Recently I have noticed a certain amount of negativity creeping into my mind. As with most of my brain issues this began so small that it was undetectable and grew over time but slowly enough that I didn’t really notice. It became apparent to me recently that I was leaving work with noticeable amount of anxiety. Why am I anxious? I’m leaving work, I should be happy! Now I like my job (to a certain degree) but I’m pretty sure leaving the office everyday shouldn’t make me sad.
I began to dwell on why I may be feeling so awful and I came up with a few answers:
- I’m drinking too much coffee.
- I need to get a grip.
I suspect both are true so I began a period of reflection and research on how I can remedy this. The answer to the first one is fairly straight forward – and I have now reduced my coffee consumption significantly.
The solution to number 2 took a bit more investigation and research to get to the bottom of. I came across a few people online who promoted the idea of a daily ritual. No, this doesn’t involve sacrificing innocent livestock, nor does it involve lighting josticks or any other scented flammable for that matter. This is purely a set of actions/activities that you carry out each day, a tool to get yourself into a positive mindset.
The principle behind it is that the first thing you do every day is invest time in yourself to take care of your physical and emotional well-being.
MY DAILY RITUAL
Read through my ultimate vision
Yes, I have thought about and logged an ultimate vision for my life. This is split into 4 areas:
- Relationships
- Health and Fitness
- Personal Development
- Money
Keeping this fresh in my mind is an excellent way to keep focussed on my goals, especially those goals that require a bit of fine tuning on how I react in certain situations.
Read some positive affirmations
I have a list of positive affirmations that I read through and dwell on to kick my brain into positivity mode. These are perfect for replacing the critical self-talk that often goes on in my head, with positive mantras. Below I’ve listed 5 of the affirmations I find particularly relevant to me at the moment:
“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”
“Faith is taking the first step when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
“At any moment I must be willing to sacrifice what I am for what I might become.”
“I must be the change I wish to see in the world.”
“My life is my message.”
These resonate with me because they are all about taking action. If you’re not happy with your situation then don’t wait for things to change, be the change, take massive action and make it happen.
I reflect on these and really try and let them sink in before I move on.
10 MINUTES MEDITATION
I’ve tried a few meditation apps but at the moment I’m trying unguided meditation. Sit quietly, breathe deeply and focus on the sounds around you whether it’s the sound of your breath or external sounds of cars passing by or the wind rushing through the trees. As long as you are focussed on being present. If you find your mind wandering be aware of it and bring it back to being present. My mind wanders very easily and I find myself having to bring myself back to the present every 10-20 seconds or so but as time goes on this will get longer and longer.
This for me is a key part of mastering my emotions. Taking the time first thing in the morning to practice calming my thoughts and becoming skilled at stepping outside my initial reactions. Like with anything becoming skilled at meditation is a long process and I am by no means an expert but I am already starting to see the benefits.
REHAB
At the time of writing this I’m recovering from a hip operation so this is the perfect time to do my buttock clenches… enough said.
READ
I’m currently reading “Tribe of Mentors” by Timothy Ferriss. Life advice from over 100 of the world’s most successful people. I’m not a particularly prolific reader but each entry in this book is only about 2-3 pages so for me that’s more than manageable. The book was very kindly given to me by Kev Blackburn from LifeSuccessEngineer.com. Kev has been a massive source of inspiration and guidance for me over the past few months and I would advise to check out his YouTube Channel.
That’s it!
Once I’ve completed this I can then have a shower and have my breakfast. This can take up to an hour so I have to get out of bed an hour earlier than I would have done. More than a fair sacrifice when I consider this is putting me in a positive frame of mind, I’m refreshed on my goals and my mind is calm. The ritual is always being tweaked and is constantly up for review, if I find something isn’t working or I find something new to add then I will change it.
What you should do next?
My morning ritual doesn’t have to be your morning ritual, and it doesn’t have to be in the morning either. Make it an afternoon ritual – as long as you take time to spend on yourself every day. Find the things in your life that put you in a positive frame of mind, playing music, go running, watch inspirational videos. Whatever it is, find yours and put it into action! Take the time every day to spend on yourself and watch yourself flourish.
Good luck!
