Did any of you guys see my Instagram story on Friday? I was talking about some personal epiphanies I have had over the last couple of weeks, one of which, was that I really felt and was so much better when I started my days early. I was doing pretty good for awhile, getting up at 5:25am and heading to my Barre class a couple of days a week. On my off days I was still rising around 6:30am to get a little jump-start on my day before the littles needed me. Then, Kyle went away for a week and I fell into my old habits of going to bed around 1am, which meant I wasn’t getting up early!
Janelle, of The Olive June, saw my IGstory and messaged me about this challenge she is starting tomorrow, called the Miracle Morning Challenge. She said it’s supposed to be amazing, and I don’t doubt her, feeling the change I did when I was starting my days early!
However, there is more to this “Miracle Morning” than just getting up early. I highly suggest y’all read the book The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)
First, why 30 days? Hasn’t everyone heard that you only need to do 21 days to learn a new habit? Hal claims, that yes, in 21 days you can learn a new habit. However, it doesn’t mean you will STICK to that new habit. He breaks it down like this…
Days (1-10) Unbearable- The first few days may be exciting-you’re starting something new- then the novelty wears off, and your miserable. PUSH THROUGH.
Days (11-20) Uncomfortable- Considerably easier- but still not lovely- this stage will require discipline and commitment on your part.
Days (21-30) Unstoppable- The final 10 days almost becomes enjoyable- you positively reinforce and associate pleasure with your new habit- it takes you from the space of something you’re trying to who you’re becoming.
Ok, So, what is the Miracle Morning? The short of it is Six L.I.F.E.S.A.V.E.R.S that will help you in personal development to reach your highest potential.
S.ilence: Hal suggests taking five minutes during your Miracle Morning routine to sit in silence. Some ideas of what to do during this period of silence include meditation, prayer, reflection, deep breathing and gratitude.
A.ffirmation: These are one of the most effective tools for quickly becoming the person you need to be to achieve everything you want in life.
V.isualization: Hal suggests you start with five minutes a day of visualization. The practice of seeking to generate positive results in your outer world by using your imagination to create mental pictures of specific behaviors and outcomes occurring in your life.
E.xercise: This significantly boosts your energy and focus and overall health and well-being.
R.eading: Hal calls this the fast track to transforming any area of your life. It will help you gain knowledge, ideas and strategies to move forward with your goals and reach your ideal level of success. Hal suggests 10-15 minutes of reading during your Miracle Morning.
S.cribing: 10-15 minuts per day during your Miracle Morning. Getting thoughts out of your head and on paper will help you de-clutter your brain and move forward with those thoughts and ideas. It also allows you to document ideas for later, as well as work through lessons learned.
So, here is how I plan to use these steps of the Miracle Morning to implement them into my life:
Mondays & Fridays
5:30am- alarm goes off- out of bed, dressed, teeth brushed, face washed
5:35am- downstairs for 5 min of S.ilence
5:40am- R.eading
5:50am- drive to Barre Class + A.ffirmations
6:00-7:00am- E.xercise
7:10am- shower + V.isulizations
7:25am- get dressed and ready for the day
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays
5:45am- alarm goes off- out of bed, dressed, teeth brushed, face washed
5:50am- E.xercise + A.ffirmations
6:20am- S.ilence
6:25am- shower + V.isulizations
6:40am R.eading
6:50am S.cribing
7:00am get dressed and ready for the day
Now that you’ve seen my schedule, you may be thinking, well, that’s great, but HOW are you going to do each of these things, or WHAT do yo plan to do for each activity? Here are some ideas:
*I plan to write blog posts, or maybe get a gratitude journal for the scribing part. There is also a “Miracle Morning” app that prompts you to write a few things. I also may start a bullet journal and use what I learn from my readings and affirmations to scribe in my bullet journal.
*For exercise I plan to do Barre class on Monday & Friday, utilize the Tone It Up workout videos on Wednesdays and walk/run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As you can see, I make exercise a large part of my morning routine. That allows me to get my exercise for the day out of the way- win, win!
*For reading I plan to do a combination of business books, hobby books, catching up on bloggers I follow and perhaps maybe reading The Skimm.
*I haven’t decided if I will utilize a Pinterest Board, or actual board for the Visualization part. I feel a bit like Pinterest already is my vision board in some ways. But, I suppose I could make one board specifically for a goal I’m focusing on.
I hope this has inspired you guys and if you’d like to follow along, I’d love to have you join! You can go to The Morning Miracle and get the first couple of chapters of the book for free and there is a lot of helpful info and freebies on the site!
I will be starting this journey tomorrow. I’ll report back on September 22nd along with a list of some other bloggers you can check in on, to read about their progress!
