Win your Morning Key #1: The Morning Affirmation
KEY POINTS:
1. The top performers have a consistent routine that they do every day in order to set themselves up for success.
2. Since it’s the first thing you do after you wake up, mastering your morning is critical as it sets the tone for the rest of the day.
3. The first key to mastering your morning is creating space for a morning affirmation. Take a moment to set your intentions for the day and form a positive statement such as “Today is going to be a great day.”
“The small things are the big things”
There are several ways we can invite focus into our daily lives while also driving away distractions. Having a plan and executing it until it becomes routine allows us to set ourselves up for success each and every day.
A consistent morning routine is critical. If we can win the morning, we’ll be one step closer to winning the day. When we look at many of the elite performers in the world, regardless of discipline, many are early risers who rely on routines to ensure they are controlling as many variables as possible. They do the same things every day and adjust their routines depending on outcomes, which enables them to be constantly improving.
Approach your day with the same careful planning and consideration a pilot must exercise when preparing for a flight. You don’t only start thinking about the journey ahead when you’re barreling down the runway. You must have a preflight checklist to make sure all the elements are in place for a successful flight. A morning routine can act as your own preflight checklist. By doing each item on the list, you are setting yourself up to be at your best for the day ahead.
If a morning routine is a new concept for you, start by making yourself a checklist including the following activities in whatever order works best for you: morning affirmation, meditation, fuel, and exercise. Doing all these things takes only about an hour if you are diligent, and if you wake up early enough, you can easily get them all done before most people are out of bed.
Today we’ll focus on the first of those four activities - the morning affirmation.
Key 1: The Morning Affirmation
A morning affirmation is something you can do as soon as you wake up. It takes only seconds but can set the tone for the rest of your day.
Take a moment to establish your intentions for the day and form a positive statement. It can be something as simple as, “This is going to be a great day,” or “I’m super happy to be alive.” You might tell yourself, “I’m going to change the world today,” or “Today is another chance to achieve all my goals.”
These might sound cheesy, but thinking intentionally about these kinds of statements first thing in the morning can set your mindset and establish control over your day from the get-go. There is extensive research showing that affirmations can dampen the negative impact of events that may threaten your sense of self, such as failing a task, losing your job, or being criticized. To summarize some of this research, a simple way to look at it is this: threatening events act as a barrier to change, while affirmations act as a catalyst to change. So, when you face challenges in life, whether related to work or not, it is important to use self-affirmations to remind yourself of what you’re capable of! If you allow negative events to easily discourage you, it will be much more difficult to overcome them. We recognize that life can be challenging, and that you may feel discouraged at times. But, if you can start the day off with a positive affirmation, it is a great way to ensure that your mindset is ready to tackle the day’s challenges.
Affirmations can also improve your health, educational outcomes, and relationships. These benefits can persist for months or even years, so do your best to make it a habit!
Once you try it out, practice. When you wake up, spend a few minutes setting your intentions for the day and making a statement to yourself that sets you up for having a great day.
Check out the video below where Greg and Bruce discuss the morning affirmation a little more!
The information and advice provided in this program is intended to assist you with improving your performance, as well as your general health. It is not intended and should not be used in place of advice from your own physician or for treatment or diagnosis of any specific health issue. By participating in this program you acknowledge that undertaking any new health, diet and/or exercise regime involves certain inherent risks, that you assume such risks, and that you release Wells Performance Inc. from any responsibility or claim relating to such participation.