Whether you’re aware of them or not, you all have habits, healthy or unhealthy, big or small, they all combine to form proudly impactful routines that really impact your daily experience of life & performance.
When you invest in forming healthier habits you’ll experience a multitude of benefits that alleviate stress & anxiety, whilst conserving your energy stores so you’ll have far more in the tank for the day!
A successful morning routine provides you with an anchor of certainty for the day, minimising the chances of you starting the day off with poor thinking, feelings and actions and instead providing you with more energy, motivation & focus. The key lies in discovering YOUR winning recipe as this is not a one-size-fits-all process, and no 2 days are ever the same!
WINNING THE MORNING - WHAT TO AVOID
Steer clear of checking your phone for social media updates or the latest news upon waking up. Allowing the opinions, advertising & requests of others to infiltrate your mind first thing can cloud your thoughts & pollute your thinking. The morning is no longer yours & you’re inadvertently setting yourself up for a distracted day with scattered focus.
NAMS TIPS TO WIN THE MORNING
Oxygenate
Some of your worst breathing takes place in the last few hours before waking. Therefore upon waking, it’s time to re-oxygenate the entire body & create a rhythmic heart beat to harmonise your nervous system.
- Place one hand across your stomach just above your belly button, the other hand across the centre of your chest. As you breathe in, the hand on the stomach should rise slowly first followed by the hand across the chest. As you breathe out both hands should drop away.
- Aim to take 5 seconds to breathe IN and 5 secs to breathe OUT x 5 times.
Hydrate
Start your day with 450-600ml of filtered water & consider adding a splash or freshly squeezed lemon juice or dash of organic apple cider vinegar. Following this, aim to have 3-4 big mouthfuls of water every 30 mins (increasing your intake when exercising or in hot conditions) to keep yourself feeling invigorated throughout the day.
Lumenate (our made up word!)
The closer you align with the natural light of the day, the more effectively your body can generate the right hormones for an energetic start to the day & a more restful sleep that evening.
- Strive for 10-15 mins in the sunlight or daylight (if no sun) before 10am.
Invigorate
Before delving too deeply into the demands of the day, awaken your body, for it's been said that "the better your blood flows, the better your brain flows." Aim to move & get the heart rate up for approximately 30secs - 4 mins (or the length of an energising song).
So remember, your morning habits and routines create a chemical state that either gives you energy, motivation and mental clarity for the day ahead…. or it doesn’t??! TAKE CHARGE of your morning, because when you win the morning you have a better chance of winning the day.
Join Nam and his team in April 2024 for the Sustainable Peak Performance retreat and discover the remaining steps for his Winning The Morning process.
