Habits shape your future.
You care about habits because you care for yourself.
Life disintegrates without routines. Many habitual actions seem insignificant. But it’s destructive to ignore daily patterns. Wisdom notices and fuels healthy practices.
Devise morning rituals that enable you to flourish. You already have a pre-programmed morning. Is it serving you? Are you in the habit of grabbing 15 minutes of sleep after the alarm? A well-practiced morning routine prepares you to thrive. But a frantic beginning promotes chaos.
Habits of thought in the morning:
Focus your brain when you begin the day. Marcus Aurelius said, “The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.”
Your mind – left to itself – wanders into darkness. A pound of bad outweighs a ton of good. Roy Baumiester explains that bad things are about five times more magnetic than good.
You can’t prevent your brain from dragging you toward black holes. Thoughts of an angry boss or frustrating situation bang on the door without an invitation. An overwhelming to-do list stresses your heart. You naturally feel bad about things that didn’t get done.
You can’t prevent black-hole-thinking; you can redirect your thoughts.
Develop the habit of noticing good.
How does the shower feel? Do you have food? What does coffee taste like? Do you have an opportunity to contribute? Search for moments of gratitude. You do good for yourself when you practice noticing good.
Thought habits that serve:
- Think about what you have more than what you don’t.
- Focus on things you can do, not on things you can’t.
- Turn toward the future, more than the past.
What morning habits serve you?
Still curious:
The 5 Habits of Highly Effective Servant Leaders
—
Previously Published on leadershipfreak with Creative Commons License
***
Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating?
Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching.
Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing!
***
On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content.
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community. A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities. A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.—
Photo credit: unsplash
