How to Start Your Morning: 5 Tips to Create More Energy and Confidence

Written by Robert Pagliarini - 20 Comments
Categories: self improvement

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Does your morning routine feel more like a “mourning” routine? The first 30 minutes of your day has a powerful grip over the rest of your day — your morning behaviors and attitudes can influence how you feel and what you do for the rest of the day. Instead of smashing the alarm clock, kicking the cat, and cursing your life every morning, you can do five simple things that will start your day off on a better note and help you live your best life.

  1. Kill the kryptonite. You are no longer allowed to hit the snooze button. This is coming from a guy who had a bad habit of abusing the snooze button. I’d set my alarm an hour early (yes, an hour early!) just so I could hit the snooze button six times. I found that this little and seemingly innocuous button made me weaker and weaker every day. Every time I hit it, I was unconsciously reinforcing the belief that I was weak and that I couldn’t get out of bed when I was supposed to. Break this habit and replace it with a much better one. Set your alarm for when you want to get up, and when it goes off, make yourself stronger by doing the shocking thing — by getting up. Do this every day and you will grow in confidence.
  2. First five seconds. When it’s dark and cold out, you need a burst of inspiration to get your juices flowing. The first thing you should do is feed your mind. Look at your DreamBoard, read an inspirational quote or Bible passage, go over your goals, etc. Do this first — before you reach for your Blackberry, remote, or toothbrush.
  3. Get the blood flowing. While your mind has been active all night, your body has not. The best way to get the mind engaged and primed is to get the body moving. Immediately after you feed your mind, do a few minutes of light stretching or yoga to get the blood flowing to your muscles and to get your joints loosened. You don’t need to be Richard Simmons on crack — slow and steady is good.
  4. PowerJournal. For 15 or 20 minutes every day, I want you to write, brainstorm, and just think. One of the best ways to increase your happiness and sense of well-being is to express gratitude. A powerful and easy way to do this is by writing about those things for which you are grateful. You could also spend a few minutes daydreaming about your future. Instead of immediately getting sucked into the day’s pressures, responsibilities, and problems, a few minutes of quiet time focused on your perfect future can provide you with a sense of calm and peace that can last the whole day.
  5. Breakfast. I know. You’ve heard it before. But I’ll risk repeating it because studies show about 40% of us still skip breakfast. The benefits of eating a nutritious breakfast are well known. Avoid bacon, sausage, pastries, and processed cereals and go for something simple like a bowl of whole grain cereal with non-fat milk and add a banana and raisins.If you don’t have time for breakfast or want a little something extra, you can chug down a power shake. My shake takes about three minutes to make and about two minutes to drink. The cool thing is that you can load it up with just about everything and anything.

If you did all of these things, it would add maybe 20 or 30 minutes to your morning schedule. I know a half hour in the morning is huge, but look at this time as an investment in your day and in you. Doing these things will make you healthier, give you a more positive attitude, provide a much greater feeling of control, and grant you a sense of peace and calmness. Or at the least, you’ll have a better relationship with your cat.

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Free Self-Confidence Webinar

If you are interested in finding out how you can improve your self-confidence, please join me and Barrie Davenport from Live Bold and Bloom for a free Self-Confidence webinar on Sunday, February 26, at 8:00 p.m. EST (5:00 Pacific). I will be the presenter, discussing a specific technique you can use every day to improve your self-confidence.

No registration is necessary for the free webinar, but please sign up on the Self-Confidence Course wait list to receive an email later in the week with log-in details. (This does not commit you to taking the course but is a way for us to contact you with the log-in and password.)

At the end of the webinar, I will discuss our upcoming Simple Self-Confidence Course which opens for registration immediately after the webinar. Webinar attendees will receive a discounted price for the Course. If you are not interested in the Simple Self-Confidence Course, you are still warmly welcomed to attend the webinar. You can just sign off when she begins discussing the Course.

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  • http://www.howtothinkpositive.com/ Ruth

    Totally agree about the snooze button!

    I went through a time when I used to write a few pages of my journal each day. I just let the words flow, whatever would come out. It helped a lot, and I swear it made me better able to face the day. Why did I give up that habit?!

  • http://the6amjogger.wordpress.com/ the6amjogger

    These are five great tips.  An excellent way to start your day, and it’s much easier to introduce new routines and good practices first thing when your time is more likely to be your own. 
    I think getting outside is very beneficial too – I run at sunrise and feel the benefits for the rest of the day, but a short walk is good too.  No matter how unappealing it looks out there (cold, wet and windy), once I’ve put my running shoes on and got myself out the door I never regret it.  Modern life has taken a lot of us away from nature, and a morning run never fails to remind me to be grateful for the world around us. 
    I do my 20 minutes of daydreaming and brainstorming on the run, though sometimes struggle to remember all the brilliant ideas I’ve had when I get back; I need a mini PowerJournal to take with me!!

  • http://hanofharmony.com The Vizier

    Hi Robert,

    You’re perfectly right.  The first 30 minutes of our day has a powerful grip over the rest of the day.  A good start is always important.  I think you have given us all 5 useful tips on how to create more energy and confidence each morning.  Here are some of the thoughts that crossed my mind as I read them.  

