For most of my life I’ve been waking up early (we’re talking 5AM) ready to get my day going. Even for school I had to get up pretty early. I guess you could say I’m a true Early Bird. At this point, my body naturally wakes up at around 6-6:30AM even on weekends. While that may sound awful to some, it’s part of my routine and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m not writing this blog post to tell you that waking up early is the only key to success, but it does have a lot of benefits. One of them being that it gives you lots of time to get your day started the right way, especially if you develop morning habits to set you up for success.
Speaking of morning habits, I’d like to think I have some pretty healthy ones. Mornings are my favorite time of the day. I’m able to take time to myself, which in my opinion, is a key habit for a successful day. Not only that but a lot of my morning habits are similar to the morning habits many successful people have. I’m a firm believer that when we’re the best version of ourselves, it reflects on every aspect of our lives. The more we fill up our own cup, the more we can pour onto others and have better relationships overall. I encourage you to think about your existing morning habits. If you see room for improvement, try adding some new ones.
5 Morning Habits for a Successful Day
1. Get your body moving: It doesn’t have to be intense exercise, but I highly recommend you start your day by moving your body. Not only does exercise release endorphins (aka happy thoughts), it’s great for building strength, endurance, and you’re more likely to live a healthier, longer life. It could be a walk, run, yoga flow, barre, hiit, strength training, you name it. Just make sure you get your body moving to promote blood flow and get some energy for the rest of the day.
2. Meditate: I know meditating is not easy. I’ll admit I have a hard time with it and oftentimes ditch it because of it. However, when I manage to consistently stick to a meditation routine, the results are amazing. Meditation really allows you to connect with your body, soul and mind and helps live a more peaceful life. It’s not about not thinking about anything, but rather learning to have thoughts flow without holding onto them. In the long-run if you learn how to let thoughts flow imagine how much better your life would be. Decreased stress and anxiety and increased mindfulness. Sounds like a dream, right? Again, meditation is not easy but it’s so worth it to connect with your inner self that way.
3. Set affirmations: Every morning I like to set a new affirmation or repeat an existing one I may need for that day. Affirmations like “I am worthy” or “I have the power to change my life” are some you can use every day. But maybe one day you wake up needing something more specific like “I deserve this job promotion.” Starting your day with affirmations will really help set you up for success.
Our minds are so powerful and if we learn to start our days with the right mindset, there’s very little we can’t do. However, getting to that point is a lot of work. Affirmations won’t work unless you truly believe them. You can’t tell yourself you deserve a job promotion or raise if you truly don’t believe that. It all starts with believing we can accomplish everything we set our minds to, and then adjusting our mindset to that.
4. Drink 16 oz water as soon as you wake up: Staying hydrated throughout the day is incredibly important. However, it’s especially important to drink water as soon as we wake up. Our bodies have spent around 8 hours without drinking water. It’s essential to hydrate to kick things off in your body. It aids digestion, eliminates toxins, and will help during your morning workout. Continue to stay hydrated throughout the day though. Aim to drink half your body weight in ounces and make this a daily habit!
5. Journal: Much like setting affirmations, journaling is a great way to set your mindset for a successful day. There’s lots of journals available for purchase that include great prompts to help you get in the habit of journaling. Some of my favorites include the 5-minute journal, Manifestation Journal, Morning Magic Journal, and 6-Minute Diary. If you don’t want to buy a prompted journal, you can always use a notebook. The goal is to start your day with gratitude and help decrease anxiety. Try writing 3-5 things you’re grateful for, how you’re feeling and why, a mantra/affirmation for the day, and something you’d like to accomplish each day. Starting our day with a grateful heart feeds positivity into our entire day. Writing down how we feel allows us to get out of our heads a bit and really figure out what’s going on.
Sometimes it’s easy to let anxiety take over. However by writing it down we can “disconnect” in a way from that anxiety and see it from a different angle. When we set a mantra for the day or an affirmation, we get in the right “getting it done” mindset. Finally, setting a goal for the day, no matter how big or small it may be, will the motivator and driver for that day.
There you have it: 5 morning habits for a successful day. They’re relatively simple to incorporate, however the key here is maintaining consistency. It takes 21 days to form a habit. Try incorporating these for at least 21 days so they become second-nature and the first thing your body and mind craves when you wake up. If you have any other morning habits you swear by, drop them in the comments below.
