the fuck I want. Whether it be watching shitty reality TV or a rom-com, playing video games, or talking shit with my friends, I just make sure to do whatever will bring me the most joy in that moment. (Side note: I do not do any hard drugs or drink alcohol. Unsurprisingly, my mental and physical health have become far better since I stopped doing those things).
My dinner usually consists of some kind of red meat, vegetables, and a fatty sauce. I also take digestive enzymes after my last meal, as well as a turmeric/curcumin combination supplement.
Once I start getting a little sleepy, I head to bed and turn my phone completely off. I will read a little bit before falling asleep. And I always make sure to pray before I pass out, specifically focusing on what I am grateful for.
In terms of my nighttime supplement routine, I take L-theanine, Magnesium Breakthrough, magnesium L-threonate, and valerian root. I used to have issues with insomnia, but ever since taking this magic concoction, I rarely have issues falling asleep.
THROUGHOUT THE DAY
To keep my mind in check throughout the day, I make sure to check my mental checklist on my Notes phone app:
Focus on what’s in front of you not on the perception of what’s in front of you.
If you can’t control it, then let go and let God.
Replace expectations with gratitude.
Place your focus on what serves you in this moment.
Create an emotional home of gratitude and love, not anxiety and fear.
Take five minutes to express the negative feeling you need to express and then five minutes to get back into your heart.
Allow life to happen through you, not to you—dance with whatever it throws your way because YOU are not in control, GOD is.
Focus on what’s going well, not bad.
Focus on what you have versus what you don’t have.
What if it was the best-case scenario?
Choose to be here right now, ALWAYS.
Always choose humor and laughter—even when facing the worst of circumstances.
In terms of spiritual health, here are my go-to points of emphasis:
Try to spend as much time as you can in a state of love. The frequency of love is the frequency of God. The more time you spend in this energetic state, the more you will be blessed internally and externally.
Don’t waste your time manifesting external events, focus more on figuring out why you need those things, and what you will find is that you are chasing a feeling. So, instead of asking the universe to give you the external thing, ask for assistance in cultivating the feeling you are missing in your life. Once you start becoming the feeling, the thing you were once chasing will start chasing you.
If you have been around a lot of bad energy, make sure to cleanse yourself with palo santo sticks before you get into your house.
If you feel as if someone is robbing you of your energy, visualize yourself cutting cords with them in your mind. (Literally cutting cords—as if you are cutting a wire between the two of you).
Spend time in silence, away from any distractions, and get to know your inner state.
When facing hardship, understand that the universe is preparing you for what you will eventually be incredibly good at.
Have PROnoia, not paranoia. In other words, believe the universe is acting in your best interests, not the other way around.
Speak your intentions out loud before you begin each day. God can’t help you unless He knows what you need assistance with.
