Did you go by this routine that is quite normal…that you get up out of bed in the morning and ask yourself how you feel, then react to your day accordingly? For instance, if I’m a little bit tired, I hit the snooze. If my back aches, I should lay down a little bit more, but I certainly can’t face a full day. If my mood is down, I guess it’ll be a pretty rough day. If my spouse or children are out of control, then so am I. Or maybe you are in a time and place where you’re the center of your universe. Everything spirals around you, and you don’t have to care about anyone but yourself and making yourself happy. Either way, sometimes you just need to change your thinking.
Over the last 70 years, we, as a culture, have been through a lot of different mind changes and shifts when it comes to family, women in the workforce, and children in daycare. Lives have dramatically changed, and up to this time, we did not learn a lot about self-control and emotions, nor did we have the latest research/understanding on the brain. We just did life and didn’t think about it. Since then, I’ve done a lot of studying and realized that there are a lot of things that can be done differently. Thank God, I do them differently right now because I’ve been educated. So, what are some of the things that can change how you face the day when you wake up not feeling like it?
Here are nine tips to help you shift your thinking and have the right mindset for you day”
1) Get up and move. Movement alone can cause your attitude and thoughts to change.
2) Stand in the victory or Superwoman pose. For you guys, it will need to be the Superman pose! Stand victorious and strong.
3) Put on some great music– for some of you at may be lively music. For others, it may be worship music. The music, the beat, and the words begin to take you outside yourself.
4) If your body says “no,” train it that you will add 5 extra minutes to your routines — so it better not fight you!
5) Set a timer for each portion of your morning routine. The timer has been a real key for me because I know I only have to do it for 10 or 15 minutes. I’ve even gotten good at writing in a journal, because it’s only 20 minutes long. Read a book for only 20 minutes, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can change your attitude, your belief, and your energy level.
6) Read a victory list. Now, you’ll have to write it first, so take some time and look back over your life, at times where you experienced a victory. It may be baking a cake, riding a bike, learning to play an instrument, knocking it out of the ballpark, your first paycheck…whatever victories you’ve experienced and, even more importantly, the positive words that have been spoken over you, no matter how simple they may have been. Our minds naturally write on our subconscious and play on a daily basis the negatives, so we need to change our tune!
7) After you read the victory lists, read affirmations of what you want to be. When you read your affirmations, you want to feel powerful, not like a wimp! You want to know that you can achieve things. For instance, when I begin my exercises (which is probably my nimbus…and trust me — I’ve done them for months, and I still don’t love them!) I celebrate the victory of my muscles beginning to take shape, and that causes me to have energy to work on creating a healthy body.
8) Put a “carrot” in front of yourself. Okay, so this one is embarrassingly simple and childish, but it works for me. I didn’t think I needed to put a carrot out in front of me (like we used to do for the mules so they would move forward), but I changed my mind since I’m kind of stubborn like a mule when it comes to changing. My “carrot” is coffee! I love hot coffee with heavy whipping cream —- it’s like a dessert for me! I tell myself that I am not allowed to drink my hot coffee until I get to the point in my morning routine that I really love — which is to sit down to reading and writing. This means that I have to cover about 5 bases before I get there. There’s my carrot, and I love it! I do a lot of stuff to get there!!! LOL! What’s your carrot?
9) Realize how precious time is – and determine not to waste it! Often, it seems our visions aren’t big enough, and we could always do it tomorrow. So, sometimes we have to figure out how many tomorrows we have. For me, I figure I only have maybe 20 – 30 years left to do all the things that are on my heart to do. I may leave some for my children. LOL! But, it still makes me stop and think — do I want to waste another day feeling sorry for myself?
To quote Norman Vincent Peale again, “Change your thoughts, and you change your world.” Your thoughts are the only thing that you can really control. The inner universe of your mind can only be touched by you. It is how people lived through the horrors of Hitler, starvation, the slums, personal assault, mental and emotional abuse, tragic deaths, etc. May I say it again…it’s all in your however you permit yourself to think — that is what you become. Start with today, and change your thinking.
