Morning Rituals and Routines: Create Habits for Success

Every morning you have a fresh opportunity to shape your future, an ability to create your reality. Developing and nurturing positive morning rituals is at the heart of seizing this opportunity. Invite yourself to change your morning routine to incorporate some of these rituals suggested below. Doing so will set you on a path to creating habits for success!

We all have some variation of what we’d call a morning routine. However, that routine is all too often like autopilot. Sure the body is awake, reluctantly, but the mind is stuck holding on to sleep. We lumber clumsily through silencing the alarm, rising out of bed, and then maybe into the shower, to shock our senses to life. 

As a result, mornings tend to get a bad wrap. Too often we hear, “I hate the morning,” or the crowd favorite, “I’m just not a morning person.”

Those statements are easy to make and defeatist. Doing so robs you of the opportunity to seize the most valuable and mentally formative part of your day.

Some of the most successful and highest performing people among us recognize the importance of consistent morning rituals. Steve Jobs, Tim Ferris, Barrack Obama, Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, and Oprah are just few who’ve made morning rituals a part of their lives.  

 The path to your success is paved by consistent good habits. These habits are like paving stones when laid with consistency, they line the road to your achievements.

In researching the morning habits of highly successful people and developing some habits of my own, I’ve assembled a list of rituals that you can try doing every day. Most of them are very easy, but when practiced consistently and intentionally, they can be life-changing.

This list below is purely for suggestions, and to provides some ideas. By no means do you need to do every single one of these every morning. Who’s got time for that? Try out a couple and see what works best for you. You’ve got nothing to lose but everything to gain! 

11 Morning Rituals for Success

1. Rise Early
2. Hydration
3. Stretching & Exercise
4. Hygiene & Self-Preparation
5. Meditation
6. Positive Affirmations
7. Daily Message & Daily Gratitude
8. Free Flow
9. Planning – Goals – Tasks – Scheduling
10. Reading
11. Nourishment – Fuel for the Day

When you start looking at your morning activities more like rituals, you’ll discover you need more time than you were probably giving yourself before. 

Eventually… you’ll start wanting more morning time.

#2 Hydration

While sleeping, your body loses about 1 liter of water each night! This is simply through breathing alone. If you sweat while sleeping, your water loss is probably higher.

For some, coffee or other caffeinated beverages are the first liquids they consume. This will only dehydrate you further, though. Caffeine is a diuretic, and that cup of coffee will have you peeing out the last of your body’s precious water reserves. 

Since we begin the day at a deficit, it is crucial to make time to rehydrate your body. Ideally, this should be the next thing you do after silencing the alarm.

Start with 16-ounces of room temp water. Adding a slice of lemon to your water will provide a little flavor as well as a few health benefits like a dose of Vitamin-C!  

#3 Stretching & Exercise

A morning ritual of stretching and exercise can be as gentle or as intense as you want. If you already have a routine of vigorous exercise or yoga in the morning, then continue that and appreciate that you’ve already created a solid morning ritual of exercise!

If you aren’t someone who already works out in the morning, that’s great! Why not, invite yourself to start small and try to create a habit of doing 4-5 simple stretches after getting out of bed? It’s an excellent way to gently shake your sleepiness away.

Over time, as your stretches become a habit, then try adding a few exercises. Start with pushups. Do as many as you can that first day, then stop. Now do that many every morning until it becomes easy. Once it is, add a few more and repeat the process. If you stick with it, you’ll be amazed at how quickly 10 can turn into 20! Pull-ups, dips, crunches, and jumping jacks are all great morning exercises that only require your own body weight and a bit of discipline.

If you don’t like to exercise in the morning, that’s okay. Your morning rituals shouldn’t be unpleasant.

#4 Hygiene & Self-Preparation

We all spend a considerable amount of or morning time on hygiene and self-preparation. Morning shower, brushing teeth, putting on make-up, hair ‘doing,’ etc. Your morning self-preparation routine can be modified to add a bit of ritual, though.  

