The Power of Morning Rituals
Morning Rituals
When it comes to setting yourself up for daily success I have come across no better tool than to do a morning ritual. A morning ritual is a routine or multiple routines that you enjoy to begin each morning that is only for you. A lot of times we can get stuck in the hamster wheel of life. Wake up, shower, eat, go to work, come home, eat dinner and go to bed and then repeat. One of the beautiful benefits that a morning ritual can do it creates some time for you, prior to beginning your day. You can utilize that time to do anything you desire from meditation, enjoying a cup of coffee in quiet, reading, etc. Morning rituals also do not have to be a solo journey, although I do say that you should have some personal time just for you in your morning even if its just 20 minutes. The possibilities are endless and it up to you to give yourself what you need in your ritual.
What is the benefits that I have received from it
Before doing my morning ritual I always felt like my morning was filled with tasks, hurried thoughts and checking work email. I always felt rushed into my day before the workday would even begin. It really created a lot of stress right from the get go because I didn’t give myself a chance to just BE after waking up.
When I began to incorporate my morning practice which only consisted of a 10-15 minute meditation, I noticed that I felt calmer and much more relaxed to start my day. Over time I realized that I actually enjoyed the peacefulness to start my day and then proceeded to add in additional rituals. For a while I read a chapter a day of a book I was reading after my meditation and that even added to more happiness because I enjoyed reading very much. So not only was I getting the mental benefits of a peaceful start to my day but I was also happier overall. Eventually my overall mental/emotional wellbeing was so improved with just the meditation and reading that I decided that I would do my best to give myself 45-60 minutes each day as MY TIME. Now with committing to extra time I made a couple more additions to the ritual and have truly come to enjoy the time I give myself each day.
My morning ritual
As and example my morning ritual that I am about to share I have done for about 7 years now. I do my ritual typically 6 days a week and take off on Sundays. It didn’t start off as the current version I am sharing, however, I keep an open mind and when something doesn’t serve me anymore I will change it and try something new to see if I like it. I wake up at 6 AM on most week days and take care of my needs and then immediately have a glass of room temperature water with lemon and take my vitamins. I then make a glass of MUD water (I no longer drink coffee) and go to either my bedroom or office and sit in my chair. I light some incense and put on music that is calming and without words. As I drink my morning drink I then take out my journal and write 10 things I am grateful for everyday. I have found that being in gratitude for even the small things in my life really helps me see how good and abundant my life is currently. I then write 5 affirmations of things I aspire to be and create in my life (I AM statements). After the affirmations, I journal about whats going on in my life and get any thoughts or emotions down on paper so I can release it or understand whats going on inside me better. After that I tend to sit in the chair finishing my MUD water in quiet just letting any thoughts come in. The last thing I do prior to starting my day is a 10-15 minute guided meditation. Once I come out of the meditation it’s about 7 AM and time to get the kids lunches ready for school and start the day!
Setting up your morning ritual
If you don’t have a morning ritual know that you can start very simple and let it grow over time. Like I previously stated my morning ritual for a long time was just doing a 10-15 minute meditation. Also, you don’t have to make it a 7 day a week thing either. I would suggest at minimum do it 5-6 days a week to build your morning ritual into a habit. This is important to create it as a habit, even when I am out of town I find places to give myself the space because it’s a habit now.
You should set up your morning ritual in such a way that you can create a space of privacy for yourself with no distractions. If you need to wake up earlier to create the space for it DO IT. Waking up a half hour earlier will not kill you. Also, I suggest not checking your phone, email or scroll social media because that could take you out of your personal space and can be a distraction. Also, incorporate things that make you happy as part of your routine.
Here are some examples you could use for your ritual; Meditate, read, journal, listen to music, have a cup of coffee/tea, set goals for your day, think about what you want to create in your life, write down things you are grateful for, play a game you like, do breath work, visualization, review your vision board, play an instrument. These are just a few ideas but the possibilities are endless.
In conclusion
Having a morning ritual should be incorporated into your life in such a way that is serves you. There is no right or wrong way to have a morning ritual. I utilize mine to become more peaceful and happy to start my day, but someone else may utilize their morning ritual to set goals and plan their day for personal or business success. Heck, I have a friend that his morning ritual was writing for an hour each morning. He has now written 6 published books all from his morning ritual only. So as you can see it’s up to you, start a morning ritual now and see what happens to your life within 6 months to a year. Also, don’t be so strict on yourself on what to do. Some days I may leave something out and just sit quietly thinking for 45 minutes. It’s up to you, get started now and you will love the results over time!