Put It All Together In A Morning Ritual

A ritual is simply a routine you do day in and day out. In this case, we will be discussing a morning ritual, a routine that is done every day when you wake up first thing in the morning. Most likely you already have a morning ritual in place. Think about it. What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? It’s probably the same thing every morning. It may be hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock over and over. When you finally wake up, the race is on, and you are rushing to get ready for work. Or it may be checking email, Facebook, or other social media. Rituals can either make you or break you. To be successful, you must trade out those bad non-productive habits with some good productive ones. Keep this in mind: how you start your day is how you end your day. Setting out time in the morning to prepare your mind, body, and spirit will enhance your life greatly. Before you can give love, peace, and happiness to others, you must give it to yourself because you can’t give something you don’t have.

In this chapter, you are going to implement all or some of the habits that you have learned in the previous chapters to create your custom-made morning ritual. 

The Benefits

Have you ever heard the expression, “The early bird gets the worm?” This is definitely true when you decide to become an early riser. By the time others begin to wake up, you will have gotten more done than they could ever do in an entire day. When you implement the habits we discussed earlier, you will also be starting your day in a positive state of mind. You will be more grounded and happier. Another perk is that, instead of dreading the day, you will be filled with enthusiasm for what is ahead. Vibrancy and positivity make you less reactive. Therefore, when you do have short-comings and obstacles in your day, they will be much easier to handle. Commit to making a morning ritual a habit in your life. I guarantee you, your life will change forever. The rapid growth you can produce in the matter of a year will shock you. It may be difficult in the beginning (all great things are), but if you stick with it you will be glad you did. 

Put It All Together 

If you are going to be waking up earlier to do a morning ritual, then you should consider going to bed earlier as well. Many sleep experts recommend you get at least 8 hours of sleep. However, there are many who claim, such as myself, to do well on just 6 or 7 hours of sleep. A good idea would be to wake up 15 minutes earlier than your usual wake up time for about a week.

Experiment with your sleep and wake up time until you find your sweet spot; everyone has one. While you are experimenting, analyze any patterns as well. When are you most productive? In the wee hours of the morning or late at night? When you forgo waking up early due to a long night the day before, were you doing something productive? Also, the time you wake up has too many variables for you to commit to an exact time. It depends on whether you sleep late or early, if you have a job or are self-employed, or if you have kids or not. I have kids and if I don’t wake up before they do to complete my morning routine, let’s just say the day is a little harder to handle. Now it is time for you to create your morning ritual. Pick at least five of the following practices. To keep your life in a healthy balance, make sure to include some for your mind, body, and spirit. 

Drink water. You must hydrate your body first thing. It has been left high and dry for 6 to 8 hours. Replenish it with some water. Meditate to prime your brain for the day. Meditation is great for helping you focus. Make meditation one of the first things you do to have a more productive and peaceful day.

 Move your body. Whether you decide to do a full-blown work out or just take a relaxing walk, the point is to do some sort of physical exercise to give your body the signal that the day has begun and it’s time to take action. 

Journal. This can be a gratitude journal where you write the 5 things you are grateful for today and the reason why. When you are done with the list, read it over with as much emotion as you can. Notice the great feelings this gives you. 

Read your goals. There is no better morning ritual then one that includes reading your goals to yourself. Reading over your set targets every morning will keep your priorities fresh on your mind and is a massive set up for success. 

Voice your affirmations out loud with as much feeling as possible. You can do this while you are in the shower or getting ready for work. This will spark so many good feelings that no matter what the day brings you will be mentally prepared. Read, read, read. I am a big advocate of this because I am very aware of its power. I wouldn’t be where I am if it were not for books. You have the ability to tap into the mind of some of the greatest people in the world when you read their words. Why not take full advantage of that? Reading straight from the pages of an actual book with a pen or highlighter in hand to highlight the most important ideas is such a powerful process. You will understand the material more concisely. Other alternatives could be listening to a podcast, enjoying an audiobook, or watching motivational videos. The important thing is to feed your mind positive messages and ideas daily. Eat that frog! It sounds gross, but what I am really referring to is tackling your most dreadful task first thing in the morning. Every morning, commit to tackling your biggest, most dreadful task first. When you do so, you are left feeling accomplished and confident to do more. This concept came from Brian Tracy’s book, Eat That Frog. It is a great book that I recommend you to read. Plan the rest of your day. To get more stuff done, try to schedule your days hour by hour. It sounds mundane, I know. But this is the absolute best tip I have found for time management and productivity. Try it one day; you will be hooked. Once you choose at least five things you want to do for your morning routine, schedule them on paper or a white erase board. Put a check next to each thing as it is completed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different practices and switch it up once in a while so that your morning ritual doesn’t become dull and unexciting. For example, you could take a walk one day and run on a treadmill another day for physical activity. Another example is you could listen to an audiobook one day and sit at a park to read a book the next day. To reap the great benefits of a morning routine, you must put in the work. This is why it is crucial that you do a morning routine habitually. Why? Because you are worth it.