You're Waking Up Wrong (& 4 Ways to Fix It)

Welcome to Waking Up 101, where you will learn 4 super important things to do in the morning before your eyes open and brain wakes up…so that you can grab your day by the neck and kiss the hell out of it ;)

We all go to sleep at night with the hopes of having a good, better, best day of life ever tomorrow, don’t we? We hope for a peaceful sleep, the sweetest of dreams, a silent night, and a quiet mind. We hope that the baby will sleep through the night, that our bladder does too, that our roomie’s 4am antics won’t wake us, that the construction workers will wait until after lunch to start pounding hammer, and basically, that everything will go according to plan the very next day…

WELL…whether or not any of those hopes become reality, here are 4 surefire ways you can get closer to that good, better, best day ever – before you even leave the comforts of your very warm and cozy bed :) Before your eyes pop open, before you uncover yourself amidst the cold morning air, before you utter a word out loud, before you reallyyyy wake up and start your day…

Here are 4 things to start doing that will improve your morning mood and increase your daily happy :)

1. SMILE

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again. Turn those luscious lips up for a few seconds upon waking and repeat through your morning routine. Whether you’re feeling happy or dread the misery of morning, just the act of smiling is enough to get the right chemicals soaring to your brain to make you feel the positive energy, and keep that smile throughout the day.

Not often can faking something actually make you feel better, so please take advantage of this nuggest of knowledge and get your day pumping proper positive.

2. THINK A HAPPY THOUGHT

GOOD MORNING WORLD! Yes, we can type capitalized letters, but please know that we are certainly not (even close to) one of those chipper morning people. In fact, it's the exact opposite…but it’s cool – because this tip is the perfect way to bully your brain into waking up and feeling good about it.

Choose a few words or a phrase that perks up your soul, and that you can repeat every morning post-yawn. See below for the inner conversation had…errr…sometimes…

Ex:

Body: YAAAAAWWWWWNN.

Mind: (positive thought, positive thought) Ooh, HELLO TODAY!

Body: SNOOOOOOZZZZEEE.

Mind: (positive thought, positive thought) What a fabulous day to be alive!

Body: I DON’T WANNAAA…

Mind: Today IS awesome.

Another option is planning a sweet breakfast for yourself which makes you want to milk your day to the fullest, or planning to do something which excites you first thing, to help you jump out of bed.

It’s a difficult process at first, but if you get into this habit, your mind WILL win every time.Whether you believe it or not at first, if you keep voicing/thinking positive words upon waking up, you WILL feel the positive energy from the get-go. And henceforth, you will be able to rely on yourself to jumpstart your mind instead of your ever faithful cup O Joe.

3. DROP THE PHONE

Oh SNAP. We said it! Whether you just had an amazing snooze or had that disturbing naked dream again, you just awoke from a long night of flitting and floating inside that beautiful, bustling brain of yours. You owe it to yourself, your brain, and your rested eyeballs to keep away from the screen for at least the first 15-20 minutes of your day. Are we being unreasonable? Does that sound like too much for you? If so, this sounds like something you NEED to do.

Here’s why. When you reach for that lil machine filled with endless knowledge and constant messages, you’re connecting immediately to the outside world before you even connect to yourself for the day. Without realizing it, you’ve just handed yourself over to the immortal internet G-ds of Google, and now all you can think about is which InstaFaceTweet to repost and share.

In real life, you both need and deserve the very first part of your day (at minimum) to focus on the goals you want to accomplish. To take time to think about how you plan to live THIS day of your life, that is happening NOW.

So wake up to life, and drop the phone.

4. STRETCH

Even this one doesn’t require removing your blanket quite yet! Your final task: Pretend you’re Stretch Armstrong. Or a starfish. Or a snow angel. Either and any way, basically all you need to do is reach your arms up and your toes down, and just ssssttttrrrrreeeeeettttccccchhhh it out. It will relax your muscles, your mind, and even put a little pep in your step.

Side note: If someone shares a bed with you (and you like them), just be careful not to go too Armstrong and punch them in the face, or hey…we accept that everyone has their own methods of waking up :)

WRAP UP: