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I get up every morning and it’s going to be a great day. You never know when it’s going to be over so I refuse to have a bad day! – Paul Henderson 

We all had those days no matter how positive and motivated we are where we wake up, and we are just not feeling it.  Some people call it getting out the wrong side of the bed.  Some of us sadly just dread the day ahead.  Maybe you’re in a job you don’t like or you-you suffer from the blues.

One of the most important things to starting every day right and on a positive note is what are our last thoughts are we go to sleep and what are our first thoughts when we wake.  Most of us don’t even give it a second thought, I know I never used to..  I just stumbled through life accepting life as it was and my mood was my mood.  I didn’t realize then that I could control my mood that I could decide what mood I would wake up in!

You see as the great Philosopher Jim Rohn used to say “Either you run the day or the day runs you”  and how you start is a really important part of that.

There’s also another saying that goes “It’s not how you start it’s how you finish”.. And I’ll come to that a bit further on.

But what if I could teach you some simple tips to help you start every day on a positive note, which could help you have a great day every day?  What if you never have to have another bad wake up again?  

I have been doing a Positive Morning routine for many years.  At first, it was hit and miss, some weeks I’d do it 2 or 3 times others every day.  Now I do it Everyday, I have created a habit.  Apparently, it’s said that it takes 21 days to create a habit, I’m not sure about that.  After all, we’re all different right.  But anyway, after a while I started to see the benefits of doing the routine, so it was easy to continue.  

So would you like to me to tell you the steps I take to Start every day on a Positive Note?  If so read on.

Weirdly I am not going to start by telling you the first thing I do in the morning.  What Sam I hear you say, you brought me 350 words in a now you don’t even get to the point!!  

Hold up hold up….. Bare with me here.

You see the first step starts before you go to sleep at night!  Remember the quote above, ‘It’s how you finish” I have found and research has shown that if you go to sleep thinking positive thoughts, it can have great benefits for your mood and mindset when you wake.

There are a couple of good things you can do.  Firstly do positive self-talk.  I mean what’s the point of the negative self-talk, it serves no purpose.  It can increase stress!!  Our brains are funny things too, as they always seem to stray off to the negative so easily, so this is something you must become aware of and turn around.

What does positive self-talk look like?  Well, you can run through things that have gone well in your day,  like you ate a great meal with your family.  You managed to go for that run you’ve been putting off.  You held the door open for someone and got a nice smile back, and it made you feel good about yourself.. anything along those lines works!

The second thing you can do before you switch off the light at night and put your head on that fluffy pillow is to say Positive Affirmations.  If you’ve never heard of affirmations before here’s a very brief explanation. In my book, they are positive sentences that you say out loud and in your head.  They help you be the best you can be; they help develop and nurture positive and happy thoughts.

Using these I can go to sleep knowing that I am good enough and that I value myself.  Because at the end of the day if you don’t value yourself how can you expect others to.

5 Helpful Tips to Start Every Day on a Positive Note

#1

So let’s get to the morning routine.  As soon as I wake up in the mornings, I think and say three things I am Grateful for; these can be anything, little things are probably the best things to be grateful for.  Like this morning I was thankful for my shoe’s!!  Because I love shoes I have a fair few pairs and yesterday I was fortunate enough to buy myself a new pair of flip flops.  I tend to then think of the process that had to happen for me to have those shoes.  The materials they are made from, the factory where they were shaped and molded, the wholesaler who bought them then sold them to the retailer, the shop assistant who put them on the shelf for me to eventually pop along and pick them up and take to the till to buy.  When I think like that I tend to think WOW I am one lucky person!!

#2

The second thing I do is say out loud Positive affirmations, positive self-talk again.. this stuff works I promise you.  They empower you to feel awesome and that you’re good enough.  You control your thoughts; please make them good ones.  The affirmations said out loud emphasizes it to your brain. An affirmation I currently use to give you an example is “ I am strong, I am Capable I spread Happiness and Motivation with my words” They need to be tailored personally to you.   

#3

The third thing I do is down a glass of water; I always have one on the table by the bed.  No matter how much water you drank the day before you will always wake up dehydrated to some degree.  Water fires up the metabolism helping your body flush out toxins and gives your brain fuel.  So get refreshed as soon as possible.

By this point, I am feeling pretty good. I’m up out of bed and downstairs.

#4

So the next step is journaling or writing in a notebook, call it what you will.  Now I’m no writer I’ll be very honest, it just doesn’t come easily to me.  Even when Lesya asked me to write this article, I had a mini panic, but hey we all gotta get out of our comfort zones right to grow!!

So what goes in the notebook?  Well I mean it’s entirely up to you, but I have found along with many other people it is good to write down again your affirmations and your gratitudes, sending and reaffirming positive messages to your brain.    I also write down a minimum of 3 things that will make my day great.  Kind of like setting out my intentions for the day.  Or mini goals.

I also write whatever comes into my head, some days it can take minute others 10.  But I see it as downloading stuff from my brain. I leave it clear and free from stress then. I have found it very therapeutic.    This step was probably the most difficult for me to do in the beginning, but like all the other’s it just a habit now.

#5

My final step of my morning routine is Exercise!!  Now I love to exercise, I have grown up doing it, so it is inbuilt in me from a very young age.  But I know its not for everyone.  What I say to people is, just do something even if its 5-10 minutes of stretching exercises on the bedroom floor it’s better than nothing.  Even my 80-year-old mother can still manage 5 minutes stretching every morning!!

We all know the benefits of exercise, it improves health and can help to control our weight. But one of the biggest pluses for me is that it releases Endorphins, commonly known as the Happy Hormone.  Don’t get me wrong there are days when even I don’t want to exercise, but I push on through and always am glad I did.  

Combining those steps every day helps me and my mentees get every day off on a positive note regardless.  Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

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