Over the past few weeks we’ve been discussing what it takes to be successful…at just about anything…whether you want to lose some weight, improve a relationship, start a new project or make a significant change in your life.
Last week, I encouraged you to jump to the end of your life, and decide how you want to be remembered as a clue to how you will live your life today, and the things you will have to stop, or start, doing in order to live the life you really want.
Today, I want to talk about something that isn’t new, but it’s crucial in my opinion to your success.
Instead of looking at the end of your life, lets consider how you start your day.
How you begin the day is crucial to how it will go and the measure of what you will accomplish in it. I believe the first 30-60 minutes will essentially dictate how your day goes, and if that is true, then what you choose to do first, really matters.
How you choose to start your day will certainly be influenced by your personality…do you hit the ground running or are you an “ease into the day” kind of person.
It will be influenced by your stage of life. Are you single, married with children in the house or empty nesters?
Regardless, I believe that our morning routine can set us up for success or failure.
Do You Look Forward to the Morning?
Many don’t. They push the snooze button multiple times, then rush to get ready for work and drive off in a flash racing to get a good spot in the drive-through before frantically running through the front door of the workplace, already frazzled.
There has to be a better way, to start the day!
The key to a successful morning is creating a routine that you can
A. Look forward to & B. Sustain over time.
I look forward to my morning routine, especially through the week, because I decided ahead of time, how it will look…
- I wake up around the same time each day…7am.
- I put on my workout clothes that I already have out, waiting for me
- I make a cup of black coffee
- I drink a pre-workout glass of water mixed with creatine and drink it while the coffee is brewing
- I complete a 45-60 minute workout
- I make a protein shake
- I enjoy some quiet time, reading scripture and prayer
- I watch a couple of daily videos that inspire, educate or motivate me
This takes me about 90 minutes to complete.
Note what isn’t in my morning routine…
- I don’t check work related emails
- I don’t watch the news
- I don’t scroll social media
- I don’t talk to anyone, unless it’s a quick “good morning” text to my wife Kathy.
Other than Kathy, these are all distractions that can easily take me away form the priority of my morning routine, so I protect my first 90 minutes as much as possible
Now you might be saying, “Dan, isn’t it boring, doing the same thing everyday?”
Well, you’re talking to a guy who ate peanut butter and grape jam for lunch for an entire year while in college…so I like routine. Even today, I eat basically the same thing every day. Protein shake, protein bar, eggs, chicken & cheese for lunch. That’s it…every day. The weekends I change it up a little, but not much.
This reflects my personality. I like routine, and I understand that you may be wired very differently. You may need to change it up a little and that’s fine. But whatever you do, decide ahead of time, how you will start your day, and the habits you will follow as well as the ones you will eliminate.
You may push back on this and that’s fine. But let me ask you…is what you’re currently doing, something you can do every day? Is it something you enjoy? Is it something you can sustain for the long haul?
Most People Quit Long Before They See Results
It’s gonna be January soon and many people are going to start a new habit, or try to stop an old one, and by mid-month most will quit.
If you don’t want to be one of those statistics, then choose habits that you enjoy, that you look forward to, and can do day after day, after day, after day.
Q. What does your morning routine currently look like?
Q. Is it working for you? Does it support the rest of your day?
If not, what changes do you need to make?
Here’s the bottom line…
Your morning routine can be the difference between accomplishing all you set out to do, or it can sabotage your efforts before you even start.
What one habit can you introduce tomorrow morning that will help you achieve success?
Let me know, I’d love to hear it!
Feeling stuck? Not sure what to do next? Your life not where you want it to be? Life coaching can help. Contact me for a free 45-minute discovery call. Let’s talk.
[…] way to ensure you fill your mind with good, is to start the day well. I go into more detail in this recent post, so I won’t do that here; but how you start the day can make all the difference in the […]