If you feel you have been waking up on the wrong side of bed, it is time to change your life by recapturing that golden hour when you wake each day. Here are some tips and pointers to set you on your journey.
1. Get enough sleep
If you wake up exhausted in the morning, you will not be happy. Nothing kills your desire to seize the day then waking up more tired than when you went to bed. If you haven’t optimized the quality of your sleep, there is a good chance you are not getting enough quality rest at night.
It is hard to have a positive attitude on your day when you feel like climbing back into bed. A good night’s rest is the elixir of good health that touches and transforms all it touches. Regularly bathing in this mystical elixir is the key to good health and happiness.
Research has shown that getting a good night’s rest improves the chemical composition of the body and brain allowing you to focus the mind, sharpen the immune system and improve people’s mood and feelings of well-being. A good mattress can make all the difference here and help you have a comfortable night’s rest.
By the same measure, not getting enough sleep can impair the memory and preserve your daily levels of stress hormones. So, the first step in enjoying a happy awakening each day is to do all you can to improve the quality of your nightly repose. Begin by setting a proper sleep schedule and sticking to it.
2. A new day, a new start
Happy people awake each day as a brand-new life, which it is. They awaken in the morning as if they had died and were resurrected with another chance to live. This means that all the troubles and problems that were present yesterday are gone and all that is left is the challenge to live today as best they can. Yesterday was an awful steamy pile of putrid failure — but today is a completely new start.
Happy people often use affirmation to maintain this positive frame of mind. They declare out loud what they expect from their day and then set their minds and hearts in that direction. A positive affirmation in the morning can gear you up for ultimate success.
Some great examples include:
- I have the capacity and intellect to make the best decisions for myself.
- I am enough.
- I release any negative feelings and accept all that is good.
- I am courageous. I am willing to act and face my fears.
3. Wake up grateful
An attitude of gratitude is one of the greatest things you can offer yourself and is a great way to begin the day. A grateful heart is a happy heart and it provides a capacity for action and great power.
Think actively about what you are most thankful for and this will convert into an attitude of gratitude. It is a positive thought loop that is easy to practice and provides nothing but benefits to the mind and body.
How can you tap into this tremendous power? Simple! In that vital moment when you first open your eyes, take a moment to feel a swell of appreciation for all you have and all you are. Recognize what a wonderful time it is to be alive and how good it feels to be you.
Recognize that today is a gift — which is why it is called the present — and you can choose to do with it whatever you want to do with it. So, why not choose to be happy? Take a moment to gather your physical and mental faculties with which you will face your day and be grateful for each and every one for these are your real treasures.
4. Create a well-appointed morning routine
Happy people are not rushing around at top speed and then bolting out the door already feeling behind schedule. Doing this will set you up for disaster. You will only carry that same harried feeling throughout the day. Instead, consider how you can start the day with a calm, thankful and relaxed state of mind.
Happy people must take the time to keep their hearts and minds at rest. Find the best way to begin your day with simple steps, one after another. No multi-tasking or attending to the inconsequential until you have gathered your mental focus.
Do one thing at a time and never take on more than you can manage, keep this up and you will soon find that you can manage more than you possibly imagined.
5. Meditate
Why meditate? Meditation is another function in the mind that many people do not fully value. If you can afford a full hour of meditation, or no more than 5 minutes, you will gain an uncanny measure of fortitude with unlimited benefits. Meditation not only provides a better understanding of the mind and how it functions but can even give you glimpses into why it functions the way it does.
