It’s a little hard to be awesome when you don’t feel awesome.

I’m not saying it can’t be done, but there’s no way that some of the potential awesomeness isn’t dampened.

This is why I have a section of posts devoted to health and diet. Because being awesome is an “all over” thing. It’s how you feel. It’s how you think. It’s what you do. And it’s covered in several points of my 365 Ways to Be Awesome manifesto.

But first, a story.

Many years ago I met a sushi chef who was delightful and very good at what he did. His business was not doing great because of local construction that made it difficult to get to his restaurant, and because he’d stopped promoting himself. He had no website, no social media, no ads, nothing. And his business was dying.

One night my husband and I were there, and we were troubled by the fact that it was mostly empty on a Thursday night at prime time. The chef came out to check on us, and I did the unthinkable: I asked him flat out how his business was doing.

He looked a little abashed, and told me, “Not so good. I just mortgaged my house to stay afloat.” He looked a little ashamed to tell me this, and then he said, “It’s just that I love to feed people good food.” He looked up at me with pride, and in earnest, said, “I believe that if I feed people good, nourishing food that they will be better husbands, better fathers, better friends. And if I have to mortgage my house to do it, then I will.”

I was smitten. So was my husband. There was so much truth in his words.

Food is supposed to nourish the body. It’s supposed to provide fuel so that all those cells and microbes can do their jobs in such a way that we can LIVE. It should make us feel alive, and it should help create a sense of clarity in thought and make it easier to resolve the problems of every day living, and dare I say, thriving.

But, what has been passed off as “food” the last 50-100 years has not been doing that. Especially in the last 50 or so years. Processed “foods” are so removed from what our bodies use for fuel, that it’s a wonder we get as much done as we do.

What if we actually had bodies that were nourished? That were using what we fed it efficiently to function optimally? What if we had bodies that were the right size and weight so that we could tackle any physical challenges that life presented? And what if we had the mental clarity and capacity to do much more than what we do each day? How much more awesomeness could we tend to?

I think it would be staggering actually, because I know a LOT of people who don’t feel nourished and are hampered by a body that is stiff and creaky, and achy and even inflamed. I know a LOT of people who are sluggish and exhausted, and have difficulty remembering things. And the horrifying thing is that many people consider this “normal”.

When I was having very distinct issues with my memory, I had several people tell me that they had similar issues as they got older and that it wasn’t weird at all. But I disagree. It is not normal to subtly fall apart as we age. It’s not.

When I was sick, I can’t tell you how many people reached out to me with their own significant health problems. It was then that I realized that we live in a culture where feeling like shit in the morning is considered normal. Well, it’s not.

Sorry, but I have to disagree. Feeling crappy might be something that the majority of people in our modern culture feel like, but that doesn’t make it normal. And it certainly doesn’t make it healthy.

So, I will share the 10 things that I feel have the most profound effect on our every day feeling of well-being, because the world needs more awesome, and we need to feel awesome enough to make it happen.

10 Steps to Feel Awesome Every. Single. Day.

1. Eat nourishing, satisfying foods.
   It’s not rocket science, so let’s not complicate this one. Eat whole, unprocessed foods, preferably organic. Skip the fast foods, the fried foods, the processed grains and sugars of every kind. Eat vegetables, some berries, and proteins that were raised the way nature intended (grass-fed, pasture raised, wild-caught, humanely treated, and not fed frankenfoods). Eat enough good fats, and no refined carbs. If this seems daunting, I’ve covered it in detail here.

2. Get good sleep.
   This is so important, it’s easy to overlook. While the body is sleeping, it heals, rebuilds and readies itself for the next kick ass day ahead.

3. Unplug at night, or at least eliminate the blue light.
   Did you know that the human body actually has a genetically programmed cycle that signals the body when to sleep, and when to be alert for the day’s demands? But that gets scrambled with our nightly routine of TV watching, and digital device scrolling. It’s the blue lights from the screens that causes the internal confusion. It can make it difficult to fall asleep, and can make restful sleep an issue.

