From Resistance to Resilience: Crafting My Ideal Morning Practice

I have never been a creature of habit. I’m a creature of go with the flow, see where the wind blows

ya, feel into the moment kinda chic.

The resistance I feel to structure and routine is my Achilles heal in choosing a life of entrepreneurship. So when the concept of establishing a morning routine was introduced to me, I was unsure that I would be able to commit.

In so many of the books and podcasts that I have listened to, I always heard about the most successful people having these insane morning routines. Waking up at 4 am and starting the rituals that awaken their inner genius and that is the key to everything they have built. These stories have always fascinated me and have inspired me to create more structure in my life, despite a deep resistance to it.

Knowing that an established morning routine could only benefit my life, I wanted to figure out one that felt right for me. I started by forcing myself out of bed at o’ dark thirty to meditate. I would sit on my couch, begin deep breathing and promptly fall back asleep. That clearly wasn’t going to work, so it was back to the drawing board.

I spend a few weeks trying different wake up times, different workouts, reading, journaling, praying, you name it, I tried it but what I found worked for me was Pilates. The mindful movement allowed me to move my body and focus on my breathing in one activity, allowing me more time to sleep and a more efficient use of my mornings.

After a couple months of keeping this commitment, I could feel the difference in my energy and in my mind. I felt less stressed during the day, I was significantly less anxious and I felt more confident.

On days that I would skip my tiny routine, I was easily triggered and had more negative thoughts flowing through my inner dialog.

I became acutely aware of the potency this commitment had on my mental stability and that is what shifted my resistance into yearning for my morning practice.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I jump out of bed each day with a ton of enthusiasm, because I don't. But when my alarm goes off and the resistance wants to push snooze, I ask myself “How bad do you want to feel good?”

Knowing the answer is always I WANT TO FEEL MY BEST, I begrudgingly get out of bed and start my routine. 5 minutes in, I’ll already be feeling the uplifting affects and never regret the decision to get up.

In 6 years of playing this game I have added, subtracted and modified the routine to suit the season of life I am in. It’s important to recognize and honor where you are at and allow your routine to support you, not oppose you.

This past year I have developed a deep love for meditation, which I practice daily, even if only for 5 minutes. I still do pilates 15-30 minutes of movement, I eat breakfast (something I didn’t do for 25 years), I practice gratitude and set intentions for my day.

All combined I spend no more than 45 minutes in the morning to ensure I feel my best, am in a positive frame of mind and can give my best to my family and guests.

More recently I've been toying with the development of an evening routine. I'll save that concept for another time, but I want to encourage you, if you aren’t already, to start carving out a fraction of your morning to your well being.

It doesn’t have to look anything like mine. Finding what benefits you the most will be pivotal to your dedication and overall experience.

When you make a commitment to yourself you build trust and when you trust yourself you build confidence. When you are confident you find that inner genius inside of you where creativity and passion can flow out of you in the most beautiful and unique ways.

It’s all contingent on how you start each day.

I’d love to hear your morning rituals and what works best for you! Share in the comments