That you Can Easily Start in the Morning……
BY RACHAEL ROBERTSON
So here we are, almost half way through January and we’re at that point when it’s time to kick start our 2020. Reality is starting to kick in, our post Christmas and New Year holiday hangover is in full swing as we start our transitions back to the workforce and the mundanes of everyday life or continue with our christmas workload or holidays and think ‘I can’t believe we are already half way through the first month of the year!’ Either way, it is time to step into reality and the new year with a bang if we want to make it a successful one.
Now I know what you are probably thinking, here is another one of those new year blogs on making 2020 the best year ever! Well here is some news for you, it actually is not. You may very well interpret it as such however, in all honesty I’m not a big believer in new year resolutions. In my life’s experience, which has had alot of life changing and shattering moments, I’ve learnt there is no time to wait for a new year to make a change, we only have today. Don’t get me wrong, I one hundred percent believe in the power of intentions and goal setting, and agree with some of the most successful people in the world advocating the importance of setting real targets and goals, the power of the universe, knowing where you want to be in a month, year and/or five to ten years down the track, I just don’t believe you need to wait that today is the day to act.
So whether you’ve set some major new year resolutions, targets or goals to kick in 2020 or you’re reading this thinking I have no idea what I want to achieve in 2020, it’s time to start moving forward, either specifically or more broadly to a positive mindset now. The following five steps you can start tomorrow are an accumulation of mentors comments, personal research and practices as well as guidelines from several inspirational books, all of which I advocate and know that for the most part are easily achievable and i’m almost certain most of us know already.
Habit
Start everyday with this keystone habit; make your bed. This idea is not new, I’m assuming a lot of you have heard this before, but let’s assume you haven’t and that this idea seems crazy, minimal or even pointless. It may present itself as an act that can be easily dismissed, what is that going to achieve? Why make my bed when I’m only going to unmake it tonight? I have more important things to do? I don’t have time…these may be true, but the larger truth is, that you will never achieve the bigger tasks in life if you can’t master the smaller ones.
Making your bed as soon as you get out of it becomes the first keystone of your day, your first achievement, setting you up for a day of goal kicking and positive energy. As Charles Duhigg the author of “The Power of Habit” argues, making your bed is a keystone habit that kick starts your day and sense of taking charge. That keystone habits cumulatively lead to “a greater sense of well-being and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.” Small achievable habits such as this create skills and practices for greater perceivably less trivial habits such as sticking to a budget.
At the very least, if you have the worst day ever, feel like you’ve failed in everything you’ve set your mind to, because realistically these days do occur, when you walk in the door or head to bed you go to sleep with the satisfaction of knowing that your day was not a failure as you achieved your first keystone first thing in the morning when you woke up in making your bed.
Mantra
This step is one that is probably more divisive in people as it can be challenging for some to step into a belief system of you get what you ask for and/or if you ask the universe will provide. Again this concept is not new, even the bible can be quoted with “ask and you will receive,” but it is a concept that can be challenging for more practical thinkers like myself. Don’t get me wrong, I actually do believe in the power of the universe and asking for what you want but after years in business, I equally believe that your morning mantra needs to be followed by a practical way of achieving this mantra.
As Napoleon Hill, author or “Think and Grow Rich” and Lisa Messenger, “Money and Mindfulness, Living In Abundance,” both advocate in their own personal success, it is not simply enough to say ‘I want plenty of money,’ as an example of a morning mantra, but rather be specific. Say exactly what amount of money you desire including the time limit of it’s acquisition and then repeat it twice a day, once just before you get out of bed and once when you go to bed. Also be very clear on what you will give in return for the money as “there is no such thing as something for nothing;” Lisa Messenger. This applies to all mantras or goals you wish to achieve.
Food
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We’ve heard it from our mothers growing up, at school, countlessly across social media but do we actually believe it? For some of us breakfast is a must! A quick bit of toast as you run out the door right through to a deluxe smoothie or overnight oats prepared the night before. For others, it is a non-necessity. I won’t lie, I am usually in the later group with breakfast being something I could easily skip and usually did however, after starting this daily routine I am the number one advocater of all the studies that prove the endless physical, mental and health benefits of starting the day with a good healthy breakfast.
