How to Use “Morning Pages” Journaling as Part of Your Best Morning Routine

You’ve probably seen people post about their use of morning pages on Instagram or Pinterest, but have you tried it yourself? No? Why the heck not? Writing morning pages is a simple practice that can be an added benefit to not only your morning routine but your day as well.

 

Creating morning pages is the act of writing three pages of free-flowing thought by longhand. You are probably thinking, isn’t that journaling? Yes, yes, it is. However, mornings pages are done first thing in the morning, and without any premeditation as to what will be written.

 

The benefits of this practice are vast. The process will allow you to clear the revolving ideas from your mind, open up to new ways of thinking, and help lessen anxiety or negative thought patterns your mind naturally gravitates towards. The act of writing down in longhand what is floating in your mind allows you to engage with your own thoughts and surroundings in a way that typing does not allow. This is mostly because you are slowing down and can, therefore, take more notice of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings.

 

Now that you know about morning pages, how do you incorporate this into your morning routine? You will first need your preferred writing utensil. This can be a pen or pencil, as well as a notebook or blank, loose paper. The next and final step is placing yourself with those items as soon as possible after waking up in the morning. You can do your morning pages from your bed or kitchen counter, with tea or coffee, or a sports drink even. 

 

At first, it may seem challenging to sit and write three pages longhand. Your hand may cramp, you may not know what to write, and three pages could seem like an eternity. The point is to stick with the process. If day one, you only write half a page, be sure to not take a defeatist standpoint. Come back the next morning and try again. 

 

Remember that no one is going to read what you write. Your words do not need to be profound, thought-provoking, or even grammatically correct. You just have to write. Any thoughts, feelings, or dreams that come to mind go onto the paper. You can even throw away your pages every morning when you’re done.

 

Morning pages can seem incredibly daunting, but do not let that stop you from exploring the benefits for yourself.

 

5 Reasons You Should Set Big, Scary Goals for Yourself

Search “goal setting” on your favorite search browser, and you will find yourself with hundreds of thousands of results. Everything on how to set SMART goals to worksheets and books on how to reach them. However, so often, we ignore our big, scary goals for the easily attainable: the baby steps that build. Now, there is nothing wrong with working the process and leveling up when you’re ready. But what happened to the big, scary goals of childhood? Jumping off the high dive or asking your crush out on a date. Those were the goals that legends and movies are made of. Why should you set some new, big, scary goals for yourself and go after them?

 

1.    Allow Yourself to Dream and Get Excited

 

When you set your big, scary goal, you are most likely envisioning the finish line in your mind. When you were a kid, this was the cool air blowing around you as you raced down the street on your bike sans training wheels. As an adult, you can let your mind dream of what reaching your goal will look like. Dreaming allows you to get excited about the end of the journey and the steps that will get you there.

 

2.    Long Term Improvements

 

When you set a goal and unapologetically work towards it you will find yourself making changes to better accommodate what is needed to reach your goal. These changes are improvements. If you aim to walk a half marathon, you may find yourself switching out your daily lunch/Netflix break for a stroll around the block. This change will be occurring for a long time for you to reach our goal, and most likely will become a long term or lifetime improvement.

 

3.    Become More Resilient

 

Life is tough. However, having an endpoint to work towards will allow you to enjoy the journey and not get as caught up in the little things. Besides, no journey is without its painful points. Working through those hitches will allow you to become more resilient and reliant on yourself and your own abilities.

 

4.    Confront Your Shortcomings

 

No one is perfect. Most likely you will have a few shortcomings that will make your journey more challenging. Look at your faults and create mini-goals to overcome them. It is one thing when someone or something puts a barrier in your way, but do not be your own worst enemy.

 

5.    Develop (Good) Habits

 

Good habits reinforce more good habits, which are the building blocks of meeting our objectives. Your big, scary goal is absolutely nothing if you are not willing to create, develop, and build upon good habits that will carry you to that goal. If you want to walk a half marathon, you will need to start the practice of merely walking more every day. With that habit comes the habit of having good posture when walking. These habits will continue to build.

 

Big, scary goals are well… big and scary. However, aiming for targets that seem out of your reach will help fuel you with the ambition and appetite to go after them.

How Aspirations Change Over Time

What are your lifelong achievement goals? What did you dream of as a child? Has that changed? Aspirations are those dreams that we conjure up throughout our lives. As children, it may have been a career goal of becoming a fireman, a ballerina, or the President. Then, we age and gain new responsibilities. 

