A Life-Changing Morning Routine
Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.
Creating a miracle morning routine can be an essential key to achieving a successful, thriving, and abundant life. Many highly successful people attribute their ability to focus and achieve their goals and desires to this one simple strategy.
When followed consistently, a calming morning routine has been proven to reduce stress levels, improve mental clarity, and assuage the anxieties experienced during a day of demands and deadlines.
The good news: it's not difficult to set this proven successful practice up for yourself. Here's how.
Your Miracle Hour
Those extra few quiet minutes will help you begin your day in a state of peace and calmness, rather than in the chaos of jumping out of bed to the blaring alarm, the warring kids, and inquiries from your partner about where the clean laundry is hiding.
Waking up a little bit earlier than usual and structuring your morning will give you some peaceful time to focus on your intentions, set the tone for the day and begin it with more clarity and peace.
You'll be able to enjoy some soulful time to prepare your mind and body for the tasks of the day ahead and where you'll need to prioritize your time and energy.
You'll be able to see where to prioritize your time and energy. Not only will your productivity improve, but as you take more control of your schedule, you'll feel more empowered, your confidence and self-esteem will get a boost and you'll stop feeling like your schedule is controlling you.
Added Benefits
- Allows you to ease into your day feeling grounded and more balanced.
- Gives you a feeling of being in control of your time and eliminates rushing.
- Reduces forgetfulness
- Improves punctuality
- Encourages you to nourish your mind, body, and soul with healthy, wise choices
- Reduces anxiety and stress levels
Create YOUR Miracle Morning
Everyone is unique and your Miracle Morning Routine will very likely be different from mine. Here are some suggestions for creating your unique routine that'll add more joy to your life. Pick one or two to create your routine, or utilize all of them.
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
There's no need to spend a whole lot of time here - just a few minutes will do.
A regular gratitude practice can be as simple as recognizing you've got breath in your lungs for another awesome morning, that the sun is shining, the birds are tweeting and you get to witness another miraculous day.
Once you begin to see things to be thankful for, you'll be amazed at the little things you begin to recognize, ones you've been missing or just taking for granted.
Practicing gratitude shifts your mindset into a simple place of positivity and sets the tone to 'happy' for the morning.
The more you're thankful for your blessings, the more you'll begin to live in a state of bliss and feel like abundance has come into your life and your heart.
AFFIRMATION:
This day is a miracle. I'm excited to experience all that comes with the incredible gift that is today.
S-T-R-E-T-C-H
Starting your morning off by doing a few light stretches, in bed or before dressing for the day has many health benefits.
Stretching helps relieve tension in your muscles, alleviates aches and pains in your joints, and gets the blood flowing to your fingers, toes, and to your brain. Light stretching provides your body with more energy and can prevent lethargy and fatigue.
Stretching helps relieve tension in your muscles, alleviates aches and pains in your joints, and gets the blood flowing to your fingers, toes, and to your brain. Light stretching provides your body with more energy and can prevent lethargy and fatigue.
AFFIRMATION:
I am free. Today I will expand my mind, honour my body and nourish my soul.
MEDITATE
Meditation is a great way to start the day and set yourself up for a successful one.
Since we often wake up feeling irritated, unrested or foggy, listening to a positive, calming meditation can help settle your mind, harmonize your energy and help you feel more balanced and grounded.
This will contribute to your peace of mind.
There's no need to be an “expert” meditator. To enjoy the benefits of meditation, simply be present with the recording or with your thoughts. Allow what comes up for you to come up and recognize it.
Simply witness, and then release.
There's no need to completely clear your mind, the goal is to slow down and consciously create space between your thoughts.
AFFIRMATION:
I welcome this new day with an open heart and mind. It's a fresh start full of possibilities.
SET INTENTIONS
Setting intentions activates your receptivity to new ideas and information.
By starting your day off with intentions, you immediately give your day purpose - putting the destination on the map rather than aimlessly setting sail without charting a course for your next safe harbour.
Having clear intentions allows you to control your day, encouraging you to spend your time and resources wisely, keeping you aligned with your values and core beliefs
Intentions give you purpose and the inspiration and motivation you need to achieve your goals, and desires.
Whatever your intentions may be, state them with full conviction and clarity.
Feel your words of intention deeply and believe them to be true.
- I will manifest a truly amazing day
- I will always live by example and lead with my heart
- I will be my very best self today
- I will serve others from a place of kindness and love
- I will honour my word and my commitments wholeheartedly today
- I will get this 1 thing done today: ___ (insert the most important thing)
USE AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are powerful statements that affirm truth and using them in your miracle morning routine can start your day on a positive note and set it on a path for productivity.
