I was listening to an interview between Oprah and Tony Robbins. He stated “If you don’t have ten minutes in the morning to prime yourself, you don’t have a life.” This really rang a bell for me. How often I have heard that people don’t have any time for themselves. Through the years, I’ve had the privilege of listening to my client’s thoughts and struggles when they come for their massage therapy.
I’m often asked about health, happiness, and how to feel one’s best. I get to explore ideas, suggest tools, and share experiences that I have learned from as well. I find that small tips are more applicable for everyday life. While there can be much good to come from large long term goals, I have found that the small steps we can implement each day make the large impact we are looking for.
I believe it happens a little over time. Each day that we choose a little better for ourselves, we experience the shifts of positive change. One of the biggest impacts I have experienced and heard often from many other teachers is how they start their day. You may assume they meditate for hours every morning. And though this may be an ideal you are aiming for, I find that most of them spend a small amount of time priming and grounding themselves for the day.
This is something you can do. For just ten to fifteen minutes each morning when your eyes and ears are awake, you can take a few minutes to tune yourself to a calm and peaceful place before going about your day. Especially if you generally have busy and hectic days. I like to think of it as putting your armor on before you leave your house. Or perhaps just prepare ahead of time for your daily interactions.
When you prime yourself first thing in the morning, you have more footing in how you deal with your family, co-workers, and those you come into contact with each day. Regardless of what you do daily, you can still choose your vibrational set point before each day begins.
There are no rules of course as to what may work for you. We all have different lifestyles and what you can implement in your reality. I have cats that wait on me each morning to open my eyes to feed them. I love my animals, but I have to admit it makes starting my day a little tricky. I’m guessing that many of you have living beings to work around such as children, spouse, and family. Add your daily responsibilities and it’s easy for us to not take that ten to fifteen minutes in the morning for ourselves.
It’s easy to want to get a jump start when we have a lot on our plates every day. If you aren’t in a position to rearrange some of these demands, you can at least take a few minutes for some deep breathing and perhaps just to be grateful in that space. As soon as I awaken, I kind of of lay there and pretend I’m not awake in my attempt to trick my cats for a little more time to myself. Before my feet hit the floor, I take a few minutes to think of everything I possibly can to be grateful for.
It starts my day in a more positive place, and I strongly feel it buys me much more patience with my animals, my spouse, and my daughter. When I can peacefully and calmly take a few minutes to prime or ground myself, I find life to flow more gentler and easier for me. As I am walking around the house preparing the animals’ food, my vitamins, coffee, and so on, I will continue in my head to focus on all the blessings around me. I really start simple. I think about how grateful I am to have food, electricity, a home, a comfortable bed, appliances, technology, and many amenities that make my life easier.
The fact that I don’t have to start my day like people did 100 years ago can certainly be given credit to how spoiled we are today. The more I can look around and think about what I am grateful for, the more I feel centered, calm, and appreciative. That vibration reverberates to my family, my home, and on to my job. When you are priming yourself, you are filling your tank up not only to interact with others, but also to emit an energy into the universe.
If you cannot find ten minutes in your morning, you may simply not be making it a priority. Think about what Tony said… “If you don’t have ten minutes in the morning you don’t have a life.” I like to think more that you don’t have much creative and centered control of your life when you do not take the time for any priming. You are basically moving in your autopilot mode. Now if you feel your life is better than you can imagine, perhaps your autopilot is right where it needs to be. I just often hear from others how chaotic, busy, and stressed their lives are currently flowing.
To cut back on some of this chaos, you can set aside ten minutes for a practice that works nicely for you to start your day. And perhaps you need to get the kids out the door to create that time, but the priority is doing something. Practice it for a month and just see where it takes you. Be aware if things shift and especially what you notice. Sometimes our own life shows us what we need to see. We often look outside for advice from others when it’s standing right from within. I hope to inspire you not to give all your power away to busyness or chaos in each day. Give yourself back ten minutes and see what it buys you. Ten minutes is not only a reasonable start, but I think a necessary one for more joyful peace of mind.