Part of arising from depression has included developing several different habits. One of them is how I do my mornings.
For my entire motherhood, I have always woken to my children. I could probably count on my 2 hands how many times I have arisen before them, and prepared for my day.
Until recently.
I was listening to a podcast on the Brendon show recently that completely changed the way I see mornings.
Never start your morning routine with your phone
His first tip was to never start your day with your phone. Do not even touch it until you have finished your morning routine. I have taken this a step further, and generally do not touch my phone for the first hour of my day. When you start your day with your phone, you are starting your day in REACTION rather than INTENTION. Reaction meaning, you are immediately reacting to your email, Facebook, messages, the news (which is generally negative), or whatever else you use your phone for. Studies have shown that the feelings you feel when you first start your day, set the course for the rest of the day. Be intentional and in charge about your mornings. They matter more than you think.
If you can, start your morning before your children
This is a tough one, because if you are like me, you want to sleep every last second possible. The problem with this goes back to reaction. Generally when I wake up to my children, it almost always means waking up to the sound of crying, whining, or pleas for breakfast. This is not a great way to start.
Simple 3-Step Morning Routine For Starting Your Day Right
The 3-step morning routine that was inspired by the Brendon show podcast isn’t too different from other morning routines I have studied and read about, but I like that his spells the word AMP. Amp up your morning! It makes the morning routine easy to remember.
- Affirmation. Start your day reading something really positive. Something that makes you feel something positive. This doesn’t have to be a long reading, but studies have shown that your voice wakes up your brain, so speak it out loud if you can.
- Movement. Get your blood flowing, get your brain active! It will make you so much less groggy and ready to get going. If you don’t have time to exercise, stretch for a couple minutes. I personally like to start my day with yoga. I haven’t always been a fan of yoga, but once I noticed how different it made me feel, I started to crave it as a start to my morning. Plus, I feel like it’s a good combo of both movement/meditation/affirmations.
- Prioritize. Set an intention for your day by writing down the 3 most important things to get done that day. Set your path and focus in right when you get up.
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