 

Our perspectives change, making new things take on more importance. Aspirations are not a one-and-done kind of dream. They evolve as you grow, and life throws some spitballs your way. Understanding how your long-term plans will change helps you understand that you are not failing if life takes a detour. 

 

The 4 Stages of Aspirations

 

Life seems to run in stages – so do aspirations. Typically, you may find yourself in any one of these stages throughout your life:

 

1. Unadulterated Optimism

 

This stage is more common in our youth when we don’t have the same fears and responsibilities as our older years. This is the stage to identify your weaknesses and build your knowledge and skills. You create a better opportunity for success when you are aware of what you don’t know, and you work to grow in wisdom. Since we don’t know any better, we can dream freely and pursue our dreams.

 

2. Worldly Reality

 

Life does happen, and we get burdened with responsibilities. We start jobs, buy houses, and have families. This is part of life. Your aspirations will seem like they die at this stage, but they don’t. Instead, they are weighed down and go into hiding. You may find that you struggle to find a work-life balance so that you can continue working toward your dreams.

 

3. Renewed Dreaming

 

As time goes by, our responsibilities lighten or shift, and we find ourselves willing to dream again. For some, this may result in a mid-life crisis. It is easy to become distracted. For all of us, it is the time to take a renewed look at our dreams and how we can refocus and refresh our outlook. Often, the result is a firm footing and a renewed perspective on what we want to do with our lives.

 

4. Realignment and New Momentum

 

After renewing our aspirations and shifting as needed, we get the desire to jump in with a sense of purpose. We may feel young again, and others will notice a bounce in our step. Our fears are lessened like in our youth, and the momentum builds to accomplish our hopes and dreams.

 

Aspirations take a lifetime to accomplish, and you will go through many stages. Understanding those stages makes sense of what is happening and adjusting to achieve your dreams.

 

6 Quotes to Inspire Your Morning Routine

You've probably toyed with the idea already. You've heard there are better ways to start your day and even considered how you might become more intentional in your mornings. At the same time, a morning routine can seem a challenging thing. You might not know where to begin.

 

If this is the case, take heart. Sometimes the best advice comes from people who have already mastered the skill you’re trying to learn. In this case, let’s look at what some people have to say who really know how to make the most of their day.

 

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”

 

Paul Valery recognized he wouldn’t get anything done by lying around in bed all day. You need to wake up and get moving to make things happen. Embrace his attitude by rising with your alarm instead of hitting the snooze in the morning.

 

“Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.”

 

The Dalai Lama knows a great deal about having the right mindset. To create positive energy which will follow you throughout the day, start with a positive thought from the moment you wake up.

 

“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”

 

Even back in the early 1800s, Henry David Thoreau knew the value of exercise as being part of your daily routine. By making something so simple as a walk part of the first part of the day, you too can reap the benefits of early morning exercise.

 

“My future starts when I wake up every morning.”

 

Famous Jazz Musician, Miles Davis, realized the value of a fresh and positive start to every day. You can also embrace this attitude by reminding yourself from the moment you wake up just what you’re striving for and why this is important.

 

“To me, breakfast is my most important meal…It’s the fuel you use to hopefully do your best.”

 

Former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck knew he couldn't play football if he didn't first give his body something to fight with. Neither will you get through your day if you don't stop to give yourself the right food first thing in the morning.

 

"Every day, each of us sets the stage for our sentiment, confidence, and success by getting dressed. When you feel great and feel your best, it opens up a world of possibility. Feeling confident and self-assured are important inputs into good days, successful days, and happy days."

 

CEO Katrina Lake understands the importance of putting on the right clothes in the morning to set the tone for the entire day. You can't just wear any old thing if you're hunting success! (Pro Tip: Lay out your clothes the night before to add intentionality to your day.

 

5 Secrets To Self-Motivation

Why is it that motivating others is easy, but we struggle to motivate ourselves? There’s always another task that needs to be done, another deadline that needs to be met.

 

Yet, we need to learn how to take the time to show ourselves that we’re strong and hard-working. One of the secrets of self-motivation is to get our internal gears turning the right way so that we recognize our worth and value.

 

Everyone has goals they’re working towards. Yet, the degree of self-motivation we allow ourselves determines how hard we’re willing to work to achieve the desired result.

