HEALTH

Staying on a more even keel helps you to maintain your momentum, and that includes both the inner and the outer games—taking care of yourself physically and mentally. Daily momentum includes managing your morning routine—what you read, watch, and focus on outside of work, and what you think about on a consistent basis. It also includes how you sit or your posture at your workstation, how much exercise and sleep you get, your eating and drinking habits, who your partner is, who your friends are . . . These things do matter.

It’s easy to glance over this and tell yourself you’ll do it later, but don’t put it off anymore. Taking care of yourself positions you for the long haul, no matter where you’re going. Design your morning routine and look at your yearly goals again. Write down the rituals that will free your mind to be in that space where you can get some meaningful work done every day, no matter whether you’re in a high or low day.

What are you feeling? What are your goals and plans? What’s your strategy to win at your game of life? I must get better at this and I’m not an expert, but here’s what I’ve found to be helpful.

I have written in journals since I was 17 years old. It can be better than going to a psychologist and it’s therapeutic. You can get it all out—ups and downs, wins and losses. People will disappoint you and excite you, and this is the human drama. You must process all of it in a way that doesn’t take away from how you want to live your life, who you want to be, and what you want to do and create. You’ll get pulled in every direction except the one you really want to go, so protect your mindset. Processing it on paper is a lot more effective then looping it over and over in your mind.

You will face challenges and some of them may seem insurmountable. And sometimes you will fail or make a decision that costs you—but there are always things in your life you can be thankful for. Regularly count your blessings in some way to keep your focus on the positive.