    2.  First five seconds

    This is a great tip to get us going.  Inspiring ourselves during the first 5 seconds of the day is a great start.  Here I feel it is important to vary our sources of inspiration since looking at the same thing can grow stale over time.  Having more different sources of inspiration will ensure we have more energy and confidence each day.

    5.  Breakfast

    I never start my day without breakfast.  Doing so makes me weak and causes my blood sugar levels to run low which can result in fainting.  Having a good breakfast is vital to having energy for the rest of the day.

    One last point.  I have found it helps to finish a day well so that I can begin the next day with energy.  This may mean finishing all I have to and can do or planning for the next day so I am clear on how to proceed.  When I have done all I need to do the night before, I can begin the next day with clarity, energy and confidence.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely article!  

    Irving the Vizier

  • http://twitter.com/ProsperityHut Anne Welsh

     I like to listen to the radio first thing in the morning, i feel it gives me that energy boost.

  • http://comehere.in yanjilade

    great！

  • http://www.colon-liver-cleanse.com/ Sean

    It can be tough to get out of bed during the dark winter months, but like you said, forcing yourself out of bed and not hitting the dreaded snooze button makes you stronger and way more productive.

  • http://twitter.com/BestL29 Lisette Best

    thanks! I use to do the 5 suggestions, I stopped for almost 3 weeks and I feel grumpy.  thanks a lot for  letting me know that I have to start over.

  • http://www.tourismdentalindia.com Dental Tourism

    Getting up in the mornings is a challenge for most of us. A power yoga session can be a big help. 

  • http://thebooksthatchangedmylife.com Marc Van Der Linden

    Great tips !

    About the snooze button: since I have a more balanced go-to-bed ritual, I don’t need this button anymore. In 90% of cases, I wake up before the alarm goes off.

    For the 5 secs rule: thanks for this great tip! Many say that you have to start the day with affirmations, inspirational reading, … but someway your explanation hit me at the right place. The first 5 secs are the best moment to feed your mind while it is still switching between the unconscious state of sleeping to becoming awake.

    Thanks for sharing!

  • http://www.masterpapers.com custom essay

    Morning – the main part of the day! to be normal to get up early and spend the morning with the bad!

  • http://www.successatreach.com Nabil Gulamani

    Hi Robert,

    Like the points that you mentioned..Many people forget to fundamentals and stop doing the things that you mentioned..Journal helps a lot since you are reflecting and also are aware of your goals (this will activate your subconscious).

    And yes, breakfast is a must..It is important to have a high fiber meal mixed with fruit and protein..I also feel like many people forget to drink enough water everyday, which is essential food for a health mind…

    Thanks for sharing..

    Cheers,
    Nabil

  • http://Mazzastick.com Justin

    I haven’t used an alarm clock in years but I do remember the days of hitting the snooze button five or six times before eventually waking up.

    I usually eat a banana in the morning because that is all that my stomach can tolerate.

  • Adam Jones

    I’ve fallen out of the habit of doing these for the most part. Used to do near every one daily. They always ended up being great and productive days. Not to mention, I always felt fantastic. 

    Thanks for the reminder and additional motivation.

    My tip: Put your alarm clock in another room. I would use my cell phones alarm and keep it downstairs in the kitchen. That way, I was forced to get up and go downstairs to turn it off. Snoozing is just pointless then! So, I would make breakfast and get my day started. 

  • http://twitter.com/hventura Henrique Ventura

    It’s basically everything i do NOT do. I’m a snooze button professional, I always set the alarm for 30 minutes before I have to get out of bed. The first thing I do is to grab my Blackberry, then shower. All of that while mumbling (I’m usually a very positive and upbeat person, except for the first 60-90 minutes of the day, when I’m a total moron).
    I do, however, have breakfast all the time. 
    Oh, and I avoid having to think. I do not think at all. Everything has to be set to be an assembly line like routine.
    Guess I must have a go at trying to change this habits.

  • http://twitter.com/hventura Henrique Ventura

    That’s actually a great idea that I had never thought of. To leave the alarm clock elsewhere will make me get up instantly (especially because I have a really annoying ringtone –  otherwise I wouldn’t wake up at all).

  • Anonymous

    Writng down what youu hope To accomplish in the day before you start the day and the holding yourself accountable by writing down how you did at the end of the day is a great way to achieve your goals. Great tips in this post.

  • Anonymous

    Writng down what youu hope To accomplish in the day before you start the day and the holding yourself accountable by writing down how you did at the end of the day is a great way to achieve your goals. Great tips in this post.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CWDEUAAZRCYTWYMOMQO64KROFQ Beijing Ren

    very inspiring article! I wish i could start every morning like this, but i’m week because of  ‘snooze button’, no way to get up earlier!

  • http://www.OurWishRadio.com Raymond Cubeta

    Hey Robert,  thanks for the post. This is really cool information. :)

  • http://www.OurWishRadio.com Raymond Cubeta

    Hey Robert,  thanks for the post. This is really cool information. :)