“Waking up motivated every morning is not a talent, it is a mindset and lifestyle”
It is very important to wake up the right way. If you can win your morning, you can win your day!
On waking up, whilst you are still in the theta brain wave, you can attach 3 things of gratitude every day.
You cannot be anxious and grateful at the same time.
So, to help you set a morning mindset routine, I’ve given you 4 steps to setting yourself up for a great morning mindset!
Plus I’ve addressed a few issues that we all have such as worry, unwanted thoughts, and challenging emotions.
But let’s start with anxiety. Anxiety is a normal feeling but we can reduce it with a simple exercise.
A Note about Anxiety
Anxiety stems from thinking about the future. To bring yourself back into the present moment do this exercise:
- Look and focus on 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can hear
- 3 things you can smell
- 2 things you can touch
- 1 thing you can taste
Do this exercise to quiet your mind and bring you back to the present moment.
If your mind is still racing use the breathing technique mentioned above. Breathe in for 7 holds for 4 breathe out for 8.
Do this as often as you need as it calms the body on a cellular level and puts space between the rampage of thoughts.
Challenging Emotions
It is normal to have challenging emotions present and you must feel them heal them.
Identify your emotion and name it out loud. That way the emotion feels seen. Acknowledge it so it can move through you and not get stuck vying for your attention.
It is good to feel sad, angry, jealous, etc. Emotions are messengers and sadness cracks us open to allow the light in, anger moves us to take constructive action, etc.
The problem arises when we spiral to the second tier. We get angry for being angry or sad for being sad.
Just understand if you are angry or sad full stop. Try to steer away from the story because that continues and catastrophes the emotion.
It takes exactly 90 seconds for anger to pass through the body the rest of the anger continues because of the story and replay we keep in our heads.
Emotions are not fixed, and they do pass and are validated.
Do the work from the inside out. Work your mind muscle, build it up strong. Keep yourself mentally and physically fit. Emotion is energy in motion so try your best to move your energy in the right places through creativity. Plant a veggie garden, cook, draw, write take photos, keep a gratitude journal, and attach to it as often as possible. Keep a gatekeeper at the base of your mind and only let thoughts that build you up and strengthen you. You will be amazed at how powerful the mind is and amazed at how much control you have over it.
Remember, there is a part of you that NO ONE can take away. That is the part you must nurture with all your heart. A lot of self-love and self-care. Be extremely gentle with yourself.
You are stronger than you know, and you will grow through what you go through.
Surround yourself with positive energy
If you do not have positive people around you in your real world, find it elsewhere.
1. Feel the Gratitude
Gratitude should be felt on a deep cellular level. For instance, “I am grateful for the roof over my head”, and then try to imagine living on the street so that you can feel the visceral feeling of gratitude of having a safe home to call your own. Then Set an intention for the day.
2. Set an Intention
The Intention could be something tangible like planting a vegetable garden or it could be “I don’t care what happens today, I am going to be joyous or productive or whatever you want the intention to be.
Once an intention is set it is as good as being done. For example, if you set the above attention of being joyous throughout the day, if you get caught in traffic and start stressing, you WILL return to the intention and shift your mindset back to being joyous no matter what.
3. Meditate
This could be done with a guided meditation app such as insight timer.
- Sit upright in a chair with feet planted firmly on the ground.
- Sit straight but comfortably. Feel grounded through the feet but then feel like a string is pulling up from the crown of your head.
- Keep palms placed upwards in your lap.
- Take a deep breath in for 7 counts, hold for 4 and breathe out for 8
- Repeat 3 times and then allow your natural breath to happen.
- Use your breath as an anchor and every time you feel your mind wandering, bring it back to your breath.
- You can focus on the air coming in and out of the nostrils or your stomach rising and falling, wherever is easier for you to come back to.
- Set a timer for 2 min and increase the time daily until you get to 20 mins a day.
This can be done before going to sleep as well.
The point is not to attach to the thought. Notice the thought and bring your attention back to the breath.
4. Exercise Options
Exercise moves the energy around your body and creates feel-good endorphins! It is so helpful to get at least 30 minutes exercise a day.
Walk/Run/or follow a workout that is pre-made.
Cold shower/Swim
Try having a cold shower/swim in the morning to kick start your organs!
Try to stay in the present moment as much as you can.
If You are Worrying...
If you find you are worrying a lot, try this:
Write everything that is worrying you down.
Then ask yourself “What can I do with the resources I have right now to help me make this better”?
List all the things you can do and take action to do them
If you cannot do anything about it at this moment, then you need to try and accept that it is out of your control and surrender to it.
Remember science says “I must see it to believe it, faith says, I’ll believe it and then I will see it.
Another way is to park your worry aside knowing it is not going anywhere. Tell yourself you will come back to it in a few hours. When you do come back to it, the worry usually loses the emotional charge it had when you were caught in the worry loop.
Unwanted Thoughts?
Just because thought has come into your head, does not make it fact.
Ask yourself regularly, is this thought helping or hindering me?
Be kind and gentle to yourself.
Speak to yourself as if you were speaking to a loved one. If you would not say that thought to them, DO NOT say it to yourself.
Only speak of what you do want and not what you don’t want in life because where the attention goes the energy flows.
We cannot help what comes into our heads, but we do have control as to what to do with it once it has come into our heads.
If a negative thought comes in, tell yourself 3 positive thoughts to counteract it. This way we start rewiring the brain!
Hayley Mayer is a qualified counsellor and life coach and can help you with:
- Grief & Loss
- Anxiety & Depression
- Positive Psychology
- Stress Management
- Healthy Relationships
- Life Transitions
- Adolescents
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORLD OF MENTORING
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