Morning Victory

Life is all about the little victories. Lets think about this, all of the things we do are sprinkled with little victories. Whether its getting a cup of coffee in the morning or the air is remarkably fresh. Its the little victories that keep us going with our lives. If we didn't have them we might fall into a season of despair. Some of our time we even have phrases to describe these seasons, terms such as “seasonal depression” or a “dark period.” I think that these terms come into play when we lose sight of all of the little victories that our lives are filled with. I challenge the people around me to keep your eyes vigilant for the little victories you can have every day. Once we can open our eyes to the little things our days might just become a little brighter. This can then bring all of our days to become like the first day of spring. Every time we walk out the door, smell the air, look for the colors of the world, and always remember to smell the roses.

Waking up in the morning is one of the most spiritual parts of the day. All of our senses are awakening to the new day. How can we make sure that we are helping ourselves to waking up with a fresh outlook on the day, which for many of us, consists of much of the same routine. Lets make routines fresh again! The first step is to play with your alarm settings, try an alarm with a much more gentle sound to ease you into alertness. This can be done either with a recorded sound or some kind of a programmed sound in your phone. Easing the ears into the day is a great way to limit the explosive sounds that you might encounter in the mornings. Phase two is the lights. As many of us know that the last thing we want when we wake up is a harsh lighting. There's nothing worse than having eye strain before the day even starts! Now that we have our eyes and ears taken care of, lets talk about the body. As some of you may know, much of our body is made up of water, and we lose a lot of water in our sleep. There is a remedy for this, drink water! It can be immensely helpful to have a water bottle next to your bed for when you wake up in the evening and you are thirsty. Some might even call this a life saver, especially after a night out. What about the water when we first wake up? So many of us go straight for the coffee in the morning. Try drinking 16 ounces of water right when you wake up and I am sure you will be feeling more fresh and awake when you step out the door.

Stretch your body! Think about the fact that you may have been laying motionless in a set position for up to 8 hours. All of your joints are resting and staying motionless. Simple stretches can make a world of difference for jump starting blood flow and overall feelings of bliss and euphoria. This all about the little victories within our bodies. Winning the morning makes for a winning day. Some helpful tips include; easing your way out of bed and standing for a couple seconds, begin a simple stretching routine to battle the morning stiffness. These morning stretches don't have to consume your entire morning, but I suggest to take a couple minutes to move your limbs after drinking that first glass of water to get those joints nice and lubricated. When our bodies are replenished of their natural resources like water then amazing things can come into our views. A nice rule to follow is that when our bodies are opened up to new ways of being our minds are opened up to new ways of thinking. Think of all the possibilities that are waiting for us when are are made new every morning.

Once we have these little victories like drinking water and waking up gentler with a loosened body we can start with another way to win the day. A great start to the movement part of the day is making your bed. Always make your bed in the morning, for two reasons, the first of the reasons being that it is easy! It can be a great way to have a little win with tasks for the day by just simply making your bed. The second reason that making your bed can be quite a great task is that when you come home you are coming home to a made bed which can bring feelings that your sleeping space is prepared for you to arrive. There is a sense of freshness and care when we walk into a room and our bed is made for us, not only is it that someone cares for you, but if you made your bed it shows that you care for you. A simple and powerful victory for the day is just making the bed and showing that you can care for yourself. All of these little tips and tricks are simple mind and body training. Once our minds and bodies are made new it will open us up to a whole new world. There are powerful shifts in the ways we perceive our surroundings that correspond to our state of mind. We are in complete control of our states once we decide that we want to have the small victories that are all around us every day.