 

So, in a nutshell, with self-motivation, anything is possible. But, on the other hand, if it’s lacking in someone’s life, then life goals become of little significance.

 

To always encourage yourself to do better and be better, you need to show yourself kindness and motivation. Without them, you’ll achieve very little in life. To help you get inspired, we rounded up the five secrets to self-motivation.

 

Be Confident

 

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” - A. A. Milne

 

Having the confidence to stand up for your beliefs and dreams is one of the most critical aspects of self-motivation. Yet, it can get difficult mustering up confidence when your brain is wired to shy away from a challenge.

 

To rewire your thoughts and build up your confidence, get a pen and paper. First, write down 3–4 of your achievements just to remind yourself of how much potential you have.

Then, make a habit of writing one thing you achieved each day. Little by little, that page will turn into two, then five, then a dozen—all the while creating a momentum that feeds on your self-confidence and assurance.

 

Track Your Progress

 

“Talk to yourself about your successes; be sure you’re recognizing your own accomplishments, no matter how small they may be.” - Rhett Power

 

Now that you’ve started writing down your daily achievements, even if it’s just watering the plants, it’s important to keep track of how far you’ve come.

 

You can use something as simple as a to-do list where you cross each task as you get each one done. Or, if you want to be more general, just cross off the whole day.

 

There are also numerous apps and software tools that help you create a personalized digital task board. This makes it easier to customize goals on a smaller scale, as well as all the way to the more time-consuming monthly and yearly goals.

 

As a result, you hold yourself accountable. Plus, you wake up each day knowing exactly what you’re supposed to do, giving your life purpose and meaning.

 

Maintain A Positive Outlook

 

“There’s a direct correlation between positive energy and positive results.” - Joe Rogan

 

Maintaining a positive mindset can go a long way in boosting your self-motivation. It’s also a great tool to have when things don’t go as planned. That’s when having that positive outlook can help you see things from a different perspective.

 

When your brain expects positive results, your choices will be geared towards the more positive. You’ll also be less likely to blame others for the unexpected things that pop up in your life.

 

To do this, you need to be aware of your negative thought patterns. Then, each time you feel some negative thoughts starting to pop up, replace them with positive ones immediately.

 

Another way to achieve this is by repeating positive affirmations in the morning to boost your motivation and confidence as you start your day.

 

Set Realistic Goals

 

“It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” - Benjamin E. Mays

 

Goals give your life a sense of direction, like a promise you make to yourself, then do your best to keep it.

 

For example, it could be something as simple as cutting back on sugar for a whole week. Or, maybe something a bit more consuming, like working out each day for a month.

 

Whether it’s work, family, or something personal, the best way to set goals is to break them up into measurable tasks. This can be monthly, weekly, daily, or even by the hour—whatever works for you.

 

Another tip is to make the goal just challenging enough to pique your interest. Yet, it shouldn’t be too complex that you give up easily.

 

Surround Yourself With Supportive People

 

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” - Oprah Winfrey

 

Having positive people who help you achieve your potential is a great way to increase your self-esteem. In return, this gives your internal motivation a nice boost.

 

They’re also great for holding you accountable. They keep you pushing forward even when you don’t feel like getting out of bed.

 

The best thing is that it works both ways, which only works to strengthen your relationship. Plus, no one wants to let down that person who’s always there for them through the good days and the bad.

 

5 Steps to Using Visualization to Get What You Want

What do you want out of life? More importantly, how do you intend to go about getting it?

 

We all have so many wants. Some are very simple, such as wanting to lose five pounds in time for swimsuit season. While others, such as changing to a new career, are more complex. What’s interesting is that you can use the very same technique to get precisely what you want, whether your goal is big or small.

 

Visualization is the technique of picturing a goal in your mind in detail so that you can manifest this change in your life. Sound hard? Really, it’s not. By following these five simple steps, you’ll get exactly what you want in almost no time at all.

 

Engage Fully in the Vision

 

You absolutely must put yourself into the visualization as fully as you possibly can. Use all your senses and emotions to experience this vision in a way that is real to you. There can be no holding back here.

 

Experience Different Viewpoints

 

What does this visualization feel like to you? Experience it first as yourself so that you can connect emotions to actions. You want to feel every part of it. Now, step back and experience it again as if you’re watching yourself succeed from outside of yourself, like watching a movie. Why? This helps you to see details you might miss otherwise.

 

Live the Success

 

When you’re done with the visualization, it’s time to live the part. Become the person you saw at the end of the vision. How does that person move? Think? Act?

