Hey guys and welcome back to another episode of your Brain's Coach podcast. My name is Angela Shurina, I'm your host, I'm your Brain's Coach and it is my job here to share with you, bring to you, deliver to you, learn with you, master with you all the brain-body tools to help ourselves to master better our emotions, our thoughts and, most importantly, our actions, so we get to shape our life experience closer and closer and closer to the one we absolutely love living. You know, recently I caught myself on this thought that once again in my life I'm in this space when I'm waking up and I'm leaping out of my bed excited to live my day, to make things happen, to work on hard and challenging things. In the past couple years of my life it's been really challenging with business and work and personal journey. Business didn't work well. I lost a lot of things, I got myself in debt, which I'm finally working myself out of, and there was war. I couldn't travel home and I just lost and survived through so many things. But even before that, I think the crisis one when one morning I woke up and I realized I wasn't looking to my days and at that point I decided I need to figure out how to get back to the time in life where, when I felt like my life was on purpose, like I wanted to wake up every day and my day was infused with moving forward, with work that I loved, and the time was when I started my work as a coach, when this whole thing just you know the beginning of it, and I remember that feeling till this day, while working as a fitness coach, as a personal trainer, after graduating with computer science degree and all and getting back, starting from level zero.
Speaker 1But I remember that feeling that I had on the days when I worked, this feeling of fulfillment and just having fun at work and also doing what I love and what I believe in and helping people to get better, to improve, to change their habits, to get more energy. And that feeling it was so bright and so good and it was, I think, 17 years ago. Is it so till this day when? Well, till that day when I woke up and I felt like my life wasn't really fulfilling or something that I was excited to live every day, I remembered that feeling and it lasted more than 15 years. So you know, when they say, people don't remember what you're going to say, but people will remember how you make them feel. That is so absolutely truth, and I know it's truth because I lived through that. Memories, the brightest memories you're going to have in life are for the things that made you feel the best inside. And so on that day I remember it and I started to chase that feeling again.
Speaker 1I'm like how can I get back to that feeling of purpose, of fulfillment, of excitement, not because I have a lot of money or I'm famous or everything is going for me, but because I'm on a mission, I'm on a journey of living the life I was designed, I was meant to live. I wanted to share with you guys, because that feeling of excitement about the day ahead is one of the most important things. You need to somehow manifest and find those things that give you that feeling, and after that everything else is going to be a cherry on top. And today we are talking about feelings and about the most important practice to not only give you energy but also give you the best opportunity to have the feeling that I'm talking about. So first we want to talk about behavioral activation and how doing the things makes you feel a certain way, like you know how I was telling you about the work that I had. That made me feel like I was living my life on purpose, with meaning. The feelings that we experience every day, they come from the things that we do.
Speaker 1Let me introduce to you a new term behavioral activation, depression and behavioral activation. So here is a little bit of research. When we are depressed, we become less active. The less active we are, the fewer opportunities there are for positive and rewarding things to happen to us, and the fewer rewarding things that happen to us, the lower our mood becomes. Behavioral activation is one way out of this vicious cycle. It is a practical and evidence-based treatment for depression, but it's also a very practical tool used in coaching guys and self-leadership and creating the life that you absolutely love living.
Speaker 1So behavioral activation is all about this fact that they noticed and studied in behavioral psychology while trying to help people to deal with depression. So they noticed that when people do certain things, they create certain feelings, and when people don't do certain things, they don't create those feelings. So that is why, if you want to live a life infused with purpose, you got to do certain things. But that also if you want to, for example, feel motivated, driven to pursue to do hard, challenging things. You want to do certain things.
