I’ve read lots of advice in books, blog posts, and magazines about how to start your day. Many writers and teachers I admire suggest that what you do first in the morning helps set the tone for the day to follow. Some of their suggestions for the day’s first activity include:
- meditate
- stretch
- practice yoga
- pray
- write
- observe the sunrise
- run
- journal
- feel gratitude
- plan your day
These are wonderful suggestions. My day starts out really well when I start with any one of these practices.
But that’s just it. Something has to be first. There’s no way to do all of these things first. And although I agree that it’s important to bring mindfulness and intention to how you start your day, I don’t think there’s necessarily a magic effect or one right answer to which one of these ought to be first.
That’s why I’ve started focusing on connecting my first action to my second. If the first does actually set me up for greater wellbeing during my day, I don’t want to lose that effect with the next thing I do.
That way, the beauty and power that is the morning doesn’t vanish so quickly.