 

Reinforce the Message

 

Visualization needs need back-up to be successful. The world is full of negative influences, some of them finding root in your own mind. Keep your self-talk positive, use affirmations, and look for ways to constantly reinforce the vision in your mind without tearing it down.

 

Make the Vision Tangible in a Way You can See it

 

Creating a dream board or collage will set out your visualization in a place where you are constantly reminded of the experience. Seeing it over and over will also reinforce your goals and strengthen your resolve.

 

By following these steps, you’ll find you will find your dream becoming more and more solid. Of course, you’re going to have to put in the work to achieve what you want. However, by using visualization, you get clear where you’re going and how to get there. 

Develop the Growth Mindset Habit

When deciding what new habit to pursue, it’s easy to look at all the things we shouldn’t do as a place to begin. We want to stop smoking or stress eating. We want to learn how to say ‘no’ or to quit spending so much time on social media.

 

Have you ever considered the flipside of all that by building a habit that’s positive? What if the habit you formed was one of growth and personal development?

 

Having a growth mindset positively impacts your life in multiple ways, so it’s a great healthy habit to build into your life. What are the benefits of developing a growth mindset?

 

1. You keep learning. Learning is important as you not only discover new ways to do things, but by making a practice of constantly learning, you develop new ways of thinking, and new ideas. Learning connects you with more of the world and helps you see things with a deeper significance than you ever thought possible. But more than that, people who stop learning very quickly stagnate. Studies have shown that the practice of learning new things when you are older helps ward off problems related to dementia. In short, learning is good for your brain!

 

2. You learn perseverance. As we learn new things, we adapt and change how we think. That gives us the ability to see other solutions to problems that would have frustrated us in the past. By challenging yourself to grow, you learn how to push through obstacles and find new paths.

 

3. You learn how to embrace challenges. Growth can be challenging. But by pushing yourself to grow, that means you’re also pushing yourself to look at challenges differently. An obstacle now becomes an opportunity to learn something new and to do things in a way you haven’t before. 

 

4. You learn how to embrace failure. When you’re interested in growing as an individual, you start to see failure differently. Everything becomes a potential lesson in a way that you didn’t think would work. 

 

5. You become more open to criticism. By being willing to grow, you start to see that the input of other people has significance. You see their words not so much as something negative, but something you can use to develop as a person and learn something about yourself. You might not always like the lesson, but that’s part of growing too.

 

By embracing personal growth, you find the best version of yourself. You’re able to become more than you ever thought possible, and then you turn that around by finding out that you can become more still. You’ll find that the furthest edges of yourself are far beyond what you thought you ever could be. 

 

Why Knowing What Success Means is Crucial to Succeeding

When you go on a journey you know where you are starting from, where you are going and how you are going to get there. If you want to bring success into your life, then those same elements are key. To create success, you must know what success means to you. Success is different for everyone so there is no 'one size fits all' way to achieve it.

 

To discover what success means to you is a simple process. Follow the steps below and you can create a plan to achieve the success you desire in whatever area of your personal or professional life you choose. You will discover the success habits you need to build into your life to achieve your goal.

 

First, you need to decide what you want to achieve (your goal) to be successful. Write it down. Be very descriptive and use the present tense.

 

Write down why achieving this is important to you. What does it mean to you? How motivated are you to achieve this goal?

 

Then, write down how you will feel when you achieve your goal. How will your life change? Again, be very descriptive and write using the present tense.

 

Next, write down your current situation and how that makes you feel. Although that is how you feel right now try writing it in the past tense. This will begin to change the way you think about your situation and move towards creating the success you want. Your mind will begin to distance itself from your current situation and begin to believe that you are moving towards your goal.

 

You now have your starting and ending points on your journey to success. Now you need to fill in how you are going to get there.

 

What needs to change to make your situation change and to get you from where you are to achieving your goal of success? Write down each step. You will find that you will need to look at your mind-set, behavior and habits.

 

Identify potential blocks to achieving your goal. Write them down and add how you will overcome them.

 

By completing the tasks above you are undertaking one of the key success habits; goal setting. You are also learning to know yourself better which is another habit for success because self-knowledge and positive mind-set will help you identify your goal, understand what success means to you and create a plan that will help you achieve it.

 

To achieve success, you need to understand what success is, what it means to you and how you will achieve it.

