The snooze button on the alarm clock used to be my best friend. We’ve all done those groggy early morning calculations for just a few more minutes of sleep. “I won’t wash my hair this morning,” you think before hitting the snooze button. “I won’t eat breakfast,” you say to yourself before hitting it a second time.
Have you ever considered that the way you start your morning carries over into the rest of your day?
I listen to a lot of podcasts and I noticed that many of the people that I admire have a morning success ritual that doesn’t seem to involve hitting the snooze button on their alarm clocks three times before finally dragging themselves out of bed. They wake up early. They exercise. They meditate. They plan for the day. They do something inspiring.
I read a lot of Tony Robbins and he talks about having an Hour of Power. The Hour of Power is a series of things that you do in the morning to put yourself in the right state for the rest of the day. I thought this was a good idea when I first read about it, but also thought it wasn’t for me. I’m not a morning person. I like to spend my mornings snuggled up in bed. At least that’s what I told myself.
About six months ago, I had a change of heart. I decided that I’d try this whole morning routine thing and here’s what I found. I get more done during the day and am ready to tackle the important tasks for my business when I have a morning success ritual. Putting myself in a good state for the day really does make a difference. I don’t know why I spent so much time being stubborn and trying to reinvent the wheel. If other people do something that works for them try it out. I might work for you too.
Waking up in the morning just because you have to puts you in a different state of mind then if you start the day because you really want to.
I was getting the same old results in my life because I was unwilling to try something different, but I realized that if I really want to change my life I need to change what I do.
The life you have now is the result of what you’ve done in the past. If you want different results you need to do something different. That’s why I decided to set aside this idea of being a night owl and start doing a morning routine myself. Now instead of dreading waking up in the morning, I’m excited to start my day. That feeling of excitement can make all the difference in the rest of your life.
Here is what you need to do to start a morning success ritual of your own.
Get up about a half an hour earlier than you need to. This is important because you are waking up because you want to not because you have to.
Start the day with meditation. I meditate for 20 minutes every morning, but you certainly don’t have to do that. You can just meditate for 10 if that’s what you have time for.
Visualize your intention for the day. Once you’ve finished meditating think about what you want your day to be like. How can you be your best self today? How do you want the day to go? What will you achieve?
Exercise. I do yoga every morning for my exercise, but you can do whatever exercise you like. The important part is to get the blood flowing and the oxygen going to your brain.
Read something inspirational. Read something from a book that inspires you or some quotes that you really like.
Doing these things will set you up to have a productive and meaningful day. I can’t even begin to tell you about the difference it’s made in my life. If you want to know more about morning success rituals I suggest that you read Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.
Do you already have a morning success routine? What is it?