Do you have a morning routine that helps you ease into your day?
It may be coincidental, but several years ago I began to identify myself with the Positive Psychology branch of my field around the same time that I decided that I would rather have a morning routine that enables me to enter the day at a calm rather than hectic pace.
Too many people begin their day with an alarm that is set for the last possible moment to avoid being late for work, school, or appointments. Once they get up they are already under stress and functioning in a physiological mode that is geared more for an emergency than for receiving the day in a calm and pleasant manner.
Taking adequate time to wake up and prepare yourself for the day enables you to fit in a a healthy breakfast that is not eaten on the run, and pursue other pleasurable activities that fit in with your lifestyle and may include reading, exercise, meditation, enjoying nature for a few minutes and/or prayer. I even go online to check my bank statement in the morning so that I don’t have to go through the day wondering if a math mistake or a forgotten automatic deduction has caused my account to be overdrawn.
The major benefit of a routine that enables you to ease into your day is the positive frame of mind that you bring to rest of the day which enables you to deal with challenges with more confidence and self-assurance than is the case if you are already feeling stressed within minutes of waking up because your margin of error for running late is so thin.
As I said, it may be a coincidence that my commitment to Positive Psychology and my commitment to a healthy morning routine occurred around the same time – but I doubt it. If you don’t have a routine to help you ease into your day, I highly recommend that you develop one.