
Morning Rituals: It Makes THE Difference.
Morning Rituals: Let’s Talk About It
Have you ever stopped for a moment to assess what it is that you do every single day? Let’s use Sally as an example…
Sally sets her alarm for 5:30 am every morning because she “wants” to wake up at 5:30 am. The next morning rolls around at 5:30 am and Sally looks at her phone which is laying in her bed, sees that it’s 5:30 and presses snooze, “Nope. No way. That’s too early. I still have 15 minutes before I ‘actually’ have to get up.”
Sally ends up pressing snooze 3 times until she finally gets up out of bed.
Now, it’s 6:10am and Sally is upset because she is going to be late for work, the kids are already awake (she likes to be ready before they wake up), and she already scrolled on Instagram and noticed that everyone is having fun in life except for her. Sallys clothes are also sprawled out all over the floor, causing her to trip over her items and making it very difficult for find what she is looking for.
She runs to the bathroom to apply some makeup on her face but for some reason her bathroom is also a mess and she can’t find her mascara. As she’s huffing and puffing saying to herself, “Wow, could this day get any worst? I can’t believe I pressed snooze again!”
Now it’s time to get the kids ready, leaving her no time to make her own breakfast and lunch, and she says to herself, “looks like I’m eating out AGAIN today. Mcdonalds it is.” She also has no time to make her coffee which means, Starbucks it is.
Sally drops the kids off at school for 7:30 but because she is feeling rushed and overwhelmed due to her morning, she yells at them to “hurry up!!! I’m going to be late.” She arrives to work by 8:15 (15 minutes late). She is frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed and says, “I wish this day would end already.”
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I don’t know about you but I’ve definitely had these days before. You can only imagine what the rest of Sallys day is going to look like going forward from there.
Morning rituals are so important. They set you off on the right foot and allow you to own your entire day! Sallys entire morning went downward because of her morning rituals.
Let’s look at one other example. Kara…
Kara Sets her alarm for 5:00am the night before because it’s important to her to have time for the gym, meditation, and to get ready in the morning before the kids wake up. It’s now the morning, 5:00am is here and Karas alarm goes off. She gets up out of bed walks over to her phone and turns the alarm off. She stands there for a moment, takes 5 deep breaths and says “good morning sky, thank you for another day!”
Kara goes to bathroom, brushes her teeth, puts on her gym clothes and heads downstairs to the kitchen. In the kitchen she grabs a large glass of water and this nutrient rich shot which keeps her stress levels down. She loves it! Off to the gym she goes for 1.5 hours, all before the kids wake up.
When she gets home from the gym, she wakes the kids with hugs and good mornings and helps them get ready. She too gets ready however she has her items all lined up the night before to save her time. As Kara makes the kids breakfast, she drinks her nutritional shake and grabs some healthy snacks for her lunch. Everyone is happy, dancing, and on time for their day. Kara says ,“Wow! I’m so grateful for today. How could it get any better than this?!”
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Sally was me before I decided what was most important in my life. I knew that I had to make changes however time kept passing by and nothing was changing.
The night before I would set my alarm to wake up early however I had no real plan or purpose for when I did wake up so I thought “what’s the point?” When I made the gym a must, it gave me purpose. I also incorporated a new system into my day which prevented me from eating fast food and stopping at the drive threw on my way to work. This has not only saved me money, but I am more energized, on time, focused, and happier! That food was NOT fueling my body which made me tired, grumpy and depressed. Now, i’ve found the game changer.
My old morning rituals:
- Press snooze for 30 minutes-1 hour
- Wake up and scroll through social media (just awful)
- Run around looking for my stuff trying to get ready (rushing and feeling overwhelmed)
- Being short tempered with my son as if THIS was his fault. (NO!!!)
- Leaving no time to prepare/eat any meals so I would stop at Mcdonalds for breakfast and order way more than I knew I could eat but because I was anxious and depressed already which meant I would binge eat (again)
- Have negative self talk because my day was already so crappy which meant it was only going to get worst from there (really cass!?)
Wow.
Do you have morning rituals like this? Let’s have a look at my new morning rituals.
New morning rituals:
- Wake up at 5 am without pressing snooze!
- Stand up and express gratitude and thanks for a new day. I also say good morning to the sun or sky (depending if the sun is rising yet!)
- I *walk (not run!) to brush my teeth, get my gym clothes on, have my “mommy shot” and a large glass of water and head to the gym for 1.5-2 hours
- When I get home from the gym, I wake up my son with hugs and good mornings and we’re happier than ever!
- I make/drink my morning shake (full meal replacement!) while I give him his breakfast and make his lunch
These shifts in my morning rituals has made me:
- HAPPIER!!!! (I was depressed and anxious before)
- More patient (I was angry and short tempered)
- On-time for things (I was always late)
- Save money (I used to eat out 2-3 times a day-binge eating on the go)
- Be fueled and energized (these shakes are life)
- Have meee time (this is so important)
- Be more grateful (I used to think life was not worth living like, what’s the point?)
I invite you to take a look at your own morning rituals and ask yourself “How are my current rituals shaping my morning? Shaping my day? Shaping my life?”
What are you willing to do to change them and if you were to, what kind of impact would that have on your life?
Write it all down from the moment you wake up to the moment you get to work (wheverever work may be for you!)
If you’re feeling up to it, send me your old and new morning rituals to hello@casshenry.com , I’d love to hear from you!
Love & Gratitude,
Cass