Facial Skincare and Exfoliation

Adopting a skincare ritual, particularly for your face. If you don’t shower in the morning, then you probably at least wash your face anyway. 

Make it a ritual by stepping it up a notch. Instead of just splashing some water on your face and haphazardly washing it with the same soap you use for your hands, make it an intentional practice.

Use water warm, lather some face wash in your hands, and massage it across every pore on your face. Notice that tingling sensation on your skin before you rinse the soap away. 

You could also use this time to exfoliate. While we sleep, we shed a lot of dead skin. A gentle exfoliation in the morning will help remove any dead skin left behind and stimulate your pores. As with any good skincare routine, always finish with a moisturizing lotion to rehydrate and vitalize your glow.

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#5 Meditation

You are likely aware of the many suggested benefits associated with incorporating a practice of meditation into your life, but have you developed a practice of your own and stuck to it yet?

Early in the morning is the best time to meditate. You’ll achieve the most considerable benefits and the purest quality of mediation when your body is in it’s the most unaltered state.

Your meditation practice does not have to be perfect. Let me repeat that… your meditation practice DOES NOT have to be PERFECT! Allow yourself to accept that it is a practice, and like anything else, the more you do it, the better you will get. Start small with your practice. Later on, you can work towards longer meditations. It may feel strange at first, and like your mind is fighting you the whole time but stick to your practice, it will get easier.

A good practice is one that works for you. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. Below are some meditation techniques and methods that you can try for your self.

• Breathing Meditation
• Mala or Mantra Mediation
• Guided Meditation
• Walking Meditation
• Mindfulness Meditation

#6 Positive Affirmations

Daily affirmations and positive self-talk is a powerful tool that can change your beliefs and ultimately, your reality. Your self-talk becomes the inner narrative of your life. What you tell yourself about you becomes who you are. Regular practice of affirmations and consistent positive self-talk can lead to positive change in your life.

Affirmations can be done staring into a mirror, or be written into a journal. They are simply a way of referring to your goals in the present tense as if you’ve already achieved them.

This article will provide you with an in-depth look at what affirmations are and how they can help you. 

#7 Daily Message & Daily Gratitude

Make it a morning ritual to answer these two questions.

What message do I have for myself today?

What am I grateful for?

Daily Message

Your daily message can and should be whatever you need it to be. Some words of encouragement are often lovely. A bit of borrowed inspiration is good too. This is also an excellent place for a positive affirmation or two. 

Allow this message to be what sets the tone for everything that follows. Let it be motivational, inspirational, guiding, and encouraging.

Daily Gratitude

Consistently starting your day with gratitude will set you on a path to greater well-being. The benefit of this ritual isn’t necessarily in the identification of something you’re grateful for but instead in the change of mindset, from one of wanting more to one of appreciating all that you already have.

Being thankful opens your heart and sometimes exposes your vulnerabilities. Expressing gratitude is a form of humility. While pride is useful in some regards, too much of it tends to push people away. 

Hubris is one of my favorite words, and it essentially means foolish pride. I’m sure you can think of a few examples where you’ve seen this in action. Hubris is somewhat the juxtaposition of gratitude. Where hubris goes it alone, gratitude goes it together.

Adopting a mindset of gratitude has a way of bringing more success and opportunity into your life. There is no exact science to it, but when you practice gratitude, you’ll find more doors will start opening for you.

#8 Free Flow

Imagine yourself unobstructed, free of judgment, unfiltered, free to be purely you without fear of criticism! Ya know… dance like no one’s watching!

This headspace is the setting for a morning ritual of free flow. Invite your mind to go freely. Grab a notebook or pad of paper and let those thoughts materialize. This practice can be one of free journaling (also called morning pages ), doodling, sketching, or whatever else your creativity leads you to do. 

Challenge yourself to keep the pen or pencil moving the whole time!

This is a phenomenal form of self-therapy that promotes confidence in yourself and an improved self-understanding. There’s a tendency to restrict our thoughts, bottle up our emotions, and keep a lot ‘stuff’ locked away. This is never good! Take this time to let it all out! 

