The 7 Morning Rituals That Changed My Life

You're reading The 7 Morning Rituals That Changed My Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

I’ve always wondered how successful entrepreneurs always stay energetic and motivated throughout their day. While it seemed that they were just highly driven people, there seemed to be no way I could achieve such a level of motivation. And then, I came across an interview with Tony Robbins on YouTube where he talked about his daily morning priming routine. I was blown away. It wasn’t Tony’s method that surprised me, it was the sudden realization that most successful entrepreneurs I’d read about followed specific daily morning routines. With further research, I found that almost all productivity gurus emphasized the importance of morning routine routines in setting the pace for the rest of the day. In a few short weeks, I started experimenting and testing some habits myself. And the effort paid off- I saw gradual improvement in my productivity and mindfulness throughout the day. And I’ve been following these routines religiously since then. In this post, I’m going to explain the 7 morning rituals that changed my life for good.

1. Waking up at 6 AM

I know- this sounds very trivial. But let’s face it- how many of you actually wake up at 6 every morning? The issue is that most of us need 7-8 hours of sleep a day- which is impossible if you’re running a business, and next to impossible if you have kids. But this is the essential step because waking up early gives you the time to complete all your morning routines before you leave for office or send your kids to school. And to the lazy ones among us (me included), waking up in the early morning is akin to hell. Luckily, I found a way to beat laziness and my sleep cycle. In Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning, he breaks down the 30-day cycle of creating a new habit into 3 phases: the first 10 unbearable days, the next 10 uncomfortable days and the last 10 unstoppable days. The first 10 days are the hardest. And I beat my sleepiness in those 10 days using a simple Android app: the Sleep cycle alarm clock. This is a simple app that wakes us up when we’re in the lightest sleep phase so that we feel refreshed and relaxed when we wake up.

2. The Cold Bath

Some of you might have heard of Tony Robbins using cryotherapy to boost his neurons every day right after he wakes up. Well, the practice isn’t new. Having a cold or warm bath right after you wake up is one of the best ways to quickly activate your internal organs and neurons. I prefer cold baths because I feel more energized and activated.

3. 3 minutes of Kapalabhati Pranayama

I’ll admit it- I stole this one from Tony Robbins’ priming routine. He follows a different version, but his version is derived from the actual Kapalabhati Pranayama breathing exercise. I can explain in detail, but I learned the practice from this video: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6bnFlVkKrE[/embed] While the actual Pranayama practice can take quite a bit of time, I believe 3 minutes of rigorous exhaling and inhaling should be sufficient for our purpose.

4. Matcha Tea

I lived in Japan for a while. Over time, I developed a love for Japanese culture. And the greatest blessing was that I developed a liking to Matcha- which is finely powdered specially grown Japanese green tea. Matcha has been consumed by the Japanese for over 900 years, and studies have shown that matcha has a wide variety of health benefits- partly due to the ridiculously high concentration of antioxidants and catechins (3-10 times more than green tea) There are researches that point out how matcha improves metabolism and reduces the risk of cancer. Multiple studies also show that matcha reduces hair fall. I’ll stop bragging about matcha now. I have a bowl of matcha every morning right after my breathing exercise. Matcha gives me a sense of calm alertness, and this primes my mind for the next three routines, while also energizing me. In fact, I intake matcha though a variety of matcha recipes throughout the day.

5. Gratitude

This is yet another morning routine that almost every single productivity guru talks about. While being grateful for what you have has little to do with productivity, it immensely helps in staying positive. And this is exactly what I do: I think of 3 things I’m grateful for. These can be anything as complex as achieving my blogging goals, or as simple as the gentle wind on my face. Being grateful for the simple things in life helps me a lot in staying positive throughout the day- it’s a practice I recommend to everyone.

6. Exercise

This one is obvious. Our brain runs on exercise. It’s one of the most healthy ways to improve brain and muscular function while reducing body fat. You can choose any exercise that suits you. I’ve noticed that running is what works best for me. I have a quick 10-minute sprint with a break of 1 minute in between. That’s it. I also have a quick body shower right after this to wash away the sweat.

7. 3 Minutes of Visualization

This one is straight out of the controversial movie The Secret. While I have different opinions about several other teachings in the Secret, visualization is a practice that I’ve found to be highly effective. In fact, almost all entrepreneurs I’ve read about practice this one routine. This routine is just about visualizing your goals, and imagining that you’ve already achieved them. I have a vision board where I stick or note down all my goals- and I simply take a quick glance at it, close my eyes for five minutes and just visualize myself as having achieved those goals. And don’t routine by how it sounds. Visualization is the best way to condition your subconscious to the state required to achieve your goals.

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Catalin is the founder of Inspired Mag, and his current obsessions are Sun Ra and matcha tea.

You've read The 7 Morning Rituals That Changed My Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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