5 Ways to set yourself up for a fantastic day

Would you like to manage your mornings for the best possible start to each day? Then embrace the ‘micro-moment’, constructive morning habits that help recalibrate how we feel and nudge us into a more productive mindset, says Sid Madge – here are five simple steps to get you started…

1 SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

First thing in the morning, what does your day feel like? An opportunity or an obligation? Both, most likely. We all have stuff we have to do and not all of it is pleasurable, but we can make our days much more enjoyable if we shift and expand our perspective. We waste so much energy procrastinating or complaining about our obligations, even if most of that is to ourselves. But it robs us of enthusiasm for life. Take a minute at the start of each day to map out what you need to do and what you want to do and crack on. Knock over the obligations first, then enjoy the opportunities. And remember, no two days or two situations will ever be the same, so we can choose to change the script at any time. Each day is literally a fresh start – if we choose it to be.

2 ACCEPT AND REFLECT

What is the first thing that pops into your head in the morning? Is it positive or negative? Even if you have a lot on your plate and are worried about an event, relationship or situation, things are often made worse by beating ourselves up about poor choices or worrying about the stuff you can’t change or control. Accept that you are where you are
meant to be. That place may not be where you expected to be but what is the situation teaching you? If you want to see something differently, you need to choose to be someone
different. You always have the power to turn a negative into a positive.

3 FAKE IT

Did you know it is possible to pretend to be confident and feel confident as a result? Research by social psychologist Amy Cuddy demonstrated that just two minutes in a power pose can increase our confidence hormone, testosterone, which is present in both men and women, by up to 20 per cent and decrease our stress hormone cortisol up to 25 per cent. The easiest ‘high power’ pose is the superman pose. So when you’re showered and dressed stand up strong, with your legs hip distance apart, hands on your hips, as though you are just about to save the world. After two minutes you’ll feel more ready to make your day an epic one.

4 CONSUME WISELY

The food we eat also impacts how we feel, so pay attention to breakfast choices. But what else are you consuming that might negatively impact you? Are you watching or listening to the news, or reading a newspaper, or scrolling through your phone? Consider how your usual morning ritual makes you feel and ask if something different would leave you feeling better?

5 SCHEDULE KINDNESS

We share things all the time and when we do so, that act of sharing diminishes what we have. But this is not true of kindness. Kindness is the only thing in the world that increases when we share it. And that is not just a lovely thought, it has been borne out of research. If we perform just one act of random kindness a day, we will experience less anxiety, stress and depression.

Additionally, our body is flooded with the same hormones that make both parties calmer, healthier and happier; serotonin, the feel-good hormone; endorphins which relive pain; and oxytocin, the bonding hormone that helps reduce blood pressure. But there is also a third winner in this kindness scenario – those who witness kindness are also more likely to pay it forward. Little things can change everyone’s day.

Sid Madge is founder of Meee (My Education Employment Enterprise) which draws on the best creativity and thinking to help people achieve extraordinary lives. meee.global

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