Menu
I did a quick search on the internet about the purpose of a morning ritual and I found several books, articles and blogs about it. Most of them talk about the importance of starting off daily on a positive note and about the structure it gives to your day and your life. The morning ritual as a bringer of structure and positivity.
But for me there is another, more profound purpose…
It happened again last weekend. I was doing training on follow-up emails and I skipped a part. I jumped to the module that I thought was most useful for me at the moment.
But slowly, a feeling of overwhelm started to come over me. I didn’t even notice at first. But then that doubt jumped to other areas and before I knew it, I doubted myself my ideas and my abilities.
When I noticed what I was doing and how one thought after the other became more negative and caused me to feel useless and down, I realized what was happening.
I stopped and thought about this process.
And then I tried to alter the course of my thoughts by listening to people that I admire.
Successful people that have positive messages and that help others to overcome this spiral of negative thoughts and feelings.
But it wasn’t really effective at that point so I decided to step away from it all and do something completely different hoping that this would make the difference.
That didn’t happen until I was ready to go to bed. I thought:
‘I must feed myself somehow with mindful positivity, pay attention to the wins and the accomplishments and be gentle to myself’.
And then suddenly a sentence popped into my head: “this is what your morning ritual is for!”
I realized that I had skipped this routine the last couple of days because I was too busy.
First, I skipped the gratitude and then the affirmations and slowly I skipped every part of my morning routine.
There was no immediate consequence and so I thought I could get away with it. I felt ok and I was having positive days and enough structure, or so I thought.
But eventually I slipped. And I realized this was not the first time. A pattern was unfolding about how my feelings took a dive, in times when I wasn’t paying attention to myself. when I mindlessly started my day with the to-do’s and the priorities. Forgetting that priority number 1 is always to make sure that you feel good.
A morning routine for me is like establishing a baseline. When that base is firm and structural because you practice every day, it’s easier to bounce back and feel better once you notice the negativity creeping in. When the foundation is neglected by not doing your routine for several days, you fall deeper and have a harder time to get on top again.
I do feel that my base is stronger now, even if I haven’t done the work for several days. I get quicker at noticing when I’m off and I recognize the mechanisms more easily. All of this thanks to the days and weeks and years of morning rituals.
The battles might change over time, and they should. But they will be part of us until we don’t remember anything.
Find out what a morning routine could look like for you and start building your baseline.
Yes, starting your day on a positive note and bringing structure is important as well. But I hope that my story helps you realize that working on a foundation that helps your bounce back more easily, might be one of the most important things you do in your life.
If you need some guidance on how to create a routine that is tailored to you, you might find these Morning Ritual Templates really helpful to get you started right.
And if you want to know more, leave a comment with your Question or send an email to [email protected]
* By signing up for our freebie, you’ll also be joining our email list where we send our best tips, helpful content and offers. We never sell your information and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.
Copyright © 2021 QuantoCat – All Rights Reserved
Leen Bastiaens – Turnhoutsebaan 281, 2100 Deurne, Belgium
CBE nr 0822 363 624 – V.A.T. nr BE 0822 363 624
Hilde Bastiaens – Ringlaan 136A, 2240 Zandhoven, Belgium
CBE nr 0668 901 607 – V.A.T. nr BE 0668 901 607