This was often a question that I found myself asking. I wanted to start my day off right, but I wasn't sure where to begin. There were days when I would wake up and try to exercise to get my energy up but quickly realized morning workouts are not for me. I gave morning meditation and journaling a try, however, I found I had a harder time releasing my thoughts first thing in the morning and it made me even more tired. I tried just about every morning routine but nothing stuck. It wasn't until I read Admiral William H. McRaven's book, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World, when I realized the simple act of making my bed every morning was the key to my morning routine. This is not to say that I never made my bed, it just wasn't the first thing I did every morning. When we are in a rush, the last thing on our minds is "make your bed". All we can think of is "CRAP I'M GOING TO BE LATE!. It only takes one little thing to change your mood, productivity, and motivation for the day. Below I share 4 highlights from the book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World, to give you a starting point to change your life.
1. Start Your Day with a Task Completed
“If you want to change the world... start off by making your bed”
This of course goes without saying. The first thing you should do every morning is to make your bed. Making your bed will provide you with a sense of accomplishment to start and end your day. There is nothing better than coming home after a rough and stressful day to find that your bed is already made. If you work from home, it is easy to disregard the act of making your bed...DON’T DO THAT! Be intentional with how you start your day and how you live your life.
2. Find people in your life to help you achieve your goals
“Make as many friends as possible”
There's this quote I like because of how true it is. "Alone you can go faster, but together you can go further." This is true when it comes to accomplishing your goals. You need a support group to help you through the difficult times and celebrate with you on your wins. It doesn't matter how invincible you think you are, you cannot do life alone.
3. Never stop failing
“You will pay for your failures. But if you persevere, if you let those failures teach you and stregthen you, then you will be prepared to handle life's toughest moments.”
Failure is a stepping stone to success. If you want to succeed, you cannot go through life scared to fail. It is not the failure that keeps you down, it is how you handle it that does. You can easily allow one mistake to hold you back or you can accept it, and learn from it. It takes more than one attempt to reach success. The greatest men and women of history did not succeed by being cautious, they succeeded by jumping when everyone else was scared to. FAIL MISERABLY AND SUCCEED GREATLY!
4. Inspire!
“Sometimes all it takes is one person to make a difference”
When all else fails, inspire! Find your hope and share it with those that are around you. Be someone's reason to continue moving forward. Even when you are dealing with your struggles, don't forget to share your light.