By Josh Siatkowski | Staff Writer
By now, almost everyone has seen the viral video of Ashton Hall’s morning routine, where the comically muscular man takes six hours to meticulously prepare for his day. Although reactions to this video have been skeptical of the efficacy of Hall’s quarter-day “life-changing” routine, the video still signals that our infatuation with self-help has gone too far.
Hall, a former running back at Alcorn State University, is up before 4 a.m. (according to his video, at least). At 3:52 a.m., he rips a bandage off of his mouth that keeps his lips sealed overnight and promises “life-changing sleep.”
Two minutes later, he screws open his first bottle of Saratoga Spring Water — which has benefited greatly from the product placement. He takes a swig and then carries the bottle around with him for much of the morning as he completes his routine. You can watch everything he does in the video here, but some of the most notable things Hall does include swan diving into his rooftop pool, cleaning his face with a banana peel and, of course, dousing his face in a bucket of ice water on two separate occasions.
As Hall’s six hours of personal time comes to a close, the video wraps up, leaving most viewers laughing at such an unrealistic ritual. Although audiences are largely mature enough to not take Hall’s post seriously, the existence of a man who sincerely believes in a 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. morning routine full of Patrick Bateman-esque rituals might be on its own enough to take a cold, hard look at what self-help has become.
Health or Wealth?
Alongside his avant-garde practices, there’s something else present in almost every scene of Hall’s self-care documentaries: displays of wealth. Whether it’s walking outside to his high-rise balcony for 20 minutes of push-ups or slapping on a gold Rolex just to run wind sprints, opulence is everywhere. It makes it pretty hard to determine whether Hall is advocating for health or wealth.
We should stay healthy to be happy, or so we can be around longer for the ones we love. But recently, early morning self-care routines have become attractive because of an obsession with billionaire best practices. It has me wondering if we care more about the impacts of a morning routine on our health, or on our bank account.
Self-help or help others?
The term “self-help” has become one of ultimate admiration in our society. Hitting the gym, focusing on school or work, maintaining a healthy diet and other forms of self-improvement are now more venerated than ever. And for the most part, that veneration is warranted. These practices make people better and stronger, giving them more energy and ability to help those around them.
But helping others isn’t really at the forefront of the self-help discussion. Just take a look at the caption on Hall’s post:
“[Between] 4:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m., no one’s calling or distracting your productivity … They are asleep. 8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. is the opposite.”
Hall probably doesn’t mean this, but it sounds an awful lot like he’s saying that we should prioritize our needs over the calls of others, that “me” time is more important than “we” time. This thinking makes self-help completely worthless — if not to help other people, why are we improving ourselves in the first place? Yet it sadly seems like the interpretation we are headed toward.
Self-help is a great thing, but it’s only great when we remember the “help” is more important than the “self.” Christians and non-Christians alike should remember that the greatest benefit of getting stronger is not a six-pack or a penthouse; it’s the ability it gives us to lift others up.
