Most people want to have success in their life, but very few have a plan to get there. I’ve read that somewhere around 5% of people have an intentional plan for their life. Therefore, 95% of the people you know will never create and live out the life they want.
Based on the research that has been done, there is no mystery about what the most successful people do first thing in the morning. In “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Guide to Making Over Your Mornings–and Your Life,” Laura Vanderkam stated, “As I’ve been talking with people about their mornings, the phrase I hear repeated is that ‘this is the time I have for myself.’ As Reinemund, the former chairman and CEO of Pepsi, told me, ‘I look forward to my mornings. I cherish my mornings, my personal time.’”1
Seizing your mornings is like paying yourself before you pay your bills (this is sound financial advice, also). If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing left over. Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won’t happen.
A morning routine has to start as soon as you wake up. For example, set your alarm, get out of bed, and head into another room to a specific spot you prepared the night before. For me, it’s the kitchen table.
So you’ve gotten out of bed, you’re sitting in your prepared spot, and now what? Let me offer you a few ideas to consider adopting as a part of your morning routine to help set your day up for success:
1. Spiritual focus – prayer and Bible reading
2. Meditation – focused silence with intentional thoughts and breathing
3. Reading – a self-help book perhaps
4. Journaling – write down something positive that happened yesterday, affirmations, and one goal to achieve today
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This simple change has been a huge help in my life. It allows me to wake up every day with more energy, feeling excited and confident. I’ve become a “morning person” and now look forward to waking up. My stress level has gone down, and I experience more gratitude and less worry about life.
I would suggest picking the one idea that most resonates with you as “easy” to adopt, and do it for five minutes every morning for the next seven days. Reading and spiritual devotional time lend themselves to going longer than five minutes. You decide what works best for you. Each week, add another one, and, after four weeks, you will be well on your way to a life-changing 20-30 minute start to your day!
