A beautiful strong day begins with a beautiful strong mindset.
Recently I shared that I made a big shift in my life. The past week I’ve been waking up at 6am and made things happen. I’ve always been a morning person and always incorporated a routine which included movement but I needed to take it a step further.
With so many projects on the go, which I’m super excited about, I noticed stress slowly started to creep in and affecting my mental health in the sense that I felt easily irritated or agitated with others or processes, I was much quicker emotionally overwhelmed, loss of mental clarity and lack of overall alive feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy being a bit out of my comfort zone, which I really was these past months leading up to both the release of the golf yoga retreat and my online course. But I also knew that I could take better care of my mental health and happiness.
So my main motivation for a drastic change wasn’t fear nor out of pushing myself to “do more”, but out of compassion for myself and giving my body and mind the absolute best what they deserve. And obviously, there are tons and tons of podcasts and books out there that discuss how having a morning routine sets you up for a successful day, and is so good for your health. That's why a huge huge amount of energy during the Golf Yoga Retreat is spent in our mornings. It creates transformation!
So I flipped the switch. My energy & focus has been so much better.
This is what my morning routine now looks like:
Prepping the night before. This includes: making sure the dishes are done, tidying up, have the surfaces done and no clutter around. As well as prepping 1L of water with a glass and a tea cup with the teabag already in, and the kettle already filled. Having my clothing ready. And last but not least: read a few pages out of my favourite book.
When the alarm goes off at 6 AM, I GET UP!! I’m really good at snoozing, especially with the days being darker, this is my most challenging step haha. That’s why the first step is so important to me, it makes it much easier to begin my morning routine.
Then my full morning process kinda looks like this:
Some of the boxes I look to thick off during that process are:
get really sweaty
raise my heart rate
keep my phone on airplane mode
enjoy, have fun
not being super strict to myself but really tuning in with my body
decide what intention or action I want to carry into the new day
I also use this playlist.
Want to practice a morning routine with me? It's over on my Fundamental Routines now!!
Small, incremental changes are great, but to get out of a funk we often need something drastic. Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone!
I take it one day at a time but this new routine is giving my so much more energy and clarity already! What I've also been noticing is that this really benefits my mood in such a positive way, especially now the days are becoming darker & colder. For me this time of the year usually intensifies a bit of anxiety or feeling down. That's why I make sure to commit and be disciplined to my new morning routine, it really helps prevent those feelings. One thing I also do in order to not get "attached" to my routine is skipping a day on Saturday or sunday but instead go with the flow on these "de load" days.
I want to hear what you think about this morning routine, if it's totally insane and crazy, if you love the idea of it, if you implement it, please let me know, talk to me on social media over at @lp.golf.performance if you’re not following me there already.
But I really want to know how this is playing out in your own life, and if you end up making some changes or even adapting this routine in your own day-to-day, let me know how it's working out.
I hope you feel really good, and I hope having that time just for you in morning makes a great, positive change in your life the same way it has for me.
Liesbeth
