How To Start and End your Day Right

Feeling good, being happy, and living a successful life are all impossible to achieve if you do not know how to start your day right, and how to end your day right. After all, the quality of our lives will be determined by the consistent actions that we take every moment of every day.

Focusing on having the right thoughts, actions and state of mind every single day is a powerful habit anybody can acquire. By 'right' I mean those things that move you closer to what you really want. So if you really want to lose weight, then eating fatty foods is wrong, and exercising more is right. You get the drift.

Here, I will outline several "Power Rituals" that you can choose from. A Power Ritual is an activity that makes you feel motivated, on track, focused. It's something that makes you feel good about yourself, that gets you "in the zone".

I really believe that the success to adopting Power Rituals is the frequency of when you practice them. In my experience, committing to at least two daily rituals, one weekly ritual, and one monthly ritual is going to ensure your continuous and lifetime success.

I encourage you to see what works for you, experiment a little bit, and when you've found something that really gets you 'on the ball' then stick to it as if your life depends on it!

Here are 12 recommended Power Rituals that you can practice daily, either as a way to start your day (do it first thing in the morning), or as a way to end your day:

1. Positive Affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements that something is already so. See, most of us have ‘conditioned minds’ - full of repetitive, fearful and negative thoughts. Affirmations will help you take control of your own thoughts, instead of letting the conditioned mind run your life.

Think of reciting affirmations as your mental training. You are training your mind to think only thoughts that will positively affect your performance, emotional state, health, finances, business and relationships.

Here are a few examples from Shakti Gawain’s book, ‘Creative Visualization’:

"Every day in every way, I am getting better, better and better!"

"Everything is coming to me easily and effortlessly!"

"Everything I need is already within me!"

"I give thanks now for my life of health, wealth and perfect self-expression!"


Here are quick tips on how to do it well:

* Focus on your main goal and then describe the end picture of it in the present tense, in the most positive, clear and simple way.
* Say it with absolute faith and conviction!
* Be grateful. Trust that you will get exactly what you need in order to grow and progress in your journey
* Be open and accepting of what each moment brings. Accept what IS.

Do not make the common mistake of resisting what already is. It’s counterproductive and will never work. Each moment brings a gift, and it could be in a form that is different from what we had in mind. If you resist it, you’ll miss the gift it holds for you.

2. Creative Visualization

Creative Visualization is the technique of visualizing your desires as already being experienced by you in the here and now. Imagine fully living your grandest dreams - tasting it, hearing it, seeing it, feeling it fully (and in first person) with gratitude and faith that it is already happening now.

Creative Visualization had been scientifically proven to improve performance, which is why it’s common for many athletes to utilize this technique. You may not be an athlete, but since the principles involved are the same, practicing creative visualization can improve performance in the area it has been applied to.

It’s been purported that much of our behaviours are dictated by our subconscious. Creative Visualization works by reprogramming your subconscious mind so that it actively directs you towards the things you truly desire.

When you visualize, try to:

* Engage all your senses
* Visualize in the first person, not third
* Focus on what you really want: no holds barred
* Have Faith that it is already so, and act as if it is already so!

3. Ask Power Questions

Oftentimes, we lose sight of what really matters in our lives simply because we get too engrossed in our day-to-day business. Power Questions are designed quickly and effectively cause you to reflect about the most important things to you.

The quality of our life’s experience is determined largely by the things we consistently focus on. We can either focus on things that limit us, or on things that encourage us to expand, to be bigger and better. Questions have the power to get us to reflect and reconsider our situation. Asking Power Questions daily will help you ensure that you focus on the things that empower you.

Every morning, ask yourself these questions:

What am I happy /excited / proud about in my life right now?

What am I enjoying most / committed to in my life now?

What do I love? Who loves me?

Every night, ask yourself these questions:

Have I lived my best life today? Have I been my best Self?

How has today added to the quality of my life? Am I any closer to my true goals?

Have I done my best today with what I have? Did I do my best, give my all?

