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Small Changes, Big Results

Have a walnut. Speak your mind. Plan ahead. Tiny but powerful life tweaks that will make you happier, healthier, and—yes!—better.
Mental tip: Wake up with a plan.
Photo: iStockphoto
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Wake Up with a Plan
If you overuse the snooze button, try this: When the alarm goes off, get out of bed and into the shower. And while you're there, try to remember yesterday's headlines. The one-two punch of physical and mental activity will activate your brain, says Zac Unger, author of Working Fire: The Making of a Fireman. (This Ivy Leaguer learned a lot about waking up quickly when he started fighting fires.) He also suggests that rather than dwell on how awful you're feeling, you make a goal you want to achieve before lunch.
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From the November 2008 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
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