The Morning Ritual – Foundation

Start the day with some simple pleasures. Enjoy a few minutes of music, of stretching, of prayer, of coffee. I enjoy to read the paper and enjoy a coffee and do a cryptoquote puzzle. Take some time to climb up to that hilltop, to know that today will be good in some ways and will be tough in others.

It is worth having calm time in the morning, even if it requires heading to sleep a little earlier the night before. To wake up and immediately be stressed and rushed is to set in motion a stressful day. Even ten minutes of calm can shift the direction of your day.

Questions to reflect upon and to sketch your responses in your notebook:

1) Where I am at right now, this morning?

2) What is the greatest challenge I expect to face today? What is my strategy (response) for dealing with it? Do not put pressure on yourself to master your challenge today. Instead, aim to do better than you did yesterday. Improvement is growth. Growth should be celebrated.

3) Find some way to connect this ‘good day’ to your vision for a ‘good life.’ How can you continue to grow, to build the life you want to live today. Small steps, every day. Even if you are stuck in a situation that you find miserable, figure out a way to study, to grow, to find joy even for a small portion of the day. Think of how you can keep growing today.