Are you the type of person who jumps out of bed when the alarm goes off, grabs your phone, and starts reading emails, checking the news, or scrolling through social media? Or do you arrive at the office, log in, and immediately you’re sucked into reading and replying to the flood of emails in your inbox?
Before you know it, you’re having feelings of anxiety and anxiousness—wondering how you lost control of your day.
This was me a few years ago until I decided that enough was enough and took control of how my day started.
We can complain about our day and how bad it went, but nothing will change our condition until we change.
For things to change, you need to change.
—Jim Rohn
It’s so easy to make excuses and blame others for our emotional state, but we have the power to control how we feel.
Before I seized control of my day, I felt powerless, like external forces—time, deadlines, or my own FOMO (fear of missing out)—controlled each day. I realized I couldn’t control time or deadlines. But I could control how I responded or acted towards those demands.
Do I have days when I feel as though I’m pulled in multiple directions? Of course! I take an assessment of how I feel and why, and then quickly readjust.
Before starting my morning routine makeover, I asked myself: What can I do to put myself in a positive state of mind before starting my day? This soul-searching led me to three powerful actions: affirmations, devotional reading, and meditation.
Here’s how I power up my day with a ten-minute morning routine:
For starters, I don’t have conversations with anyone or read emails until I’ve completed these three crucial steps. Why? Because I don’t want to start my day thinking about what someone else said or wrote. I’d rather fill my mind with positive thoughts.
1. Affirmations
My day doesn’t begin until I’ve given thanks for waking up! Expressing gratitude may seem trivial to some, but I’m grateful for another day to improve my life, another day to improve myself, and another day to enjoy with my loved ones. It’s very easy to take things in life for granted, so I start my day with gratitude.
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
—Tecumseh
I devote a couple of minutes to affirmations, then move on to my devotional reading.
2. Devotional Reading
No matter who you are, you can benefit from a jolt of inspiration before starting your day. We can learn a powerful lesson on morning routines from Oprah Winfrey. She starts her day by reading Bowl of Saki, a collection of daily inspirational messages from Hazrat Inayat Khan, a revered spiritual teacher from India.
Even with her wealth and stature, Oprah seeks spiritual guidance to jumpstart her day.
My day starts with devotional readings from the Quran, the holy book of the Islamic faith, which is filled with poetic beauty. Having an app on my phone makes it easy for me to read the Quran. Or, if I prefer, I can listen to the verses recited in Arabic. Although I don’t speak Arabic, I’m moved by the melodic sound of the recitations.
When we seek daily spiritual guidance, we are guided toward the next step forward for our art. It will come to us as the hunch, the inkling, the itch. It will come to us as timely conversations with others. It will come to us in many ways—but it will come to us.
—Julia Cameron
Your day doesn’t need to begin with devotional reading. Any words of inspiration can set the tone for your day. Choose words that move and inspire you. Let those words be the catalyst for starting your morning routine on a positive note.
Once I’m done with my devotional readings and affirmations, I’m ready to quiet my mind even more with a five-minute meditation session.
3. Meditation
The Calm app is my go-to for a meditation session. There are many meditation apps available—choose one that works for you. I enjoy using Calm because I can add nature sounds like falling rain, crashing ocean waves, or a babbling brook as background sounds during my session.
Once I’ve completed my 10-minute morning routine, I’m ready to greet the world with a renewed spirit and positive mindset. I feel more in control of my day and up for any challenges.
I now start each day feeling powerful—even if it’s just ten minutes. In those few minutes, I get to control how my day starts. How are you powering up your morning routine?
