What’s the first thing you do when you open your eyes in the morning? You’ve hit the snooze a few times and you finally muster up enough energy to peel your heavy eyelids open and you…
Let me guess – check your phone? Because if your phone is the first thing you see in the morning, you need to stop. Like right now.
The tone of your entire day is set in the first minutes right after you wake up. And if you’re starting your day with an avalanche of anxiety-inducing news, artfully curated (and total BS) social feeds, and negative Nancy’s, there’s no time like the present to reevaluate your morning routine.
If you feel like you’re spending all day playing catch up and are physically and emotionally exhausted by the time your head hits the pillow every night, one super simple change is to break up with your phone in the morning.
And not to just talk about it, but to actually do it ;)
You’ll never be able to control what happens in the middle of your day…there will always be a text you didn’t want to receive or an email that sends you into a tailspin, BUT you can 100% control what happens in your morning.
Your morning routine gives you the tools and space to be able to roll with your day, instead of fighting every wave and getting pummeled into the sand.
Why is this so important? Because pain isn’t always physical – sometimes we hurt ourselves in more subtle ways that manifest as panic attacks, feelings of overwhelm or a twitching eye that never goes away.
Stress is just as detrimental to your health as a bum knee.
And when getting a handle on your day is as easy as spending 5-10 minutes in the morning doing something grounding and mindful, I honestly don’t see why you wouldn’t.
So, tomorrow morning, instead of picking up your phone, I challenge you to grab a piece of paper and write down 3 things you’re grateful for. It can be anything: waking up to another day, having a roof over your head, or the conversation you had with your best friend yesterday that you’re still laughing about.
EVERYTHING COUNTS!
And if you’re feeling extra ambitious – go on a walk around the block.
Starting your day with gratitude gives you the sense of calm to ride the waves each and every day. Let’s face it – life isn’t getting any easier, so we have to figure out how to navigate this mess while we still can.
