Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Starting the day as you mean to go on — an early morning success ritual
Submitted by RagsToRich on Tue, 2010-03-30 20:17
Related Terms :
All the visualization in the world won’t create much if you don’t get off your seat and start doing stuff. This is an often understated bullet-point of personal development programs, but it's actually a crucial step. No-one wants to hear that to get wash-board abs they’re going to have to stomach crunch until they can’t crunch no more on at least a weekly basis (I know what it requires, I did it.)Conversely, if you miss every step apart from action, you’d still get something. It might not exactly be what you want, in-fact it might be completely the opposite. Effort does not equate to luxurious results.
Imagine if your computer crashed, you could enact effort in two ways. You could read up on the problem and try to work out what’s caused it, or you could smash it up with a hammer. They both equally require effort, but one probably won’t produce the results you really want.
Also there’s a question of motivation. Working hard for something you’re not sure you want is really really hard, whereas working hard for something you truly desire is actually not work at all. Referring back to stomach crunches… I still do them regularly and I absolutely love them to death. I love the burn, and I love the effort, but most of all I love being in great shape.
I desire the result so I love the process.
So in summary we’ve outlined three crucial elements to success:
1) Knowing that the result is what you really desire
2) Ensuring the process will get you that result
3) Getting off your seat and doing things
2) Ensuring the process will get you that result
3) Getting off your seat and doing things
There’s also a 4) refining the whole process
What’s the best way to get to grips with all these things? Start an early morning success ritual right now which enforces your commitment to personal development and carries out these steps.
Why is it called a ritual?
Because it gets the idea in your head about what this really is. It’s a special part of your day, more special than just “a bunch of stuff” you do in the morning.
If you have a problem with calling it a ritual then call it something else. I like calling it my ritual.
Why do it?
It proves a commitment to yourself.
By waking up an extra hour earlier than normal and by doing these things you are telling yourself that you’re serious about being a highly driven highly productive successful individual. If you’re not prepared to do this, then what are you prepared to do?
The way you start your day is often the way you will carry on.
If you start your day by falling out of bed and tucking into some chocolate cake, then the chances are you’ll carry on much the same way. What you want is to start your morning with good habits and good drive to carry that through into the rest of your day.
Making use of the natural alpha state the mind is in in the morning.
There are certain effects to be had from certain personal development exercises which are most prominent when the mind is in what’s called “alpha state”.
This is a state of the brain when the majority of the frequencies being produced are long low-level frequencies. Although there are ways to induce this state, such as deep meditation, the brain is naturally in this start when you first wake up. While in this state the brain is more open to the kind of reality change brought about with affirmations and visualizations.
Kick-starting your metabolism
Getting your energy burning started as soon as possible is important for both your physical energy and your mental energy. The brain uses glucose in order to think, so if you starve it of that energy you will definitely experience decreased performance. Part of your ritual will be activities which are designed fire up the metabolism right from the word go.
Feeling fresher earlier in the day
By the time you end your ritual you will be ready to go. This means that by the time you get to doing something you previously would have done in a day you’ll be that little bit fresher. “Waking up” will no longer we part of your working day because you’ll have already done it as part of your ritual.
What is it exactly?
What exactly is contained in your ritual is entirely up to you. I’d recommend you make it between 30 minutes and an hour long.
Mine is personally 50 minutes long, and I will alter that if required. So if I, for example, need to do a few extra things that day, then I might shave 10 minutes off my ritual.
Your ritual begins when you get out of bed, and it ends when you get in the shower – that’s when your day begins.
The very first thing you should do, as well as taking a sip of water, is an affirmation or visualization exercise. These exercises are most effective when the brain is primarily operating in an alpha frequency – this occurs naturally when the brain first awakens from sleep.
You know how you feel a little “slow” in the morning? Well that’s what I’m talking about.
That brain state is optimal for really being able to get into the beliefs you want to get into using affirmations and visualization type exercises. If you need some guidance on the kinds of exercises to try then check out these links — affirmations and visualisation.
After this it’s time to get a little more conscious and a little more logical. You want to look over a pre-prepared list of the areas you are currently working on. Particularly you should list any habits you are creating or getting rid of. This is important – you want to make sure you’re hammering these every day, so remind yourself of them right from the word go.
If there’s one particular focus which has been getting left by the way side, write it down on a slip of paper and stick it in your pocket. Take it with you on your day, make sure you take it out your pocket at lunch time and review if you’ve been making it happen.
Next I do a little bit of focus meditation, I sit and focus on an object deeply. Just 10 minutes to get my mind focused. This is in addition to the daily practice of mindfulness I do later on in my day which tends to be over an hour long. My object of focus can be anything from a sensation in the body, to the breath, to something in my visual field. It doesn’t matter what it is, the aim is to concentrate exclusively on that thing.
Now it’s time to get the blood pumping around the body. I spend the next 10 minutes doing either push-ups, sit-ups, or some other exercise. The morning is a perfect opportunity to do this, and believe me that 10 minutes is easily enough to challenge your muscles. If this sounds a little hard-core to you then I’d suggestion coming up with something like a 10 minute walk. The point is something which at least gets your heart pumping a little.Then I have breakfast which consists of at least a pint of water and two pieces of fresh fruit. You could have your breakfast as separate to your ritual, but keeping it part of my ritual reminds me that this is how I like to eat – healthily. I eat for performance. As it turns out, I love the food I eat as well. But it’s good to have that reminder.
Finally ... into the shower, and then it’s time to show the world what you got.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
Email this Article
Re: Starting the day as you mean to go on — an early morning ...
I just want to thank for the wonderful quote that started your page. I rewrote the words of Albert Camus to my notebook.
He talk so rightly...."You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life" - Yes and Yes.
However, when the chronicle illness put me in the rank of poeple with the invisible disabilities, searching for meaning of life became my new life.
Art by Tomas blog was started and welcomes you to browse through his archives now.
Re: Starting the day as you mean to go on — an early morning ...
I personally believe you may well be a little insane Tomas. I still like your art.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Post new comment