“Morning shows the day”. What morning habits do you have? If you would like to start better habits for yourself, in this post I share 10 morning habits that will slowly start to change your life.
Our tiny baby steps will certainly take us to build our strong good habits which will help us to lead a meaningful life without fail.
I guarantee you from my own experience.
I am a mother of a 29-year-old daughter living in India.
All my life I was doing all the duties towards my family, I always thought this was what I should do being a woman- take care of the family, cook, wash, clean, look after my daughter in her studies and teach her good habits.
It was only after my first 10 Days Vipassana course that I realized that I was not living my life the way I should live.
Let me share with you how I changed my life by just adding certain habits, especially my morning routine in my daily life.
I started changing certain habits and adding some good and healthy habits in the morning. I follow my morning routine religiously because it has given me everything I wish for my life.
So here are those.
10 Morning Habits That Changed My Life
These are the 10 morning habits that I have been following religiously for 6 years.
It was not an easy task, but after all these years, it has become a part of my life. So here they are
1. Getting Up Early
Getting up early is important because only then you can give time to yourself. After some time you will be occupied by so many chores, starting with service at the home front and office front.
I used to get up early from the very beginning but I never gave time for myself. I used to get up early and immediately start with my house chores.
Now I know that I should own my morning for my personal growth untouched by any other duty. I should serve myself first and only I can serve others in a better way.
Getting up early does not mean that you have to get up at 4 am and start doing your daily tasks.
Just start getting up half an hour earlier than your usual time or you can start 10 minutes earlier.
Always start with the amount of time you feel comfortable with.
Set an alarm and keep your phone far from your reach so that you have to get up to stop the alarm. Once you get up don’t go back to bed. Make your bed immediately.
I suggest you read the 5 am club by Robin Sharma which will help you to form the habit of getting up early gradually.
This book helped me to form the habit of being an early riser.
Vipassana’s 10-day course by S.N Goenka also helped me to become the early riser.
You must be thinking why should I get up early? The answers are here, keep reading.
2. Drink Warm Water
Make a habit of drinking warm water as soon as you get up. It has a health benefit. Unless your health is not sound you cannot accomplish other major things in life.
Do not just drink water, drink with mindfulness, feel the water you are drinking is cleansing you internally and externally and making you purer and purer to start your day.
Water is the source of life. Everything on this planet depends on water directly or indirectly.
Drinking water early in the morning is a symbol of life, a good habit for a long and healthy life.
I keep my small flask nearby so that I don’t have to go to fetch water early. I drink as soon as I get up with a thankful heart.
3. Get Up With a Thankful Heart
As soon as you get up and open your eyes, thank you for being alive today. Say, thank you while drinking your first water, wearing your slipper, brushing, washing, and doing everything.
A thankful heart will expand your life condition. The more you are thankful more moments will come into your life to be thankful for.
I start my day by offering my thankfulness to the almighty for another beautiful day, for good health, and for my daughter.
I then bow toward the sun for its warmth and energy, I keep thanking everything around me during my morning ritual.
4. Prayers
Life would be aimless and meaningless without prayer. Prayers help us to get connected with the higher power.
Prayers with a grateful heart early in the morning will give you direction for the day.
Prayer for me is talking to God, sharing my feelings, my problems, and joy, asking for wisdom to help me solve my day-to-day problems, and strength to challenge my difficulties.
I pray for a compassionate heart, to have compassion for all living beings. I pray for the safety and protection of all living beings.
I pray with utmost belief that all my prayers will be answered but I never get attached to the result. I leave the result up to the almighty.
I offer water, incense, and Lights to Lord Buddha as I am a Buddhist and chant some sutras in honor of Him and for offering my gratitude for everything I am blessed with.
5. Drinking Tea/coffee with Total Awareness
We have the habit of having tea or coffee in the early morning. We drink mostly by reading the newspaper, book writing something or watching the news on the TV and nowadays with our mobile in our hands.
Try to make a little change here. Continue taking your tea whatever way you are taking but add a little good habit here.
As soon as you hold your cup of tea or coffee, drink it with total awareness that you are drinking your tea or coffee and bless everyone who helps you to bring this tea or coffee for you.
It has so many people connected with this tea or coffee, the labourers, the whole seller, the retailer, your parents, spouse.
