Habits Help Build a Strong Mindset

For better or worse, I love routines. Those that really know me, could predict the time I wake up, what I eat for dinner, and probably the time I visit the gym. Some smart folks shared some of their daily habits. Here they are, written by the Product Hunt team.

Every day, it seems there are a thousand things pulling at our attention and energy—important relationships, ongoing errands, and endless work “to-do” lists, to name a few. The hardest thing about the influx of things we need and/or want to do is the toll it takes on our personal health—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. What routines can we practice to help us strengthen our bodies and minds?

Below, you’ll find insight from some incredible entrepreneurs and thought leaders on everything from introspection and therapy, to motivation and relaxation. We hope something you find in this piece helps you take great care of your mind, body, and soul as we enter into the second half of 2016.

What are some exercises to help you work on introspection? —  David McGraw

After I’m done with my early morning cold plunge, I immediately sit down for 20 minutes of what I call “Prime Time.” I don’t hope that I’m going to have a great perspective on the day, I prime my nervous system: I prepare it, I train it, for the perspective I want. I do this by sitting down and doing an intense breathing pattern that changes my state even more. Fundamentally, it’s raising my arms up to the sky as I take a deep breath in through my nose, and then exploding my arms and legs down, forcing all the air from my stomach through the back of my spine and through my nose with intensity. I do three sets of ten of these types of breath. Then I pause and experience the change in my body in mind and feel the sense of peace. I continue these three sets of ten with pauses three times.

I then take a minimum of ten minutes—usually twenty and sometimes as long as 35–40 minutes—and do these three things: I take 3 minutes and I focus on three things I’m deeply grateful for and I deeply associate to the feeling of gratitude for those people or experiences in my life. I take 3 minutes and I ask for a blessing that everything that needs to be solved is solved and then I ask for a blessing for all those that I know and love, from my family and friends to my clients, that they experience the same blessing. And finally I take 3 minutes and focus on my 3 to Thrive. I focus on 3 things I want to accomplish, I see them as done and I feel grateful for them. This sets me up for the day and provides a perspective to deal with any challenge as well as a state of fulfillment in all that I experience. — Tony Robbins, #1 Life and Business Strategist, Bestselling Author, and Philanthropist

When you were depressed and feeling like there was no way out, how did you get out of that mindset and move forward? —  Christopher Leach

The key is improving your “idea muscle.” After writing down ten ideas a day for about three months, I really felt a change and started sending out ideas to people who I looked up to and wanted to help at the same time. One out of twenty or so responded and gave me real opportunities. From there I continued and kept piling on the opportunities. It was an exciting but nerve-wracking time because I was losing everything. In order to do this, I also had to stay in shape, and avoid negative people in my life who would make me feel bad about my ideas. — James Altucher, Entrepreneur, podcaster, and bestselling author

What are your best tips on time management and mental stability for entrepreneurs?  — Dilyar Askar

That’s an important question. And there’s no easy answer. But at a broad level, let me offer up some general principles:

1. Say no to most things. I heard something the other day that really resonated with me: “If it’s not a hell yes, then it should be a no.” One of the most important decisions you make is deciding what not to do.
2. You know all the talk about getting enough sleep? It’s true. Don’t sacrifice sleep. Instead, do fewer things well.
3. Likewise, you know all the talk about exercise? It’s also true. It’s one of the few things that is almost always beneficial, almost all of the time.
4. Figure out your best time to do productive work. For me, it’s the morning. So when I’m writing book or a long article, the mornings are sacrosanct. No email. No phone. No Twitter. Just me, a blinking cursor, and a lot of muttering. — 

   Daniel Pink, Author of Drive, A Whole New Mind, and To Sell is Human

   

When projects have fallen through and things have not gone well, what strategies, questions, or rituals do you use to pick yourself up and not fall down the rabbit hole of “I’m not good enough”? —  Liz Flores

I see the worry of “I’m not good enough” and I wonder about it. “Can that be true?”… “Am I sure that’s true?”… “Where is that worry coming from?”… “What one thing can I do RIGHT NOW to get closer to what’s most important to me?”

