Get Up or Shut Up! 5 Morning Habits to Improve You

Get In Some Exercise

While many people reserve exercise for the evening or weekends, starting our mornings with physical activity has numerous benefits beyond staying active. Exercise increases endorphins, the chemicals released in our brains that act as a natural mood booster. In addition, exercise jumpstarts our metabolism and increases circulation, giving us energy throughout the day. But the best part about adding exercise to our morning routine is that it encourages consistency, discipline, and self-motivation, traits that come in handy both in our personal and professional lives.  

You don’t need to hit the gym for an hour-long workout to reap the benefits of exercise either. Even just 10 minutes of stretching or light exercise can make a significant difference in how you feel throughout the day. You can start with simple things like push-ups, jumping jacks, or squatting. If you have more time in the mornings, you can incorporate yoga or Pilates into your routine. The point is to get your body moving and pumping. By breaking a sweat first thing in the morning, we add momentum to the day, which inevitably inspires us to tackle other challenges throughout the day.

Take on Journaling

As busy people and business people, we often spend our days in, on calls, answering emails- constantly picking away at our work and home to-do-list. It is crucial to detach from these tasks to avoid burnout. Journaling can serve as an outlet, a place where we can process our emotions and thoughts in our private world. Journaling allows us to take a step back and focus on our creative sides. Taking time to write encourages us to reflect on our goals, identifies patterns in our behavior thoughts, organizes our ideas and clears our mind. 

The benefit of this practice is that it also enhances our writing, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. When journaling, forget about proofreading or structure, it's your private space to express yourself and have fun doing it. You can chronicle your accomplishments and goals, express daily gratitude, document significant events that have left an impact, or even write out affirmations. Journaling is a therapy, allowing us to recharge for the demands of our daily business lives.

Pray and Meditate 

Just being can be stressful, and despite our best efforts, we're unable to know everything. We all reach moments where we feel powerless over certain situations. Incorporating prayer into our mornings can be empowering and a foundation to rely on even as we work for our life goals. It's a way we can reach out to our spirituality and calm our anxious thoughts.

Prayer and/or meditation, whether you're religious or not, offers us an opportunity to center our focus, seek guidance, and practice mindfulness. It's easy to feel consumed by the demands of our professional lives, and prayer offers a chance to remember that our strength doesn't come from our job title but rather in recognizing that there is something bigger, more significant than ourselves. Faith allows for introspection and grounding, allowing us to operate with more humility and compassion.

Create Affirmations

Positive affirmations are statements that you repeatedly say to uplift and motivate yourself through daily life. At first glance, affirmations might seem irrelevant, but the power of positive thinking is well documented because one becomes what they constantly think. Affirmations are an excellent way to start this positive thinking and self-confidence. By repeating your preferred daily routine, you remind yourself that you can achieve your goals and believe in yourself.

Affirmations can range from personal confidence to business life confidence, and can also reinforce the attitude of abundance in our lives. Make use of affirmations such as "I am successful," "I am a thoughtful team player," or "I will make valuable connections and network with people today." Affirmations aren't just a good way to start your day; they are an excellent tool throughout the day if we encounter difficulty or self-doubt.

Drink water

As humans, our bodies are made of approximately 60% water. Our vital organs, including our brains, require water to function optimally. It's no surprise that we feel sluggish or unfocused when dehydrated. Majority of business people start their day with a cup of coffee or tea, however, to enhance our morning routine, we must start by hydrating our bodies before indulging in caffeine.

Water helps remove toxins from the body, enables digestion and metabolism to work correctly, and keeps our skin glowing. In addition, drinking water has been proven to increase brain function and focus. With the hustle and bustle of daily business, ensuring that we're optimally hydrated is essential.

Get Going!

Stop making excuses.  Nobody wants to hear it and you are just procrastinating and you know it!  It is time to make some changes.  Adopting these five morning habits can make a significant difference in how you feel and perform throughout the day. By creating a positive morning routine, you can enhance not only your life and career but also home. Remember, it's the small habits that add up to big changes. So, start incorporating these habits into your morning routine today. Your mind, body, and career will thank you for it.