This post is based on an interview with Sangram Vajre. If you’d like to listen to the full episode, you can check it out below.
Mornings.
If the hairs on the back of your neck stood up when you read that word, you’re not alone.
The snooze button is somehow at the same time the greatest thing to ever be invented and the biggest thief of time and productivity out there today.
Everything is battling for your time. There’s a famous quote that came from the leadership team at Netflix. Someone asked them who their biggest competitor was, and their answer was, “sleep.”
This is where The Miracle Morning comes in.
What would your day look like if you were to commit to waking up an hour early? Just one hour earlier than you normally do? What could you get done?
The book lays out 6 steps to crafting the Miracle morning:
Silence
We live in a culture of noise, so silence is difficult. It’s uncomfortable. Being alone with your thoughts can be hard.
Whether it’s prayer, meditation, breathing, or whatever it looks like for you, you get quiet, you block out chatter, and you start your day off by being calm.
Affirmations
If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.
So affirmations, or words of encouragement are vital. Say things, good things, out loud about yourself.
The book is filled with story after story of people who spoke their goals out loud and began to see them come to fruition.
Visualization
Much like affirmations, visualization is where you picture yourself accomplishing the things that you want to accomplish.
You want to finish writing that chapter, or finish fixing that car, or finish that last ¼ mile? You visualize yourself doing it and when you combine it with affirmations, you watch your dreams become reality.
Exercise
You don’t have to get up at 5AM and run a marathon, or do CrossFit for an hour.
All this is is something to get the blood flowing. Maybe it’s dancing, or weightlifting, or maybe it’s a bike ride or a jog.
Whatever it is, when you start your day off sweating with an elevated heart rate, you increase blood flow to your brain, and you’re proven to be more effective.
Reading
Spend your time filling your mind with good content that is developing you. Whether you’re reading a spiritual text like the bible, or the novel that you’re hooked on, or a business development book, put good content in your brain early in the day.
Remember, your brain is a muscle and you’ve got to exercise it just like anything else.
Scribing
Start your day by being intentional about writing down your goals and objectives. What is that you want to accomplish in the next day, a week, month, or year?
By writing them down you’re keeping yourself accountable to pursuing them.
Why did you wake up today?
At the end of the day, the most important question you have to ask yourself is this one:
“Why did I wake up today? What is my purpose for this day? Is this day driven by activities, or is it driven by a purpose?”
We all have to wrestle with this question and try to be honest with ourselves.
The Miracle Morning is by no means prescription for everybody. It may not work for you. Maybe you have small children in the house, or maybe you work graveyard shifts, or maybe you’re in school and are just trying to get by.
It doesn’t have to be every day, and it doesn’t have to be hours and hours, but try tomorrow to get up 20 minutes early. Then after a few weeks, bump it to 30 minutes early. Then try 45. You’ll be amazed at how much better your day goes, and how much more you can get done.
Getting up early will probably require a change in your routine. You may have to go to bed earlier. But are your nighttime hours your most productive?
Probably not, you’re probably just going to end up cutting out Netflix time.
And isn’t it worth cutting that out to realize your dreams?
You know the answer to that.
