I don’t know about you but creating a morning ritual can sometimes feel exhausting. There’s so many things you’re supposed to do. The wellness world, rather than simplifying it, can sometimes make trying to be well more complicated.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some simple steps on how to create a bare minimum morning.
I was thinking about bare minimums – not in the sense that I just want to live life doing the minimum on things but more that the bare minimum helps me establish a baseline, healthy habits, and boosts my self-confidence because I’ll be able to easily accomplish this.
The basic tenets to a basic morning ritual are that it needs to feel sustainable and energizing, something to look forward to, and it takes the guess work out. Here’s a breakdown of what I mean by each.
Morning rituals need to be sustainable
If things feel complicated first thing in the morning, oh just wait until the rest of the day swings through! That’s why the morning time needs to be something that I feel is approachable and attainable each and every day.
What is going to energize me in the morning? I look at things with a holistic view – physical, mental, emotional, relational.
What will provide me a release or give me care in all of these areas?
For physical, a few light stretches can really help wake up my body. I used to try and do yoga every morning but it didn’t actually bring me joy each day so I decided to modify a whole practice and opt for a few simple stretches. There are mornings where I feel like I need more and have the capacity to bring more to my body so I will go on a walk or do a whole yoga flow or dance cardio workout and those are the days I feel amazing because I know that’s sort of a +1 value added bonus I gave myself. But by simplifying my ritual to be only stretches, I do this every day and I feel good about it just being that.
For mental, making my bed is such an easy one. It immediately makes me feel like ‘Ok, I am ready for the day. One thing accomplished.’
Aside from that, I’m also a big-time journaler. I love writing, and brain-dumping any thoughts I have from the night before or what is coming up. I tend to have a bit of anxiety because my mind spins on the future so by putting down all my thoughts – without judgement – on paper, it gets me to release anxiety through the written word.
For emotional, as a part of my journaling and writing exercise, I give myself a daily intention. How do I want to feel that day? And how will I accomplish this? Some mornings I wake up feeling determined and focused so I accomplish this by staying focused on my long-term goals. But other days I wake up feeling that I need more peace and calm in my life and I allow myself more time to relax and recharge through self-care practices. Listen to what your feelings feel because they vary so much each day.
And lastly for relational, I have an accountability partner where we do morning check-ins each day and ask each other “Who are you willing to be today?” and that immediately gives me a sense of connection with another and we share who we are willing to be. It’s a powerful question to ask and we share in what scenario we are willing to show up as that day.
Morning rituals are something to look forward to
Just like how doing yoga every day started feeling like a chore for me, that led me to not want to do it. Who likes chores? Chores are things you have to do but not something you are excited about. Because I couldn’t keep it up, it led me to feeling bad that I missed the mark and it felt like I had to start all over again in some sense because I “ruined” my streak. So make sure that your morning rituals are something that bring you genuine joy so that you wake up knowing you’re about to do something you love.
Making a cup of coffee or tea are easy wins in my book. I prefer hot matcha personally. That first sip is glorious.
Morning rituals help take the guess work out of your day
The average person makes about 35,000 conscious decisions each day. That’s a lot! No wonder we can feel mentally exhausted at the end of the day. So taking some of the guess work out in our day first thing in the morning can alleviate some of that mental pressure we put on ourselves throughout the day.
By setting up a few intentional moments in your day first thing in the morning, that already frees up some the clutter in your mind so that you can focus on other decisions and choices in your day.
What does your bare minimum morning look like?
show comments