“You are who you think you are.” – GeNienne Samuels
Rolling out of bed 12 minutes before I have to leave for work, I slap a pod in the keurig and run to the bathroom to dress myself and brush my teeth at the same time. There is bound to be a coffee stain, toothpaste or crumbs on my pants again. If only I wouldn’t have scrolled those extra 6 minutes maybe I could have done my hair instead of this messy bun. I grab a cliff bar, forget my water bottle, and oh yep there goes my coffee splashing onto my jacket. I think I am clumsy, tired, and that there isn’t enough time in a day.
My alarm sounds, I rise from my bed to turn it off & the lights on. I blink my eyes several times as I dress for work, quietly massage lotion into my face and braid back a few curls. Once I’ve arrived to the morning, I make coffee and sit with a book, write a few affirmations and let words pour onto the page - my dream from the night before, my dreams of the future, and anything else that needs to come out. I sit with breakfast and taste every bite. I think to myself how grateful I am for a peaceful morning, for solitude, to feel energized by a simple routine.
There are few months between who I was and who I am. In truth, the routine that has taken shape lately is only weeks old. The real difference between them being what I told myself – I am not a morning person. I am the type of person who sleeps in because it feels good, spills and leaves messes, scrolls because, why not? But lately I’ve been telling myself a different story. No, not that I’m a morning person. I’ve been telling myself that if my goals are important to me, I’ll make time for them. If I am a “healthy” person, I will make time to exercise, meal prep and eat slowly. I owe myself peace, time for reflection and affirmations that make me feel good.
I have always been fascinated with early risers. There is so much netflix, scrolling and life admin to do, how could anyone get to bed before midnight? I knew I needed inspiration, and boy have I been looking deep in a well of “self help” books these past few months. So I skimmed a book suggested to me by my coach, “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. To be honest, I couldn’t stand it. It was all about how happy people were since they started their “Miracle Morning.” Impatiently, I flipped to the good part: the SAVERS.
(if you’ve read the book and there are more nuggets for me to find in there, please let me know otherwise this is what I got from it)
The SAVERS are 6 actions you take when you first wake up, the goal is to initially dedicate 5-10 minutes to each of them (30-60 minutes earlier than usual) with the idea that you’ll likely want more time for some of them and begin to rise even earlier than you thought possible.
The SAVERS:
Solitude (sit in silence)
Affirmations (write or speak your self-affirmations)
Visualizations (visualize yourself accomplishing, achieving, embarking etc)
Exercise
Read
Scribe /Write
Yeah – okay. Life changing stuff, I thought. The first morning I tried and failed. I snoozed my alarm, then picked up my phone and thirty minutes flew by. It was time to get ready for work and I looked at the list of SAVERS I had planned to do feeling embarrassed that I knew more about what everyone had for dinner last night than what I would want to visualize if I had the time.
The next morning I committed. I gave myself 5 minutes for each task and found myself snoozing the timer so I could read a few more pages and write a few more sentences. Day one, my exercise was stretching on the ground. The next day, I joined a gym.
I can’t say I’ve fully adopted the practice just yet. The book is great, the SAVERS are great but the real miracle would be consistency. Consistency is a muscle that develops with willpower, determination and big goals in mind. I can say, however, I won’t stand in my own way. That what is meant for me will come to me if I continue to show up for myself and prove that I am deserving of it.
There are so many great resources if you're curious about the concept including Must Love List's, youtube testimonials, and likely at thing or two on Elrod's website.
I hope these concepts spark curiosity in you and perhaps you make some time (pre-scroll) for quiet contemplation or reading. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts, failures and successes as you strive to become the person you’d like to think you are.
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