I’m sharing with you some wisdom as you and I go through this Coronavirus, how we can all thrive and not just survive.
One of the things I think about is the importance of a morning routine. Having that kind of structure, especially for me who runs a business from home. Even when our school was open, I’d only really be teaching at the studio at night. Discipline and structure was something I struggled with.
The way I think about is how do you want to fill up your cup before pouring it to others? Throughout the day, we have a certain amount of energy, and sure we can increase it but the start is where we can really fill it up.
Physical rest is not always enough to give us mental rest. When we wake up, we start to think about all the responsibilities we have and all the things we have to do for other people. These days, it’s getting so bad that sometimes I avoid my phone because there’s another person that needs something. Hey, don’t get me wrong…I actually love being needed. I love people, but just waking up and being worried and stressed is exhausting for me.
I’ve been working hard just having that first 20 – 30 minutes to myself so that I can fill myself up with positivity, hope, and joy. I feel that I am more equipped to deal with the world and everything it throws at me when I do that.
The good news, the bad news, all the people, all the fires, everything on the days, it’s just harder to deal with it if I’m not doing my morning rou1ine.
Those days just everything starts to slip away.
One of the most basic things I’ve been working on really hard is not to hit the snooze button. I made a promise to myself the day before that I’m committing to this. I think it’s super basic but everyone definitely should not hit the snooze. Snooze is the worst invention ever. It’s passing on the promise you made to yourself.
The real thing is, if the night before you’re exhausted just you need more rest then account for that. Give yourself extra rest and don’t feel guilty. I’m not talking about grind, I’m just talking about if the first decision you make not to do the thing you said you would….you’re already saying what you commit to is not important.
It’s a bad reputation that you form with yourself. Some of you may say grind through, but for me, I had to learn. First of all, if it’s two o’clock at night and I’ve been working late or whatever, and tomorrow I would love to wake up at seven and grind through. But even if I wake up at seven and somehow crawl out of bed, it’s a brutal day.
I’m going to sleep till eight but I’m gonna wake up at eight, so the first thing is don’t hit the snooze if that’s your problem definitely just fix that. As hard as it is, if you have to crawl out of bed, put the alarm in another room, whatever it takes just to get out of bed, keep your promise!
The second thing is I don’t check my phone messages for the first 15 to 30 minutes. Don’t deal with other people’s needs. You’ll get there. There is absolutely no emergency that if you had to check it couldn’t wait 30 minutes. I have on my phone “do not disturb”, so it removes all notifications except with special people like my mom, my brothers, and a few people. If they message me it will ring, it will get my notification and if it’s not an emergency then I’ll definitely have a conversation with them about it.
But other than the no disturbances, I need to fill my cup. I want to fill my cup with positivity. Physical rest is not enough for mental risks cause there’s a lot of stress that builds up. So one of the things I do is 5 to 10 minutes, I watched some inspirational and motivational video about someone I highly respect.
For me, videos are what I connect with. I’ll shower and I’ll turn on my speaker so I’m still being productive. Someone is talking, saying something and I’ll often pick something that I need for that morning. Maybe I’m struggling with something and I need some inspiration.
I listen because I think when you surround yourself with the energy that you need, with the positivity that you need definitely it’s a necessary thing that can pump you up to go and face your day.
As far as I’ve gotten here in life, it’s been on the shoulders of giants. There’s that famous saying that we can’t do anything alone. Maybe if you don’t have anyone immediately in your life that you wake up to or is really positive, then surround yourself with those through audio tapes or through books like Les Brown, Brene Brown, David Goggins, Tony Robbins, Kevin Hart, and Will Smith.
The first thing you do is you go wake up and you sit on a couch for 10 minutes and you read a book, maybe meditation is your thing.
The whole point of all of these suggestions is in the first 15 to 30 minutes how are you taking care of yourself when you wake up to face the day. Like for a business that’s closed down right now and you’re just trying to survive. How do you even have hope is definitely by gaining control of your life.
I’m not in control of the Coronavirus. I don’t know where my business is going to open. I don’t know when I’m going to see my friends and my family. But in this 15 – 30 minutes I’m going to make it a sacred time for me.
When you dedicate a sacred time for yourself, in effect you’re able to just give more and offer more to others. It’s kind of hard to pour from your cup and to others as if yours is always empty. So take care of yourself!
If you want me to answer another question or you want me to give you advice on something you’re struggling with, please leave it in the comments below. Otherwise, I’ll see you soon. 🙂
