Somewhere at the start of my self-healing journey to a happier and healthier me and life, I discovered morning routines. I created one for myself and it's become one of the most important things that I do every day. Morning routines are meant to give you structure, clarity, peace of mind, positive feelings, and to set the tone for you to have a great day.
First I'll share with you my own personal morning routine. I keep a small list for it in one of my notebooks and try my best to keep track of it each day (sometimes I forget to check things off, but I still do them lol). Some days I'll do all of them, other days when I don't have as much time I'll choose a few that I want to do. It's okay to mix it up sometimes, but make sure you have a few core ones that you stick to every day.
In addition to these tasks, I journal and read every day, but I'll make another blog post about those things later!
These are things I chose to incorporate into every morning because they're things that make me feel good and things that are important to me personally. Everyone's routine will be a little different because you're going to choose what is good and will work for you. This is just to give you an example and a guideline of sorts.
Starting my day with positive affirmations and setting intentions for the day make sure I set a positive mindset for the rest of my day. This makes me smile first thing after waking up and will ultimately lead to having a better day regardless of what gets thrown my way. It gives me the stable strength and confidence to handle anything and make the best of the day.
Trying to spend the first hour of each day off of technology is a difficult one sometimes, but it's a good goal to strive for. When you start your morning with some serious "me time" and you're not letting the world get into your head right away, you're allowing yourself clarity and peace of mind. Starting your day with a clear and calm mind makes all the difference. Nothing will bog you down right away and put you in a negative mindset. (You won't start your day with the habit of comparing yourself to everyone else, which we all know is totally self-destructive!)
Doing a little physical activity in the morning is also beneficial. It gets your blood pumping, your body moving, and energizes you for the day. And who doesn't feel better after getting some exercise? I usually don't do anything too intense, but I'll often spend a half an hour stretching and picking a few exercises (squats, high knees, crunches, etc.) to do before getting dressed for the day. This gets me feeling good and ready for the day and it makes me feel more confident.
I think everyone can benefit from having their own morning routine so I hope you are inspired to create one for yourself now! Think about what makes you feel good and what's important to you to do each day and make time for it first thing in the morning. Sometimes you might have to wake up a little earlier than normal, but I promise it's worth it. You can get creative about what you want to include. It might take you a few trial and errors to really tweak it so that it's perfect for you, but keep at it until you find a routine that works and makes you feel amazing in the morning.
It really does make all the difference for how you feel going through the rest of your day! I've found I feel more energized, more inspired, more determined, more happy and more confident. I'll give you some suggestions for things to include in your daily morning routine, and try to give yourself an hour every morning to do it and start feeling better! And for you people that say you aren't a morning person, I used to not be one either, but trust me it's life changing! I don't remember the last time I slept in past 10 am!
IDEAS FOR YOUR IDEAL MORNING ROUTINE
- Make your bed
- Meditate or Yoga
- 5 minute journal
- 10 minutes of cardio
- Mindful breakfast (Protein!)
- Listen to instrumental music
- Visualize your day
- Read for 20 minutes
- Watch an inspirational video
- Get some sunlight & fresh air
- Write 3 things you're grateful for in a gratitude journal
- List your 3 top priorities on your to-do list
- HYDRATE (Warm water is best!)
- Enjoy a cup of tea or a cup o' joe
- Set a habit of waking up at the same-ish time every morning
I hope that this inspired you to want to have better days and feel better every day and to create your own morning routine! Give it a try and see if it makes a positive difference for you (I bet it will) and let me know how it goes for you! :)
Sending love, light & positivity to you all - thank you for reading! xo J