This week's challenge for a more conscious awareness is: Can you wake up an hour earlier every day this week and create a morning routine that is just for YOU? What can you do before your day begins that will get you in a positive and peaceful headspace?
What is your morning routine? Do you wake up a little earlier to have some time for yourself before work? Do you take an early morning gym class or go for a run outdoors? Do you rush to put on a pot of coffee so you can hastily get yourself dressed and ready for work? Do you even have a routine?
I discuss this topic with you guys a lot and have been creating more morning meditations, as per your request, to help you start your day on a positive and intentional note, but I've never dedicated a whole Sunday Club email to how essential a morning routine is.
I like to think of the morning as my time of day. I dedicate morning hours to myself - solely for the benefit of creating the energy I want to feel. When I once struggled to get up even an hour early before work, I now set my alarm a few hours earlier because I see how much more peaceful I feel when I create time for myself.
We spend a large portion of our lives working and living for other people that we often forget to put ourselves first. Now, I know for some this is easier said than done. After all, I'm currently single and don't have children, so it's a lot easier for me to carve out time in my day to focus on my own projects and well-being, especially in the morning. I couldn't imagine doing what I'm doing now and on top of that being a mother. I give everyone who is a parent, spouse and working part or full time so much credit because, damn! it's hard just worrying about myself, nonetheless other human beings whose lives depend on me.
But, even if you are a parent and working or if you're broke and sleeping on your parents couch - whatever your current situation is - the term "easier said than done" is a self-defeating phrase to use because you're technically setting yourself up for failure before even giving change a chance. When someone offers you advice about something you're struggling with and your first response is, "Well, that's easier said than done..." you're already cutting yourself off from the idea of transformation and the possibility of a different outcome. It's like taking the key out of the ignition before even turning on the engine - you haven't seen the possibility of what can blossom before you stop pouring water on the seeds.
I encourage you to take whatever time you can for yourself in the morning, even if you start small with just 15-30 minutes. Make the morning your time and take that commitment to yourself very seriously - just as you would if you were making a commitment to someone or something else. We say yes to doing things and being places all of the time and 70% of that time the things we're saying yes to are obligations we don't actually want to be doing.
Are you tired more than energized? Stressed more than happy? Complaining more than grateful?
Whatever it is that you're feeling and going through, you must remember that you allowed yourself to feel what you're feeling and you also allowed whatever task or event to be on your calendar. There is nothing in your schedule that you didn't allow to be there. Think of that. Everything you are engaged in on a daily basis are things that you chose to be there.
Need more time for yourself? Want to feel more motivated? Tired of being tired? Then you have to do something about it! Cultivating a healthier mindset, a more grateful demeanor, a happier mood, and increased levels of energy are all within your capacity to create. You must remember that you are the conductor of your life. You get to choose how you will live your life and why you do what you do.
My morning routine most certainly won't look like yours, but this is usually what I do before work that puts me in a great mood and gets me excited about my life.
1) I wake up around 6 or 7am and breathe. I take as many deep inhalations and exhalations as I must until I feel so at peace that I'm then motivated to place both feet on the ground, stretch, and begin my day.
2) I meditate for 5-10 minutes. Sometimes I use guided meditation tracks on the Insight Timer app or I just focus on my breath and repeat a mantra in my head for each inhale and exhale.
3) I drink a large glass of water and make a fresh cup of coffee for my writing session.
4) I write for at least two hours and focus on the personal projects that I'm excited about and nourish my soul. This is the "dreaming" part of my day where I focus on who I want to be, what I want to experience and what I want my life to become.
5) I play some inspirational, upbeat music or a current favorite podcast, while I shower and get ready for work.
This is what I do that makes me feel good, but I'm sure what uplifts and motivates you is different from this routine. Some days this puts me in a positive headspace and others it takes a little (or a lot) more to get inspired, but regardless of what your morning routine looks like, you must do something that is just for you.
I promise, the more time you create for yourself, the more you search for things that feed your soul, lift your spirits, inspire and encourage you, the more interesting this life is and the more grateful you become.