Mornings Make the Day

You are in your bed for last several minutes and making efforts to get some sleep. You deserve it for sure after putting in a busy day at work, however, sleep is conspicuous by its absence. Instead, what's there is a subtle feeling of anxiety as a pending item from yesterday's to-do list just flashes in your mind. You recollect that you have completely forgotten to follow up on it during the day gone and you remember how the people you are dependent on for this task are not in congruence with your sense of urgency and seem to be ignoring/not cooperating etc. etc. Now this situation has added dimension that your Boss has been giving you a sense of that utmost urgency attached with this item and you already have committed to get this done.?

?Your coveted sleep is nowhere to be seen within a fathomable distance now. As these thoughts are doing salsa in your mind, and as if this was not enough, now your mind takes you to another related issue which is again related to your own unfulfilled expectations from yourself or from the people around you on personal front.?Welcome to a night out in your own bed!

?With sleep elusive, the night seems long and bed doesn't feel comfortable now.?The situation is getting complicated and that subtle feeling of anxiety is now moving towards proper sense of panic. The sudden realisation, that you need to get up early tomorrow as there is an important meeting scheduled bit early in the morning (damn!),?does not help the situation and makes you wonder why you are the most mismanaged/unfortunate person on the Earth and why your life is not perfect/beautiful like shown in your favourite movies/TV series or like the coveted life of your other close friends.?

?Now, a similar episode you may stumble upon in the morning where you have just got up and not even have left your comfortable mattress and you are surfing through your WhatsApp messages/ Emails which are always ready before you to greet you first things in the morning.

?One of such mornings, you find an email or Whatsapp group message from work which was written at 11.30 pm last night indicting you in a not-so-good manner for some missing action or perceived failure. Depending on whether this mail/message has come from your superior or a colleague, you either feel a tinge of anxiety or a bout of anger and feel like either checking your market value for a next job opportunity or writing a long email/message back immediately to defend yourself vehemently without waiting even for the day to start.?

?Your morning is spoilt either way and now only God knows how will that day progress.?

?Though this may not happen every night or every morning and may not happen in exactly the same manner as described above depending on your job profile etc., and such issues may not ?emanate from only work but from personal life too, but whenever such similar situations are there, you feel you have lost control on ?life. You want to reset your life and you are sure that you deserve better.?

? You are absolutely bang on, you deserve better!?

?However, this 'better life' will not be offered by others or will not flow from outer world.?

?This has to be cultivated by yourself and will come from inside you. This is within your grasp, you just need to follow a better daily routine in the morning comprising of at least 30 minutes of physical exercise, 10 minutes on journaling with a section for gratitude and practice of mindfulness meditation on consistent basis for at least 10 to 20 minutes not necessarily in that order.?

?Add to it a short evening routine comprising of a to-do list for next day and some 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation before going to bed avoiding indulging in social media/emails at least?30 to 45 mins before going to bed, and you are set for better sense of inner control and happiness during your days.?

?Last week I conducted a workshop to instill such a routine with daily one hour session for a week at 6 am in the morning for few participants and their feedback at the end of it was positive and encouraging. I realise that one week is not enough time to instill such routine and way of life however it was a great beginning for the participants and encouraged by the experience, I am now planning to come back with a longer and better version of such a workshop in near future.?

Thanks for reading!