Do you stretch in the morning to get your blood flowing and wake up your body and mind? If not, this is absolutely something you should be doing. Get up out of bed, stretch out all your limbs and do whatever is most comfortable for you. The point is to wake up your circulatory system and eliminate aches and pains. Not only that, stretching increases blood flow all the way up to our brain. Do some deep breathing and meditation. So far, you’ve woken up slowly without your phone, poured a glass of lemon water and stretched out your arms and legs. Make sure you also do some deep breathing and a few minutes of meditation. Breathe in through your nose as deeply as possible and then let it out slowly through your mouth. Do that for a few minutes, just concentrating on each breath going in and out so you're not thinking about work, feeding the dog, mowing the lawn, or whatever you have to do that day. We have more meditation instructions in the pages to follow. Focus on gratitude. The fifth tip for starting out every day the right way is to focus on gratitude. Yes, this is probably what your mom or dad told you to do back when you were a child, and you weren’t necessarily happy about eating your vegetables or not getting the exact backpack you wanted for school. But now that you’re an adult, it’s important to keep your mind focused on the positive things in life and feel gratitude for them. Have you ever noticed that when you focus on the positive, good things seem to happen? If feeling gratitude doesn’t always come easily to you, you can try a gratitude journal to get into the practice. I keep a gratitude journal, as well. During a tough time, a friend of mine gave me a blank journal and asked me to write down the things for which I’m most thankful. At first, I thought keeping the journal was going to be difficult. I started writing down big, general things, like my house. Then, as I got used to writing every day, I started being more grateful about simple things in life, like the sun shining outside. By being purposefully grateful, we can actually reprogram our brains. And a feeling of gratitude can certainly set the tone for a great day. We can set the tone of the day and lead a happier and healthier life by taking a more strategic approach to how we wake up and get started each morning. Don't just let the morning hours “happen to you” — set some things up and have a feel-good routine and plan. Get up a little earlier. Try these things for two weeks and see how you feel. The next thing you know, these routines will become part of a happier life.
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