First, a little ground work.

Every one experiences the morning. Daily. It’s a built-in feature of life. It is the period of time between midnight and noon. Importantly, it is the most important time of every day. In fact, how you spend your morning makes or breaks your day. (Side note: how you spend your evening makes or breaks your morning.)

The purpose of every morning is to mentally and emotionally assume the identity of the person you are striving to be and to identify the actions you are going to take that day that prove to yourself you are in fact that person. The rest of the day is spent taking action.

Rule #1: Don’t Touch Your Phone

Unless your phone is serving your morning’s purpose, don’t touch it. Before 8AM, your phone, and especially email, news and social media, is cancerous. It’s radioactive. It is a malignant tumor that will not only kill your dreams, but will rob you of your ability to effectively dream. Mornings are not the time to consume or be reactive. Mornings are the time to create and be proactive.

Rule #2: Meditate/Pray and Journal

These could be separated into two (even three) different categories. However, I have found they often go hand-in-hand and can be done simultaneously to great effect. The key is to learn what works best for you. The results are unmistakable, even if done imperfectly.

Of the three, however, allow me to briefly highlight journaling. If done correctly, journaling becomes, of sort, a personal psalm or prayer. In it you are writing the things you are grateful for, the things you are asking for, who you are, who you want to be, your strengths and weaknesses, personal and relevant affirmations, and the daily and weekly and monthly action steps/plans you are taking and will take to realize your goals. Journaling, in other words, is an indispensable part of any personal development journey.

Rule #3: Move Your Body

You don’t have to do a full blown workout, although it’s terrific if you can. However, you should do physical things; e.g., take a cold shower, stretch, do calisthenics, etc. Again, learn what works best for you.

Rule #4: Listen to/Read Uplifting Content

Inspiring content helps in the creative process. Although it can be entertaining, it isn’t entertainment. It is education. The purpose of which is to inspire our best efforts and put us in the zone. The most successful people read approximately one book per week.

Conclusion

Win the morning and you’ll win the day. Win enough days consistently over time and, before you know it, you’ll be embarrassed by who you used to be. May we all be so fortunate.

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