Many of us have a little gremlin (limiting beliefs) who lives in our ear and whispers negativity. Our limiting beliefs become ingrained in our subconscious from our past experiences.
My personal gremlin sounds just like my mother and tries to feed me lies like:
- You're not good enough
- You're not smart enough
- You'll never succeed at ____ (insert that thing you deeply desire to achieve)
- You screwed that up royally - you can never do anything right
- You don't deserve THAT! What are you thinking?
Your set of limiting beliefs will be unique to you and the most powerful weapon you can take up against those chains holding you back from all you're meant for is to practice affirmations.
Affirmations allow you to utilize your words for empowerment rather than destruction. Add a few to your morning ritual and you'll be feeding your heart and soul with healthy, loving, and kind words.
HOW TO ABOLISH YOUR NEGATIVE SELF-TALK WITH AFFIRMATIONS:
- Recognize your own negative self-talk. Pay close attention to what you're hearing
- Challenge the truth in that limiting belief
- Reframe the negative to a more positive statement that serves you and empowers you
- Declare that statement out loud so your own ears can hear it, looking at yourself in the mirror will make it even more powerful and affirming
- Write your empowering positive self-talk statements or affirmations in your journal
By choosing to reframe the beliefs you hold about yourself, you'll be choosing beliefs that align and resonate with who you truly are. Over time, your negative gremlin voices will pop up less frequently and sound a whole lot weaker as you take control of the dialogue you hear.
Starting your day with one or two powerful affirmations is a proven success principle. Athletes use it, highly successful sales teams use it and when you take up this practice, you'll create a healthier mindset and manifest more abundance and joy in your life.
AFFIRMATION:
I am in complete control of my thoughts.
CHOOSE JOY - ATTITUDE IS ENTIRELY YOUR CHOICE
Zig Ziglar became renowned for his inspirational quote: Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.
What that essentially means is that to be successful in life, you need to have the right attitude - and the attitude you keep is up to you.
If you tell yourself you're going to have a bad day before it's even begun, chances are, you're going to have a bad day. Throughout the day, your mind will search for and find proof of your belief, confirming your convictions.
On the other hand, if you decide right at the start of the day that you're going to have a fantastic one, chances are... you got it, you'll likely have a better day.
Instead of noticing that you've hit all the red lights on your way to work, you'll notice the person who held the door for you and smiled as you entered your workplace.
Perspective is key here and what we focus on expands. When we choose to see the negative, we'll find more of it. When we choose instead to focus on the good things, more positive things reveal themselves.
Well, THAT person is going to experience the day a whole lot different than the one who
is jolted out of bed to the screeching alarm, met with chaos in the kitchen and the yelling kids needing this AND that as they run for the bus without their lunch and the dog still needs to be walked AND guess what??? You're going to be late for work...again.
AFFIRMATION:
I’m excited to embrace the possibilities of this new day in a calm, cool, collected way.
I choose joy today.
Schedule It!
If you're anything like me, if it's not ON the schedule, it just doesn't happen.
So, to start incorporating this powerful success principle in your life, open up your calendar and block off the first time block of your day for your Miracle Morning Routine.
As a cancer survivor, self-care and health care are a daily priority - around which all else is scheduled so the first 2 hours of each day are dedicated to my morning routine.
It goes like this:
Up at 8 am for the Miracle Morning Routine & Self-Care:
8-8:45 am A nutritious breakfast, a luxurious coffee and a glass of lemon water while I write in my journal. I set my intentions for the day, which includes the 1 main thing I must get done, usually my workout, and a few other things that I'd be happy to get done. I then recognize a few things I'm grateful for.
8:45-10am A workout with more water. A refreshing shower.
And then I'm ready to take on the productive portion of the day.
I recommend putting your morning routine and your self-care right into your daily planner. Schedule it for 21 days and commit to following the practice, and you'll have created a fantastic healthy habit that supports your mental, physical and soulful health.
Bonus Tip: Make Your Bed
So simple...so important.
Unsure of why the simple act of making your bed sets you up for success?
The University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address Speecy by Admiral McRaven explains exactly why the simple act of making your bed will create more success in your life way better than I can.
You'll find this inspiring message about it right here.
A Gift For You
You're invited to contact me directly via e-mail at andrea@coachforlife.ca for your complimentary 'Meant for More' Focus session.
By the end of it, you'll have a clear, concise Action Plan and some helpful resources too.
About The Author
For more information about her services and programs, visit www.coachforlife.ca or contact her via e-mail: andrea@coachforlife.ca.
