KC11: How I Start Each Day Of My Life In The Morning Episode
Hey… good morning, afternoon or evening to you depending on the time of the day you’re reading this!
In this episode, I will share how I PERSONALLY start each day of my life in the morning, how some others start theirs and to have you think about yours and consider ways to have an optimal morning.
Now let’s face it…
There are as many specific ways of starting each day as there are people around. It’s unique to each of us. Successful people go through empowering practices, routines & rituals each morning when they’re up.
Why Our Mornings Are Important
And here’s WHY…
If we don’t take control of what goes on in our morning, what chance have we of having a good productive rest of the day? How our morning pans out STRONGLY sets the tone for our day so it’s imperative that we have a good hold over this area of our lives.
Aristotle, the ancient Greek Philosopher, said…
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit…”
How I Start Each Day
On this note… here’s how I start each day…
My 1st conscious moments start around 7 in the morning. Now previously one of the first things I would do is check my iPhone to see what notifications had come in.
However, I’ve stopped doing that for quite a while now as I noticed that these notifications of social media, chat messages, news, etc would dominate my first thoughts and they usually aren’t the most beneficial & profitable ones. Particularly news from the media.
So while still in bed, I’ll take some moments to be grateful to God, for my life, for JUST being alive, for my wife & children, for what I get to do, etc.
Solitude is SO very precious in this fast moving world & age. Once that’s done and I’m up & out of bed, I’ll get on the floor and “knock it down” (as we say it in the army).
To knock it down means to be doing pushups. I’ll do between 50 to 100 pushups before heading to the bathroom. By the way, I do pushups so I train the mental part of me and also to get my body to submit to me & be well-conditioned.
I then write my goals on my hard-bound journal while doing my “business” on the toilet (a.k.a. the great white throne). This saves me precious time. Besides, doing one’s “business” in the bathroom doesn’t require much brain work.
Right after, I brush my teeth, scrape my tongue & hop into the warm shower. At the shower, I take time to commune with God, do my prayer for the day and even to sing a song or two. Once done, I get dressed and drink some water to hydrate myself.
I also take every opportunity to give my wife & kids hugs & kisses and to pray over them. All of these usually takes no more than 30 minutes for me. Breakfast comes quite a bit later and this is how I start each day.
How Super Successful People Start Each Morning
In Benjamin Franklin’s case, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States who lived from 1706 right up to 1790. He had a 3 hour morning block starting from 5 in the morning.
Each day he would ask himself… “What good shall I do today?”
For Oprah Winfrey, she does 20 minutes of meditation, hits the treadmill in her gym and while at it, plays Scrabble on her iPad. She also eats a healthy meal consisting of carbohydrates, fibre and protein.
As for Anthony Robbins, the world famous author & life coach…
He says we need to prime ourselves daily doing something for a minimum of 10 minutes.
So 3.5 minutes of pure gratitude about 3 things… could be the wind on his face, his children’s faces, anything. And the reason for gratitude is because… the 2 emotions that mess us up the most… are fear and anger.
And he’ll do 3 minutes of his “Three To Thrive” where he’ll ask himself… What are 3 outcomes or results he’s really committed to and see them as done and fulfilled. And this is for something that’s 6 to 12 months out.
Right after… he’ll ask himself…
“How can I love more?”
“What can I do in a loving way?”
“What can I be grateful for?”
And this works well for Tony.
A Powerful Question
In an address to Stanford back in 2005, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple said…
“For the past 33 years I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself:
‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’
And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
How’s that to keep things in perspective?
US Navy Seal Admiral William McRaven maintains the importance of making our beds every morning. By doing so, we will have accomplished the first task of the day and it will give us a small sense of pride and it will encourage us to do another task… and another and another.
By the end of the day, this one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making our beds will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter and so he says…
“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”
This reminds me of what my mentor used to say many years ago…
“As you make your bed in the morning, so will you lie in it at night…”
In Closing…
As we wrap up… do be mindful what’s right for me and others may not be the case for you specifically. But rather than guess whether it would work or not, go take a proactive stance in your life, explore, experiment and figure out what works in your case. Also give whatever you attempt a fair amount of time.
So…
What key changes do you need to start making?
How are you going to have an optimal morning each day?
I’ll like to hear from you at KelvinChan.org
Have a beautiful & empowering morning tomorrow!
