The Morning Routine You Should Be Doing

Hi Friends!

I write to you today to share with you a little morning practice that I’ve been doing that makes a big difference in how I feel and start my day. I feel more centered, motivated, and intentional with my day and who wouldn’t want to start their day like that?! Ok- you’re like “spill the beans already!!!” What is this morning practice? 

It’s what the incredible, Rachel Hollis, calls the 10-10-1: Ten years, ten dreams, one goal. 

For those who don’t know who Rachel Hollis is, you need to look her up right now . Follow her on Instagram and maybe even start listening to her Podcast, “Rise”. When I was deciding about whether I wanted to stay in education or make the career change to real estate, I listened to her podcast and it gave me the courage to make the career change. I’ll write another blog about one particular episode that really helped me.  

The premise of this practice is this: How do you imagine your life in 10 years? Close your eyes and picture this. Now, write everything down that comes to mind. When I did this, my words were EVERYWHERE on the page. Happy, healthy, mother, wife, traveling, going to my kids extracurricular activities were just a few I listed. I realized in that moment, the things I wanted out of my life in 10 years wouldn’t be possible- or at least as plausible- unless I made a career change. That was just further confirmation that I was doing the right thing.

The next step is to write down 10 dreams you have for yourself and write them down as if they’ve already come true. Your dreams should be BIG. It is perfectly ok to sound far-fetched in your dreams. Hell, if you want to speak at a TedTalk conference but you hate public speaking, write it down! Your dreams aren’t supposed to be tangible, they’re supposed to be vast… and if you write down the things that you want the most into the universe, great things-that are tangible- will happen as a result. To give you an idea, my 10 dreams for the first few months (and they’re not supposed to change unless you fulfill that dream or have a change of heart) were the following:

1. I make a six-figure salary
2. I have $20,000 saved
3. I am an influencer on social media
4. I live in a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home
5. I own investment properties
6. I travel every year
7. I exercise daily 
8. I guest speak on podcasts/shows
9. I am an exceptional wife
10. I am an exceptional mother

I used the adjective “exceptional” for a reason because I don’t want to just be a good wife and mother… or even a great wife and mother… I want to be exceptional. And every day I remind myself that I need to act in exceptional ways, not just in good ways.  

The last part is to write down 1 goal you have for yourself that will get you to your dreams the fastest. This goal should also be specific and measurable. This is so important. Do not write that you want to save $10,000 as your goal. That’s not measurable and it’s also not attainable until you do X,Y and Z. The X, Y and Z should be your goal. For example, a better goal if you do want to save $10,000 is to (X) Make your coffee every day instead of buying Starbucks, (Y) Spend $80 on groceries every week instead of $150, or (Z) Read 20 pages of a finance book every night before bed. 

I want you to notice a couple of things as you write down your own goals. Those goals were written using positive and proactive language. I didn’t write “Don’t buy Starbucks every day” or “Stop spending $150 on groceries”. Instead, I wrote the desired behavior… a little tip I learned from writing so many behavior plans in education! 

Also notice how I wrote when and how often I needed to accomplish those goals: “...every day”, “...every week”, “...every night before bed”. By doing this, my goal now becomes measurable and I can easily track whether I accomplished that goal. And definitely celebrate, or at least acknowledge in some way, reaching your goal. It may be a small victory but it’s a victory nonetheless and you deserve to be recognized for your efforts!

If you want to go a step further, try finding an accountability partner. My accountability partner is my husband and he definitely lets me know when I’m slacking on my goals (insert the eye-rolling emoji). I hate it and love it at the same time... I hate it because I don’t like hearing him talk sh*t but because I hate it, I work harder! So my advice, get someone who’s not afraid to tell you how it is or give you some tough-love when needed. They’ll hold you accountable!

Now for my favorite part of this morning practice… the part where you write down 5 things you’re grateful for BEFORE the 10 dreams and 1 goal. THIS is everything. It’s so easy to get caught up in the mundane things of life and often we forget how lucky we are to have even the simplest of things. When you write down 5 things you’re grateful for, you set the tone for the rest of your day. You will inevitably be more positive, gracious, and hopeful. 

So if you want to start this morning practice, I challenge you to begin NOW! That’s right, grab any notebook, paper, or use the back of that bill you don’t want to pay and write down 5 things you’re grateful for, 10 dreams you have, and 1 goal. Repeat every damn day and watch the beautiful events that begin to unfold before your eyes. 

I’d love to hear from you! Please find me on Instagram @sarahh__june to share your story with me.