Morning Routine: 4 Ways to Own The Day

     Have you ever woke up and felt like the day was running you instead of you running the day? We’ve all been there, right? Misplaced keys, lost cell phones, coffee made without grinds. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there, done that...

    Until-

   I created my morning routine. That’s when I grabbed my day by the reigns and started running it instead of letting it run me. In this blog I will share four things from my personal morning routine with you to give you ideas if you feel like you can benefit from having a morning routine too. For those of you with already set morning routines we would love to hear from you what things you do and how you benefit from those things. Who knows, perhaps those of you with set morning routines may also get an idea from this blog and be inspired to incorporate a new element into your morning routine?

    Here goes!

1.   Gratitude. I write all the things I am grateful for that day. Besides scientific evidence proving gratitude increases happiness and well-being, the Bible says to give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. What a way to start your day—increasing not only happiness and well-being, but also following the word of God!

2.   Self-care. How many of you rush through your day and forget to come up for a breath or are so busy doing for others you forget to eat? (It’s wonderful to do for others but we also have to take care of ourselves. Plus, being “hangry” is a real thing. It’s in everyone’s best interest for you not to be angry and hungry at that same, right?)

    So that’s why I take a few moments in the morning to be sure to write my top three self-care activities for the day. Self-care is especially important to incorporate in our fast-paced society that is filled with constant distractions such as Facebook, advertisements, and emails that bombard us throughout the day. Plus, the Bible says to love ourselves, doesn’t it? Matthew 22:39. So hey, that enough is reason to practice self-care.

3.   Mindset. I choose exactly how I want to tackle my day each day by writing down my mindset. I mean, God gave us free-will, right? So why not use it?

    Often I select my mindset based on what I want to accomplish that day. For instance, if I’m going to be working on my book that day I may write my mindset as ‘confident’ so I don’t second-guess myself when I write. 

    Why I love doing this is I direct my thoughts to what I want to experience instead of what I don’t want to experience. I cancel the negative thoughts before they have a chance to penetrate my mind by choosing positive thoughts from the get-go. Besides being empowering and freeing, doing this is also consistent with the Word of God—as the Bible says, “set your minds on things above”  and to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” Colossians 3:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5. Choosing to have a mindset that supports your goals and overall well-being that is consistent with God’s Word and will is a great way to do precisely that.

4.    Biblical Affirmations. I jot down a few biblical affirmations. Biblical affirmations are positive present tense statements supported by specific Bible Verses. An example of a biblical affirmation is “I am capable of all I set out to do today because Philippians 4:13 states ‘I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.’” You can write the affirmation however you want. The main thing that is important is supporting the affirmations with the Word of God.

    Writing biblical affirmations makes me feel like I can handle anything that comes my way that day, including the toughest obstacles. This makes sense because the Bible does say to put on the full armor of God each day to guard against darkness and part of the armor is the “sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:11; Ephesians 6:16. So writing down biblical affirmations each morning to me is like getting my sword ready and sharpened to slice through whatever obstacles come my way that day. I ain’t playin’ around.

    There you have it—my morning routine. I can definitely say following it has made me feel empowered, in charge, and most importantly closer to God. No longer do I let the day run me; rather I tell it how to run once I decided it was to own the day. It’s time for us all to own the day. How will you own your day?