10 Habits That Start Your Day In a Positive Way

I have found that for some reason the way in which I have been starting my day has been all wrong, pretty much setting my day up for failure. This is down to simply not having healthy habits from the moment I woke up. For instance one of the first things I would do would be to reach for my laptop, fire it up and begin checking emails, comments, social media & before I knew it I was an hour into my day, I had achieved nothing else but scrolling probably 14 miles worth of people's news feeds. From there I would realise how much time I had wasted & how far behind on the day I was, which lead me to instantly feel annoyed with myself, creating a negative mindset that would continue throughout the rest of the day.

It is only in the recent months as I have been journeying through the path of self development have I realised that I can alter the outcome of my day, by just consistently doing a healthy set of habits. These habits are something that I do daily & have allowed me to not only have some vital me time, but to set me up in a positive way.

This is a habit that has one slight exception for me, that is to only switch on to put on a meditation app or meditation music. Other than that the nature of this step is to simply wake up naturally and allow yourself some me time, as well as some head space. This will stop you feeling instantly overwhelmed by the bombardment of information you obtain whilst scrolling the day away. You will also begin to appreciate sounds that you may not have really paid attention to before such as the birds singing away or the calming sound of the breeze sweeping by.

This will work even better if it is very cold outside as the cold breeze hitting you in the morning, will instantly wake you up, helping you to feel refreshed as well. The other element to this is there is nothing like getting a good glug of fresh air into your lungs first thing in the morning. It is up to you how long you leave your window open for, personally for me I leave it open all morning as it helps to bring some fresh air into your bedroom, reducing your stank from the night before!

The main aim of this habit is to help you get in tune with the here & now, whilst helping to boost your focus levels for the rest of the day. The length of meditation is entirely up to yourself, it is what you feel comfortable with, I personally do 15 minutes as this is the length of the music that I pick to play in the background. At first you will probably feel slightly strange sitting there in silence focusing on your breathing, but stick with it. After your first day of giggles and awkwardness you will begin to feel the benefit of it. If you are unsure on what music to play etc, then Youtube has some great meditation playlists, or alternatively there are a number of meditation apps available from the app store, one that I am aware of is Headspace.

This is a very healthy habit to not only implement in the morning, but also for you to continue with for the rest of the day. It is important to hydrate with water first thing in the morning rather than your usually coffee or glass of fizzy pop! This is down to a few things. Firstly hydrating with water will help you with morning breath (a touchy subject but we all have it!), it will also help to reduce your morning hunger pangs until you are ready for breakfast. Finally hydrating with water will help to improve your focus & concentration, putting you in the right mindset for the rest of the day.

We can all feel overwhelmed sometimes, especially living in the world that we do. Everything is a comparison to how someone else, looks, lives or what they have. It can lead us to feel like we are behind in life or less successful. When in reality we have a vast number of things that are so amazing right under our noses. The idea of this habit is to note down 3 or 4 things that you are particularly grateful for that morning, this does not have to be money related or materialistic, it can be as simple as you are grateful for how the wind feels in your hair when you open the window in the morning, or that you have a loving partner lay next to you or even the way your duvet feels when you took your tootsies into it. The bottom line is that doing this will make you realise all the wonderful things & moments that you have in your life, which will ultimately lead you to feeling positive & more peaceful.

The bed that is. This is one of those things that I hated doing growing up, but now I love it. There is nothing more satisfying that a freshly made bed looking all clean & crisp! There is a notion behind making your bed & that is that it will give you an instant sense of accomplishment, which in turn trains your brain into believing that you are going to win the day.

I know I know tea is sacrilege to most of the world, however I think even the most hardcore coffee loving, Starbucks hugging caffeine drinkers out there should try this. This habit is one that I half inched from Tim Ferriss, well sort of as I don’t have posh tea! You simply steep tea in boiling water for a minute, no longer & then add a knob of proper unsalted butter. Be sure to constantly stir your tea to make sure that all that butter has dissolved, this may sound like a weird cup of tea however it is delicious! Not only that it helps to begin your bodies process of burning fat whilst keeping those hunger pangs at bay.

This is the step that I like to do whilst sipping on the delicious buttery tea. This can be done anywhere in the house but if it is a sunny morning then why not head out into the back garden. Just take some time, 5 or 10 minutes at most, close your eyes & visualise how you want your day to flow, how your going to overcome any challenges if they arise & how you are going to remain positive throughout it. This will help you feel prepared, focused & ready for the day ahead.

That is right the next healthy habit for your morning is exercise! This can range from a HIIT workout right down to taking the dog for a quick walk. Because I work from home I like to use cleaning as my work out in the morning, meaning I am killing two birds with one stone (not literally that would be awful!) I am getting my 20 minutes of fitness in & making sure my house is ready for anything or anyone that may arrive during the day. Exercising in the morning this way will ensure that there are no excuses further on in the day of being too busy, or having other commitments whilst also helping to improve your overall health!

That aged old saying is about to crop up! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This could not be more true as selecting a well balanced breakfast will help you to feel satisfied whilst setting you up correctly for the rest of the day.

Well there you have it 10 healthy habits to start your day in a positive way. For me this set of habits takes approximately one hour to an hour and a half in the morning. If you feel like you may not have enough time in your day, then simply go to bed earlier & wake up earlier. However, I am quite confident that once you see & feel the benefits of these habits that you will always have time for them.

If you have any habits that you personally use in the morning to start your day in a positive way, then please let me know in the comments box below. Alternatively if you have used or are beginning to use any of these habits please let me know how they are changing the way you approach the day! As always thanks for reading.