Your Miracle Morning
As a mom of four, my mornings often start before I open my eyes. The cry of a baby, a toddler’s door creaking open, the sound of my husband’s first cup of coffee brewing — gosh, it’s easy to throw my hands up and let the day decide how it’s going to go instead of the other way around. I gained a little jewel of wisdom from one of my fave parenting podcasts (shameless plug for Find the Magic) that has began to bring some consistency and a little less chaos to my mornings.
The idea is based on Hal Elrod’s book The Miracle Morning, an easy-read self help book that details out each step of a morning routine that he believes sets oneself up for success and clarity on life: silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing. (S.A.V.E.R.S) The idea is that this rhythm can be customized to fit what you need in your life. For me right now, a great morning routine might look like spending 1-2 minutes in each step. For someone else, that routine might be drawn out to 1-2 hours and be perfect for them!
Here are a few ideas of what each step might look like for you, whether you’re a young mom, a busy bachelor, or living your best grandparent life.
S: Silence. Spend some time meditating, praying, or simply reflecting. Declutter your mind for just a few moments.
A: Affirmations. Use affirmations to start programming yourself to be confident and successful in everything you do. With enough repetition, your subconscious mind will begin to believe what you tell it, and act upon it. Think about what you want, why you want it, whom you want to become by accomplishing it, and what you will do to attain it.
V: Visualization. Close your eyes and picture yourself living out the things you affirmed previously. Think through what action steps you need to take to realize those visualizations.
E: Exercise. This can look different for everyone — maybe it’s 60 seconds of jumping jacks, a YouTube yoga video, or really shake up the morning with a new gym membership. Whatever fits your season of life best, get after it!
R: Reading. Pick up your favorite self-help book, religious text, or a novel to escape in for a few minutes before the day begins.
S: Scribing. This is an excellent time to visit your goals or take some time to free journal. The 5 Minute Journal is an amazing book to guide you through daily journaling if it’s something you are new to.
It might sound silly to say something so little could change your day, month, or life so drastically, but the results speak for themselves. Not only the benefits of what gets accomplished during that morning routine, but the residual positive effect on mood, mental health, relationships, and the like makes it all the more worth it. Take the challenge to write out your morning routine and commit to it for 30 days, you’ll be surprised at what things might come to fruition in your life.
Check out the Find the Magic podcast here.
Read the Miracle Morning book here.
Check out the author’s foolproof tips for actually getting out of bed to do the routine here.
My favorite alarm clock here.
xx, Justice
