How To Start A Day

Today is yesterday's tomorrow and the beginning of the rest of your life. From now on, you can either choose to be happy and pursue a life full of rich and new experiences, or you can simply choose to pick up where you left off the night before. Either way, each new day offers you unlimited opportunities and a chance to take your life to the next level.

Starting your day with a solid routine can be the difference between a great day and an average one. Most people simply wake up and attend to the duties assigned to them by external forces. Wouldn't it be nice to wake up every day and actually feel alive?

These 10-morning practices will help jump-start your day and get you at your optimal level.

1. Smile

Starting the day with a smile is a great way to celebrate the fact that you are alive. The very act of waking up and starting to live another day is a gift in itself. So take the time to appreciate the sun streaming through your blinds or the comfortable bed you were lucky enough to sleep in all night. Together, it literally makes your body feel good.

2. Breathe/meditate/pray

Deep breathing, prayer, and meditation can bring several benefits to the human body. Controlled breathing helps release tension in the body by lowering blood pressure. It also oxygenates the cells in your body, improving the quality of your blood by removing toxins. Humbling yourself before God and giving thanks helps you realize the blessings of life and can give you the courage to face the next day. Meditation can help clear and quiet the mind, preparing it for all the problem-solving and critical thinking it will need to do later in the day.

3. Make your bed

Mothers always had a habit of reminding their children to make their beds when they woke up. Maybe she was doing something there. Making the bed is the first simple but necessary task of the day. It shows that you take pride in your possessions and most importantly discipline. Rolling out of bed and getting ready for later right away will also help ease the situation when you get home from a hard day's work and decide to put the plant back on it.

4. Self-affirmation/visualization

Self-affirmations are short positive phrases or compliments you pay yourself. They help you focus on your best qualities. An example might be: “I have fun everywhere because I love interacting with people”. Repeating them daily will help reprogram your brain and hopefully, you will actually believe them.

Visualizations help the body prepare for what the mind has already accomplished. The brain cannot tell the difference between something that actually happened and something that they just imagined. In other words, the simple act of visualizing how your day will not only change your state of consciousness but also set you up for what's to come later. This technique is very effective for professional athletes in their respective sports.

5. Stretching/exercise

Start your day with a good morning stretch and you'll feel relaxed and plump. It improves blood circulation and increases flexibility. It doesn't take more than a few minutes, but its effects last all day. It will definitely wake you up and kick-start your coordination. It's just what you need to add that little pep when you walk into the office.

Morning exercise will take a little longer but will increase the effects of stretching. It's hard to wrap your head around getting out of bed and going for a run or doing push-ups and sit-ups. However, if you can get in a brisk run at six in the morning, you can tackle whatever else the day has in store.

6. Drink water

It's pretty well known that the human body is mostly made up of water, right? So why deprive her of something she so desperately wants? Drinking a good glass or two in the morning is just what the body needs. Remember that not only will you be without food for 8 hours, but also without water. So hydrate yourself!

7. Eat breakfast

Breakfast, when taken apart, means to break the fast. The eight hours you spent sleeping is technically 1/3 of a day. That's a long time without food. Even though you may think you're not hungry, your brain needs glucose to function properly. So even a small energy bar can make a huge difference in brain function.

8. Read an inspirational quote

Take a minute to read a favorite inspirational quote. It's a good way to get a new perspective on something or to have a sense of your day.

9. Listen to your favorite music

Music activates the brain in several places. These include the auditory cortex, brain, cerebellum, and limbic system. It has the ability to help recall certain memories. Who doesn't like to start their day with their favorite song?

10. Set goals

Each day should carry a certain task or goal. Without a goal, people are lost and only react to the world in which they live. Action should be the driving force of your life. Without a clear path or goal, it will be much harder to know what to focus on in order to achieve those goals.

Starting the day off with some, if not all, of these morning practices, will definitely require better time management and discipline. But the results they bring far outweigh the work it took to get them.