Tell me about your mornings. Are you calm, inspired and joyous? Or are you chaotic, frazzled and agitated? If the last scenario is you, then that stress you feel in the morning can set the mood for your entire day. Did you know HOW YOU START YOUR DAY, actually sets the tone and direction for the rest of your day?
If you are like the “old me”, you know the chaos I am talking about. The evening before, I would look at my schedule for the following day to determine the latest possible time I could get up and how many times I could hit the snooze button so I could still make the morning work. True those extra few minutes of sleep felt like gold to me but the frenzy it would create did not lead to a calm or a joyous beginning to my day.
Life may be busy and full of pressure at times. You don’t have control over others. The one and only thing you can control is your inner state. Starting the day on a positive and intentional note can serve you.
Getting up a little earlier each morning to do some personal development can put you in a peak emotional, physical and spiritual state. Your willpower is highest early in the morning so the ideal time to focus on your growth is then. Studies show you should tackle the most challenging things first to give yourself a “big win”. Did you know 92% of people that have a morning ritual, identify themselves as highly productive? This could be you too.
What is the Miracle Morning?
The Miracle Morning is a practice developed by Hal Elrod, author, keynote speaker, success coach and cancer survivor. Hal’s mission for you is to “Wake Up to Your Full Potential.” The Miracle Morning is made up of the 6 timeless proven self-development practices that the world’s most successful people have sworn by for centuries. The Miracle begins in the morning and builds out from there. “Start a day well, live a day well.” Its purpose is to build a morning routine that takes time out for you to build the life you want and the person you want to be. “Your level of success will seldom succeed your level of personal development.” (Jim Rohn)
Many people believe that they are not a morning person but by waking up just a little earlier and devoting time to these practices you will feel more energy, excitement and stamina to power through the day. In the morning, you’re getting the benefits that impact your day. “You win the morning, you win the day.” (Hal Elrod)
The Miracle Morning is based on 3 Arguments
- 1. You are JUST AS worthy, deserving and capable of creating and sustaining incredible health, wealth, happiness, love and success in your life as any other person on Earth
- 2. In order for you to stop settling for less than you deserve in any area of your life and to create the levels of success that you desire, you must dedicate time each day to becoming the person you need to be by ATTRACTING, CREATING and SUSTAINING the levels of success you really want.
- 3. How you wake up each day and your morning routine DRASTICALLY AFFECTS your levels of success in all areas of your life.
To make the six practices easy to remember, Hal Elrod developed a wonderful and easy acronym to remember them. The acronym is SAVERS.
S = Silence, Meditation, Prayer, Breath Work …
Taking a few minutes of quiet for yourself can be a great start to your day. The peace and serenity you feel will train you to be present throughout the day. While you are sitting in silence, you can be thinking that the moment is perfect. Think “This is the best thing I can be doing right now because I am doing it to get the most out of life.”
Here are a few meditations to try…
1. Loving Kindness Meditation – also known as METTA Meditation
When meditating, direct kind loving thoughts, emotions and energy to yourself (or to others) Take a few big deep breaths and choose thoughts that will best serve you (or someone else you are serving it toward)
2. Mindfulness Meditation
When meditating, practice being fully present in the moment using all your senses. Close your eyes. Listen to the noises you hear in the room. Maybe you hear the heater or the birds outside. Focus on the sounds. Then focus on the smells in the room. One by one focus on each of your senses. This meditation is not about clearing your thoughts but being present with all your senses in the moment.
3. Use a guided meditation
Apps like Calm, Head Space or Simple Habits can be extremely helpful and inspirational. Tony Robbins also has some awesome morning breathing exercises.
A = Affirmations
Affirmations are reminders of something that is important to you and that you are committed to. They program your subconscious mind for success so you think, feel and live in alignment with the person you want to become.
In the past affirmations may have been explained differently. Affirmations are not lies you tell yourself and they do not produce results without actions. Maybe you have heard an affirmation like this – “I am a money magnet. Money flows to me” (and yet your bank account does not reflect that thought) Instead try the three steps below for powerful results.
Here are the 3 STEPS to Creating Affirmations that produce Dynamic Results.
- 1. Affirm WHAT you are committed to (example: I am committed to … or I am just as worthy, deserving and capable of – love, financial success … – as any other person on Earth) Try this – instead of saying “I am thin.” say “I am committed to losing weight.”
