Rise and Shine!

How do you start your day? Think back to this morning. What were your very first thoughts? What did you tell yourself as you heard the alarm go off?

Psychologists have found that the way we start our daily routine can actually have an amazing impact on how we experience the remainder of our day.

In fact, that very first hour we awake has been likened to the rudder of a ship, which serves to steer a course for the rest of our day, according to Dr Robert Holden (see our earlier article).

So where is your ship headed?

Most of us operate on autopilot when we first arise – ‘going through the motions’ and focusing on practical, day to day routines like getting showered, having breakfast, making a cup of coffee, etc – this is even more likely if we are also responsible for getting others up and out on time!

The majority of people concentrate their attention on the physical aspects of getting ready for their day – but what about mental preparation? Are we always sufficiently prepared mentally and emotionally for the challenges of the day ahead?

It really pays to invest in these aspects of preparation especially before sending ourselves out to face the world outside.

Try the following tips and see if you notice a difference in the way you tackle the day ahead:

Organisation is key
Organise yourself as much as possible the night before – making lunch boxes, getting clothes ready, unpacking the dishwasher – can all help to free up precious time on a morning and leave us feeling much less stressed. This helps to create a little bit of personal space on busy mornings.

Early to bed?
Review your bedtime – are you currently giving yourself an adequate amount of sleep? It will drastically improve your state of mind if you feel refreshed and rested on waking, instead of frayed and completely exhausted. If you can’t manage an early night every evening – promise yourself at least twice a week.

A morning routine
Establish a morning routine for yourself and those around you and make it as peaceful and calm as you possibly can. Avoid rushing around – this will help slow down your mind as well as your body. Give yourself enough time to get ready at a steady pace.

You might want to try setting the alarm just 5 or 10 minutes earlier and using this time to simply relax and think positively about the day ahead! You can also try taking a few long, deep, slow breaths to bring yourself around gradually instead of just scrambling out of bed.

Mental preparation
Use your ‘getting ready’ time in the shower or when eating breakfast etc, to contemplate your day – see yourself following through your plans, with everything going just the way you want it to. See yourself happy and relaxed, coping with anything that arises calmly and competently. You can handle anything that comes your way.

Talk to yourself – literally!
Tell yourself you are looking forward to the day ahead and you are feeling confident and calm. Say something nice to yourself in the mirror before you leave the house. It’s amazing how many people say negative things to themselves just before setting off on the day ahead.

A simple smile
Do something that makes you smile! This can be anything that makes you feel good inside – listening to some uplifting music that reminds you of happy times, looking at a photograph of someone you love, or even just remembering a time when you felt great.

All these things have a powerful impact on our mood – including a chemical one! Even a simple smile will send a signal to your brain to release serotonin - the body’s natural happy or ‘feel good’ hormone – directly into your bloodstream. Try it and feel the effect!