You can create your own questions, of course. The trick is to pause and really reflect, and to be honest in answering your questions. Notice ideas that you seem to resist - it’s a sign that there is an underlying issue there that needs your attention.

4. Do an Act of Unconditional Love

Someone said Love is a verb, and I agree.

Every day, do an act of unconditional love. It could be anything - smiling at a stranger, giving way to another driver, giving someone a sincere and generous compliment, answering the phone with a smile, cooking your meal slowly and lovingly, surprising your lover with a bunch of flowers, calling someone just to say “I love you”, pampering yourself, doing a favour without expecting anything, etc.

Giving love is one of the quickest way to feeling good. I know nothing more fulfilling than the feeling of having made a difference to someone else’s life, even if they don’t even know about what you did.

* Be creative! Find ways of doing it, especially in the most ordinary situations
* Have loads of fun doing it
* Expect nothing, not even a ‘thank you’ from the recipient. Do it for the sake of doing it.

I don’t believe that one can ever give anything selflessly, because whatever we give away, we receive as well. So give love - freely, unconditionally - and guess who's actually the one who feels the happiest afterwards? You!

5. Self-acknowledgement Journal

This is one of the things that helped turn my life around. I used to be extremely self-critical. I always found a way to downplay my efforts and disqualify my achievements. I never felt fulfilled or proud about any of my achievements because I always found a way to make it look unworthy of praise. Soon I stopped achieving anything. I started to engage in self-sabotage.

One day, I had the insight that in order to really address this problem, I will have to learn to at least tame (if not get rid) my hyperactive self-critic. I knew I had to make a committed effort to acknowledge everything I do, regardless. So I made a habit to write a list before I go to bed every evening and acknowledge myself for 3 things:

1. The things I learned
2. The contributions I made
3. The things I accomplished, no matter how small

I have chosen these three things because they are the top 3 things that I am moving towards right now: personal growth, contribution and holistic success.

So if you were like me, if you have the tendency to be very hard on yourself (and others), give this a try and see how it works for you. Many of us had been trained to diminish our own worth, or to blame, hate or despise ourselves. Keeping a self-acknowledgement journal is a step towards learning to forgive yourself, to love yourself, to see your own worth again.

As you get into the habit you’ll find that you’ll naturally become more creative in coming up with new things to commend yourself for. You’ll find yourself getting more confident, adventurous, appreciative. As you learn to love and accept yourself more, you’ll naturally do the same to others, and they in turn will naturally find you more lovable and attractive, because you make them feel so loved and accepted!

To do it well, first, ask yourself: “What are the top things that are most important to me right now? How can I make an effort everyday to accomplish these?” Face your day and make an effort to accomplish things that you can write in your self-acknowledgement journal later.

There are no accomplishments too ’small’ to acknowledge. in fact, I encourage you to acknowledge and commend yourself for anything. You told the truth instead of a ‘little white lie’? Well done! You asked someone out for a date? Good for you! You refused to take it personally when a colleague used sarcasm on you? Pat yourself on the back! Celebrate! Find ways to reward yourself and make yourself feel acknowledged, loved, appreciated. You’ll love it!

6. Gratitude Journal

The ritual is very simple: every evening before you go to bed, make a list of 5 things that you’re grateful for. It’s handy to write it down in one notebook.

Why keep a Gratitude Journal?

Cultivating gratitude is the quickest way I know to happiness! When we are unhappy, it is because we are resisting what already is - we focus on perceived lack, rather than on the abundance we already have. All it takes to be happy is to accept the present moment, and notice the abundance already present in our lives.

This exercise trains you to pay attention and experience the grandness of life as it unfolds. If you learn to pay attention, you will soon come to see that miracles abound everywhere. I bet you’ll be amazed to notice, seemingly for the first time - things that had been right there in front of you all along!

Every morning, make a committment that you will pay attention, that you will watch out and deliberately look for things you could be grateful for.

There will be days when you will struggle to come up with 5 things to be thankful for, especially on stressful and challenging days. This is understandable because most of us had been trained to see only the “negative” things. Just work on deliberately focusing your attention on 5 things you could be grateful for. This will sharpen your awareness to notice the things that had always been there so we have come to take them for granted, such as the everyday, “ordinary” things.