- 2. Affirm WHY it is a must for you – Think Simon Sinek – The Power of Why “I am committed to ______ because _______ . “ Reading this everyday programs your subconscious mind and aligns your behaviors
- 3. Affirm WHICH specific ACTIONS you are committed to and when – get really detailed. “I will do these things at this time” For example, “I am 100% committed to going to the gym on Tuesdays at 5 PM and running on the treadmill for 20 minutes.”
Affirmations support you in programming your sub-conscious to achieve meaningful results by including what actions you will take and when. They can be done alone or you can even multitask and say them as a part of your morning routine while you’re washing your face or in the shower.
V = Visualizations
Visualizations motivate and inspire you to reach your goals and live the life of your dreams. This powerful technique can help put you in the right mindset and increase your chances of success by imaging the steps you need to take, the person you need to be and the finish line. By creating vivid mental images and mentally rehearsing what you desire, you will develop better habits to overcome life’s challenges and live in alignment with your affirmations and your desires.
The power of visualization is for you to “see” all the activities and steps you need to take as well as feel the end result of a habit, goal or lifestyle you are pursuing. If you resist doing something, this is where visualization is most powerful and can help support you.
Visualization incorporates the Law of Attraction – think The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. “Like Attracts Like” – meaning if you think positive thoughts, you are likely to attract positive thoughts. The Secret encourages you to FEEL the experience. Feelings take your thoughts to the next level by moving you forward toward your vision.
Your visualization practice could also include creating and using a vision board to inspire you and dream up the ideal outcome. A vision board is a physical representation of all the things you want. You can create one by using photographs, magazines or even Pinterest.
Visualization Tips
- 1. Get yourself in a peak emotional state so you rehearse walking through the activity and the emotional stages. Visualize the ideal outcome to create a belief that it is possible.
- 2. Visualize your perfect day and the activities that will fulfill your outcome to create the emotional experience for your ideal day. Visualize what you really want and don’t worry about being logical or practical. Picture yourself achieving your dreams and then see yourself as the person you need to be In order to make those dreams come true
- 3. Visualize the most important thing you have to do today with ease, joy, and grace
- 4. Try pairing your visualizations with an affirmation like “I’m committed to going on this run. It will make me stronger.”
E = Exercise
Exercise will get blood and oxygen flowing throughout your body and to your brain. Starting your day off with even a little exercise will help you think clearer and have more mental and physical motivation. Research shows that the benefits of morning exercise can last more than 13 hours and that the first thirty minutes of your day determines your metabolism. Exercise it doesn’t always mean going to the gym, it could be 60 seconds of jumping jacks, taking a quick morning walk to wake you up, stretching on your bedroom floor, doing a few yoga poses, lifting arm weights or using resistant bands.
Waking up your nervous system and getting your heart rate up in the morning will increase your energy and mental clarity. It will help you feel better and start the day off with a great sense of accomplishment. Daily exercise also plays an important part with your sleep.
Short on time? The 7 Minute Workout is a whole body workout and is just seven minutes. There are several versions of the workout on apps and YouTube videos. Here are a few versions from Youtube.
R = Reading
Reading books can help you improve your life. There are so many incredible inspiring books out there for self-discovery including books on relationships, health, career, self-care, money – just to name a few. Read for pleasure and knowledge.
We are all just one book away from changing our lives.
S = Scribing/Journaling
This is the last of the savers. Journaling has been known to reduce stress and anxiety. This self-reflection and deep diving into your inner thoughts can be powerful and eye-opening. During your journaling and scribing time, you can write what is on your mind, share gratitude, affirmations and visualization of your day. Close your eyes with your hand on your heart to center into yourself before you begin writing.
Here are some prompts to begin…
- One thing I can let go of is …
- I am grateful for …
- I am committed to doing … today.
- Facts/stories you tell yourself (separating facts from stories)
There are several ways to do the 6 SAVERS regarding time length. If you are able to start your day one hour earlier, you could commit ten minutes to each of the SAVERS. If one hour is too much, try getting up 30 minutes earlier. That will reduce your time in half so you would do each of the SAVERS for 5 minutes.
Try the Miracle Morning 30 Day Challenge
Looking for a fun and impactful way to start the Miracle Morning? Try the 30 Day Challenge! It is like a 30 Day Trial.
