6 tips to start your day the right way

It wasn’t so long ago that I felt I was walking through life as if it was treacle. Placing one foot in front of the other was not only exhausting but took so much effort.

And I noticed I wasn’t the only one. It seemed everyone around me was walking through treacle too.

And I wondered to myself: Whatever happened to living life to the full, enjoying every second of every minute, relishing the many miracles that are showered on us day in, day out?

Is that kind of thinking just a pipe-dream?

Is all that just wishful thinking and day-dreaming, nothing to do with real-life?

It certainly seemed so as everyone else seemed to be in the same boat and on some kind of ‘just get me through this day’ autopilot.

But I wasn’t happy being ‘everyone else’.

I wanted to be the poppy raising its head and standing tall in a sea of golden barley… in the hope that my seeds might spread and grow ever more poppies. [Have you ever walked past a field of barley, wheat or corn? On my weekend hikes I often walk past such fields and every single time there in the midst of all that gold stands a little poppy (sometimes a couple of poppies) of bright red... beautiful!]

So I decided to change things, to shake them up so I could enjoy my life and relish every day, no matter how exciting or how challenging it might be.

And I discovered, after quite a bit of time with some hits and many misses, that if you start your day on the right footing, that that is the one thing that really makes the difference.

If I started my day by looking after my body, mind and soul (or soul, mind and body – the order I prefer), then inevitably my day would pan out to be a lot better than it possibly could have been.

So I thought that I would share with you 6 tips that you can apply to your life right now to create a better day, every day. They’re not the only tips I could give you but when you go back to basics, when you strip away the fluff, these 6 tips are right up there as the best of the best.

TIP 1 – for the mind (10 seconds)

Before you climb out from under the bed covers, before you even set one foot on the floor, take a second to be thankful. Be thankful for the night’s sleep you’ve just enjoyed.

I don’t care if you slept seamlessly for a whole 8 hours or you tossed and turned and only caught a good 2 hours, always say thank you for the sleep you received.

Because showing thanks and being grateful has a much higher vibration, it starts the mind off thinking in a positive way rather than complaining that you feel tired and didn’t get enough sleep. So already, before you’ve even got out of bed, you’ve started off on the right footing by raising your vibration and switching your mind into thinking positive.

And here’s the thing… this is an absolute jewel. When you say thank you for something or show gratitude, you set yourself up for receiving more of the same ie if you say thank you for a good night’s sleep, you’ll start to attract more of what you want: a good night’s sleep.

TIP 2 – for the soul (20 seconds)

Preferably as soon as you get out of bed ( you can also do it in the bathroom or kitchen but must do it...) before you do anything else. Stand up tall and straight and stretch your limbs to waken your body up. Then hold the palms of your hands together in front of your chest and say “Thank you angels and my spirit guides for all the miracles that have come my way today”.

When you want something, like a good day that you can glide through, you don’t want to use language like “want” or talk in the future tense.

If you ‘want’ something that’s exactly what you’ll get: the feeling of ‘wanting’. And ‘want’ is an expression of lack and scarcity, which is a low vibration. You want to be grateful and raise your vibration so your energy will attract similar high vibrations. [ps… how random and strange is it that when you want to talk about not using the word ‘want’ your sentences are littered with it!]

Also if you talk in the future tense, what you desire to come your way will stay in the future tense. The angels don’t follow time, like we know it.

When you say ‘thank you’ or show gratitude, something special happens. The energy that comes from your heart centre becomes a beautiful golden energy and it attracts energies that are similar to it. There’s nothing more that the angels love than hearing someone say ‘thank you’ or showing gratitude. By doing so, you’re saying “I’ll have more of the same please” and the angels will gladly oblige.

TIP 3 – for the mind (30 seconds)

Before you have your shower, before you wash or smooth down your bedhead, look into the mirror, make eye contact with the person looking back at you (ie you) and say “I love you”. And then follow this with phrases starting with "I am..." (for examples see my "I am..." blogpost here)

Yep… I know this sounds corny and cheesy and all that but if you can’t love yourself, you don’t have the capacity to love anyone else or anything else.

Love needs to come from you, it needs to start with you because you should be the #1 person in your life.

