I find myself at a place where I am not needing to get going quickly in the morning. I am semi-retired in that I do not work for anybody. I have no office to rush off to as I work from my home. I have no kids at home who need to get to school or off to some event. No spouse pushing me to hurry up so we can start our day. I have always been a morning person up early and anxious to start my day. Lately, though, I have been more "relaxed" in my approach to my morning and I am not sure I like this new attitude.
I have always enjoyed my mornings at home preparing for my day. Normally, I was full of anticipation of what would transpire throughout the day. No doubt there were times when some consternation existed anticipating a stressful presentation to be made, bad weather or an appointment with my dentist. However, no matter what my day had in store for me, I always had a good energy that I really appreciated and treasured.
Lately, though, I have not had that that vibrant energy and anticipation as I started my day. I kind of miss it and thought that I might do some searching for ways to make me once again a "morning person". I came across an article on line at www.entrepreneur.com that provided me with some simple suggestions to put more vitality in my mornings, to improve my atti8tude and outlook. I tried to relocate the article to give proper attribution to the author but was unable to locate the article. It will have to suffice to say that further credit would be given if possible.
The article made five simple suggestions on how I might move in the direction of once again being a morning person. I will list them below.
1. I need to set my intention the night before prior to going to sleep. If my thoughts are negative about my tomorrow, the chances are that I will have a negative attitude when I awaken. However, if my thoughts are positive about the upcoming day, chances are I will have a positive attitude about what lies ahead.
2. Upon awakening, brush my teeth and drink at least eight ounces of water. Sleeping overnight often leaves us dehydrated which can cause fatigue. I need to replenish my liquid supply to overcome fatigue and freshen up my mouth to start on the right path.
3. Move my alarm clock across the room if I use one. Harder to hit the snooze button and roll over if I have to actually get out of bed to silence the aggravating noise. A good friend of mine also suggested that I should try to eliminate any ambient light in my bedroom as it tends to lessen the quality of my sleep. I have a digital alarm clock so I cover it up with cloth to block the light.
4. Prior to jumping in the shower, do some physical exercise. It could be stretching, yoga, tai chi or anything to get the body functioning and instill some energy in my morning. The idea that I should jump in the shower to "wake up" then do my stretching and tai chi did not work for me as the exercise rarely happened..
5. Finally, set aside some quiet time for contemplation. You could meditate or use some other practice to center yourself. A formal practice is not necessary but can prove helpful. I am a Reiki adherent and find that a self-administered, short Reiki treatment yields wonderful results.
These are the suggestions contained in the article. I have been incorporating the suggestions into my daily routine for about a month now. I have seen improvement and plan on continuing. If you have some practices or ideas on how to re-energize one's mornings, leave a comment and share your ideas with us.