Here is how it works … choose one habit or one area of your life that you would like to change. Then use the SAVERS to make it happen. Changing yourself one small change at a time will align to the type of person you want to become. Completing the 30 Day Challenge can produce lasting results.
Here is an example … if you would like to work on your marriage …
- S = Do METTA Meditation by breathing deeply and directing kind and loving thoughts to your spouse
- A = Create affirmations for your marriage. “I am 100% committed to nurturing my marriage every day. I am loving and supportive of my spouse”.
- V = Visualize the steps and activities you will take to improve and cherish your marriage.
- E = Exercise – Think about your marriage, visualize and say affirmations during your workout.
- R = Read about marriage from relationship experts like John Gottman
- S = Scribe = Journal about what you are grateful for, what challenges you are having, and how you can work through them.
Use the SAVERS to reinforce what you were committed to in a positive and loving way.
Other examples to focus on during the 30 Day Challenge include … exercising, like strength training, creating a better diet, drinking more water, increasing your business by 10%, or saving money.
The 6 Minute Miracle Morning
The 6-minute Miracle Morning is a very short version of the Miracle Morning for those just starting out or short on time one morning. It involves just doing one minute of each of the six components. You can feel amazing by just doing six minutes if you are short on time one morning. Keep your streak going. It is great for those with an “all or nothing” mindset.
Next Steps
So are you ready to be a part of the hundreds of thousands who passionately engage in a successful morning routine? If so, here are some pointers and next steps …
3 important things that should be in place before you start the Miracle Morning – CLARITY, COMMITMENT, and ACCOUNTABILITY
- 1. CLARITY – Get clarity. Why is changing your mornings important to you? Why are you doing this? This will tie into your emotions and evoke devotion, dedication and follow through. Reflect how are you going to show up? How do you want to feel each day (happy, peaceful…) Condition this feeling daily by deciding what resonates and excites you for your lifestyle.
- 2. ACCOUNTABILITY – You may need to get accountability support from other people including friends, family, a Facebook group or a coach. There is an awesome Facebook Group called The Miracle Morning Community. This group is a very supportive and loving community with over 340,000 passionate members. You will be more likely to adopt positive habits when surrounding yourself with positive people.
- 3. COMMITMENT – How can you carve that time out and make it happen? Are you able to carve out 30 minutes before your family wakes up? How about 10 minutes? Can you commit to being devoted to this new practice for a week? How about a month? Set attainable and manageable goals for yourself so you can easily make the Miracle Morning part of your routine.
Conclusion
To sum it up, taking some time during your day to do the Miracle Morning leads to numerous benefits including improving your overall health, lowering your levels of stress and increasing your productivity and focus.
Carving out time for yourself in a morning routine will help you build the life you want and the person you want to be. You will feel amazing after seeing all that you accomplished in the morning and this feeling will guide you to showing up as the best version of yourself for the entire day. Doing any one of the SAVERS will bring you peace but doing all six of these practices together will transform your life..
Creating a better version of yourself by starting a morning routine is possible. Prioritize yourself from a place of self love. Create the life you want today.
As Michael Hyatt says, “Most people spend more time planning a one-week vacation than they spend planning their life.” Take today to plan out the life you need and deserve. It all starts with you.
Questions to Reflect or Journal
- What do I look like as a Level 10 in all areas of my life? What do I look like at a level 10 healthwise ? How about a level 10 in relationships? At work? As a parent? How can I fulfill my potential in every single area of my life?
- What is my mission and vision for this season of my life?
- What is my level of personal development? (daily growth, energy, confidence and habits) If my personal growth, is a 2 or 3 – that is a huge disconnect to living a life I desire and dream of – I may not be focusing on the type of person I need to be. My outer world reflects my inner world.
- What things feel best for me in the morning? What tasks would I like to include? What do I need to be successful today?
Looking for some GREAT ideas how to create meaningful habits? Check out my post on “Create a New Habit Today.”
When establishing new a morning routine and healthy lifestyle, it’s important to have a coach or teacher that is motivating, supportive and monitoring your progress. With anything that is powerful and effective, you want to make sure you are doing it right.
If you need an Accountability Partner, I AM HERE to support you.
Bringing a fresh loving and supportive perspective, I can help you set goals, create healthy routines, or help you become the most loving and confident woman you have always dreamed of to be.
