Many successful people share an important thing in common. Can you guess what it is? They practice a specific morning ritual. Now before you start saying ‘REALLY Grace, I’m just not a morning person’, give me five minutes of your time, so I can explain why creating a morning ritual can help you get unstuck.
Setting the tone for your day
Many of us love the snooze button on our phones, hitting it multiple times before jumping out of bed in a panic and rushing around to get everyone up and out of the house. But what do you think waking up 15-30 minutes earlier might do?
If I told you it will ensure your day has a smoother flow, reduce your stress, and help you feel more centered, grounded and energized, would you do it?
From my experience, I can tell you setting the tone for your day in this way - the very first thing in the morning - is life changing. It means you take control of your day, instead of allowing it to control you.
Get in the right mindset before creating your morning ritual
Before you start stressing about what your morning ritual needs to look like, it’s important to understand it doesn’t need to be long or elaborate. It works best when you create a ritual that fits your lifestyle.
Implementing a morning routine isn’t about perfectionism either, or beating yourself up for what you did or didn’t do. It’s about taking incremental steps towards feeling more confident and optimistic, and creating a better life for yourself in the process. After all, we all have the capacity to grow and improve, even if we’re 90 years old! We’re not meant to stay stuck and stagnant.
How to create your morning ritual
Consistency is the key to your morning routine. You will gain more benefit from practicing a 10 minute routine consistently, then you will from an hour routine every now and then.
In creating your morning ritual, I turn to Hal Elrod and his transformational book, The Miracle Morning. In it, he uses the S.A.V.E.R.S technique, which stands for:
Scribing (writing)
Affirmations
Visualization
Exercise
Reading
Silence (Meditation/Prayers)
Hal recommends spending 10 minutes practicing each of these habits. But to start, I suggest trying just 10 minutes on any of the habits, as 10 minutes is infinitely better than nothing at all!
After you get into the routine of your 10 minute morning ritual, gradually work your way up from there, aiming for a full hour. While it’s not necessary to do an entire 60 minutes, the more you invest and practice, the more you get out of it.
It’s all about you
Having said all of this, your morning ritual is really about you and your lifestyle. Experiment to see what works best for you, knowing that over time, it might change. The bottom line is this: there is no better investment of time than in yourself.
If you are interested in learning more about Hal Elrod and the incredible results achieved when using his Miracle Morning techniques, visit www.miraclemorning.com. But if you want a little more from me about it, I’d love to help. Please reach out as I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned about creating and implementing your own Miracle Morning Ritual.