The mug you are drinking from has come from so many people’s hard work to make a mug. Be grateful to them.
Bless them all, you will get back the blessings from the universe without fail.
You can get back to whatever you are doing after sending a few good thoughts. This habit will make you aware of your thoughts.
6. Reading
I am a single mother sometimes I need some advice, and sometimes I find myself confused, but the very next day when I am reading my morning book I find the answer all there, and I make my decision confidently. It always turns out to be fruitful.
Reading is the most important habit I formed all these years.
Choose some light and motivational book which will guide you in your journey of habit-changing. There are lots of books available.
I suggest you read Deepak Chopra’s 7 Spiritual Laws of Success. This book is very small and interesting and helps you in building your character and habits.
Start with just reading 2-3 pages every day without a gap. This habit of continuous reading will lead you to become a regular reader.
I read two books a day. I read a motivational book in the morning to keep me motivated. Currently, I am reading The New Human Revolution Vol.23 by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda and also Vipassana Meditation The Art Of Living By S.N Goenka.
In the evening I read fiction or autobiography. I am currently reading Hippie by Paulo Coelho.
My habit of reading motivational books in the morning helps me to make decisions in my day-to-day life.
Here are 10 books that changed my life
7. Writing In A Journal
This is another habit to form in your life. If you have not started yet please apply this habit in your life. It took me a long time to form this habit but eventually, now I am regular in writing in my journal.
It’s like talking to your closest friend. I share everything in my journal and these days I write the best quote I find from the book I am reading.
I write almost everything here. I write about my day-to-day happenings and also the things I am learning and my progress.
This habit of maintaining my journal helped me to start this blog. When I look back, I feel, writing journal and reading books helped me to start my blog one day.
The good habit you are forming will definitely take you to the best thing in life. It is great to start forming a good habit in life.
8. Exercise
Add the habit of moving your body every day to keep you fit and healthy. Take some time every day to form this habit for a lifetime.
Stretch your hands, legs, and body to circulate the blood in your body.
There are so many apps you will get for exercise these days.
I had to form the habit of exercising due to my back problem. It was like a blessing in disguise. I must exercise every day without fail to avoid my back pain.
Regular exercise in the morning is helpful for me as I don’t have to take any painkillers for my pain from the day I started exercising for my back.
You can start exercising to avoid any problems in the future and to keep yourself healthy, fit and fine.
9. Meditation
Keeping your mind quiet is very essential for your personal growth. Unless you are not at peace within you cannot be peaceful outside. Be quiet within your body and see yourself. If you are always busy you cannot hear your inner voice, your true self.
Be quiet and listen to your inner voice. For this, you need a quiet time for yourself.
Meditate for 10 to 15 minutes every day after exercise. It will quiet your mind and help you to build concentration
I close my eyes and observe my breath. I try to be aware of my thoughts.
You can start with listening to music or with some guided meditation.
I have been going for a 10-day Vipassana course every year since 2015 but due to covid crisis, haven’t been able to go since 2020.
10. Keep your phone aside
We have this habit of checking our phone first thing in the morning, we start checking the notifications.
We jump from one app to another. Just in a moment, we are on WhatsApp sending messages, then another time checking the notifications on Facebook posting comments then again to Instagram watching reels and stories one after another.
It is so difficult to break the chain of this habit of checking social media in the morning. But if you are determined to bring positive vibes in your life it is very important to keep your phone aside during your morning routine.
We never get time to read, exercise, and meditate, but we never mind spending time on these platforms.
This is the hardest task to do for every one of us but with little effort, we can break this habit. If there is an important matter they will call you and inform you.
Early morning you are in the best time with yourself. Just focus on you. Seeing your phone early in the morning will drain your energy with unnecessary news.
I have noticed that most of the time there will be unimportant news which we can see in our extra time or just avoid.
Final thoughts on creating better morning habits
It is not that you will be able to bring all the changes at once. Give time to yourself to change. You can start with any three habits from above and slowly you can increase and cultivate this morning routine.
Everything in this entire universe keeps changing. Nothing pauses for a single moment. Look at yourself you have changed completely. Change is necessary for everyone.
So why not change for the better? What you have become now, what habit you have formed now let’s keep upgrading, let’s progress in a positive direction.
So I hope these morning routine ideas will help you progress in your life.
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