Speaker 1Yesterday I watched a short video of one of the scientists in fitness and nutrition and lifestyle and he shared that. A lot of times people would ask him a question like how are you so motivated every day to do hard training he's also a world record setter in either powerlifting or squatting, something like that and he said I don't feel that motivated every day, but then I do things and they make me feel better and eventually make me feel motivated again. He was talking about this fact that feelings that we seek to create, we create them by action, and this also means this is how it is to be a leader in your life you don't wait for feelings. You do the actions and then feelings come. In Russian, we have a saying around how appetite comes while eating. I think it was invented by parents trying to make kids eat and they would like eat. And when kids would say I don't want to and they're like well, you eat and then you will want. But the same applies actually what they learned in studying depression you don't wait while depressed for your mood to get better.
Speaker 1You do things like movement I don't know play, getting outside, connecting with people who make you feel good. You do all those things and then the way you feel changes Motivation. You don't wait for motivation. You do all those things and then the way you feel changes Motivation. You don't wait for motivation, you do the thing, like exercise, and then you get motivated. But exercise, by the way it physiologically, like in your body, there is a chemistry factory that creates molecule of dopamine that makes you feel motivated, like when you exercise, your brain actually does create more of it. You turn on this biochemical dopamine factory in your brain that gives you the feeling of motivation, the feeling that then you take and carry over to other activities, like challenging work. That's why I love and recommend exercising first thing in the morning, especially if you are in the period of growth and you want to take it to the next level, and that means doing a lot more challenging things, choosing to do a lot more challenging things in your day. You absolutely need to feel that way and to feel that way, exercise is a consistent, proven way to manufacture more dopamine so you do feel motivated.
Speaker 1So, number one lesson here you don't wait for feelings. You make the feelings by taking action. And the best way to still persuade yourself to take that first action, to create the feeling you need to make your day successful, to make your life successful. So the best method is to ask yourself questions about your future. What do I want my day to be like, what do I want my life to be like? What do I need to feel to create that kind of life? And what do I need to do to feel to do right, to do-be-do-be-do? What do I need to do to feel to do right, to do-be-do-be-do? What I need to do to feel empowered to then go out there and do challenging things so I create the life that I absolutely love living. That's what it means to live your everyday as a leader. You don't wait for feelings. You do the thing that you know creates the feelings that you need to make the rest of the stuff happen. The second tip tool truth that you want to learn about today is sunlight.
Speaker 1As we talk about dopamine, which is important for motivation, for feeling of being energized, to go and pursue things, to have the mood for the things, to have ideas and thoughts about accomplishing big things, you need dopamine, actually, for all of that. Did you know that people who have bipolar disorder and go through this period of mania, when they feel like they're invincible and they literally can change the world and they own the world, like this mania, which is an unhealthy thing, because then you do the things like gambling or jumping on the airplane and flying to the other part of the world, even though you might have family and work and responsibilities. So it's not a great thing to have mania and bipolar disorder. That's why it's a disorder, because it makes you less adaptable to living a successful life. So, anyhow, you know what causes this mania of being invincible Higher, too high levels of dopamine. Like it's too much of a good thing. But you need that dopamine to feel the confidence to get shit done.
Speaker 1And in order to create that dopamine and to create that energy to make your cells effective producers of internal energy, that molecule of ATP that drives life, that gives energy, that is the beginning of all things in your life, of all action. Without energy, there is no life, no action, no progress, nothing. So mitochondria, those things in your cells that create energy, need light, full spectrum light, it seems. Yes, there is red light, which mitochondria seems to be very sensitive to when it comes to energy production cycle, but there's also blue light. So it seems like your mitochondria, energy-producing plants in your cells need light sunlight, full-spectrum light, which is recommended to get at least 15-30 minutes a day from being outside. So your mitochondria need that light to produce energy effectively. Well, the amount of energy they produce will define A your mood, how motivated you and energized and enthusiastic you feel to do a lot of things in your day. This will define how well your neurons work.
Speaker 1Did you know, guys, that your brain is the most energy-consuming organ of your body, with being just 5% of your body weight, it consumes more than 20%, for knowledge workers, somewhere around 25% of your energy, like one-fourth of your energy being 5% of your body. Those neurons in your brain, those brain cells, they're freaking hungry monsters. They need all the mitochondria, all the effectiveness that they get. Otherwise you can get things like lack of focus, bad mood, not learning things, not remembering things, having your senior moments and definitely not doing podcasts on the fly and just DJing it all the way through, with all the scientific information. That comes from well-functioning neurons, Well-functioning neurons or brain cells.
