Likely you've heard that the most important part of the day is the morning or breakfast or something like that. It's true, this is the most important part in the sense that most of the time people let the start of the day set the tone for the rest of the day. Regardless of how your morning starts though, the most important part of your day is the moment you choose to face the present moment. Optimally this would be the start of the day, so that the rest of your day might be set with the tone of remaining present. The problem with this theory about the start of your day is that it's always possible to lose that connection to the present moment which means you could spiral into your thoughts or react to issues from a place of anxiety instead of steadiness. Also, if you start your day wrong whether with negative thinking styles or getting up late (which usually results in feeling anxious, angry, resentful, etc.) that's okay, because at any point you can choose to bring yourself to the present moment, connect with it, and become more centered. All of that to say, the most important part of the day, is right now.
There are thousands of blogs on the importance of mindfulness in terms of remaining in the present moment. This blog won't bother you with what you've already read, except with this small summary, to save you some time of reading through thousands of blogs; Mindfulness in general is about remaining present, which is done by allocating the energy of your thoughts and consciousness to what is going on around you and within you. It's okay to daydream and space out, but when you recognize this is what you have done, bring yourself back. Techniques might include breathing exercises, guided meditations, or just the simplest recognition of what your brain does throughout the day. There you have it, much easier than reading all of those blogs right?
This concept does bring us back to the morning though. There is something sacred, clean, and special about the morning. This doesn't come from a morning person mentality. Rather, this comes from the idea that even if you don't like waking up early, the morning is a symbol of a blank slate--which in turn is a symbol of possibilities and opportunities. For adulting, this is why the way you structure your morning can matter. It's not the most important part of the day just because it is inherently so--the most important part is just right now. But if you want that good start to your day then focus on a light and gentle structure to your morning.
Some insight into waking up, your body dumps cortisol into your system when waking up to help get the engine started. If you're stressed as is or are generally anxious, then this cortisol in the morning kind of sucks and could lead to feeling angry or resentful about the waking up process. If you have anxiety, then you probably already have anxiety about the day ahead which means your brain is telling you that you should just go back to bed and get away from all of it. This could lead to hitting snooze until you absolutely have to wake up because you have just enough anxiety to also not want to be late. You can't change your brain's perception of this experience over night, but if you can recognize where that feeling might be coming from for you, and how you can nurture your brain/mind/body/soul first thing to make the waking up part of your day more tolerable, then you'll set yourself up for more adulting success, and the ability to live in the now.
Some pro tips: Wake up with a glass of lemon water immediately--the instant hydration will actually wake you up more than you'd expect if you don't already do this. Some of that stressful or groggy foggy feeling comes from just being dehydrated, and fixing this might signal to your brain that you're fine. Whether you try to eat breakfast or exercise or not, make sure this is the thing you do to start your day. In fact, throw those theories about exercise and breakfast out right now if that's just not where you're at and you need to start smaller--just drink water. With lemon would be good, but not required. Take some deep breaths, and, if you want to kick that oxygen to the brain in high gear, do a deep forward fold (yoga pose) with a few deep breaths. This will send that freshly oxygenated blood right to your brain, the part of your body that tells you waking up early sucks. Try this for a few mornings to see what differences you notice, and if you want to add the other cool stuff like breakfast and exercise too, go for it--just start small.
Do you already know some tips on how to make waking up a better experience? Stop by the forum and share your pro tips!
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