Notice the seemingly simple things throughout your day like the feeling of hot water against your back as you showered, the warmth of your lover’s embrace, the taste of the food you ate, the new things you learned.

7. Eat at least 5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day

Getting into the habit of eating fruits and vegetables is definitely one of the best things you can do if you want to look good, feel good, stay in tip top shape, and have loads of energy!

Fruits, nuts and vegetables are the ultimate fast food! They’re convenient, cheap, colourful, fun to eat and they taste great!

Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants - all essential to keep your body in its optimal state of health

Plant based foods contain all the necessary nutrients we need, and had been scientifically proven to significantly reduce our risk of catching many types of illnesses.


* Munch on fruits or nuts instead of refined sweets. Eating fruit works equally well when you crave for sugar.
* Always have them handy with you. Keep some fruits on your work desk every day instead of chocolate bars.
* Go Fresh and Organic!
* When eating fruits and vegetables, the best way to get as much life force from them is to eat them unaltered, unprocessed and uncooked as much as possible.
* Eat varied colours!

Check out local organic farms near you. If you have pick-your-own farms in your area, it’s even better.

8. Inject FUN and Laughter into your Day

We can all use some extra fun and laughter in our lives. It boosts our energy, it makes us feel good, it helps us connect with others, and it makes life seem lighter and easier to deal with.

Making it a habit to incorporate fun and laughter in your daily life will certainly make not just your day but also of those around you.

We’ve all heard that Laughter is the best medicine. Countless studies have proven that laughter or humour can:

* improve blood flow - a similar effect of exercising aerobically
* strengthen the immune system
* relieve stress
* improve communication
* increase people’s coping abilities in stressful situations
* enhances creativity and over-all performance

How do I do it well?

* Try to see the lighter side of things. Take yourself less seriously.
* Hang out with funny, laid-back, witty, happy people
* Put-downs, sarcasms, and insults are funny only when everyone involved is laughing. If you’re in the habit of self-disparaging humour, take care not to overdo it as others might take it as an invitation to constantly make jokes at your expense.
* Make it a point to laugh everyday. Laughter therapists even recommend faking it, and you’ll eventually find yourself actually laughing.

9. Freedom Writing

Freedom Writing involves continuous longhand writing of anything that comes to your mind in 30 to 45 minutes. No censorship, no judgement, no labeling, no analysing whether it sounds right or wrong or ‘appropriate’, no editing. Just writing whatever comes to mind. Just writing whatever you feel like saying. There’s no should’s or should not’s. Frustrated about your job? Had another argument with your mother? Need to sort the attic? Yadda yadda yadda…write them down. Freedom Writing is simply uninhibited self-expression.

I literally found freedom through Freedom Writing. All throughout my adult life I longed to be a writer, but my self-criticism was so strong, I couldn’t even compose a single paragraph without editing it at least twenty times! “That just sounds stupid, delete that,” my self-critic would say. No wonder I eventually gave up writing altogether. That is, until I expressed myself through Freedom Writing.

Freedom Writing gave me the permission to be who I am without feeling the need to apologise or make amends or behave “appropriately”. It gave me the permission to make mistakes, to explore, to just be without feeling bad or guilty about it. This new-found self-acceptance soon poured into the other areas of my life - I no longer held as much expectations from others; I no longer demanded perfection from myself, just doing my best was good enough; I no longer felt the need to appear like I knew it all or that I had everything figured out; I also found the courage to move beyond my fears, and started doing the things I’ve postponed for so long like writing and becoming self-employed.

What I understand about the process is that it gives space to the many voices within us who are all clamouring to be heard, to be recognised. In Freedom Writing, you simply allow these voices to be, to find expression, to be let out, to be aired, to be acknowledged - and then you move on. These energies- negative or positive - are released freely out in the open instead of being repressed and trapped inside your body or mind, festering, until it consumes you and blocks your energy flow.

Freedom Writing is best done in the morning, before you get involved with the busyness of your life.

