I was on a call with my coach Angie this morning, and she absolutely kicked my booty on the topic of morning routines. I told her I had committed to doing a morning routine every day this month, but I’d been doing a really half-hearted job.

She asked me, if I was truly living into my ideal self, my fullest potential, would I be pressing snooze 9 times and waking up at 11am, checking Facebook in bed, and then rushing to get ready for the day because I was late? Um, no.

Angie was right. If I want to play in the big leagues, I’ve got to start acting like someone who already does.

So I committed to Angie that I would do a full morning routine today, and for the rest of the month.

Here is what I ended up doing:

1. Meditation
   I used the Insight Timer app and did the “Good Morning Gratitude Practice” by David Gandelman. It was very peaceful. Usually, I struggle to do meditation in the morning because I just fall back asleep, but I’m hoping to get into a better habit of trying to do it anyway.

2. Affirmation
   My favourite affirmation in the world is “I am unstoppable!” (And the explicit version, if you know what I mean). Because it doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or how you feel – happy, sad, tired, anxious, depressed – it always feels good to say and keeps you motivated.

3. Visualization
   I sat with my vision board and envisioned my goals – small and big. I visualised welcoming 2000 Facebook Group members in my Impossible Girls group (join here!). I imagined being able to do 100 push ups in a row with ease. I thought about it in detail – what it would feel like, what I would do when I achieved them, and how I would celebrate.

4. Exercise
   I used to believe exercise in the morning really sucked. But today I stepped into my ideal self and thought “Would Tony Robbins skip exercise in the morning?” HELL NO. And then I just did it. I went for a run. It was almost effortless. If Tony would do it, then I’m going to do it.

5. Reading
   One of my May Goals is to read 10 pages of a book every single day. I have been, but I’ve usually been doing it in the evening, right before I fall asleep. This morning, it was so much easier to read when my mind was properly alert. (P.S. I’m reading How To Win Friends & Influence People – for the third time, it’s that good!).

6. Journaling
   I journaled on my goals. Here are the questions I asked:
   1) What are 3 things I’m grateful for?
   2) What result do I want in my life?
   3) Who do I need to be to get that result?
   4) Now that I already am that person, what do I do/say/think/eat/wear/believe?

7. Cold shower
   I had always thought taking cold showers had to be for the entire time. But Angie suggested turning the handle to hot, and then getting it in and turning it on. The time that it takes to heat up from cold to hot is the only time you have to bear. Although it was a serious shock to the system, it only lasted 10 seconds and then the warm water felt soooo good. I’m definitely doing this every morning from now on!

The beauty of this morning routine is that there is no expected timing to it. You could spend 60 seconds on each of these tasks, and be done in 7 minutes. Or even less! Now I have no excuses left not to do this every morning.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for making my morning routine even more powerful!