A recent scientific study shows that people who think about the things they’re grateful for at least once a day reported feeling happier and more motivated than people who don’t. How often do we eat a hot meal without thinking about where it came from? 

If we can focus our attention on being grateful for the things we have, we can actually improve our own moods and function at a higher level! But how can we start to incorporate gratitude into our lives?

A great way to practice gratitude is by writing a list of things you are grateful for every morning. Sometimes, writing out what you’re grateful for is better than just thinking about it in your head.

If you’re someone who practices gratitude yet struggles with your day-to-day mood, don’t get discouraged. A recent study conducted by Harvard University showed that people who wrote thank you notes to those they were grateful for didn’t actually feel positively impacted.

In other words, the results of the study showed that gratitude is actually something that needs to be attained. That’s why gratitude is regarded as a practice. Just because you say you are grateful for something, doesn’t make it true. 

If you can continue to practice gratitude every day, you can improve your ability to feel grateful every day. The more you practice gratitude, the easier it will become to improve yourself every day!

Another great way to improve every day is by practicing mindfulness. Gratitude and mindfulness can be something you practice at the same time, and both can help us achieve our potential. Keep reading to find out how.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a person’s ability to be fully present and intentionally aware. When someone is being mindful, they are noticing the way they are interacting with external stimuli.

For instance, standing outside and noticing the warmth of the sunlight as it hits you is an example of practicing mindfulness. Another example of mindfulness is focusing on your breath as you breathe in and out. 

In other words, mindfulness is a state of focus. So, how can focusing on ourselves and our surroundings help us improve ourselves every day? 

Well, practicing mindfulness is a cross-cultural technique that has been used for thousands of years in order to quell intrusive thoughts. 

Have you ever focused on your breathing and noticed that your mind unintentionally trails off? This is what it means to have intrusive thoughts. Everybody has them! 

The thing about intrusive thoughts is that they are often associated with some sort of emotional response. For example, maybe an upsetting conversation you had earlier pops into your head. This intrusive thought can affect a negative emotional response. 

That’s where mindfulness comes in! Practicing mindfulness can help you observe intrusive thoughts non-judgementally and achieve a state of calmness. Check out the numerous benefits of practicing mindfulness below:

• Increased emotional regulation
• Reduced anxiety
• Reduced stress
• Decreased depression
• Improved memory
• Improved physical health
• Improved relationships

There you have it! As you can see, practicing mindfulness plays a significant role in our lives. If we can practice mindfulness, we can become masters of ourselves and our environment and achieve the goals we set for ourselves every day.

But what should our goals be? Setting goals is another way to improve ourselves every day. Keep reading to learn more about setting and achieving goals in the name of self improvement.

In order to improve yourself every day, it’s essential to identify your goals and values. Once you know what you want to achieve, it becomes that much easier to achieve it!

A great way to set long-term goals is to write down ideas of where you would like to be in five years. What would you like to be doing? What do you want your life to look like?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you can begin to identify your long-term goals. Graduating from college is a great example of a long-term goal, being that it takes most people about four years to accomplish this. 

In order to graduate from college in four years, college students have to do well in their classes. Doing well in class is an example of a short-term goal. In other words, to achieve long-term goals, we must also set short-term goals.

Once you’ve identified your long-term goals, it should be easy to set short-term goals. Short-term goals are goals that can be easily achieved within a short time frame. They should be stepping stones towards your long-term goals.

For example, if I want to be able to run a marathon, I would have to run a little bit every day to build up stamina for the final run. 

Short-term goals can be weekly or bi-weekly goals. If I want to run a marathon, a good example of a short-term goal would be to be able to run five miles without stopping by the end of the month. 

After achieving this goal, I can set a new goal, like running ten miles without stopping by the end of the month. This is how short-term goals help you achieve long-term goals, like running a full marathon. 

If you can identify your long-term goals and set effective short-term goals to help you reach your long-term goals, there’s nothing you can’t do to improve yourself and achieve your potential! Short-term goals are a great way to simplify and organize your goals. 

By giving yourself little easy-to-accomplish tasks every week, you are taking the first steps towards accomplishing your not-so-easy to accomplish faraway goals.

Now that we know how important it is to identify what we want to accomplish and create a framework to help us get there, we can focus on other aspects of our lives that we need to stay on top of in order to stay energized and motivated.

Did you know that our schedules play a critical role in our day-to-day functioning? Keep reading to learn more about how establishing a healthful routine can help us improve every day.

If you want to improve every day, it's important to keep a consistent and healthy routine to regulate your sleep-wake cycle. This way, you can train your body to feel awake in the morning and benefit from maximizing your productivity.

Studies show that regulating your circadian rhythm can also help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. With reduced stress and anxiety, less energy is expended on worrying. In other words, you will have more energy when you wake up in the morning to maximize your productivity.

