” The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day. “
What if I told you that the way you get up from bed each morning can starkly determine how your day progresses. Rise from bed with a positive outlook and watch your day level up beyond your expectation. And… of course, the converse is the case.
Some years ago, I stumbled on a set of morning routine practices called the Life S.A.V.E.R.S which was devised by a brilliant and amazing individual – Hal Elrod (Aka Yo Pal Hal!) . He wrote a record-breaking book titled “The Miracle Morning : The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)” which has undoubtedly had an impact in my life.
In the book, Hal shared these 6 powerful, proven, personal development practices which anyone can put into action immediately to transform your life and take control of their day starting from the morning. Whether or not you feel you’re morning person, this will work for you as there are lots of testifiers.
That said here’re they are – the 6 Life S.A.V.E.R.S
1. Silence
“You can learn more in an hour of silence than you can in a year from books.” ~~ Matthew Kelly
This practice requires starting each day with a purposeful moment of silence. This can be in the form of prayer, meditation, reflection, deep breathing, or gratitude – to allow yourself internalize what’s most important to you. Silence has been proven to help reduce stress, improve clarity, and declutter your head. These different forms of silence have both psychological and medical benefits. For example, it’s been scientifically proven that meditation can be even more beneficial than medication. The book recommended a simple guided Miracle Morning mediation practice to get started with.
2. Affirmation
“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. Once that belief becomes a deep conviction things begin to happen.” ~~ Muhammed Ali
“I am the greatest!!” – was Muhammed Ali’s declaration which he continually recited until it actualized. That’s because affirmation is a proven way to create and morph into the person you want to be. Positive thinking co-mingled with positive self-talk can help you vanquish your limiting beliefs and boost your confidence so you can become the person you’ve always wanted to be.
It’s not a surprise that the most successful gurus and leaders in the world (e.g. Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, etc) apply affirmations to their lives. You can program your mind using affirmations to transform any area of your life. Write them down then review and recite your affirmation multiple time each day and see that work miracles.
You can find a guide to writing your affirmations referenced in the book here
3. Visualization
“Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extra ordinary people visualize not what’s probable or possible but rather what’s impossible. And by visualizing the impossible they begin to see it as possible. ” ~~ Sherry Scott
This process entails mentally rehearsing what you want to achieve before you execute in the physical. A number of athletes, celebrities and great leaders actually visualized their success before they eventually achieved it.
Creative visualization requires you to focus on your near or far future, your dreams and your aspiration, and even the outcome of an upcoming venture/activity such as a speech you’ll be delivering, or the outcome of a book you are writing or plan to write. Thinking of the outcome of the future in a positive light will trigger a series of exciting bolts that’ll motivate you to earnestly pursue after your goals and desires.
Most importantly, see yourself enjoying the process. of creative visualization and you’ll begin to attract your visions to your life. And, of course, don’t forget that although visualization is great, it means nothing if not supported with actions.
4. Exercise
“If you don’t make time for exercise, you’ll probably have to make time for sickness.” ~~ Robin Sharma
When done in this morning, exercising helps you stay more alert and active all through the day in addition to sharpening your cognition. Also, when you exercise, your body produces endorphins which are responsible for the feeling of elation, hyper energy and reduced stress.
In short, the importance of exercise can’t be overemphasized not to talk about the role it plays in longevity which I believe everyone desire – right?
5. Reading
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body and prayer is to the soul.”
This is one of the most immediate and surest way to obtain the specialized knowledge you require to achieve your goals. Reading is a way to tap into the advice of some of the best and most successful people in life in just about any area of life you desire to improve on.
Whether you want to learn about becoming a millionaire, growing your business, sweetening the wine of your relationship, etc, there’re gazillion books out there that can help you on that topic. A caveat when it comes to reading is to be intentional, ensuring that you have a clear purpose for reading a book and to take action on what you’ve gleaned from the book. This is the only way to move from being an informative reader to a transformative reader. The more you read and revisit a book, the more you master the strategies hidden in the book to improve your life.
6. Scribbling
“Ideas can come from anywhere and at anytime. The problem with making mental notes is that the ink fades up rapidly.” ~~ Will Smith
This entails journaling your successes, failures, accomplishment, lesson, gratitude for each day. Your journals will normally come in very handy in the future when you look back to see how far you’ve gone which will give you motivation to keep pushing through life.
Also, scribbling helps you gain clarity, capture important ideas, track your progress and brainstorm solutions to problems you’re tackling.
These practices can be a catalyst that’ll trigger a series of life-altering events and behaviors in your life. (Millions of people can attest to this and that includes me!)
For more on the Life S.A.V.E.R.S and other powerful, life-changing, personal development practices, be sure to get your hands on “The Miracle Morning : The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)”
To your transformed life!!
[Full Disclosure: As an affiliate, I may receive compensation if you purchase through links referenced in this article – at no extra cost to you]