Happy Monday, Friends!
Over the course of the last few years, I've learned how important it is to get yourself energized for the day before you've even started it. To some, that may sound utterly impossible, but trust me, there's a way to get your energy stirred up without even taking a sip of your coffee.
I'm not going to lie, I used to not be a morning person. I would love to sleep in as often as I could and when I finally got up, would be so unenergized that I would struggle to stay moving throughout the day. Now though, I find it weird, unsatisfying, and wasteful of a day if I've slept in past 8 a.m. — even on a Saturday morning. Since majority of my work isn't done in an office, it's super tempting and easy for me to say, 'I can just lay here for a little while longer.' However, since I make an effort to get up, get energized, and get moving as early as possible, I've found that I'm much more productive, useful, and creative throughout the day.
Of course I'm aware that everyone doesn't get to work from home or work "on the go," but that doesn't meant hat you can't find a few techniques to help yourself get energized for the day. To help prove my point, here are three ways that I energize myself in the morning before I even leave the four walls of my bedroom.
1. Get Active: On most mornings, I'm in the gym before 7 a.m. For most people, that may be a little too early, but for me, that's the only way I can get a good workout in. I also understand that some people can't make it to a gym before they head off to work because it's just not possible. So, on the days that are considered my "rest day" or during the times that I don't feel like getting fully dressed to walk down to my gym, I find some workouts to do right in my room. That could include getting my heart rate up with a few jumping jacks right out of bed, running or jogging in place for a few minutes, getting some yoga in with the Daily Yoga app, or even doing a full bed-side workout with the Nike Training Club app on my iPhone.
2. Listen to An Encouraging Podcast or Your "Fight" Song: This technique and the first one usually go hand in hand for me. I most likely can't successfully start my day unless I've listened to some sort of podcast that I love. Some of my favorites are the Joel Osteen podcast, John MacArthur's Grace to You, Charles Stanley's In Touch Ministries, T.D. Jakes' The Potter's Touch, Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert, and Happy Black Woman Podcast with Rosetta Thurman — just to name a few. I'm also a lover of music (who isn't?), so listening to one of my many favorite songs in the morning gets me energized, excited, and motivated to have the entire day feel as good as I do when I hear that specific song. At this moment, I can't go a day without listening to "For the Love of You" by The Isley Brothers.
3. Speak Positive Affirmations Over Yourself First Thing in the Morning: Sometime last year, I came across this video on Facebook that had gone viral of a little girl standing on her bathroom sink saying positive things to herself. She was so hype and looked as if she hadn't had a bad day in her life! As an adult, I truly believe that there is SO much that we can learn from children, and learning how to say better things to and about ourselves are some of those things. We have to start treating ourselves better, and that can start with the things we say and the thoughts we think. After watching that video, I started waking up each morning saying positive things to myself to start my day. Not only did it motivate me to conquer any task that was on my to-do list, it energized me to want to do them. Saying positive things to myself in the morning made me realize that I could really be everything that I spoke to myself about myself. It served as a reminder that even as adults, we can still become the person that we've always dreamed of being. Two of the positive affirmations I say to myself every morning are, 'YOU are important to HIS plan,' and 'you're only as good as YOU believe you are.' Telling myself this in the morning helps me to stay focused and know that the plan cannot be accomplished if I don't show up to do my best that day.
What are some ways that you get energized in the morning? Have you tried any of my techniques? Leave me a comment and let me know or tweet me with the hashtag #EnergizeTheDay!
Until next time!
With Creative (and Energized) Thoughts,
-Kp