Morning Rituals…
I am a strong believer that what you do on a morning, what you choose to do, has an impact on your whole day.
I often get a shocked response when I tell people I am a member of the 5am club. How can I get up so early? Do I not get the urge to stay in bed? Is it EVERY morning?
Well, I get up early as I don’t see this as a choice, I do get a brief urge to stay in bed but I ignore it, it is every morning except weekends as this is also an important part of my week and self care.
I could not fit everything into my day if I did not get up so early. It comes down to what is important to you. What is seen as a non negotiable. Meditation, yoga, exercise (running and weights) and gratitude is a non negotiable for me so I get up and I get them done. Research recently showed that people that get up early, are more successful. Not just in work life but in their overall resilience and wellbeing. By the time the average person gets up, those people have exercised for the day, practised gratitude, had a decent breakfast and fed their bodies and planned their work day. Leaving the rest of the time to work or relax.
A good motivational morning routine can change your life. It can create a brighter outlook for the day, wake you up, prepare you for challenges and boost mood. So what does that look like?
Stretching/movement - This is a must. You don’t have to run or do hard interval training but you do have to stretch, yoga, move your body as soon as you can after you get up. It moves your blood around, carrying feel good hormones. It prevents injury and warms up your body and motabolism.
Meditation - Ideally. Meditation is focussing your mind. There are various meditations you can do to practise gratitude, happiness, lower stress etc or you can just do focussed breathing. It prepares your mind, it quietens your mind, enough so you can hear answers to challenges.
Gratitude - Listing 3 things that your grateful for and 3 things that would make your day good. This focusses your mind straight away on to the positive and also gets your mind to look out for positives throughout the day. Lowers stressed and creates more happiness.
Nutrition and combined with podcasts or reading! Eat nurtritious breakfasts, its your time of the day to get some mood boosting food into you. While your sitting eating, combine with listening to a good podcast or a book.
There may seem like a lot there but each activity does not have to take long at all! The more you do it the more it will become a routine and something that is non negotiable for you too! See the difference. Start your day right!
