A New Week | March 28th, 2022
Caffeine is NOT your best friend or How quitting coffee makes you a more effective leader and healthy human
Caffeine is a personal boundary breaker. It's the greatest socially accepted drug that keeps us productive even when our body is exhausted.
Don't get me wrong - a slow coffee in the morning is not a bad thing. Several cups of coffee as a replacement for rest, grogginess, movement, or work anxiety is a lifestyle problem.
I had a lifestyle problem 8 years ago. I worked hours on end, built a business, wanted to maintain my athletic performance to feel and look good, considered sleep as a necessity, not a human need, and I had a baby.
Over time I noticed how I became more anxious, more irritated, and less receptive to the normal day-to-day disturbances in life when I didn't have coffee.
Here's what I learned since then and a protocol that I am now using with many of my clients successfully:
Caffeine adrenalizes(!!) us out of a perfectly healthy system that tells us "Enough - I need rest".
Have you noticed that when you reach for caffeine how it helps you to get through something that would, otherwise, be physically exhausting and difficult?
Coffee feeds the adrenal response in your body causing a fight-or flight response in our nervous system. This is chronic stress.
Think of coffee as an external charge every time you consume it.It takes about 2-3 weeks to ease out of coffee, the associated headache, and flattening out the adrenaline response in your body. You can do it.
You want to unlearn the coffee response, and teach your body about new sources of energy. Get enough sunlight in the morning, drink lots of water, do a 10min guided meditation or walk when you feel the urge to have a coffee. I did lots of burpees, and muscle relaxations meditations at the beginning.
Learn to listen to the natural responses of your body. It makes you a better leader:
You will respect your boundaries more, which will make you respect other people's boundaries more.
You will get better at managing your time, asking for help, and understanding your strength and weakness before just "hustling through it"
It's called the de-conolization of our mind and body. Enjoy.