How often do you get out of bed and the first thing you do is turn on your phone and check social media and emails, or better yet, not even turn your phone off when you go to sleep? Now, I will save the details for another time on night rituals and how disturbing it is to have technology in your room while you sleep , despite being equally important and instead focus on morning rituals. We all have them, yes even you who is thinking ‘ I don’t have a morning ritual, I just get up, make breakfast, get dressed and go to work’ – yes that is still a morning ritual. It might be more of a routine rather than a conscious process, but on some level it still is a morning ritual.
Okay so we have established that morning rituals are happening whether we are aware of them or not. But how healthy or productive are we making them. What if I were to tell you that how you start your day is key to how productive your day could be. What if I also told you that is does not take much to set the tone for your day just by tweaking a few key things, and that it is a fundamental step to happiness with how you start your day.
So let me help you and show you 7 ways in which can help create positive and healthy morning rituals:
- Setting intentions, to do lists, goals or whatever you would like to call it for the day. I love writing down all my intentions and goals for the day. But what I love even more, is ticking them all off as the day goes by and having that sense of achievement. By starting the day with a plan in mind of what I am going to do, it allows me to have direction and know what needs to be done. This helps leave little room for distractions and I know when it is time for fun .
- Warm or lemon water, herbal tea, and/or a healthy breakfast—starting your days like this is addictive because once you begin to start your day in a refreshing way, you will notice the benefits of how good it can make you feel and you will struggle to reach for anything else first. Reach for something healthy when you wake up, even if it’s just lemon water or a smoothie. You then have invertedly set the intention to look after yourself and start the day right. You are also less likely to divert and eat unhealthy food for the rest of the day.
- Stretching, meditation, or yoga: “If you are flexible, you can’t break.” It is true in any sense of the word: physically, mentally, and emotionally. When you start your day in a relaxed frame of mind, it means you are less likely to react rather than respond to anything that comes up in your day. Being flexible in your body and your mind creates the space to deal with things with tact and patience.
Exercise:
Go for a run, a walk, swim, or go to the gym. Whatever it is you do for fitness, try doing it in the morning. It wakes you right up, it kick-starts your metabolism, you feel good and accomplished early, and best of all, you get it out of the way and it is done.
Gratitude:
This is a difficult task to do initially. But when you practice what you are grateful for daily, you start to close the gap on what you see as negative in your day. If you are always concentrating on all things small and big that you are grateful for in your day, then you are manifesting more things to be grateful for in your day and no longer notice things that you perceive as hindrances. If you can’t think of anything, just think outside the square: the sun, fresh water, catching up with a friend, or good coffee.
Taking a moment for yourself:
This doesn’t have to be a long moment; it may be a conscious 30 seconds of thought. It can be about seeing how you feel—are you happy, sad, tired, or rushed?—and what you can do to change that feeling if it’s not for the better. Or, it may be about seeing what you need from yourself for that day. Are you stressed and need to be more patient with yourself, or are you not taking time to eat your lunch properly and getting hangry by 3 p.m.? Taking a brief moment with yourself can make a huge difference in your day.
Shower:
Shower, yes, a shower. This is especially important if you don’t need to go to work or make a commitment right away. It tells your body that you are awake and ready to tackle the day. which is less likely to lead you back to bed or slow you to your feet.
As always, start small. One cannot expect to incorporate all seven into your day if they are new to you. Try adding one or two each week and see how much better you feel. If there is something else you do as part of your morning routine, I would love to hear about it.