I’m actually writing this blog at early thirty. 5am. This is coming from a past night owl who was NOT a morning person. Now, I enjoy waking up before the sun is up.
- Alarm goes off at 5am
- Make coffee
- Turn on laptop
- Write in my journal (I have time because coffee is brewing and laptop is still booting up. I should probably look at buying a new one… any computer sales people here?)
- Have my coffee while I answer emails, or work on something creative. (Whether it’s designing my next ad, or writing this thing.)
- Get child ready for school
- Depending on the day– head to the office, gym, range
What changed? Positive affirmations and prayer. Consistent positive affirmations and prayer.
There are many books out there– “be positive, change your life, have a morning routine, etc.” I don’t claim to have read them all, but I have read quite a few. They have great suggestions, and most of them probably work. But, in order for anything to work, you have to put in the work. There are several recipes for success. You just have to cook.
There are books and articles about successful people who have morning routines. Athletes, business owners, whatever category you choose– but they have their routine. They do it the same way. All the time. It’s a habit for them. It’s like them to have a routine.
I’m guilty of being one of those people who say, “There are not enough hours in the day!” I was always rushing to get things done and would be up late into the evening. Clients and employees would get emails from me at 1 or 2am. Then, I would wake up the next day and be groggy, and not want to do anything. My day felt so unorganized.
I thought I was being productive by staying up late to get work done. Turns out the reason I was up so late was because 1) I slept in 2) I wasn’t productive during the prior hours 3) It was a habit to stay up late anyway.
How could I be more successful and productive? I prayed and thanked God for blessing me with the tools to be successful. Then I started writing again.
My notebook’s entries from each day will tell you a lot. I used to keep separate notebooks for work, shooting, and personal goals. Now, thanks to the advice of a business peer, I keep the same notebook for my positive affirmations, work notes, meeting notes, but keep them organized. This way, everything is in the same book that I can refer to throughout the day.
I began to notice that I had extra productive days if I had been to the gym in the morning. 1) I was up early to get to the gym, 2) The workout got me energized for the day.
“There are several recipes for success. You just have to cook.”
It was time to create Kimi’s routine. First, I needed to change how I view myself, then begin taking the steps to change my routine, or habits.
Why was I a night owl? Because that’s what I told myself. Why did my day feel unorganized? Because that’s what I told people. “There are not enough hours in the day.” Or, a very common one– “I really need to eat better.” “I need to get back to the gym.”
We all know what we SHOULD be doing. The recipe, the directions are right in front of us. We just have to cook.
Ask and you shall receive, but be specific. This is true on so many levels. If you’re speaking negatively, that’s what is going to continue. “Oh man, I always screw things up.” Then you will. “I’m always eating junk food.” You will continue eating junk food.
I began wording things positively, but wasn’t being specific enough. “I am successful.” “I close leads.” “I always shoot well.” And in my prayers, I would thank God for blessing my family, my business, my shooting. I changed everything to be positive, specific, and I have been doing it every day.
Prayers changed to: “Thank you Lord for divine appointments today. Thank you that I close 5 policies today. Thank you for blessing my daughter and that she has a great day at school today. Thank you for a match win.”
Affirmations changed to: “It’s like me to be organized. It’s like me to wake up early and feel refreshed. I always eat clean.”
If you have read “With Winning in Mind” by Lanny Bassham, then some of this may sound familiar. If you haven’t, I highly recommend reading it.
I also discovered that I needed to be more specific in my prayers. I thought I was doing a great job by writing down positive goals and praying every day. I found that I wasn’t being specific at all. The day I changed that was when things changed.
I began waking up as soon as my alarm went off. Tasks were completed by the end of the day. I started a blog that I’ve been talking about for years. My business gained more momentum. My shooting improved, and I hadn’t been to the range as much.
I love waking up early in the morning– I can knock out a lot of tasks before any one in the house is awake. There are no distractions. I can get to the gym before my work day starts. I can send out quote proposals so clients can have the rest of the day to review them.
All of this was changed by writing down positive affirmations and prayer. I claim it, I write it down in the present tense. I changed my self-image about certain tasks.
I wake up grateful. I asked for the tools, the recipe. Time to put it in the WOK. I mean the work… put in the work. Have a blessed day!