I also really allow myself to feel the sadness and the pain. I’ve gone down the path of being a “silver lining-aholic” or avoiding how something really made me feel. That only creates a void or propels action out of fear. I’ll make myself some tea, grab my journal, and let myself have space to feel into and express the pain I’m feeling. (Some of my most raw creativity actually comes from that place.)

I also, as difficult as it is, aim to not attach myself to the outcome and how others receive my creativity. It’s a marathon, and the more hung up I get about what doesn’t work out, or what other people don’t like, the less space I have to step into what I can’t yet predict or imagine. — Amber Rae, Artist & Storyteller creating a global dialogue around wonder, creativity, and the human experience

What do you do to unwind in very stressful situations ? —  Elaine

Whenever I’m asked what the key qualities for an entrepreneur are, my response is: persistence, resilience, and the ability to manage your own mind. I’ve gotten good at managing my own mind, and using mental management to calm myself down and chill myself out. For example, I am only allowed to stress about one or—at the most—two things daily. :) If I have a whole bunch of shit coming at me from all directions, I go OK, I am only allowed to pick one or two of these and focus on how I’m going to solve that/those. Everything else can wait. You get very good at laser-focused prioritization under #startupstress.

My single most motivating dynamic/pick me up is the one I articulate as “I’m going to fucking well show you.” You tell me it can’t be done? I’m going to fucking well show you. You put an obstacle in my path? I’m going to fucking well show you. So I turn stress and adversity into motivation and inspiration — because you have to. — Cindy Gallop, Co-founder & CEO, MakeLoveNotPorn

How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals? —  Matt Lugo

I wrote down a mission statement a while ago about what I believe I’m here to do, my purpose right now, and why that matters to me (what the world will look like if I do versus if I don’t). I typically start each day meditating for a few minutes, and visualizing the effect I’ll have — what that world looks like if I do that work. Then each night, I write down a list of the few things I want to get done the next day. Apart from that, I focus on getting adequate nutrition (take a micronutrient deficiency test, we’re all deprived of essential nutrients and minerals!), 8–9 hours of sleep, and taking breaks to play with friends (recreation is re-creation). — Charlie Hoehn, author of Play It Away

What is the one thing that you do when you don’t seem to find the inspiration to do awesome work? —  Aishwarya Naik

Not being inspired or motivated happens pretty often to me personally. I usually recommend doing the so-called artist date, which is a date with yourself to push you out of your comfort zone. Essentially, you just do something that you are uncomfortable with; that could be running through the park naked, or simply just booking a trip by yourself and going somewhere alone. The thing is, something will eventually happen and you will get inspired. It might sound a little stupid, but thats really how it works.

Also, little trick: I work on 10 projects at the same time. When I’m not inspired on one, I’m certainly inspired on the other. I can just jump, and procrastinate by working on one of the other projects. (: — Tobias Van Schneider, German Designer & Maker. Former Design Lead at Spotify

What kind of routines or outlets have you established for yourself as a way to “stay sane”? —  Kate

I’ve learned to work smarter and not harder, especially as a new mom. I make sure to spend serious time with my baby, Ansel, every day. I prioritize all the meetings I have at work and say “no” to meetings where others can just fill me in later or make decisions on my behalf. I’m out of the office by 5pm every day to have quality time with my family. And then I get back online after dinner to wrap up the day’s work. I really try to get 6–7 hours of sleep per night and a good workout 3–4x/week. AND LOTS OF GREEN JUICE! :) — Brit Morin, Founder & CEO of Brit + Co

How can founders feel less lonely? Depression and anxiety is rampant and yet we don’t talk about it much or address it. —  Cyan Banister

This is one of the most fundamental and important questions in Silicon Valley right now. Because of the stigma, I am not sure how to increase the volume on the conversation other than to just start talking about it as much as possible with as many people as possible in Silicon Valley. The resources are still in the very earliest stages of being developed, not just for Silicon Valley but for the broader world. I am going to list a few resources that I think could be helpful for this question, but with the caveat that this list is not comprehensive and that there is still a huge amount of work to be done here. It is the area I am most passionate about in the world as I mentioned in another answer above. Here are a few things going on that are important:

I think what Joe Greenstein is doing with InnerSpace is really inspiring and important. They are the one resource that I know of that is completely focused on founders as it relates to depression, anxiety, and more.

