by Bryan Goodwin | Featured Contributor
Ah! Mornings. They can be great or they can be the bane of your day. This can vary from day to day or morning to morning. Many self-help people tell you to have a morning routine. Often these guru’s tell you what they do for their morning routine. Many times those routines are touted as the best morning routine for starting your day.
An important aspect is that they are right. It is the best routine for that particular person. It may not be the best routine for you. So with this topic being on morning routines, I wanted to share 7 different morning routines you can mix and match for your best start to the day.
Write Letters
This is a lost art. Ben Franklin and many of the smartest men around wrote letters. From before Ben’s time to recently many of the smartest people were prolific letter writers. For the longest times, these letters were the only form of long-distance communication there was. That is until E-mail came along.
Now with Email, it is easy to hash out a quick note and press send. No muss, no fuss, right? There is the problem of lack of connection though. Have you ever received a letter in the mail? Odd question for us older folks but for Millennials this is a rare event, and even more so, for the Gen Z that is now entering the workforce.
There is something different about receiving a letter in the mail, besides the unexpected surprise. As you read the letter, there is the connection that you get with the writer. The fact that the sender took the time to hand write that letter shows you that they care. The thought that is put into the words used. All of it impacts the recipient.
No, you don’t have to send this only to your Aunt Gladys. Your letters don’t even have to be a, “hey, how are you doing” type of letter. You can write a letter of gratitude to the waiter who served you your lunch yesterday. Write it and then drop it off while on you are out. The power of telling a person how much their effort affected you means a lot to them. Don’t believe me? How much does it mean to you when someone comments on your blog? That comment of encouragement means a lot. Now make it a personal handwritten thank you note and you have amped the gratitude up to 11.
Read a Chapter
Reading is a classic morning routine and can be incorporated into other activities. That is because the ”reading” is a bit fluid these days. Reading a book can also be an audiobook. If you use the audiobook version, you will be able to throw in walking, running, weight lifting, or just starting your day being still.
Reading is still one of the best ways to garner new knowledge and mindsets. If you can do this while doing something else, it is just that much better.
Practice Creating Some Art
We are all creators. No matter how you want to slice it. We have to create. It is who we are. Whether it is writing a letter or drawing squiggles on a note pad that is creating. One way you can reconnect with your inner creator is to just pick an art medium and create. I do pencil and paper and writing but there is also painting, carving, and more.
Spend an hour working on an art project. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece but the more your work at it the better it will become. So take the time to let your imagination run. You won’t be considered silly. You will be smart and you have exercised a crucial part of your being.
Image by Ylanite Koppens from PixabayWalk or Exercise
We need to move around. This is a given. If you sit, too much, you lose creativity and we often will struggle more when we are sedentary. Creativity is what helps you keep your edge. So Start the day with a bit of motion.
Be it nice strolls through the neighborhood or maybe you like to perform self-abuse by running. All of that is fine. Get the exercise your body needs and wants. Not only does the exercise help build strong bones and muscles. It also helps to strengthen your heart. The added heavily oxygenated blood flowing through your body also helps your brain to think better. So you have better ideas.
So get out there and start hoofing it, if any reason because it is a good start to the morning.
Say Your Affirmations
As you wake up you can also reinforce your mind with the thoughts and mindsets that will help you become successful and be more positive.
We know that the world can throw some trash around. It can be a challenge to not get the average day-to-day negativity on you from time to time. Yet when you affirm your beliefs with the truths and beliefs in your affirmation list, you are able to combat those negative beliefs better and with more resolution.
Why? Because you have already stated what you believe. You have only so much room each day and if you fill it up with positive thoughts and affirmations then the negative beliefs have nowhere to take root.
Have a Eureka Moment
You know where Eureka comes from right? If no, then here is an overview of the story.
Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and engineer who was tasked by a tyrant to find out if the Goldsmith he was using was duping him. The tyrant wasn’t sure is his crown wasn’t being shorted some gold. This was a real problem looking for a solution and Archimedes knew he had to find a way to prove that the crown wasn’t having alloys mixed with the gold.
One day Archimedes went to the bathhouse and as he sunk into the bath, he saw that he was changing the level of the water. He had stumbled on the solution to his issue and in his excitement, he leaped out of the tub and ran down the street naked screaming Eureka! Eureka!
There is something about stepping into a shower the first thing in the morning. Many believe that you are in a state of mind that is not entirely subconscious or is it fully conscious. That special state your two states of minds can share thoughts and that is why the best ideas come to you when in a shower. You relax. Your mental blocks haven’t been put into place and so new and interesting ideas form.
Therefore, if you are not a morning shower person it’s worth a try. The worst that happens is that you smell nice when you are done.
Image by Free-Photos from PixabayMake Your Bed
Finally, the last suggestion is one from your mom. Make your bed. Admiral McRaven best describes some of the benefits of making your bed right away. Right off the bat, you have accomplished something. It may not seem like a big thing but if your day is horrible, at least you can come home to a clean and made a bed.
So make that bed as you get up. Read a book while you are exercising. Then again, maybe you want to meditate and then read your affirmations while watching the sunrise. Your morning ritual is dependent upon you. What do you want to accomplish?
I am men’s life coach and blogger. I help people see their limiting beliefs and lead out of their patterns of self-sabotage, by getting them outdoors into nature. Doing so allows these folks to reconnect with the fearless child who thought they could do anything. They could be a mermaid or a banker. I want to show people that the American “can do” attitude isn’t dead but strong powerful and very much alive.
If you had a dream when you were a kid that dream is still waiting for the go-ahead even today. Make the goals that will help you reach your innermost dream. Those aspirations never died but are dying to get out. It isn’t too late. You can be what you want.
You can find my blog The Relaxed Male-outdoors leadership
