I've read many times that establishing and maintaining a morning practice can make a huge difference in your life, but I have yet to actually implement one, until today. People have different versions, and the key is that you have to find what works for you because the main goal is to be consistent with it everyday. That's always been hard for me first thing in the morning. But yesterday, as I was going through my Facebook feed, an ad popped up from Tim Ferris (of The 4-Hour Workweek) and it described the 5 things he does every morning. I read through it, expecting it to make me feel crappy that I couldn't do 5 things before everyone woke up and my day started, but instead, it felt realistic.
This morning, my husband's alarm went off as usual 30 minutes before mine was set to go off, but instead of rolling over in a huff, I found myself wide awake. I was also in a sour mood. I had been woken up by my daughter needing something twice during the course of the night, and I had woken up myself once to use the bathroom. As many of you know, 3x out of bed during one night does not make for a good night's sleep. Anyways, instead of being grumpy and starting my day off crappy, I decided right then to try to change the course of my day. So, I started with Tim's 5 things:
1) I thought about 3 things I was grateful for from the previous day, and 3 things that would made today great. (Tim suggests writing these down, but in that moment in the dark, I lay in bed and thought about them, then wrote them down later in the morning). My things went like this:
- I'm grateful for my kids cooperating during breakfast yesterday and smiling/playing/laughing with each other rather than fighting and yelling or crying.
- I'm grateful that it was consistently sunny for the first part of this week.
- I'm grateful for the alone time I had last night after the kids went to bed, which allowed me to pour a glass of wine, enjoy some good cheese, indulge in a bite of delicious dark chocolate, and read a few chapters on my kindle.
- Today would be great if I was able to work out, write a post or journal, and make pizza with the kids for dinner.
2) I then rolled out of bed and sat and meditated for 5-10 minutes (still in the dark). At first I couldn't quiet my mind, but by focusing on my breathing and trying a few techniques that I have learned over the course of the past year, I found myself easily sitting and centering myself. When I got up, I felt energized and ready to get things done.
3) I did 10 push-ups -- ever since I started my 80 day workout routine I have gotten MUCH stronger, and 10 push-ups felt easy -- which gave me a boost of happiness too. Tim recommends doing 5-10 reps of any exercise to get into your body.
4) I made my bed - that took like 2 minutes and felt SO GOOD! I always make the bed, but I love having it done first thing in the morning so my room doesn't feel messy and haphazard the rest of the day.
5) I went downstairs and drank a glass of warm water with lemon. Tim says to have a cup of tea or something, but as I've written about before, I like to get everything going with warm water and lemon.
So that was my morning practice, and I'll tell you - it really did make a difference. When both the kids got up earlier than normal (and not in good moods today), I was able to handle it with calm and ease - extra smiles and cuddles, instead of with impatience and yelling and a worse mood. I told myself it was going to be a great day, and so far it really has been. Tim Ferris says that on any given day, if you are able to do 3 of the 5 things in your practice, you are off to a good start. I felt awesome that I did all 5, and I also have knocked out 2 of the 3 things that would make my day great today (and it's not even noon)!
Joy, success, happiness, content, whatever it is that you want your life to feel like -- it has to start with you. Incorporating a morning practice can help that by starting you off on the right foot and in the right mindset for the rest of your day. So today, I got it done and felt the benefits. Now, to turn it into a real practice with consistency. Do you have a morning practice? What does it look like? Share below!