There are some basic guidelines that we need to follow to feel good and be happy. While reading this post, some of you may be thinking, “well, of course, I know that” or “duh” But think about how many times you do things that you know you shouldn’t do, but you do them anyway. The point is that sometimes knowledge is only part of
the answer. For many of you, the simplicity of the information in this post may prove to be very enlightening.

Eating and sleeping properly can have a tremendous impact on one’s mood. I’m not much different than how I was when I was a baby. If I am tired and hungry, I become irritable. It’s difficult to be happy when irritable. It took me years to learn how much a good night’s sleep positively impacts my mood the next day. I didn’t realize
this until I began to routinely sleep enough at night. Not a split sleep schedule, but a good, solid nights sleep. I spent years not putting much importance on when and how much I slept which hindered my ability to cope with life positively. I feel better physically, mentally and spiritually when properly rested. My patience and
understanding of others greatly increases. It’s just easier to be happy when properly rested.

Vince Lombardi said “fatigue makes cowards of us all”. I notice that I experience more fear when I am tired. This fear may be subtle. You may not necessarily feel more afraid when you are fatigued, but your faults or character flaws may be more apparent. If you dig deep enough, you’ll probably notice that most, if not all of these character flaws, stem from fear. It took me a while to realize this, so if you don’t see this right away, be patient and try to always maintain self-awareness. I’ll talk more about fear and self-awareness in other posts.

Now comes the discipline part. You’ll need to have the willingness to make sleeping properly a top priority in your life. I am not you or your doctor so I don’t know how much sleep you need. If you don’t know either, I suggest consulting your doctor or sleep professional. I know I need 7-8 hours per night to function at my best. I can get less, but it will catch up with me. So, do what you need to do. You may need to miss your favorite late night TV show but if your not getting enough sleep, you’re going to have to find ways to sleep more either by going to bed earlier or getting up later. Figure it out, be responsible, prioritize, being careful not to negatively impact something else of importance in your life while trying to get more sleep. For example, I’m not telling you to go to work an hour late because you need to sleep. I know for me that a proper nights rest needs to be near the top of my priority list. I am a better father, husband, worker and person when I am not tired. Others shouldn’t suffer because I don’t know how to regulate my sleep.

I am not afraid of food, so keeping me fed is not so difficult, although this wasn’t always the case. In my late teens and early twenty’s, I would frequently wait too long to eat between meals which would cause me to become very agitated and irritable. Not only did I feel terrible but whoever was around had to put up with me. It wasn’t fun for anyone. My chemistry has since changed and I can go longer periods without eating and still maintain my charming demeanor:) But, I certainly feel, think and react to life better when I eat at proper times throughout the day. This is not a health food post so I am not going to get into what to eat or how much. I just know it’s important to eat regular meals so as not to ever be too hungry as it will probably negatively impact your mood and make it more difficult to be happy.

Eating at regular intervals and sleeping enough, two very basic and simple functions that you can maintain as a foundation, on your quest to happiness.

If there are some of you who cannot afford to eat regular meals or have to work three jobs and can’t get proper sleep, my thoughts are with you and I wish you peace and happiness.

Tags: Eating, Fear, Sleeping