Speaker 1They come from energy-effective system, which comes from effective mitochondria, which needs red light and all full spectrum light that you get from sunlight. And not only that, but they also drive your health, your fitness, your motivation levels. Everything depends on energy, and energy depends on mitochondria, which need light to function effectively. So if you want to be productive, if you want to be motivated, if you want to be full of energy and healthy and fit, you need those mitochondria getting the light that they need and the recommended amount dose. Daily dose of sunlight 15 minimum. 15 minutes minimum. If you are struggling with some health condition or maybe brain fork and just not feeling that well, then bump it up to 30 minutes to double the dose, after which the benefit might not necessarily be that big.
Speaker 1If you want to learn more about that, listen to Andrew Huberman's podcast. I believe it was the one before last one where they talked all about like first half of the podcast for about 40 minutes with this medical doctor. They talked all about his experience with seeing sometimes cancer patients, sometimes other types of patients having almost miraculous recovery or just improvement of things from just getting outside after feeling sicker and sicker while they were in hospital, depleted from this natural light because they were considered to be too sick to get outside. But guess what? They got better once they started getting outside and they also share a lot of research about how, just by being on a sunny side in a hospital, exposed to more light, people recover better, consistently.
Speaker 1So All of that for you to understand that if you sit in front of your computer that I do a lot and you feel like, oh, my brain is starting to slow down and everything is harder and I'm not that focused and I'm distracted and I'm not learning, I'm not enthusiastic, I feel like my energy, my battery, is being drained faster than the one in my laptop. If you are feeling that, get outside. I have this ritual in the middle of the day, this midday slump, when I feel like my brain starts to slow down and I've already worked for like six to seven hours and like I need a break. So what I do is I get outside, either do some shopping or just go and have some meal or snack and just I'll go out there and absorb all the sunlight that I can. If I'm going from meeting to meeting, then I make sure that some of that meeting or going in between meetings I'm spending outside so I recharge those energy-producing mitochondria so I then feel more energized for work, for that meeting, so I have my energy lasting throughout the whole day, till the very last I don't know open-eyed moment in my day. So I keep learning till about 20 minutes before my bedtime. I'm still functioning, learning, putting in the work, and when I need to do some extra work or do an interview later during the day, I can do that too. And not only that, but then I don't get sick, I don't waste time of being sick or being low energy and I can just keep chipping away of my dreams and building my dreams one step at a time.
Speaker 1It means so much, guys, to be full of energy every single day, and it starts with your mitochondria, the ones that produce energy. Without energy, you're literally nothing, you do nothing, you have low mood, you don't get anything done and you're not generous with your energy that other people and opportunities are attracted to, and it's so vital to your success. So get freaking outside. That is number one tip of resilience and high-performance health that you need to take care of. Obviously, I don't know drinking water and making sure you are in a safe environment. So get outside, recharge your mitochondria to be productive, energized, motivated. We charge your mitochondria to be productive, energized, motivated and just make a lot of great things happen to build the life that you absolutely love living.
Speaker 1And then the second thing that we talked about today is behavioral activation and living your days, going through your days as a leader. You don't wait for the mood to get going. You get going and then wait for the mood to get going. You get going and then you get the mood. They used this principle of behavioral activation, behavior first. You are activated by your behavior. They use it to treat depression and it works for depression and it will work for you. And just like with eating, the appetite quote unquote comes while eating. Use the principle be a leader in your life and in life of others. Get that sunlight for more energy and keep shaping your life as your dream has it. Thank you, guys for listening, thank you for tuning in. Don't forget to share this podcast episode with at least one other person who needs some of that energy to keep going. Get going and change their life and have the most awesome life experience. Share this podcast episode that will mean a world to me and till next time, get some sun and stay energized.