In addition, regulating your circadian rhythm can also play an important role in emotional regulation and have a profound, positive impact on your mental health.

What are some more examples of morning routines that can help you regulate your circadian rhythm and achieve your potential? I’m glad you asked. Take a look at the things you can implement into your mornings to keep the energy high throughout the day and improve your overall quality of life.

• Stretch
• Drink water
• Listen to music
• Make your bed
• Clean your room
• Eat a yummy, energizing breakfast

With the right morning routine, nothing can stop you from reaping the benefits of self-improvement! 

In addition, when it comes to getting out of bed early, it helps to have something you like to do on a daily basis that you can look forward to!

One of the best motivators for getting out of bed early is a self-care morning routine. In other words, establishing a morning routine that includes enjoyable activities can motivate you to start your day!

What are some examples of a motivational morning routine? I'm glad you asked. The following list contains examples of daily activities that might motivate you to get out of bed early:

• Watch the sunrise
• Meditate
• Read
• Bathe
• Morning run
• Yoga
• Journal
• Drink EarlyBird

As you can see, there are plenty of activities you can do in the mornings to motivate you to get out of bed early. With the right morning routine, nothing can stop you from seizing the day and maximizing your time and potential!

But what if you find it difficult to establish an early morning routine? Not to worry! There are plenty of all-natural aids made to help you get the ball rolling on the road to self-improvement. 

If you're looking for ways to self-improve, consider drinking EarlyBird, one of the healthiest and most effective drinks for energy and focus available. 

EarlyBird is an all-natural morning cocktail made especially for people like you who want to feel awake, be productive, and stay motivated to take on the day. Not only does EarlyBird help you feel awake, but it's filled with hydrating electrolytes. Talk about two "birds" and one stone!

EarlyBird contains a unique blend of green coffee bean extract, antioxidants, L-Theanine, and L-Tyrosine. Not only does this genius blend help wake you up in the morning, but it keeps you feeling awake and alert all day without crashing. 

In addition, EarlyBird contains zero grams of sugar, zero carbs, and zero calories. It’s almost too good to be true!

Drinking EarlyBird is extremely effective when it comes to maximizing productivity all day.

Did you know EarlyBird can pair well with a balanced breakfast? Keeping an energizing diet plays a significant role in making the most of your morning. Let's discuss how our diets can affect our ability to achieve our goals below.

Did you know that the foods we eat play a significant role in our daily functioning? In other words, success can be made in the kitchen! Keep reading to find out how fueling your body properly can greatly impact your ability to improve every day.

Waking up with little to no energy could be a sign that your body isn’t getting the proper nutrients it needs. In order to maximize your potential, your body needs fuel!

Did you know that eating breakfast may improve short-term memory and attention? A recent study showed that those who ate three small meals a day performed better than those who didn't.

In other words, eating right plays a significant role in your ability to become a focused and energized morning person. If you want to feel focused, awake, and motivated throughout the day, take a look at some foods you can incorporate into your diet that provide your body with natural energy.

• Avocados
• Spinach
• Watermelon
• Kale
• Almonds
• Banana
• Dates
• Eggs
• Chia seeds

It’s important to keep in mind that processed foods or foods with added sugar might give you a brief energy spike, but will always leave you feeling tired and energy deficient.

Simple, all-natural foods are great sources of energy. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains are all great choices for keeping fatigue at bay and maintaining focus, so you can feel good in the mornings.

Last but certainly not least, exercising daily is one of the most surefire ways to self-improve.

It’s no secret that working out can help you stay in shape and improve your day-to-day mood. But did you know that exercising every day can also help actually give you energy?

Here’s how.

Exercising is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health because it helps your body pump oxygen and essential nutrients to your tissues and muscles. This process helps keep your heart and your lungs healthy and able to work effectively.

If your heart and lungs are happy and healthy, you will feel more energized! It goes without saying that the release of dopamine that exercise affects makes it that much easier to stay awake and motivated to complete daily activities.

Thus, implementing one hour of exercise into your daily routine is another great way to motivate yourself to achieve your goals.

It doesn’t stop there! Another way that exercise can help you feel energized is by helping you get a good night’s sleep. 

While studies have limited conclusive data on the mechanisms at work that help you fall asleep when you exercise, there is abundant research on how aerobic exercises increase the amount of “slow-wave sleep” you get each night. But what’s slow-wave sleep?

Slow-wave sleep is the third phase of your sleep cycle. In this third phase of your sleep cycle, you enter into the deepest, non-REM phase of sleep. 

Research shows that when you get a sufficient amount of slow-wave sleep, you wake up feeling well-rested. This means that the more you exercise, the more slow-wave sleep you get. The more slow-wave sleep you get, the more awake you will feel every morning!

As you can see, there are so many things you can do to help your body feel energized. Regulating your circadian rhythm, maintaining a healthy and consistent routine, and exercising daily all play a significant role in our ability to improve ourselves every day.