Check out our custom notebooks below!

#9 Planning – Goals – Tasks – Scheduling

Before any journey, a wise traveler creates a plan before leaving home.

Your day should be looked at in the same way! Every day is a new journey. 

Create a ritual of planning for the day ahead it will set you on a path for accomplishment and greatness.

I find this ritual is most beneficial when done after being awake for a while. Maybe after your meditation, after your shower, or possibly with your first cup of coffee. The key is to be sharp and focused on the tasks you need to accomplish. 

List out your Tasks and Goals

Make a list of all the tasks that absolutely have to be done and also a list of your goals or priorities for the day. This will serve as a compass throughout your day. Any time you get lost in the indecisive seas of What-To-Do-Next, you can revisit the list you made earlier to correct your course. As you complete them, later on, you’ll draw happy satisfaction in crossing them off the list. 

Create your schedule for the day

To take your morning planning ritual one step further and develop a schedule for your tasks. You may already have a schedule of calls and meetings to attend, but scheduling dedicated time to complete the tasks you need to in a day will help you to be more efficient with your time. 

Also called, Timeboxing, this is an exceptional time management technique to consider using. During your planning ritual, allocate when and how much time you will dedicate to a particular task. As you progress through your day and transition from task to task, you can assess your productivity and know if you’re reaching your goals.

#10 Reading

Setting aside some time to read in the morning can be a beneficial ritual. While your mind is fresh, receptive, and imaginative, inputting some new information will kick start your critical thinking.

Choose what you consume wisely, though. Make sure it’s something that will serve you well for the day ahead. 

Read something that will expand your mind. 

Read something that will challenge your previously accepted beliefs. 

Read to learn something new.

#11 Nourishment – Fuel Your Day

This includes not only what you eat for breakfast, but also the vitamins and supplements you take for optimal health.

Breakfast

After a good night’s sleep, your body needs not only water but also calories. Out metabolic process burns through around 300 – 400 calories while we sleep. If you want to start your day strong and with sharp mental acuity, your body needs fuel.

Ideally high quality “good-for-you” fuel. Grabbing a donut, Pop-Tart, or any other sugary breakfast snack is not going to cut it!  

Your body is your temple, and you only get one – so fuel it well! A quality diet starts in the morning. If you want to make good decisions about what you put in your body throughout the day, set the tone with the first thing you eat.

Vitamins & Supplements  

Are you are absolutely perfect with your diet? Do you have your required daily intake of vitamins and minerals worked out to a science with the foods you eat? 

I would guess not. I know I don’t. 

Taking your vitamins and supplements in the morning is an excellent addition to any morning ritual. Know your body, though, and don’t overdo it. Taking supplements in the morning can be hard on the digestive system, so only incorporate what is best for yourself.

Here are the supplements we take as part of our Morning Ritual:

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Please Note: Before incorporating any new supplements into your diet, it’s always best to consult with your general care doctor first!

Social media and the news prey on our natural weaknesses and always suck us in for longer than we ever bargained for. Taking 5 minutes to check in with social media can easily turn into 30 minutes of time lost forever. 

Avoid touching your phone until at least ½ way through your morning rituals and then only do so to make sure there is no real emergency that requires your attention. On most phones, you can verify this with just a quick glance at the lock screen. I strongly suggest doing that.

Once you begin your workday, then your phone is fair game.

Creating your own Morning Ritual

Your morning ritual is yours to create and something that should be tailored uniquely to you. Make your rituals something you look forward to and be a motivation for getting out of bed.

The ideas above are suggestions of things you can try to incorporate into your morning routine. If something doesn’t work for you or is difficult to stick with, then try something else. The goal is for you to develop your own rituals and habits for success. 

As you start seeing your morning activities more as rituals know, you’re in good company joining countless successful leaders who’ve incorporated Morning Rituals into their lives.

‘GOOD’ MORNING – Don’t just say it mean it!

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