Revamp your morning routine with gratitude and awesomeness

Let me take a guess at what your typical morning routine looks like.  You set the alarm for the latest possible time necessary to still have time to roll out of bed, into the shower, throw on some clothes and not look like a complete bum before you go off to your 9-5?

That is no way to start the day, man!  Now, we’ve been groomed over the years to despise mornings.  Particularly in college which is notorious for late nights of cramming and partying followed by sleeping in as long as you possibly can.  But, that lifestyle isn’t sustainable or beneficial for your mind, body and soul.

After my most recent breakup, I vowed to become a “morning person” (my former self cringes at the very thought).  But, it’s been an amazing transformation that completely revamps how you “carpe the diem.”  When you wake up early and do some productive activities to get your mind and body right, you take control of the rest of your day.

Here’s what my morning looks like on a typical work day:

·      Wake up at 5:55 AM

·      I avoid at all costs the temptation to scroll through work and personal emails – the second you go down this path, you go into a reactive mode where you are letting outside factors control you

·     Start my daily gratitude and awesomeness sesh – I think of three things I am grateful for and 3 reasons I’m awesome.  Particularly when you’re coming from a depressed state after a breakup, this will begin to rewire the way your brain processes thoughts in a more positive and constructive way

·      Dump tons of vegetables, frozen fruit, and vitamins into the vitamix for a blended glass of green goodness

·      At 6:30 AM, brave through whatever torturous WOD is scheduled at Crossfit

·      I return invigorated(and slightly defeated depending on the WOD), take off my shirt and shoes, and go straight into a 20 minute Transcendental Meditation sesh in my back yard

·      Prepare four sunny side up eggs and a protein shake

·      Spend half an hour on blogging or working on one of my online businesses

·      Shower up and put on some crisp, well fitting clothes

·      Pack my paleo lunch for the day and pick out a podcast to listen to on the way to my agency job

That’s a TON of highly beneficial stuff to pack into about a two hour span of time.  You get to work feeling like you’ve already accomplished so much and you’re ready to take on the rest of the day.

And, if I had to pick one thing out of my daily routine that is a MUST do, it’s keeping that journal of gratitude and awesomeness.  It’s such a  simple, yet beautiful practice that can adjust how you perceive the world in an amazing way.  Once you adopt a mentality of gratefulness, everything in life will be more awesome and others will notice the positive change in your demeanor.  Chicks love positive guys!

So, think about all the activities that get your mind, body, and soul firing on all cylinders to start the day and craft a routine that facilitates it.  This can be particularly doable after a breakup, because it’s now YOUR morning and you can do whatever the F you want with!

It will be a challenge to rewire the way your body wakes up, but it’s totally doable and once you get in that mindset, you’ll be a much more positive, energized, and upbeat person.   Set that alarm, rise and shine, and go out and kick some ass!