Morning Ritual Importance
As a young adult I got into the habit of hitting the snooze button each morning at least a half dozen times. Somewhere along the way – perhaps as life’s responsibilities emerged - I started jumping out of bed as though it were on fire. Stressed, anxious, heart racing, I would already feel ‘behind’ before 6 am. After a large mocha with added sugar and an equally sugar laden muffin or cinnamon roll, I’d arrive to work in a state I thought was ready for the day. Ahhhh, was I wrong.
My morning routine now is vastly different, and I can say with 100% sincerity and certainty that I am much better off for it – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually….
My Current Morning Ritual:
Alarm wakes me up just after 6 am. I wake up feeling well rested (more on this in another newsletter). No hitting snooze, no multiple alarms (truth be told, I’d wake up at the same time without an alarm).
Open the shades to let in natural sunlight – an important step in the wake up process.
Spend a few minutes in bed visualizing a positive day ahead (each one of these ‘steps’ could be a newsletter in and of itself). I am very specific in terms of what I want to get out of the day in my various areas of health, work, relationships, etc.
Express gratitude for things in my life. I have a list of things I’m thankful for right next to my bed and I read that list, out loud. Not in some rote way; I actually create emotions, genuine feelings of thanks. So often our brain goes first to things that are ‘wrong’ in our lives – or worse yet, things that could go wrong (but which don’t actually exist at this moment). Perhaps the most powerful way to set the tone for the day and shift your mind from the past/future to the present is to do one simple thing: think of a few things you are thankful for. This step will immediately move you back to the present and shift your mindset from negative/rushed to positive/calm.
Bounce on a rebounder 100 times. Any type of movement can do the trick (if you choose to do your workouts in the morning, so much the better; if you do your daily exercise later in the day then even 1 minute of light jumping jacks or rebounding is all you need for your morning routine). Without overwhelming with detail, movement activates the lymphatic system which has all sorts of benefits for you. The one I use cost $29, and was found on Amazon.com.
Drink alkaline water and/or green juice. I want the first thing to hit my lips in the morning to be something healthy. More on alkalinity later.
Take a quick, cold shower (can be followed up by a warm shower if you are washing your hair, etc – or just a quick cold one if a rinse is all you need). To change your mental state, change your physical state – this is why we feel so good after exercise, etc. Literally just turn your shower on and walk straight in. Don’t hesitate. This instills discipline in addition to altering your state for the better. You will feel great afterwards.
How we start the day can have a meaningfully positive (or negative) impact on our productivity and happiness over the ensuing hours. The above represents some things that work well for me – what are some of your morning rituals – positive or otherwise?