   There’s a setting on your digital devices to remove the blue at night now, or you can get some amber colored glasses to use after sunset. Try it for yourself and see if your sleep improves.

4. Drink bone broth.
   There are so many nourishing reasons to drink bone broth. It is loaded with bio-available minerals, restores collagen, improves joints, diminishes inflammation, calms the body, and it tastes sooooooo good. It can heal the gut, resolve digestive issues, speed up healing of body trauma, and more. It’s easy to make once you get the hang of it. I start my day with a hot cup of bone broth and it is AWESOME.

5. Take off your shoes and connect with the Earth.
   Believe it or not, this is one of the most healing things you can do for your body, especially if you have inflammation of any kind. Every day, I kick off my shoes, and my husband and I walk on the beach. If we didn’t live anywhere near a beach, we’d find a park, or just a patch of Earth because this is one of the MOST profound things we can do to heal and nourish the body. Especially in our modern life.

   Earthing or grounding as it’s also called, floods the body with negative ions that actually act as anti-oxidants. It also bleeds off the EMFs (electro-magnetic fields) that the body accumulates from using cell phones, computers or any electronics. Best of all, it’s free. It costs you nothing.

6. Spend time doing something you love.
   It doesn’t matter what it is, but you should engage in something you love every single day. Whatever that is that brings you joy, indulge in it. Make some art. Get crafty. Call your best friend. Play with your kids. Snuggle with your pets. Write something. Listen to music. Dance. Take a bubble bath. Pamper yourself. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every day, mind you. But please, do something that you love to do.

7. Connect with family and/or friends.
   Make time for the people that matter in your life each day. I text my grown kids silly things some days, I call my mom or my mother-in-law, and if my kids were still at home, I’d make time to play with them, read with them or just catch up with them. I believe that this is one of the reasons that I’m still so close to all of my kids even though they are grown.

   If you have kids at home, please have dinner with them around a table with no digital devices and reconnect. If you don’t have kids, then do this with your spouse or other half, or your bestie. If feasible, make dinner together. At the end of the night, turn off all the devices and settle in with the love of your life. Cuddle, catch up, talk about your dreams and plans for the next day, week or month. Remind each other why you fell in love in the first place. This piece of advice comes from 27+ years of marriage, by the way.

8. Pick one new way to be more AWESOME each day.
   Seriously. Read the 365 Ways to Be Awesome, and pick out one thing you can do to be more awesome. If you haven’t read it yet, please do. It’s a big list, but so worth it. Chances are you’ll remember things you used to do that were awesome, and you might even get some great ideas you never thought of.

9. Take some time for personal spiritual and/or physical enhancement.
   This is life. Dive in and learn more about it. Dedicate some time (undistracted) to learn more about you, the world, your health. Go to church, or study, or take a dance or yoga class. This is a journey, and taking that time each day makes the journey easier and more awesome.

10. Eliminate the negativity, and focus on things that make life better.
    This is a biggie. Our news feeds are full of political rants, opinions and the media views of the world. I don’t watch the news. Ever. I unfollow people who are negative and/or tend to rant. I don’t spend my time with people who suck the joy out of my life, or make me question myself. Ever. These are all life suckers, and nothing will be lost in eliminating them from your life.

    I can not stress enough how quickly these elements can drain whatever awesome you have planned. And weirdly, once you turn off the news, unfollow those negative people, and excuse yourself from their presence in real life, magic happens.

    Watch good news, follow people who inspire and uplift and encourage you, connect with friends who make you want to do whatever it is that leads to more awesome.

This may seem like a lot at a glance, but it’s really not. By gradiently putting each of these points in, life and livingness will have greater meaning, and there will be more moments of happiness that add up to greater awesomeness.

And you’ll be surprised to find that your awesomeness will affect others in your life, and in turn, they too, will make the world more awesome.

By the way, we helped that sushi chef with his marketing and promotion and his restaurant turned around and is still successful today. #beawesome 😉

What do you do to be awesome each day? Let me know in the comments below.

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