Morning Motivation In Six Steps

The Miracle Morning 

In my last post, I discussed the strategy for forming habits according to Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning. This book for me was a real reinforcement of one of my key success strategies - getting up early! Having lunch when others are having breakfast! 

While the post covered Hal's recommendations on how to form any habit more generally in 30 days (using the three-stage process), today I want to focus in on what practical advice he provides on how to make the most of your early wake-up. If you get this down pat, you become a productivity machine and your life will completely change for the better. 

The Miracle Morning - Why Wake Early? 

If I asked you whether you were a morning person or a night person, what would you say? If it's the latter, does the concept of becoming a morning person seem so foreign to you that you cannot quite comprehend it? And let me ask you, do you think this idea is rooted in physiology - your body's individual, specific tendency to operate better at night? Or is this a learned belief? Is it that you stay up late frequently so naturally you are tired in the morning? 

My belief is that this concept is purely psychological and that anyone can learn to rise up before the sun. The question is, why would you do this and what are the benefits? Well here are my main reasons to rise 'early doors':

1. The world is beautiful at this hour - it's quiet, tranquil and you can almost hear 'nature' again. 
2. You're undistracted - so long as you don't engage with social media, you have yourself all to...yourself! 
3. You create 'time' - if you're like me, at the end of a day you are buckled. No chance that gym session is going to fit in after a day on the grindstone. 
4. You start the day on your terms - when you're alarm is based on waking up with just enough time to get ready for work, you are starting the day on someone else's terms. It doesn't have to be that way. 
5. You're psychologically ahead - it's a real kick to your confidence when you head to the office or job site having been awake for 3 hours and start dominating. While your colleagues are struggling to wake up with a double shot espresso, you've already accomplished so much. 

The Miracle Morning - Build The Habit

In my last post I offered some tips on how to specifically build the early-rising habit:

• Set ONE alarm and place it on the other side of the room so you can't hit snooze; snoozing is the devil!

• Head direct to the shower to wake yourself up; 

• Acknowledge that at the start, it will be hard but it's just a process to stick to and push through; 

• Make your last thought as you get into bed regardless of the time, 'I will wake in the morning with so much energy!'

If you master this process over the three stages of the 30 day period, that will now become a fixed part of your lifestyle. AND, just like magic, you have created time! Now what do to with it? 

The Miracle Morning - What To Do With Your Time?

The first recommendation is to slowly drink at least one cup of water. Ever noticed the colour of your pee when you first wake? That's because you have dehydrated over-night and need to replace fluids that have been lost to normal bodily functions. Poor hydration is actually the number one reason for tiredness. As your hydration level drops, so does your blood volume and this leads to poorer blood flow and thus oxygen to the brain! 

And after your shower and sip, the focus goes on setting yourself up for a productive, goal-destroying day. In The Miracle Morning, the author refers to the anagram S.A.V.E.R.S. for an easy way to remember his advice. Hal points out that by habitually following the S.A.V.E.R.S process below, you'll have set yourself up for the perfect day. 

CREDIT: http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2015/07/how-to-win-the-day/

I have adapted the S.A.V.E.R.S process to suit my own morning routine and almost have it down to a fine art:

• Wake at 522am to be exact, 
• Have a shower/brush teeth, put my shoes on; 
• Sit on the lounge for 1 minute in silence; 
• Start repeating phrases about confidence to myself;
• Grab a single square of chocolate - so I am not tasting tooth paste during F45;
• Start walking to the gym at 536am visualising my day;
• Arrive at my HIIT class at 540am and start stretching until 6am;
• Class starts at 6am, finishes 645am;
• Shower at 650am and put shoes on while watching a YouTube motivational vid and slurping a protein shake;
• Drive to the office pumpin' the tunes.

I'm working very hard at the moment on trying to incorporate 'scribing' as Elrod calls it, or journalling into my day. At this stage, it's not habitual but I see a lot of benefit in taking the time to write down the things that I am grateful for and things that I want to manifest as part of my goals.

One thing that the 'health experts' rarely admit is they too also need to work on themselves. And I'm a work in progress. 

The Miracle Morning Community

I really love the idea of creating or being part of a 'tribe'. A group of people that share the same interests and pursuits as you, particularly when the goal is self-improvement. 

Check out the Miracle Morning Facebook group here for more. The group contains over 50,000 members and is super-active in promoting the whole 'get up early' message. 

You never know, all you 'night owls' might just start realising all of the value that lies on the other side of your alarm clock! JS