Neuroscientist Explains How The Soulja Boy Song ‘Turn My Swag On’ Accurately Describes The Perfect Morning Routine For A Good Life
Who knew that Soulja Boy had the perfect morning routine figured out all along?
Dean Drobot, PR Image Factory | Canva If you didn’t hop up out the bed and turn your swag on this morning, you might want to rethink your morning routine.
As it turns out, Soulja Boy was onto something this entire time, and 15 years later, we finally have the science to back up his iconic track. “Turn My Swag On” wasn’t just a song for Soulja Boy to flex his wealth and success, it was a mantra — a code that Soulja Boy lives by. Swag is eternal, swag is constant, it’s all around us, and by turning your swag on in the morning, you could actually be improving your overall mental and emotional health, according to neuroscientist Emily McDonald.
Neuroscientist says you should ‘hop up out the bed’ and ‘turn your swag on’ in the morning.
“So, Soulja Boy actually knew the philosophy to life based on neuroscience, and let me tell you why,” McDonald claims in a video uploaded on September 26, 2023. “So you know when Soulja Boy said ‘hopped up out the bed, turn my swag on. Took a look in the mirror, said, 'What's up?’ he was actually onto something.”
She claims that she was listening to the 2008 hit recently and thought about it more seriously and how it relates to neuroscience, and she claims that his routine can actually be backed by it.
Before the skeptics say “No way Soulja Boy could help me improve my mornings,” she says “just let me explain,” and even writes this in her caption. The science proves that Soulja Boy is right on this one.
“So the first thing he does is he hops out the bed and he turns his swag on, and the first thing you should absolutely do is hop out the bed and turn your swag on and say, ‘I’m prepared to be surprised by the amazing day I’m about to have,’” she says.
Practicing self-affirmations daily actually activates the reward centers in your brain, according to a study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Positive affirmations fire up the neural pathways associated with making you happy and maintaining a positive attitude.
Next, she emphasizes the importance of mirror work, something that Soulja Boy also does.
“Then he says he takes a look in the mirror and says ‘what’s up?’ and this is the crazy part because something I actually talk about to increase dopamine and self-confidence and self-love and motivation is to do mirror work in the morning,” she explains, saying that specifically, she often tells people to give themselves a high-five in the mirror. “[It] forces your brain to associate that dopamine that you’re getting from the high-five with the image of you in the mirror.”
She also emphasizes that positive affirmations could be done in the morning as well to achieve the same results, but if you’ve already hopped up out the bed and turned your swag on, maybe opt for the high-five instead to change it up.
His next line is “yeah, I’m getting money, oh,” and while this is a very straightforward line about the success Soulja Boy has achieved, it’s also an important message to send to your brain as well, according to McDonald.
“Why would we not wanna wire that into our brains first thing in the morning?” She asks. “Theta activity is high first thing in the morning, and that means our brain is more easily rewired.” She argues that because of all these things, the mornings are the best time to tell ourselves that we are getting money.
Overall, hopping out of bed and turning your swag on is more than just an anthem, it’s a code to live by in order to achieve the perfect morning routine and start your day off right. Next time you’re having a rough time waking up, consider Soulja Boy’s words to live by.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.