The 3 Missing Pieces of Your Morning Routine that Could Add More Peace to Your Day
Peace can feel elusive sometimes. It doesn’t always feel like the status quo. Between juggling work projects, household tasks, and other mental loads in daily life, it’s hard to find blank space enough to just - be.
It’s almost like as soon as we wake up - before our feet even hit the floor - our day is “on,” and a barrage of tasks and to-do’s flood our minds. It’s hard to make space for peace, let alone remembering what peace feels like.
“Peace” is a state of harmony, tranquility, and blank space. Living in a state of peace means you’re content no matter your external circumstance - you’re living harmoniously with your emotions, thoughts, and situation.
This can feel endlessly elusive, but there are ways to weave more peace into your day - and it all begins with a simple but effective morning routine.
What is a morning routine, and how does it create peace?
A morning routine is a set of habits, behaviors and motions that establish your day. Think of a morning routine and evening routine as the “bookends” of your day. Your morning routine is what ushers your day into existence - it’s how you enter your day.
Whether you know it or not, you have a morning routine. It’s either a routine of chaos and disorder or intention. You either enter into your day with purpose or your day happens upon you as soon as your eyes open.
If you’ve been feeling stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed as soon as you wake up in the morning, it may be time to evaluate your morning routine to find opportunities for more peace. A great morning routine can help you step out of chaos and feel like you “own” your day - instead of your day owning you.
What makes a great morning routine?
Just like a definition encapsulates the meaning of a single word, a great morning routine defines your day. It can either be defined for you, by allowing whatever the day holds to happen upon you, or you can begin by defining it yourself.
Defining your day can be simple with a morning routine that sets the tone of your day. Here are some things a great morning routine can do for you:
A great morning routine realigns your emotions and behaviors with your desires and goals,
It sets the tone for your day, helping you determine and manifest the feelings and mindset you want to experience throughout the day,
It creates a buffer of peace before you enter your work day,
And, it allows you to make space to fill your own cup before you deplete (this is especially key for caregivers).
How to craft a morning routine that works for you
Creating a morning routine, especially if you don’t have one, can feel daunting (even pointless) at first. But ask anyone with a structured morning routine, and they’ll tell you it’s a non-negotiable. They’ll usually even tell you they can tell a difference in their day on days they skip their morning routine!
A morning routine sets the tone for your day, so the best morning routine for you is custom. Here are a few questions to help you get started identifying what to include in your morning routine to make it effective for you:
How do you usually feel throughout your day? Overwhelmed, easily stressed, anxious?
How do you want to feel?
What usually helps you feel that way? This can be anything - reading, walking, sipping a warm beverage, listening to music.
If you could start your day off with any of the things you listed above, which ones would you include and how?
In an ideal world, what would you do first, second and third?
Now, if you only have time for one, which would you prioritize?
Struggling to come up with ideas that feel exciting or refreshing? Here are some ideas to get you started.
3 things we recommend having in your morning routine
If peace is what you’re after, here are three things we recommend including in your morning routine.
Affirmations and positive thoughts
Affirmations are ways to literally affirm what we desire to believe, in spite of the negative things our inner critic may spew. You can create your own affirmations by identifying the negative thoughts that typically replay over and over in your mind, and combating them with positive statements.
As an example, if you notice your inner critic constantly criticizes your ability to make new friends, whispering lies that you are innately unlovable and unlikeable, here are a few examples of flipping that script into affirmations:
I am worth loving just the way I am.
I have innate value that is a gift to others.
My friendship is a gift and a blessing.
Other people are blessed to be my friend.
Other people want to be my friend, they just need to get to know me.
I am safe to be my authentic self.
My authentic self attracts quality, healthy relationships.
Gratitude and thankfulness
Gratitude and thankfulness are a small but powerful way to infuse more joy and positivity into your life. Even taking a breath to notice something around you that you are grateful for can completely refocus your attention, bringing you back to the present moment.
Some ways to practice gratitude as a part of your morning routine are to practice breathing meditation (breathing slowly, in and out, as you think of things you are grateful for), and to journal 1-5 things you are thankful for every single morning. This is a great, simple and easy way to infuse more peace into your day!
Stillness and blank space
Especially if you are a caregiver or have an active job, this practice will be healing as you add margin in your day to just - exist. Practicing a moment of stillness and sitting in blank space (yes, even just staring out the window in silence) can help you to sit in your own mind and body and just exist as you are. Our days are usually filled with activities, tasks, and responsibilities that require so much of us - practicing stillness gives you space to just be yourself, no requirements.
Our best tip for getting started cultivating a morning routine that works for you is to just pick one thing - and practice! Starting with a moment of stillness, for example, takes no up front preparation and can be done whether you have 10 minutes or 10 seconds to spare. Pick something you are excited to practice, and give yourself a week of living it out and see how your days start to feel!