Warm water with Lemon every morning will kickstart your metabolism and perform almost a mini detox to set you up to feeling good inside and out. Follow this with a good breakfast and intuitive eating through out the day (https://lonerwolf.com/intuitive-eating/ is a great article on intuitive eating, https://www.robynyoukilis.com/thinfromwithinbook/ is a book that will help you find the ideal plate and create a healthy relationship with food), and you will guarantee you will have more energy, be more focused and therefore ready to smash your goals. The saying ‘your body is a temple’ is actually fact and should be treated as such to achieve any success in life and to live a stronger and longer life both mentally and physically.
Exercise
This is what you call a trigger word. One that either sends us running back to bed or up a flight of stairs with energy to burn. Whichever way you look at it, it is absolutely fundamental in our longevity of life both physically and mentally. I don’t need to go into the endless studies and scientific evidence of how exercise leaves you feeling happy as it released endorphins, aids in weight loss, muscle and bone development and growth, energy levels, helps reduce chronic disease, skin health and most importantly brain health, memory and mental well-being, we should all know this all ready to some degree or if not google it and learn it asap.
I will start by saying exercise does not need to be something you fear and/or avoid. You do not need to join a gym, lift 100kg of weights or have a six pack to reap the rewards of its benefits, but you do need to start. Small and short intervals have been proven to be enough to sustain a healthy and balanced lifestyle physically and mentally.
Think Lift (Strength), Sweat (Cardio) and Stretch (Yoga). Alternating between a combination of these weekly is the ideal formula to start and you can do it all from your home and in small steps. Start with what you connect with most, if it’s Yoga, incorporate the practice in the morning with a basic Salute to the Sun (refer to sequence below), if it’s Cardio you prefer start with a 20-30 minute walk every day whenever you get time – morning, night or in your lunch break and if it’s strength look at body weight exercises such as pushups, lunges, squats, hand walkouts, plank and do 3 sets of each 50 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, 1 minute in between sets for an easy 15 minute workout. Then combine all three exercise techniques with other cardio exercises such as skipping, squat jumps, burpees and mountain climbers when you feel more advanced and/or motivated.
The key to exercise is don’t let it overwhelm you and to find something you enjoy. make it a part of your life, not a burden on your life.
Gratitude
The final practice in our top 5 ways to kick start 2020 is one we often forget, gratitude. As we speak about creating goal setting habits, asking the universe for what we desire, creating good eating habits, bringing exercise into our daily routines, it’s often easy to forget about what we already have, to be grateful of that and that we are hopefully in a situation to start these positive habits.
Again, this idea is not a new one with its benefits of feeling happier, lowering stress, depression and anxiety for both young and old being studied and proven endlessly, but it is one we should practice every day. Start by saying three things you are grateful for and be specific, don’t generalise statements such as ‘I am grateful for my kids and family,’ say it with specific purpose such as; ‘I am grateful I have my mother to babysit the kids fortnightly,’ or ‘I am grateful my job gives me financial freedom to eat out three times a week.’ From there you can build on this, again when you feel more advanced and in practice, by adding one thing you can improve in your life daily and once a week write a sentence on one thing that you would have in your ideal life and write it in present tenths as if you’ve already achieved your desires; ‘I love having the freedom of leaving work early on a Friday to head to my monthly weekend away with my partner.’
Try this over 30 days and see either where you are at or at the very least how you are feeling in yourself after consistently following these steps. The worst that could happen is they work and you feel energised, refreshed and motivated to have a kick arse 2020 filled with what you want and what you enjoy.
One of my favourite quotes right now is one I had on my 2019 calendar, that I have since cut out and stuck to my wall as a daily reminder, is “One day or day one? You decide!” The planet will always turn and the sun will always rise, so regardless if you’ve set new year resolutions or not, or if you’ve had what feels like the worst day ever, tomorrow brings a new day for you to start over and start afresh.
Start with good habits and build from there, have big dreams but set real plans to achieve them, be specific in what you want to achieve, eat well and intuitively, exercise daily but don’t overthink or complicate it and above all be grateful. As Australians we live among the wealthiest 5% of people in the world (even if your living off centrelink payments), so don’t forget your place in it and be grateful for what you have and build from there with these simple and easy to achieve 5 steps to kickstart your 2020.