by Charlene Burke, Contributor (full article can be seen at MindfulPortal blog)
Starting a New Mindful Morning Routine
The way you begin your day has a significant impact on the way the rest of your day goes. If you start your day on the wrong foot, it’s easy to allow everything to bother you, make you feel down, and it can create a negative mood that changes the course of your day.
Days when you wake up in a good mood, everything just goes right, and you’re happy, you find yourself more positive and happier. It’s all about mindfulness and using mindfulness to create a healthy morning routine that starts your day just right.
Prepare Ahead of Time
A morning routine is made much easier when it’s calm, and it’s calm when you take a few moments the night before to prepare. Choose your clothes, get your coffee cup out and ready to go, and put whatever you can in the car to take with you in the morning. The less you have to do in the morning, the easier it is to start your day on a positive note.
Wake Early
Being mindful means being aware of what makes you feel good in the mornings. Do you feel good when you’re woken up by the kids who are begging for breakfast, need their lunches packed, and have forms they forgot to give you to sign?
Or do you feel good when you wake up before they do so you have time to enjoy a shower, a cup of coffee, and a little peace? Most people feel better when they rise early enough to enjoy the peace and quiet before the day begins, so it helps to be aware enough to rise early.
Stay Quiet
It’s tempting to turn on the television or log on to your phone to check out social media or the news when you wake up, but don’t do it. Stay quiet for 10 minutes or so. Drink your coffee. Read a book. Watch the sun come up.
Do something you enjoy that’s quiet. It allows you to focus on what is so good about life and all that’s going on around you.
Starting slow and easy in the morning is the best way to ensure you wake up in a good mood with a good attitude. No one wants to feel rushed or overwhelmed within five minutes of waking up. You’re going to feel that way, but you’re better equipped to handle it when you’ve already had peace, quiet, and time to focus on what’s good in life before the chaos ensues.
Mindfulness means making deliberate decisions to focus on you and what’s good for you rather than what’s required, what’s necessary, and what’s on the list of things to do.
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