Good Morning from South Korea!
I wanted to share my ‘twist’ on the Miracle Morning I’ve been doing the last few days, maybe you have some advice or it might inspire some of you.
Two things in advance: If you know Gretchen Rubins’ ‘Four Personality Types’, you might know that ‘Rebels’ have a hard time committing to routines of any type, so I purposely keep it light and don’t force myself too much, trying to make it work on my terms, hence the ‘tweaks’ to my Miracle Morning.
Also, I am a student (actually, a recent graduate) on vacation and am very flexible, and free so I just let myself wake up at any time (it has fluctuated between 5.30am~ 6.30am~ today it was 8am). Every day I’ve been super motivated and never too tired to start my Miracle Morning, no alarm = no snooze = no guilt
– I get up, skip checking emails or SNS and go straight into writing my Morning Pages (> Check Julia Cameron’s ‘Artist Way’ if you don’t know the concept), I write 3 pages of whatever is on my mind… it takes me about 15-20minutes and afterwards my hand is a bit sore but I feel peaceful and grounded. Morning grumpiness also disappears as I warm up to the writing, usually by the second page.
Keep it light, if you struggle too much you might end up quitting and miss out on this precious time with yourself.
– Before/during/after the Morning Pages I drink a glass of water mixed with Lemon and coconut oil to flush the body in the morning
– Then it is time for reading. I started reading Julia Cameron’s ‘Finding Water’ (for calming inspiration), but sometimes also delve into Tim Ferriss’ ‘Tools of Titans’ (for explosive inspiration) or ‘The Course in Miracles’ for a more spiritually-grounding read, depending on my mood.
– During that time I also start getting hungry and get myself some breakfast; these days I’ve eaten Tomato Salad, Pineapple, Toast with Jam, Sandwich, whatever I feel like eating in the morning. Sometimes, I don’t have the ingredients at home and incorporate the 15min walk to the bakery for a fresh croissant as part of the ‘Morning exercise’.
– I feel silly when I do affirmations and wanted to quit, but instead found a way that suits me perfectly: I listen to meaningful songs like Cat Stevens’ ‘Morning has Broken’ or Helmut Lotti’s version of ‘Kumbaya’ and sing along – it helps that I also really love those songs, so it doesn’t feel like I am ‘forcing’ myself to listen to them. These songs are not only uplifting, they can serve as morning prayer and affirmations that start the day with a sense of abundance and gratefulness.
– Sometimes between the writing and the reading part, I sit quietly for a while and meditate in silence. I scan my body to become aware of itches and stuck parts and purposely try to relax and release the tension in those body parts.
This is how I’ve been spending my mornings recently and I am careful not to call it a ‘morning routine’, instead taking it day by day… but I have to say that this is addicting and there is no end in sight!