After the “Spring Forward” of Daylight Savings Time I felt justifiably robbed of an hour of sleep and found it particularly challenging to get up this morning. The thing is, I’ve found that the way I get up in the morning sets the tone for the rest of my day. I almost always know what “kind” of day I’m going to have by the way I wake up. If you want to improve the quality of your day, try these 10 suggestions to “wake up” your mornings.
The #1 Way to Wake Up Your Morning 🙂
- Get Up. How often do you find yourself completely uninterested in getting up once your alarm goes off? There’s a reason why this happens so often. It’s not so much that you’re so tired (although if you’ve gotten less than 7 hours of sleep that may be the case), but that you have been lying flat for hours, and your blood pressure is very low. So if you compel yourself to get up, your blood pressure will rise and you will feel awake soon after.
- Choose an Early Morning Affirmation to Wake Up Your Morning. Even after you get up, it’s easy to think, “Ugh, I’m so tired. ” At least it is for me. So when that happens, I try to catch myself and say instead, “It’s going to be a great day.” The morning improves instantly. I highly recommend you do the same. Your affirmation doesn’t have to be anything profound. It just has to be something that gives you a little boost and sets a positive intention for the hours ahead.
- Brush Your Body Too.
Along with brushing my teeth there’s another practice that I do every morning as a part of my personal hygiene: dry body brushing. Dry brushing is a great tool for detoxification (your lymphatic system is stimulated and dead skin is removed, making way for better oxygenation) and leaves you feeling totally energized. You can buy a body brush in any natural foods store and instructions will come with the brush.
Define Your Day
- Define Your Day to Wake Up Your Morning.
I love this quote from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Each morning sees some task begin, Each evening sees it close; Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night’s repose. “Be like Longfellow (yes, I said “be like Longfellow”) and define your day by asking yourself, “If I could only get one task done today, what would be most satisfying?” Then make sure you carve out at least 15 minutes in the day to work on it. The earlier in your day you act the better, because you are more likely to get it done, and the satisfaction of having it done will give you a great feeling for the rest of the day.
- Be Here Now.
Now that you’ve set your #1 priority for the day and planned the time to do it, let go of the sense that you must hurry and stress. Keep in mind this advice from Thich Nhat Hanh: “Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”
Ask Powerful Questions
- Set the Tone to Wake Up Your Morning.
Try answering these questions to help set a positive tone for the day.- Who: Who do I want to be?
- How: How do I want to feel?
- Why: Why am I visualizing my day as I am? If I am feeling anxious and stressed, can I re-imagine things in a more positive light?
Listen to the Answers
- Listen.
I’ve written before of the value of listening to your wise inner self. In order to hear it you must allow for some quiet on a daily basis. So first thing in the morning, be quiet and listen. If you are short on time, even one minute is enough. In that quiet space you are most likely to hear the messages from deep in your soul.
Marinate Your Brain in Feel-Good Endorphins
- Exercise.
Yes, I recommend daily exercise. I know sufficient health benefits come from exercise only 3 times a week, but if you exercise every other day it’s so much easier to say, “You know, I just don’t feel like it today. I’ll do it tomorrow.” When you do something daily you get into the mode of saying, “This is what I do.”
After you’ve elevated your heart rate for at least 15 minutes your brain is drenched with feel-good endorphins. It doesn’t matter what you do – you could do jumping jacks in your kitchen – but significantly raising your heart rate for at least 15 minutes a day is what’s important. And of course morning exercise allows you to enjoy all these benefits throughout the day.
Cares Go Down the Drain
- Wash Your Cares Away.
As you bathe, take deep cleansing breaths and imagine that the stress from your fears, worries, and problems is flowing away, out of your body, down the drain. When you release the tension that results from emotional stress, you will manage your concerns and challenges more effectively.
Stoke the Metabolic Engine
- Eat (or Drink) Breakfast.
You probably know all the reasons why breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? I always break my fast with freshly juiced beets, celery, kale, lemon, apple and lots of ginger. The fruits and vegetables have tons of vitamins and enzymes and many energizing and detoxifying benefits.Then a little later I eat something high in fiber, like oatmeal or a banana. They fill me up and boost production of serotonin, a “happy” hormone that plays a key role in relieving stress.
Add One or More to Your Ways to Wake Up Your Mornings
Again, you do not need to adopt all of these practices, but if you incorporate even just a few of them into your daily routine, I bet you will feel more energized and happy in the morning and the positive effects will last for the rest of the day. And if you keep them up day after day, then guess what? You will have lived a happy life!
Once you’ve created a powerful morning routine and you want to explore more ways to feel better and enjoy more happiness and purpose, click the button below and schedule a free, 15-minute call with me.