How do you actually start your day? Are you in control? In control of your thoughts, your emotions, your beliefs, your actions and what you put into your mind? Or does your day get away with you from the second you wake up? Do your thoughts run riot in your mind and do you feel behind before you even get out of bed? If it’s the latter, you are not alone. But I also want you to know, it doesn’t have to be this way.
How you choose to start your day has a massive impact on how your day actually goes. Yet so many people fail to start their day in a way that is supportive and productive for them. Here are 5 by Tara Punter questions you can ask yourself to ensure you start your day the best way possible!Â
What is your dominant thought when you awake?
You have complete control over your thoughts, both the positive and the negative. Every single morning when you wake up, your mind is like a clean slate. When you regain consciousness and become aware of being awake, your mind slips back into the thoughts of the past, going back to your previous beliefs, emotions and things on your mind. That’s not a bad thing if everything is going superbly well for you. The issue becomes when things are challenging, stressful or you feel fearful or worried.
So, when you awake in the morning, try asking yourself what you’re excited for, or what magic could possibly happen today. That shift in thought opens you up to more optimism and really shifts your perspective onto what could go well, rather than whatever your mind may stress about.
What do you do in your first waking hour?Â
Each day, in your first waking hour, your brain is in a highly influential state. It literally absorbs everything, failing to know whether what it is absorbing is good or bad. It just accepts what goes into it. It’s also a state with which you have the ability to shift and change your belief system. Therefore it’s important in that first waking hour that you are doing things that support who you want to become.
A study from IDC Research found that 80% of people go on their phone within 15 minutes of waking. This seemingly small action can have a really negative impact on your mindset, your energy and your productivity.Â
Instead, try positive actions such as journaling, meditation, connecting with your vision board or reading. If those aren’t a possibility for you, try to be aware of your thoughts in your first hour, and really focus on what you want and what you’re grateful for.
What are you grateful for?
This sounds so basic, but is honestly one of the most profound ways to shift your mindset and perspective of the world. By actively searching for things to be grateful for each day, over time your mind will automatically and subconsciously start to look for things to be grateful for, without you even trying!
Ensure you are grateful for what you have, while desiring more. This ensures you’re in a positive energy, and not one of lack. From the law of attraction perspective, (which states that your thoughts become your reality), by choosing to focus on things you’re grateful for, you will attract more things to be grateful for!
Try setting a timer for 60 seconds and just listening off everything you’re grateful for, from the big things, such as a partner, roof over your head and your health, to the small things, such as a cup of tea, seeing the sun rise or hearing the birds sing.
How you are feeling today?
This is a powerful question to ask yourself each day because it requires you to be totally honest with yourself. It invites you to recognise, and accept whether you’re feeling super positive and pumped for your day, or whether it’s quite the opposite. Asking yourself that question, and writing the answer or speaking it out loud enables you to reclaim your control over the feeling. Be honest with yourself, then go onto point 5…
How do you wish to feel today?
So often, we can find ourselves focusing on what we don’t want to think, feel, happen and believe. We tell ourselves we don’t to fail, don’t want something to be challenging, don’t want to be broke, or overweight. However, the mind fails to comprehend or acknowledge the word don’t or not, so all it hears and believes is “I do want to fail”, “I do want this to be challenging” or “I do want to be broke, or overweight”.
Instead, ask yourself how you want to feel each day. Do you want to feel calm? In control? Abundant? Optimistic? Powerful? Set yourself the intention in the morning and then ask yourself what you need to believe and what actions you need to take in alignment with that feeling. Take control of your day rather than letting your day happen to you and start to see your life transform beautifully.Â
