Crush your Morning Routine with the Miracle Morning
Because all high-achievers need a restful, rejuvenating morning routine to avoid burnout and give themselves some time for them!
I started doing the Miracle Morning in October 2017. I started because I knew that all of these practices were powerful. I knew that they were things that I wanted to incorporate into my life and my daily routine, but I had seemingly never been able to make them stick. It was frustrating beyond belief. I knew I was capable of discipline. I'd shown that, but somehow some simple lifestyle behaviors were just not happening for me and it was maddening.
And then I discovered the Miracle Morning and it literally was life-changing. But before I tell you why, let me introduce you to what it is.
What is the miracle Morning?
The Miracle Morning is a book by Hal Elrod, which details a morning ritual that has been transformative for himself and numerous others. This practice is made up of 6 activities to be done every single morning before doing anything else in your day. I'll detail each of these activities in the post below.
Silence. Silence, I believe, is intended as a meditation practice. A time to sit, quietly, by yourself and just still your mind. That's how I've always used it. I'm the type of person who always feels the need to be producing, doing, etc. So taking a moment, 5-10 minutes ideally, to just sit in silence and quiet my mind is really powerful for me. You can also use this as a moment for prayer if you're someone who finds prayer to be an important practice. But the point is that it's time in silence.
Affirmations. When I first started this practice, I wasn't convinced about affirmations as a practice. So, instead I just used this as a moment to expose myself to motivation and inspirational content. I would listen to motivating YouTube videos, read motivating blog posts, articles, etc. or read inspiring quotes on Pinterest. As I started getting more into affirmations as a practice, I started reading other people's affirmations that resonated with me. I even made a Pinterest board of affirmations that I was reading for a period of time. Then, I actually decided to write my own Level 10 Affirmations. This is a practice that Elrod details in his book. Since creating my own affirmations, I see the power of them as a practice and I either read them or I listen to them every morning via a recording I made of myself reading them. Here are some snapshots of my personal affirmations:
“I refuse to accept my limiting beliefs any longer. I am more than enough. Struggle does not define me as less than anyone else because we all struggle. We are all imperfect and flawed and the ability to struggle and rise again, if anything, proves that I am more than enough.”
— My Level 10 Affirmations
Visualization. The next practice is visualization. Admittedly, this is perhaps still the most difficult part of the practice for me. Visualization as a practice doesn't come naturally to me! As visual of a person as I am, it's difficult for me to visualize my life as if I were meditating. So, my visualization practice is still in flux. But what I have found helpful in doing this practice is doing a guided visualization meditation, which you can find on YouTube. I also made a Vision Board on pinterest of some of the things I want to achieve and to have in my life and that was been useful as well. Lastly, I also wrote out what I like to call my "Vivid Vision". It's basically a written description of what I want in my future life, from my future home, relationships, friendships, family life, career life, hobbies, fitness, etc. I alternate between which of these practices I use. It really depends upon my mood, but I wanted to present you with some of the different options I use.
Exercise. I'm big on morning workouts, but even then, the way in which I have implemented my morning exercise has varied since I've started the Miracle Morning as a practice. Two of my favorites have been stretching and working out as a part of my Miracle Morning. For stretching and range of motion work as a part of my Miracle Morning, I use RomWod. That is a nice way to get my body moving, to get a little bit of "exercise" in, but more of a low-key exercise. It's still really important for me to get more flexibility and range of motion work in, particularly for me and my body type. So this was really enjoyable. When I was just stretching in the morning, I would get my workout in later in the day. Otherwise, I would get my workout on in the morning. I tend to do Beachbody workout programs as my workout, but I will periodically go running. Click here to read some Beachbody program reviews.
Reading. This is still perhaps my favorite part of the Miracle Morning practice and, other than my workout, it's the part that I spend the most time on. I love reading. You all know, I love personal development. So, I spend this time in the morning in silence, sipping coffee, reading my personal development book of the moment. It's as simple and straightforward as that. I don't believe that this practice was meant to be intentionally used for reading personal growth, but that's how I use it. I spend 30-60 mins reading and I can't tell you how instrumental this practice has been in helping me transform my life.
Scribing. This practice, similar to the Visualization practice, is very variable. But, not necessarily because I don't know how to use it. More so, this one varies based on what I need or what I have the time to do in the morning. Sometimes, I am simply writing 3 things that I am grateful for in my Bullet Journal. Other times, I'm using my Journal or an app on my phone called Journey to do a brain dump or journaling of whatever I'm dealing with. Other times, I am taking this time to write to my therapist. It really depends upon what I need that morning. But I always am writing something down.
How to Modify the practice for your life
Obviously, the way in which I do this practice may not work for everyone. So, the important part of this practice is to modify the practice with activities that work for you.
The point is to capture the jist of that part of the ritual. Silence? The point of this activity is to spend some time alone and in silence. Exercise? The point is to move your body in whatever capacity works best for you.
You can also modify the practice by the time you spend in each activity. For me, I tend to breakdown the practice as follows:
Silence (5-10 mins)
Affirmations (5-10 mins)
Visualization (5-10 mins)
Exercise (20-60 mins)
Reading (20-60 mins)
Scribing (20-30 mins)
So, yes, this practice does take me quite a while to go all the way through. But I love it that way! I love spending the first few hours of my day in this practice and doing these things. But, you don't have to spend anywhere near this amount of time doing the MIracle Morning. In fact, you could cut it down to as little as 6-10 mins if you wanted, spending 1 minute doing each activity. It's up to you!
So, not only can you modify what you're doing as a part of these different activities, but you can also modify the amount of time you're spending! It's all totally flexible! :-)
The secret sauce is in the practice.
I was talking to a good friend of mine the other day when he asked me about the Miracle Morning. "What's so special about it?" he asked, citing the fact that the book itself is, for the most part, just a collection of success stories. That's, for the most part, a completely accurate description.
The secret sauce of the Miracle Morning is not in the book. The book itself is pretty average if you ask me, no offense intended to the author.
The miracle is in the practice. The miracle is in showing up every morning to do these activities, the consistency of how these 6 practices can really transform not only your health but your emotional well-being as well. For me, that has been what has made the Miracle Morning so transformative. It has given me a routine and a framework for getting in some of these habits, rituals and routines that I have wanted to integrate for so long, but never did. That's the power behind the Miracle Morning. And over the last 8-9 months of doing this practice, it has been incredibly transformative for me. It's enabled me to get into even better shape, even while I've been traveling (something I didn't think was possible), to grow myself while I did it, to start a meditation practice and so so much more. I love the Miracle Morning and I highly encourage everyone to try to implement it into their life!
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