The foundation of success: A powerful morning routine

 Our media devices will bail on us if we fail to charge them regularly. We also tune up our bodies daily through exercise. Why not design a powerful morning routine that kickstarts a productive day, contributing to a successful life?

Sonia wakes up with a start and spews a string of cuss words. The jarring alarm is put into snooze mode. She continues to sleep for another 10 minutes before the alarm blares yet again. After 2-3 episodes of tug-of-war between shut-eye and the alarm, she reluctantly steps out of bed.

As she gingerly goes through her morning ablutions, she suddenly remembers a meeting scheduled earlier in the day. “Oh hell, oh hell!” she mutters and sure enough, all hell breaks loose on her day.

She skips breakfast to buy more time for her preparation. She panics and a negative spiral takes her down in a tailspin. She can’t find the right files. There is a lot of traffic on the way to work. She is running late and to make matters worse, the elevator is out of order. Disheveled, perspiring, and out of breath, she finally makes it to the office.

In a downward continuum, her meeting is a washout. She takes flak from her boss and feels low on energy (remember she has slept less and eaten zilch). Her confidence sags, work seems a drag and the day weighs on her. She has blown away any chance of a promotion. “When will my life turn around?” she wonders every single day.

Einstein in all his wisdom said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Yet, every day is a repeat of the previous one. Is there a plausible solution to this conundrum? A way out of this rut that our lives have fallen into?

Let’s take a moment to reflect. What is the first thing we do on waking up, even before our feet hit the floor?

Yes, that’s correct! We check WhatsApp messages on our phones. Next, we log into Facebook. Undeniably, we are addicted to social media. It seems normal because everyone suffers from this affliction. In stark contrast, our parents and grandparents fold their hands in prayer and later wish every member of the household a cheery good morning.

“Well begun is half done” is an age-old adage. Every skyscraper stands tall on a great foundation.  Each massive tree thrives due to the roots that penetrate deep into the soil. Similarly, a powerful morning routine is necessary to create a fulfilling and productive day. 

Our media devices will bail on us if we fail to charge them daily. We also tune up our bodies daily, through exercise. Then, why do we disregard recharging our spirit?

But who has the time?

Well, let me share a story about two woodcutters, John and Harry. Both of them would set out early every morning, to chop wood. However, John always had much more wood to carry back home every evening.

So, Harry tried hard to listen to all sounds emanating from John’s side while he tried to cut faster and faster. Many times, he noticed that there was only silence from John’s end. He smiled as he was sure that today, he would carry home a much larger stack of wood.

However, he was appalled when he saw John carrying a much bigger stack. Finally, at his wit’s end, he asked John to share his secret. “It’s very simple, Harry. I spend as much time sharpening my axe, as I do cutting the wood.”

Meditating, praying, and chanting are age-old techniques for sharpening the mind-axe. We can wake up early each morning and use these to anchor our souls before we put on our busy shoes. This is the secret of all great achievers.  Many industrialists, CEOs, spiritual leaders, and statesmen are early risers.

We too can replicate their success formulae in our life. Let’s begin by asking ourselves a few questions.

1. What is it that we really want?

Some of us choose to feel happy, positive, and energized. A few of us need to create time to do things that we otherwise fail to manage daily. Some of us need a head start to our day. The answer helps us zero in on our special morning activities.

2. What is it that we dislike about our current mornings?

It is important to stop doing things that do not serve us before we add the right ingredients to optimize our routine.

Suppose we want to wake up early, then we must avoid hitting the snooze mode. Jay Shetty of the ‘Think Like a Monk’ fame suggests, “To wake up early, just go to bed early.” He also advocates stopping all media usage at least an hour before bedtime, to ensure good sleep.

As for me, I counter the flurry of negative thoughts swamping my mind on waking up, by praying. This has helped me turn the negativity on its head.

3. What could our personalized morning routine include?

After eliminating the unnecessary, we can choose from a wide array of things to create our powerful morning routine.

Join the exclusive  ‘5 AM Club’

Robin Sharma’s bestselling book ‘The 5 AM Club’ describes his 20/20/20 formula in detail. He claims that this has helped many billionaires, star athletes, and other super-achievers.

The first 20 minutes are for sweaty exercise. Sharma’s “Billionaire” character throws light on the benefits of working up a sweat and an increased heart rate. They boost our feel-good dopamine and serotonin levels, and kick-start our metabolism while lowering the stress hormone, cortisol. These 20 minutes are specific and “non-negotiable”.

The next 20 minutes are dedicated to journaling, meditating, planning, praying, or contemplating. These 20 minutes of quiet increase our gratitude and happiness levels. Our minds, heart, and soul are now equipped to deal with all kinds of difficulties and stresses of a busy day. This segment allows us to pick the activity we find most comfortable. However, Sharma insists that everyone journal their goals, plans, and commitments and make a gratitude list daily, to shape the day positively.

The final 20 minutes are the “grow” period. Listen to a podcast about successful entrepreneurs, read a great book, or learn a new language. This reduces stress and improves cognitive performance by learning something new, while the brain is fresh and relaxed.

Jack Canfield of the famed Chicken Soup for the Soul series follows a similar pattern for his ‘Hour of Power’ as described in his book, ‘Success Principles.’

Here are the morning routines of a few successful people:

1. Oprah Winfrey reads 5 inspiring messages from her collection of 365, to get into a positive groove every morning.
2. Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, begins with meditation at 5 am daily. Later, he spends quality time with his family, before hitting work.
3. Tim Ferriss of the huge hit ‘The Four-hour Workweek’ uses gratitude as his meditation practice.
4. Apple founder Steve Jobs asked himself just one question every morning, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Such powerful self-reflection helped him stay focussed.
5. Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett make sure to throw in some reading.

These are signposts to design our own effective morning routine. However, we must be wary of trying to pack in too much. It is important to create a happy feeling and not end up more stressed instead.

My mornings start with prayers and Vipassana meditation, followed by writing a gratitude list. Finally, I listen to self-improvement tapes while exercising. Thus, I feel confident and in control of my life.

Remember the tagline of Robin Sharma’s book ‘The 5 Am Club’, “Own your morning, Elevate your Life.”

Lead picture courtesy Pexels