Transform Your Day With This Morning Ritual
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that sometimes I write about big mindset shifts while other times I explore smaller practices that can be integrated into your daily life. Today I’m shining a light on the tiniest of practices – my five-minute morning ritual, which I’m leaning on more than ever to help me feel grounded.
Here’s an excerpt from my book Embrace the Work, Love Your Career, where I describe my ritual. And further down, I offer a menu of practices to help you create your own. Because sometimes, it's the small things that make the biggest impact.
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My morning ritual is the first thing I do after I have a glass of water (and before I look at my phone!).
I sit down on my comfy couch, close my eyes, and take a few breaths. I do a short meditation (one minute or so) and then write down a few things I’m grateful for. I end my ritual with some stretching. The entire practice (meditation, gratitude, stretching) takes less than five minutes, grounds me for the morning routine with my kids, reminds me of my purpose, and puts me in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day.
For the meditation part of my ritual, I love the Meditation Studio app. (Their guided meditations are short and inspiring.) But I also know that meditation can be really hard for some people. Another option is a deep breathing practice like the starfish or five-finger method: Start with your pinky and trace your fingers up and down, breathing in on the up and out on the down. When you breathe deeply, it sends a signal to your brain to relax, which then sends a message to your body to do the same.
For a little inspiration, here is a menu of practices you can pull from to create your own mindfulness ritual.
Stand and ground your feet to the floor (feel your connection to the earth); take three deep breaths.
Do a simple stretch (standing, seated, or lying down).
Breathe in your favorite essential oil.
Write down a few things you are grateful for.
Reflect on something nice you did for someone.
Say a short prayer.
Do the five-finger breathing method.
Read an affirmation that grounds you. One of my favorites is: “My thinking is peaceful, calm, and centered.”
Do you have a morning ritual? If not, maybe it’s time to start!
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