You hear it all the time, "Win your morning, win the day!" And it couldn't be more accurate - starting your day the right way allows you to optimize your mental health, be more resilient, become highly productive, and achieve a state of peak performance. You must understand the mindset, science, and step-by-step process behind a morning routine to optimize your mind, body, and soul for the day ahead.
The Mindset Behind Morning "Routines"
We actually don't like to use the phrase, "routines," here at Molliteum - it tends to create anxiety within our clients because they feel as though they have to be "perfect," with their mornings when really there's no such thing. If there's one point in the day where you must absolutely avoid the feelings of anxiousness, it has to be the mornings. Instead, we focus on systems or a set of activities that have to be completed in a given time period in no particular order.
In short: so long as you perform these activities in the morning, you'll be okay.
The reality is this: the world we live in is negative, and by not taking control of your internal world (or, how you personally think, act, and feel) every morning, you risk falling into the trap of negativity, and anxiousness, from the external world.
It's crucial to understand that the best of the best, the most resilient people in the world, create their narrative each day, right in the mornings; the way that they wake up, get moving, focus, and talk to themselves dictates their ability to accomplish, be productive, and dominate for the day.
Therefore, you must consciously choose, each morning, who you want to be, what you want to focus on and accomplish, and how you want to act for the day. The only way to do this is by having a consistent morning system that you can stick with.
The Science
A morning system helps you "win the day" because it puts you into a resilient state (when done correctly). At Molliteum, we define a resilient state as getting into a mindset of determination, adaptability, and domination for the day, or one where you're committed to your targets, competent in your abilities, focused on the task at hand, and flexible toward whatever life throws at you.
Getting into a state means taking control of your physiology (movements), focus (thoughts), and language (self-talk). By taking control of your internal state, you can control your external results.
Your ultimate morning starts with getting your physiology right; every emotion has an associated body language, or motion, associated with it. For example: think of your facial cues, breathing rate, and posture when you're in a positive, versus negative, mood; now think of your energy levels, and willingness to adapt, when you're in either state.
Secondly, you must take control of what you focus on; as the saying goes, "where focus goes, energy flows," and this couldn't be more crucial to getting your day started in the right way. You must make it a point to take conscious control over what you're focused on so that you can get laser focused on the most important tasks for the day - in turn increasing productivity and bettering your mood.
Finally, you must get the story you're telling yourself, or your self-talk, on the right path; the story you tell yourself is the one that comes true. Meditation, and manifestation, often evoke a positive level of self-talk, which has been shown to help reduce mental illness, get you focused for the rest of your day, and set you up for a productive day.
All three of these elements must be included in your morning system to reap the long-term benefits of morning habits by seeing an increase in productivity, enhanced mental health conditions, and better overall days.
How to Set Up Your Mornings for Productivity, Happiness, and Dominance
Now that you know the mindset and science behind your morning system, it's time to build it. At Molliteum, we call this building a Morning Power System or a system where you can get yourself into a resilient state for the day and feel powerful. A Morning Power System can range anywhere from 6 minutes to 1.5 hours - the choice is completely yours. What matters most though is that you impact your physiology, focus, and language.
Start each morning by getting your physiology on track; do this by using one, or all, of the following:
Breathing
Exercise
Drastic, and rapid, temperature changes (consult your doctor first)
Body posturing
This will get your blood flowing throughout your body, oxygen flowing into your muscles and brain, and get you to immediately change your mood. Schedule at least 2 minutes to do at least one of these from the list.
Next, get your focus on track by using one, or all, of the following:
Journalling
Meditation
Visualization
This will get your reticular activating system, or RAS (a fancy word for the part of your brain that allows you to see opportunities in your life that align with your goals based on what you decide to focus on) focused on the things that matter most to moving your life forward for the day.
Again, schedule at least 2 minutes to perform at least one of these activities from the list.
Finally, get your self-talk on track for the day by using one, or all, of the following:
Positive incantations
Affirmations
Prayer
This will get the story you're telling yourself to be the one that you want for the day, not the one that you hope for.
A Sample Morning Power System
This is a sample Morning Power System that one of our NBA clients uses before he goes to training for the day:
Listen to the Molliteum Morning Power Audio track (a breathing and meditation, combined audio track) (10 minutes)
Get a light stretch in (10 minutes)
Get a quick cold plunge in (5 minutes)
Prayer (5 minutes)
Journal (5 minutes)
Again, this individual doesn't always do this in this specific order, but he gets the items on his list done before he leaves for practice.
Now you have a Morning Power System that aligns you for high performance for the day; ditch the social media in the morning, get your alarm clock set, and get ready to have a dominant day. You don't have to be a morning person to have a strong Morning Power System, just make sure that the time you wake in the morning is consistent each day.
If you haven't already, then you need to sign up for the Molliteum Insider; this is a once-a-week training email that you get directly to your inbox every Monday. You can sign up for it by clicking here.
And, as always, stay resilient.