What I know for sure…practicing gratitude will change your life (it’s science!), sleep is foundational for your best well-being, + rituals (especially in the morning) keep you rooted
This is what my morning ritual looks like. Wake up early (most days 😉 ), put the kettle on (coffee is ground the night before so it’s not loud + waking up the house before I get a few minutes of me-time in), put the diffuser on with wild orange + peppermint, do some gratitude journaling, + look ahead to what will be happening during the day. When my baby boy wakes up, we put on some gentle morning music + away we go.
There’s been flex + flow with my morning as life has changed + evolved. For a while I was waking up hours earlier than my family so I could meditate, do some yoga, + be super focused + intentional. I intend to get back to that place, because it felt really really good. But I’m also ok with flowing with what’s going on in life. Some nights are later than I’d like + I’m not going to sacrifice sleep in order to be up at 5am to do the full ritual+routine.
When you start intentionally – on *your* terms – it’s easier to do your day intentionally, on *your* terms. You don’t feel like you’re chasing after everyone else’s priorities, playing catch-up, feeling tense, slightly out of control, maybe not even realising why you’re feeling that way.
Oh, + one absolute must, no tech until our morning is rolling. I don’t flip through notifications, new emails, or any social feeds. It takes attention away from time that I’m committing to me-time, self-care time. It allows me to be present, available, + tuned in. + it’s just a nice freaking break from the energy it requires to keep your self-image up from the comparison-creating, joy-squashing machine that is social media (as I post to social media…). When I decide to consume the socials, it’s on my terms (for the most part 😉 ).
When I look at my day, especially at important transitions, like waking, dropping my boy off at school, heading into work, coming home, + going to bed, I try to create a moment of ritual. Some small, like taking a moment to get into a positive, high-vibe state before walking into the office or asking Aaron if he’s going to have a good day at school – helping him make the decision of how he’s going to feel during the day; some more drawn out, like in the morning + right before bed where I’ve mapped out the actions I’m doing – journaling, meditating, prepping.
Ritual + traditions help ground our lives, create memories + feelings that we carry with us, which shape our identify + how we feel about ourselves. If we’re not intentional with how we create those moments, they’ll happen by default. As we’ve developed ours, within our family, they’ve shifted + changed based on what works, what feels good vs what feels forced, + what really sets us up for a wonderful time together.
What are some rituals that you have in your day? If you haven’t developed any, what is one thing you’d like to start doing to set the tone for your day? I’d love to hear from you!