 

How Passion at Work Helps You Get Ahead

A recent study has discovered 88% of people are unhappy in their job. The other 12% experience joy and passion for what they do.

 

Are you in this 12%?

 

If not, you’re not alone. Sadly, a lack of passion does more than make the day drag. When you’re not enthusiastic about what you do, you’re simply not going to be as productive or even as successful at what you do compared to the individual who gets excited about their job. 

 

Don’t believe it? Consider these ideas on how passion at work will help you get ahead.

 

Passionate People Focus

You can’t help but be intrigued by the things you’re passionate about. You can’t wait to dive in and see what makes things tick. This kind of focus enables you to see all the moving parts easily. It also keeps you more on task, and less likely to allow interruption as you hate to be pulled away from what you love. 

 

Passionate People Experience Less Stress

 

When you’re passionate, you’re just more relaxed overall. Why would you be stressing about doing something you love? Instead, you’re more likely to feel the satisfaction of doing what you love as you get stuff done. 

 

Passionate People are Creative

 

When you love what you do, you can’t wait to learn more about it. This interest in your work makes you more knowledgeable and more likely to notice things. This leads to more creativity in the course of your day.

 

Passionate People Get More Done

 

Passion is what wakes up a competitive spirit. You can’t wait to get things done just to see what comes next. All these things mean you’re putting out more work, and are much more likely to finish tasks over someone who isn’t passionate.

 

Passionate People Do Better

 

When you’re passionate, you’re going to be more interested in the details and will push more to ‘get it right’ just because you can. Being passionate means that you’re doing a better quality of work, which is, in turn, noticed by those around you. Hey, think about it. When promotion time comes, who would you rather move up, someone who hates their job and drags through the day or someone enthusiastic, quick to action, and gets the work done?

 

Passionate People Have Fun

 

Work doesn’t have to be drudgery. When you’re passionate, you’re interested in what you do. This interest makes the day just go faster. 

 

Passionate People Hate to Go Home at the End of the Day

 

This one should sort of speak for itself. When you find yourself wanting to stay and keep going with what you’re doing, you’re definitely in the right place doing the right thing. 

 

Identify What You Want And Set Goals

Most optimists have direction in their lives. They are not concerned about the future because they have solid plans in place for this. If you want to be an optimist then you need to know what you want and then do whatever is necessary to get it.

 

Identifying what you want

 

Most people don’t know what they want because they do not know the best way to identify this. It is not as difficult as you may think to identify the things you want in life. You just need to find some alone time, take a pen and some paper with you and ask yourself some questions.

 

You need to think about the different areas of your life that you want to improve. Some examples could be your wealth, your health, your career or business, your skills and so on. So, focus on each of the areas of life you want to tackle and ask yourself this question each time:

 

“What do I want to achieve with my [life area]?”

 

Each time you ask yourself this question you should come up with ideas. Your subconscious mind will help you here. Write down everything that comes to mind and don’t make any judgments. If you are struggling to come up with ideas then just ask the question again.

 

At the end of this exercise, you should have a list of the things that you want. You cannot achieve all of these at once so you need to whittle these down to one or two. Look at each idea and imagine how you will feel when you have achieved it. Make the feelings as strong as possible. Go for the ideas that have the strongest feelings associated with them.

 

It is fine to start with just one idea. If you take on too many ideas at once you are unlikely to achieve any of them. We recommend that the maximum number of ideas is three. 

 

Now Create your Goals

 

For each of the ideas that you have finally decided on, you need to create a goal for them. We recommend using the SMART goal setting process for this. The SMART acronym stands for:

 

·      Specific

·      Measurable

·      Achievable

·      Realistic 

·      Timed

 

It is essential that all of your goals are specific. Just wanting more money is not going to work. You need to specify the exact amount of money that you want to make. All of your goals need to be measurable so that you can track your progress. 

 

Don’t go for goals that are not achievable or realistic. You are not going to win a gold medal at the Olympics for running if you are in your fifties and overweight. Finally, you must add a deadline to all of your goals.

 

Add an Emotional Driver

 

To really spice up your goals and make you jump out of bed every day to achieve them, you need to add strong emotion into the mix. Think back to the reason why you chose your goals in the first place. What were the feelings that you experienced when you imagined that you had already achieved them?

 

Create Plans for your Goals

 

Now that you have your goals set you need to plan how you are going to achieve them. Your aim here is to come up with daily actions that will move you closer to your goals when you complete them.