Bear Grylls renames his alarm clock 'opportunity' clock because alarm sounds negative

Bear Grylls has revealed some of his hacks for making getting up in the morning easier, including renaming his alarm clock.

The British adventurer and TV presenter may have become known for drinking his own urine from a snake skin, fashioning a wetsuit out of a seal and snuggling up inside the carcass of a camel for warmth, but the 48-year-old has since settled down into a slightly more regular routine.

However, there's always a lesson to be learnt with the former SAS soldier and there's certainly no typical setting of the alarm clock in Grylls' household.

Oh no, because to call such a device an 'alarm clock' is not the most beneficial way to speak about it.

Grylls has since spoken out about some of the adjustments he's made to help him get up in the mornings and make less than pleasant tasks more positive experiences for one's mental health.

Jeff Morgan 01/ Alamy Stock Photo

Instead of calling his alarm clock an 'alarm clock,' Grylls has chosen to name it 'an opportunity clock'.

He tells the Telegraph: "My family takes the mick out of me a lot for the ‘opportunity clock’, but language is important.

"How we speak to each other and ourselves is important. Words have power. It’s a choice to speak kindly and positively."

Image Source/ Alamy Stock Photo

I highly doubt I could ever think of a repetitive, jarring and head-splitting beeping sound as anything other than the devil forcing me from my peaceful slumber, but I can't fault Grylls for trying.

As if embracing your alarm like it were a golden ticket to the endless possibilities of the future wasn't an unlikely enough concept for many to take on already, Grylls also advises to take cold showers every morning.

Waking up at 6:00am this morning cocooned in not only my duvet but two blankets, with my dog curled up next to me as a hot water bottle, dipping my toe outside of the covers was quite enough for me, let alone flinging myself into my shower to whack icy cold water on myself voluntarily. I'll pass thanks.

However, Grylls pressed: "Even just 30 seconds at the end of your shower - whack it down to full-cold to get that blast - gives your whole system a brilliant reset. It’s like nature’s defrag."

PAUL GROVER/ Alamy Stock Photo

One piece of Grylls' advice I can get more behind - but once more, not in the deep and dark depths of winter - is embracing being out in the pouring rain.

There's nothing quite like being out in the park in summer or in a pool and feeling the sprinkling of rain descending on you, immediately transported to a scene from a rom-com or Rihanna's Umbrella music video.

Grylls adds: "It can be brilliantly healing. So many humans have an aversion to rain but I’ve learnt that, as long as you’re not in a suit, there’s something amazing about being out for five minutes in rain. Nature is always our best teacher."

Allstar PIcture Library Ltd/ Alamy Stock Photo

Grylls certainly has a point. We've all heard cold showers are good for us and that reframing tasks or items with negative connotations in a more positive way can, undeniably, improve our mental wellbeing.

Whether we'll ever put it into practice is another question entirely.