And, here’s the clincher, who do you live with 24 hours of every day? You, right? Wouldn’t you prefer to live with someone you love than someone you complain about or belittle?

When you can truly, honestly, deeply look at yourself in the mirror and say “I love you” without judgment, without the temptation of honing in on and highlighting your perceived imperfections (and I know… it can take a bit of practise), when you can see the beauty that is you, the miracle that is you, when you can appreciate and love who you are, you’ll feel much happier in your skin and that energy and happiness will radiate outwards. And guess what… as I said above… like attracts like so you’ll attract more of the same (happiness, high vibrations and energy, and love) into your every day life.

The two little words "I am" are incredibly powerful little words. Because, you see, you are registering and confirming your reality by using those two words. So you can choose to let the negative chatter of your mind control you with phrases such as "I am so stupid" after you catch yourself making a mistake or "I am overweight" when you catch a lump or bump in the mirror where you perceive it shouldn't be OR you can re-train your brain to see only positive in yourself through phrases such as "I am beautiful", " I am happy" or "I am smart". What you tell your brain is what your brain will believe so why not teach it to believe, create, attract positivity into your life.

TIP 4 – for the body (30 seconds)

You’re having your shower, you’re sudding up on your favourite shower product, you’re maybe smiling as you listen to the radio or your favourite music. And then it’s time to wash off and dry up.

But wait!

Not so fast.

Before you turn off the shower to dry yourself, I invite you to do something that you might find a little challenging to start. I invite you to turn the water to cold and stand under it for 30 seconds (it helps if you smile... and even more if you sing really loudly!).

It may sound like torture but it’s one of the best things you can do for your body.

Not only does it energise and invigorate you as it kicks your body into life (it’s better, and healthier, than caffeine), but ending your shower under cold water has been proven, scientifically, to reduce stress and help you feel happier, boost your immune system and keep you healthier, increase your metabolic rate, enhance the lymphatic system (the system in your body that flushes and cleanses out toxins), reduce inflammation in your body, muscle fatigue and soreness, and (last but by no means least) improve your brain power by giving it a boost of endorphins and serotonin.

TIP 5 – for your body (1 minute)

This tip may come anytime after tip #2, it just depends on your routine and when you first go into the kitchen.

This tip is lemon water.

The very first thing you should eat/drink in the day is a glass of water with lemon in it. Some people recommend lukewarm water, but I just use cold sparkling water. It really doesn’t matter.

Pour yourself a glass of water and squeeze some fresh lemon into it.

Not only are you starting to hydrate your body after a night’s sleep (remember you need at least 1.5 litres of fluid every single day) but the lemon is kicking off your digestive system, detoxifying and cleansing your body, and flushing out toxins, among many other benefits.

TIP 6 – for your soul (3 - 10 minutes)

Before you get whisked off in the speed of the day, dedicate 3 (or 10) minutes to stillness/meditation.

You can do this before you rush for your train, you can do this on the train (if you can turn off to the chatter of those around you), you can do this in your car before you leave home or while you sit in the parking lot at work. Wherever you find a short few minutes and some space, do this.

Meditate.

There are numerous health benefits associated with daily meditation ranging from reducing stress and controlling anxiety to lengthening attention span and concentration. But the benefit I want to focus on here is the benefit to our soul.

Meditation encourages us to sit quietly, focus on our breath and tune into our higher self and soul.

Through meditation our self-awareness, not just of our physical body but of our spirit/soul, improves.

Meditation reminds us that we are a soul having a human experience and helps us to re-connect with our soul. It encourages us to watch our life as if it is a film being played out in our mind in which we (ie you) are the main character. In this way it helps us to detach ourselves from our experiences and, thus, brings greater peace knowing our true essence is something deeper, greater and more vast.

Meditation is also the best way to tune into the beautiful energies that surround us, be they angels, archangels, our guardian angel, spirit guides, or loved ones who’ve crossed over, and invite them to come close and guide us.

So there you have it. Six simple and quick tips and all it takes is a minimum of 5.5 minutes and a maximum of 12.5 minutes... I think we can all spare that time to ensure we start our day the right way, don't you think?

Viv xx