First and most importantly, I AM NOT PERFECT, and while I search for the most perfect words to write this, understand I am human, and as a human I can do one thing but try.
Some mornings I wake up, and there they are the things that bring me absolute heaviness: my fears, my insecurities, some self-judgement, sadness, anger, resentment, and sometimes hate. My brain often does that to me. I wake up- and there they are, all kinds of negative feelings. It is rabbit hole you can easily go into and I have done that.
But I have been lucky to find some things that REALLY help re-frame my mind each morning. And before I create this false impression of absolute self-discipline – I am not that either. I wake up and as most of the world I spend way too much time on Instagram and Facebook. Although, there are things that I follow on Instagram that bring absolute light to my day, there is lots of wasted/zombie time there. Soooo, definitely not perfect here!
That said, I have incorporated( and have been guided to) some things in my morning routine that at it’s best make my day absolutely magical. Is every day magical? NO, but I have had some pretty darn good days because of it.
And I figured that now is a good time to share those things, as many of us struggle. In their essence, there’s nothing new about them. Most self-help blogs, podcasts, and YouTube video’s have discussed them. None-the-less, I feel a drive to share them, and so I am.
Thing number one: journaling.
Here’s how my day starts: Coffee, Facebook, Instagram, and then Journaling. I use two things, and which of the two I start with, depends on my mood. I have a daily planner and gratitude journal. And I feel how I set it up is important. I open my window when I can and get fresh air in. Then I go on YouTube and search some high vibration music. I pick the one that attract me the most – health, love, abundance, immune system support, balance, etc. … Now, you say that music is gimmicky, maybe I don’t get the financial abundance that a particular music claims to do. I do believe in positive messaging and that it helps rewire your brain to a better emotional space. That stuff WORKS! It’s scientifically proven!!! Plus high vibration music is a very good background for journaling anyhow.
Then I get my cute pens. I mean, how can you journal without color in it!!! I am addicted to those cute little pastel pens of mine. Also mandatory – some neat colorful stickers.
I use two things to journal- a gratitude journal and a daily planer as I mentioned. For a gratitude journal, I have been using The Five Minute Journal since June 2nd of 2016. There’s so much research and scientific studies around how experiencing a feeling of gratitude makes you happier and ultimately healthier, so much neuroscience research… I am not going to reiterate it ( it would be a poor job anyhow). All I’ll say is, according to my experience, it works. It definitely help re-wire my brain to steer away from the hellish thoughts that I sometimes (and now less often) I wake up with. It also has helped build meaning and purpose in my life. I also like the feeling of reflecting and reconnecting with myself, reminding myself of who I am and who I want to be.
The Five Minute Journal has a morning part that lists three things I am grateful for, three things that would make today great and a daily affirmation. The evening part includes three amazing things that happened today and a reflection on how I could have made my day better.
I have, however, given it my own interpretation. For one, I write the morning and the evening part at once. I like to reflect in the morning of what was nice during the day before. I let myself write more than 3 things in each category. I write kind messages to my self on the top of the page and go outside of the lines given to me. Perhaps, because my brain needs a bit more that what was prescribed by the makers of The Five Minute Journal. And here is the key to any of the practices that I share- they have grown gradually and have been adjusted to me and my needs.
So how does my daily planner fit in will all of that? Isn’t it more of a productivity and planning tool, you’d ask? Perhaps to an extent, but it is also a reminder of the accomplishments that I should be excited for, the days to look forward to because meeting a friend or seeing a concert or an awesome trip ahead. It is another reminder, to see the bigger picture, even if it is a month- at- a-glance only scale, even so it works. Plus I enjoy reminiscing. I save little stubs and tickets from events and tape them on it’s pages. Looking back at those things does fill my heart with gratitude, especially when there are tangible mementos attached, it feels even stronger, than just writing something in my gratitude journal. It is the tangible reminder, that all of those positive affirmations have worked and produced some results.
I use the notes section on my daily planner for more extended reflections on all kinds of things – what is my dream job, where do I want to travel, what are my hopes, if I had a month with lots of significant things, just reflect on that. And for the past few years I always write up at the end of the year all of the things that were great and magical for me.
There is another important part of my planner and that is, that in the small note sections for each day, I allow myself to be honest when things were not so good. I don’t believe in fake positivity, aka denying yourself to have a bad day and just pushing it under the rug. I find my daily planner perfect for it – enough space to make a mental note of anything that bothered me, but not too long to go on a negative thought spiral. One important thing to mention though, and that is even when I fail, I am kind to myself.
Over all, though both of these tools – my gratitude journal and my daily planner, I find a deeper connection with my self. I bring my mood up in the morning (even if it isn’t bright and perky each day, at the very least I remind myself with physical evidence that this too shall pass). I remind myself that there is a bigger vantage point to each day and that whatever my judgments or preconceptions are, nothing is absolutely bad. There is an opportunity hidden in each and every thing, you just have to look closer or perhaps at a distance to see it truly for what it is.
Blame it on Twilght... 