Do it every day. Make it a sacred time with yourself. Wake up 30 minutes earlier if you need to.

10. Review Your Goals

You can do this by quickly reading a list of your short to medium term goals, so that your attention gets focused on the things you must focus on NOW. Then quickly glance through to your long term goals, to remind yourself of the ultimate picture of your life.

Reviewing your goals daily is a powerful way of staying on track because it reminds you clearly of the things you really want. Doing this only takes 3 to 5 minutes every day.

Often, we fail to reach our goals simply because we forget what really matters most to us. So reminding yourself daily of your highest desires will help guide you to make the right decisions.

Creating your very own Vision Board is actually very powerful, and I must say - thoroughly enjoyable experience! Your Vision Board is a visual rendition of your ultimate life goals. If you are the artistic type, you can make your own by drawing it yourself. Alternatively, you can collect relevant pictures and images and make a collage.

Put up your vision board where you can see it several times a day. Etch your vision in your mind and learn to recall these images whenever you need some motivational boost.

11. Exercise

If your goal is something to do with your physical aspect, then exercising is obviously the best daily power ritual you can do.

The best time for exercising depends largely on your body’s rhythm. Are you a morning person, or an evening person? As a pratice, exercise is best done first thing in the morning in my opinion because it puts you in an optimal state, physically and mentally - which is a great way to start the day!

Benefits of Exercise

* Choosing exercise will help you fulfill your highest goals, whatever they are. After all, of what good will it be achieving everything else but not having the health to reap the benefits?
* Exercise delays the ageing process
* Improves blood circulation and lowers high blood pressure
* Alleviates stress
* Aids the detoxification process
* Improves muscle tone and increases cardiovascular fitness
* Exercise helps you to look good and feel good, thus boosting your self-confidence!

Starting each day with a sense of well-being gives you the evidence you need in order to gain a high self-esteem and therefore self-trust. When you have self-trust, you will do the things you say you will do.Do what works for you. For example, maybe your idea of ensuring you start the day right is by running or cycling first thing in the morning while listening to your kind of music (Imagine “Eye of the Tiger” as Rocky makes the punching bag bleed!).

If you are going to exercise as a daily practice however, the optimal way to do it is alternate between various types of cardiovascular, stretching and toning exercises. Doing it this way will keep your body from complacency, which means your body keeps improving in terms of strength, fitness and overall health. A sample routine looks like this:

Cardio days (Mon/Thur/Sat) : 30-minute run/cycle/swim/martial arts/trampoline/power walk

Stretch days (Tues/Sun) : Yoga or Pilates or simple stretching

Toning days (Wed/Fri) : Weight Training using free weights or body weight or gym machines

12. Meditate

Although there are many different approaches to meditation, the fundamental principles remain the same: focusing the mind and cultivating awareness.

One of the key principles is that of reaching beyond the noises of your conditioned mind. Normally, we experience life through our minds. What we actually get is a concept, a mental phantom - not a direct experience. Meditation can clear the mind of debris and allows you to experience life as it truly is in this moment.

Why do it?

Studies have shown that meditation does bring about beneficial physiologic effects to the body. Meditation practitioners report:

* increased awareness, focus and concentration
* natural adoptation of a more positive outlook in life
* It reduces stress
* alleviates blood pressure

When you meditate, make sure to:

• Be in a comfortable position conducive to concentration. This may be while sitting cross-legged or on a chair, lying down, and even walking. The back should be straight, but not tense or tight.
• Wear loose, comfortable clothes and ensure you’re well hydrated.
• Meditate in a soothing atmosphere. It may be in your living room, or bedroom, or any place that you feel comfortable in.
• Silence helps most people relax and meditate. Pleasing scents also help in that regard, so stock up on aromatic candles or fresh flowers.

IN CONCLUSION

Power Rituals are activities that make us feel strong, recharged, re-energised, motivated, empowered, "in the zone", focused, and fully in our element.

Starting and ending your day right every day by committing to the practice of practice rituals is an effective way to ensure your way to really getting what you want in your life.

So choose your power ritual now and commit to doing them every day.

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