How you start your day has a big impact on how the rest of your day pans out… if you’re rushed, or running late in the morning, it causes you to be flustered and you can feel unprepared, probably more stressed out too. If on the other hand you feel calm and in control, the day can be much more smooth sailing!
So, let’s try and win the day, EVERY DAY! Mindset matters.
Each morning, as you wake up, I’d like you to take some time to appreciate and focus on the great things you have in your life. Everyone has something to be grateful for…! I’d also like you to think about the day ahead. This whole process should take less than 10 mins.
I’d like you to introduce a new routine which sees you start the day with purpose, intent and positivity…
As you wake up, force yourself to be present in bed. Feel the pillow, feel the sheets and take 3 big, long, deep breaths, I’d then like you to ask yourself 3 questions and write down the answers…
- What is the most important thing you need to do today? This could be completing a task you’ve been meaning to do for a while, or making sure you make that telephone call, or booking that appointment you’ve been meaning to do.
- Name something (one thing) you are grateful for today – this could be something that has happened to you recently, or something you feel grateful to have, or anything that makes you feel happy.
- What quality /characteristic do you want to demonstrate today? How do you want to show up to the world? You might have an important meeting, therefore you want to appear professional and calm. You may be spending the day with your kids, therefore wanting to be fun and present, it could be anything.
Guidelines for this:
- You can’t repeat the same things everyday.
- You might need to set your alarm 5-10 mins earlier than normal, but I don’t want you to start looking at your phone until you’ve done the task.
- Keep a notebook by the bed and write in that, ideally. You can do this on your phone if you want to too (I do!) – there is a new ‘Journal’ app on iPhones which is perfect for this.
- Jot down your 3 things – shouldn’t take long.
- Then take another 3 deep breaths while you think about those things.
- And get on with your day… Keep those 3 answers top of mind throughout the day… If you find yourself feeling stressed, take a second to remind yourself of how you wanted to show up today.
Simple. But transformational.
Acts of gratitude like this can really help your mindset as it forces you to think about positive things and take control of your day from the off. The more we force ourselves to do this, the more we train our brain to appreciate the smaller things in life as we go about our day. The mind is a muscle, use it; search for the positives and you will become a much more positive person by default. Sounds a bit hippy-ish, but it’s true! Positivity breeds positivity! If you wake up and immediately think about how tired you are and how stressed you’re going to be, it’s likely the day will run you, you’ll have a negative frame of mind from the off and it’s even more likely that your day will be pants! So let’s try and flip that. (I’m not saying journalling / practicing gratitude will banish shit days completely, but at least we can exert some control here! Control the controlables!)
Life is bloody hectic. But practicing this will really help focus your thoughts and start your day off right. It might not always be easy to think of different things to be grateful every day, but that’s the challenge!!! I’ve recently started this and it’s incredible how much the internal conversation stays with you throughout the day. So, I encourage you to try it! Get organised, get the notebook, keep an open mind and just do it. Just start.
