How you start is often how you continue.
You certainly know the notion of waking up on the WRONG side of the bed.
And how much that can lead to the wrong side of the day.
But how much do you experiment with starting your day right?
Personally, I want methods to get my day ultimate no matter how you wake up.
And irrespective of how you wake, to use this CRUCIAL time for building incredible momentum for your day.
Many days ruined
In my last job I RUINED many days.
Waking up with someone I loved, like an actor on cue, my brain would start ruining the day.
Ugh, don’t feel like going to work today.
If only this wasn’t that.
Or whatever wasn’t whatever. 🙂
I laugh at it now because it’s just so obvious to me how I was waking up and letting that brain ruin the day.
But FACT IS, I hurt years of my life that way.
Now I see clearly, no matter what you’re doing, you’re doing it anyways, so you might as well find a way to love the one you’re with.
Back then I thought it was “because”
Meaning, it was “because” I didn’t love aspects of my job.
I “believed” that when I was doing what I want, then I’d feel amazing.
That’s the Getting There Program FAIL I often write about.
Our brains thinking that if only this or that was different, then you’d think and feel how you want.
WRONG.
Fast forward to doing what I want and I was still waking up less than amazing.
This sent me deep into ideas on how you live your best day.
For 11 years my work was about living your best life, but now I could see it more specifically in your day.
I’d already been deep in topics of time management, thinking and feeling your best, taking your best actions, etc.
But I needed more to ACTUALLY live it.
Morning routines they say…
I never want to think about how many times I read about morning routines…
Before I just blocked out all that noise!
Look, tbh, there’s lots of good stuff out there.
But it’s generally amateur hour.
Actually, worse than amateur hour—amateurs telling you how to use your hours.
Listicles laying out the [9] things you MUST do to get your day started right.
Inevitably their lists include stuff like:
- Avoid checking your device when you wake
- A gratitude practice
- Drink water
- Of course, meditation
Again, maybe some great ideas FOR THEM.
But all that matters is what’s right for you?
Starting your day without “mourning”
It’s 5:57 a.m.
Writing to you is starting my a.m. routine.
Notice I use “a.m.” instead of “morning” because I’m aware of the power of language and avoid the ambiguous word “mourning.”
I know that’s just word play, but it also well describes how many people wake up—
- Mourning getting out of bed
- Mourning what they “must” do today
- Mourning how this day is going to be blah, blah, blah
That’s their “mourning routine.”
It’s NOT their fault.
That machine in your head is a powerful time machine.
And often it’s filling your a.m. with overwhelm, anxiety, and all these other things it’s simulating for your day.
You want a way to start right.
Sitting here typing is one of my ways.
What starts YOUR day right?
I can’t say what is right for you.
Only that the method I built for me is built for designing what is right for you!
Every day of mine starts differently.
Frankly, I’d be bored out of my brain if I sat here and did this same routine every day.
But the theme is ALWAYS the same.
As I go deep into in my system for ultimate days, it’s all about getting your mind and actions started right.
Sitting here typing I’m building my “Accomplishment Cycle” for the day.
Knocking something out, I’m already in flow, feeling tremendous pull and momentum for my day.
It’s working fantastically for me today, yet this is only one way I start my day.
Yesterday, I did nearly 2 hours of hypnosis at this time.
So you see my days start differently (and at different times) but the INTENT is the same—
Get your day started right.
What might you change?
Wake up, get up is a good rule to implement immediately!
But, also, there have been years where my day started with 30 minutes of meditation in bed.
“Should I exercise in the a.m.?” a client asked.
“Those can be my most productive hours, but I read that working out can be helpful.”
“Let’s talk about what is right for you,” I said.
Another client has the same routine EVERY day.
For him consistency is everything.
At 4:45 a.m. another client jumps into a COLD shower.
That’s too cold for me, but as he says, “There’s nothing like that for starting your day.”
Another client used to wake up, lean over, grab that phone, and start checking email.
For some people that’s what offsets or fuels TERRIBLE anxiety EVERY DAY.
For him, a slight tweak to what he was looking at got him super fired up for his day.
Experiment with one thing
You see my point here?
Yes, there are things people call morning routines that they will happily say are right for you.
But there’s only ONE routine that’s right for you.
That’s the ONE that’s right for you!
And the key here is to play around with what you’ve been doing.
See if there are things you might cut out.
Things you might add, or change.
And the best way to keep optimizing the method that’s right for you is…
Experimenting with just 1 thing.
btw, if you want to optimize your days from wake till sleep, this free video program for Ultimate Days will help you do it.