To enter into a new day with a solid strategy, is to plan on conquering the day!
“IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL.” -Jim Rohn
BOMBARD YOUR BRAIN WITH WHAT YOU WANT IN IT OR THIS WORLD WILL TAKE YOU OVER.
I think it is important to wake up each morning with the goal in mind to be intentional. We can choose the kind of day we are going to have as soon as we crawl out of bed. Having a routine can help with this.
Reminder to self: Think of yourself as an old water pump. In order for the pump to work at its highest capacity, to function at its best, and to put out the highest volume of water, it must first be primed. If an old water pump is not primed, water will sometimes not come out, or only come out at a weak trickle.
We can prime ourselves in the same way, each and every day. Why not stack the odds in our favor? Why not set ourselves up for success from very first moment of the day? A daily, consistent routine has a snowball effect. One little thing, done once, for just one day, is usually meaningless and completely ineffective. That same thing, completed once, consistently, each day, will become a habit. It will become easier to do, each and every time we do it. That one thing can and will be as a tiny snowball which, when gently pushed down a snow-covered hill, will pick up size and momentum, and as it continues to roll down the hill, it can’t help but become a huge, fast-moving, unstoppable force. As it rolls down the hill it picks up snow, which makes it heavier. Because of gravity, the snowball grows and becomes heavier and heavier as it rolls faster and faster.
MOMENTUM MATTERS.
If we prime our pumps each morning, we become like this snowball. We become a huge, fast-moving, unstoppable force.
When I first realized the importance of routines it was an accident. I was living a life of constant pain, stress, anguish, sadness, and internal, emotional suffering. I wanted to NOT feel that way anymore. I substituted the medications the psychiatrists had prescribed for the previous 15 years with an all natural alternative called Q96 Empower Plus. As I began to feel better and more clear-headed, I decided to change my attitude and my mindset, so each day, for 30 days (I had heard somewhere it takes 27 days to create a habit,) I found and saved a positive, empowering quote I loved onto my phone. Each day, throughout the day, I would go to my favorites folder on my phone and read through the quotes I had saved. I would review them and think about them. This became a helpful, empowering habit.
Once I had my mind back from the dark, addictive, distracting hold that life had on it, I could think more clearly. Proper nutrition, vitamins, and healthier meals really helped me to keep my mind straight. It was then that I could think straight and make better, more informed decisions, and enjoy the positive consequences which came along with the positive decisions.
The second thing I added to my daily checklist of things to do was adding GRATITUDE. Each morning, right after waking up, I would take a shower. I decided to multi-task and I began going over in my mind all of the things in my life, at that very moment, that I had to be grateful for. At first it was difficult. After doing this for a few weeks, the ideas and things I had to be grateful for flowed through my mind, like the water down my body as I showered.
It has now been scientifically proven that continued, habitual, repeated thought patterns, strengthen neural pathways. The neurons and the bundles they are a part of get stronger and stronger each time we use them. Each time we think a thought those same neurons fire off, the bundles grow and strengthen, and the neurons and bundles not being used atrophy just a little as the unused neurons are recruited to strengthen the thought patterns that ARE being repeated. In this way, we are all able to literally physically transform our brains and program our minds.
After just two months, I noticed some pretty significant improvements in my lifestyle. Think about how doing just these two things has affected my lifestyle over a four-year period of repeatedly, consistently priming my pump each morning. People that knew me years ago during my other life, my dark, depressed, unhappy, unfulfilling life, wonder in awe at the person I have become. They can’t believe the changes that have taken place. Neither can I.
The importance of a daily, consistent, personal routine is unrealized, and practiced by few. The benefits are immeasurable. The value that doing this adds to one’s life has the potential of becoming so great, it is unfathomable. It is difficult to imagine.
It has been said that the more value we add to our personal lives, the more valuable we become. The more valuable we become, the more goodness, light, positivity, and success we invite and attract into our lives. Our connections become deeper. Our bonds with other people are strengthened. We continuously create the alternate reality that we deserve, and eventually we reap the rewards.
The crazy thing is how easy it is to implement a consistent, daily routine. It’s easier than you think! Start with just one, easy-to-do task each morning before or during your current morning routine and do it for 30 days. Realize and enjoy the effects of this simple, 30-day experiment, and then continue on with this action item, which has now become a habit, while adding one more small, seemingly meaningless action item to your daily routine for the next 30 days. Imagine that if you do this for the next 5 years what your life will look and feel like. Imagine the person you will become. Imagine the lifestyle you will enjoy.
You deserve greatness. We all do. Habitual practices and routines are how we get there. Be the snowball. Push gently forward down the hill and let the magic happen.
Today, I will review my morning routine. If I don’t yet have one, I will decide to do just ONE THING that will empower me throughout the rest of my day.
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.
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