My Crappy Attitude about doing a Morning Practice

I have read a hundred books, articles, and blog posts about how vital and important it is to have a morning practice, a magical morning or “here are three things to guarantee a great day”. Well, whatever, I would read these things, process it, think about it, write down what my morning practice would be, decorate the page with washi tape and stickers, stick it in my planner…and never do it. Why? Because it involved getting up early, creating a new habit and once again getting up early.

I have resisted this crazy notion for years, all while immensely enjoying my very pretty, “Morning Routine “page in my planner and saying to myself well isn’t that lovely. I have set alarm clocks that got snoozed, planned out my space the evening before and never visited the space and pep talked myself into trying to go to bed early to get up earlier. Sidenote, I sleep very little, so this pep talk is quite amusing.

So, what did my pretty planner page say? It said wake your ass up at 4:30 in the morning, meditate for 10 minutes, journal for 20 minutes, work out for 30 minutes, read a chapter in a self help book, make breakfast, do yoga, sing a song and then get ready for work. Insert hilarious laughter here. There was no way that unrealistic morning was ever going to happen for me. Nope. Not happening. I did give it a try and was so stressed by having so much to do before I even got ready for work that I vowed to never do it again. Life changing habit or not, I wasn’t doing it.

What I realized

What I didn’t realize was that I was setting a hugely unrealistic and highly unattainable goal for myself. Not a habit or practice that I could grow and expand. I needed this morning routine to be something I enjoyed not dreaded. Just because someone else can meditate for an hour, run six miles, journal for an hour and read twenty pages in a book all before 6am, didn’t mean that I had to. I discovered it’s not about doing someone else’s morning practice; it was creating my own.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings I’m always the first person up, I make coffee, snuggle my dogs, sit in silence. I realized that I really enjoyed that “me” time and wouldn’t it be nice if I could do that every day. Because that’s what I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed the silence of the house and hearing the clock tick in my living room. I enjoyed half laying on my couch, drinking my coffee, and staring at nothing. Wait a minute! This was my morning practice! So, I picked up my iPad and started writing which I instantly loved. What is this?! A morning practice in development!

So, I announced, kind of loudly, to my husband because I was so excited. “Hey! You know how I get up on the weekend and go sit in the living room and drink my coffee and do all the little things that make me happy and it pisses me off when one of you yahoo’s comes wandering in too early!” Yes I did say it like that, all in one breath, grinning like an idiot, to which he responded, “yeah”. I said, “Soooo that’s what I’m going to do EVERY morning!” to which he responded, “ok”. A man of many words I know. I had found MY morning practice.

My New Morning Practice

The very next day, a Monday for Christ’s sake, I got up thirty minutes early, not an hour, a manageable thirty minutes and did the following:

Got up at 5:30am

Let the dogs out

Put the coffee on

Meditated for 10 minutes

Journaled in my iPad

Sat still for awhile

Got up and got dressed

That’s it. It’s been life changing. The books, the articles, the blog posts were very right. I was just very wrong in trying to adapt my mornings to someone else’s ideal morning. I plan to incorporate some light exercise and reading eventually. But for now, this is what works for ME. I had to look at the things that I enjoyed doing and do them. I enjoy the dark, silence in the morning, the smell of coffee brewing while I’m meditating, the warm little body of Leo my Yorkie snuggled up close to me while I write and the feeling of just being for a little while. Being quiet, being in thought, connecting with source energy. It’s changed how the rest of my day goes and gives me something to look forward to every morning.

Practice not perfection

I’ve learned that this is first and foremost, a practice. Not a solid, unmovable thing. It’s a practice and takes time and commitment to see great outcomes. I fully believe in the power of a morning practice, and I also feel powerful about it being a practice that suits you. Maybe your morning practice is to get up and go run on the treadmill while listening to music, or sitting in your favorite chair reading a book, writing in your gratitude journal, walking your dogs or just being quiet. It doesn’t matter what the elements are, what matters is that you do it, that you practice it and stay consistent and most importantly that you do it for you and you enjoy it. It must make a difference in your life to make a difference in your life. You got me?

I haven’t written down my morning practice in my planner and decorated it and wrote it in my most careful cursive handwriting. I haven’t checked off each item as I do it, (although I do check off “morning practice” in my planner) I do it and love it. This process has allowed me to open up some creative space in my brain, begin writing in my own voice and settled the anxiety down that comes every morning when I open my eyes. Find your morning practice, your way and find yourself with a little bit of a happier morning and an energized day.