Have you ever thought how important a morning routine is? Do you do the same thing every morning? You probably do, but the question is did you plan your morning routine or did it just happen by chance? If it happened by chance, then you are taking a chance, and wasting precious time. To increase your chances for success, your morning routine must be purposeful and directed. We can start the day off on the right foot if we understand our natural human tendency.
Our Natural Tendency
We naturally do our best or at least stay the same. We try to avoid going backwards at all cost. We don’t like to think of ourselves as “getting worse.” We like to think we are moving forward, or at least not losing any ground. For example, if you get up in the morning and eat a really healthy breakfast, you are more likely to make healthier choices throughout the day. But if you followed a healthy breakfast with some junk food, you would defeat the purpose of ever eating the healthy breakfast, thus going backwards.
Using the same tendency…if you were to start the day with two Boston Creme doughnuts from Dunkin’, you wouldn’t feel bad about eating more junk food that day. Because you “already messed up” a healthy day of eating, so might as well eat junk food. Thus you are at least staying the same. This natural tendency can move us in the right direction if we leverage it properly. But how can you leverage it properly?
Proper Leveraging!!!
You can properly leverage your morning routine to set the tone for the day. Start your morning with any of the following things. A combination of these things in the morning would be even better:
- A healthy breakfast
- 30 minutes of exercise
- 10 minutes of meditation
- 30 minutes of reading
- Reading a daily prayer
- Refining your schedule for the day
There are many other great things you can do in the morning to set a proper tone for the day. These are just some of the things I have personally found to get me ready for the day and engage my natural tendency to not go backwards from the great start to my day. Once you have put together a great morning routine that works for you, then keep at it.
Keep At It!!!
There is no need to create this awesome morning routine if you can’t do it consistently. You may think, “something is better than nothing,” but I would disagree on this one. Don’t set a morning routine with the thought that you can do it “some times.” You have to perform that morning routine the 5and2Guy way. At least five consistent days a week will help establish a strong habit over a period of a couple months. If you consistently miss more days than you can adhere to your routine, you will NOT get the benefit that you hoped to receive. Much like anything else, consistency is key, so set up a morning routine that you KNOW you can stick to and one that moves you in the right direction towards your goals.
The Takeaway
We all have a morning routine, whether we realize it or not. The difference is whether or not your morning routine sets you up for success or failure. It may be that you have never really thought about the importance of a consistent morning routine and its benefits. That’s okay, because you can start now. Set a routine that starts your day off right. One that sets you up for success in all areas of your life. Your morning routine can start you off on the right foot with your money, relationships, wisdom, happiness, and fitness. As a matter of fact, try to take each of those areas of life and do one thing, as part of your morning routine, that will start you off on the right foot. I promise that if you do this and stick to it, you will see a pretty quick improvement in these areas and can change your life forever. So, hop to it and plan your morning routine NOW!!! When tomorrow morning comes…will you be ready for it???