Tristan Harris, former Google Chief Product Philosopher and Design Ethicist, has begun work on a new project called Time Well Spent, which is profound and fascinating. His recent Medium post is a must read around how technology hijacks our minds. Read more here.

We are big supporters and investors at Slow of Mandy Silverman and her company Ivy, which helps you find the best therapist for you. Taking care of your mind should be as important as taking care of your body. As much as you love going to SoulCycle, you should also love going to your therapist. Ivy helps you find the right one for you by setting you up with several quick 15 minute interviews with therapists. Everyone should have a therapist, especially founders in Silicon Valley.

Of course, it is hard for any doctor that you work with, psychiatry/psychology or otherwise, to help you without a good understanding of your medical history and data. So, we’ve invested in the talented Noga Leviner and her Picnic Health, which is a complete revolution in patient-centric medical records. You sign up, tell them all of your doctors, and they literally go and find all of your medical records for you and put them into one amazingly well designed interface so that you can have them, and your doctors can have a complete picture of your health over your lifetime. It’s a breakthrough.

There are two new startups which we are not investors in which are also good resources for managing depression and anxiety. One is called Lantern, one is called Joyable, and another called Kindly. All of these can help connect you digitally with people who can help, but I would recommend this only as an augmentation to having direct human coaching/therapy in your life.

Beyond that, one of the most stigmatized of all topics is medication, even though it should not be. If you are taking a medication it can be hard to find feedback outside of direct interactions with your doctors. What Thomas Goetz is doing here with his company Iodine is a real revolution in building community around medication. Iodine has built a community of over 100,000 people so far, which are sharing and collaborating around how different medications work for them, what causes what side effects, and more. They are then using this data to help you find better medication options, and faster, so that you don’t waste time and can find the right treatment for you.

Beyond that, my new project is called Sunrise, and the goal is to find a better way to cure depression. We are working across the board on both the biological and behavioral sides to create a better experience for those that suffer with depression, anxiety and related brain health problems. If you want to learn more, contribute, or just talk, you can go here and text us. The project is at the very very earliest phases, so resources are limited; but we will do our best to point you at resources that might be helpful. — Dave Morin, Entrepreneur, Investor, and Founder & Partner at Slow Ventures

Even after experiencing success, how do you quiet/silence the voice of self-doubt? —  Susan Ng

The voice of self-doubt shows up EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I see it as an ally. Self-doubt reflects love and curiosity, and what I truly and deeply care about. If I’m asking “Am I really an artist?” or “Can I really do that?” or “Am I ready to get on stage?” chances are, it’s exactly what I must do. When I look at anything meaningful I’ve ever done, there’s always an ocean of self-doubt that required me to dip in my toe, feel it out, and eventually dive in. Not having self-doubt feels way more scary to me, as that would indicate I don’t care enough or I’m not diving deep enough to pull up the best treasure possible.

Also, I talk to it! I think of the two voices in my head as “Worry” and “Wonder”—and when Worry is taking over and Wonder is hiding in the corner, I’ll talk to Worry and let her know that I see and hear her fears and concerns, and that Wonder has our back. Worry is usually terrified of being seen, and so I have to hold her hand a little bit, and remind her that Wonder is the muse and driver of our ship. — Amber Rae, Artist & Storyteller creating a global dialogue around wonder, creativity, and the human experience

There’s so much we can learn from other people’s experiences—whether we want to learn how to build a stronger mindset or a better startup, and everything in between. If you want to learn from other great thought leaders, join us for an upcoming Product Hunt LIVE Chat and ask a question of your own. You can find the full schedule here: