3 Power Moves To Start Your Day Like a Champion

No “Eating the frog” BS here.

The morning is my favorite time of the day.

It’s the absolute best.

There’s no better feeling than waking up excited before the sun rises to do whatever it is the universe has planned for you that day.

And by that, I don’t mean that you shouldn’t have anything on your calendar or that you should meander throughout the day without direction.

Quite the opposite.

You wake up excited because you have a purpose and things to get done and achieve.

You’re clear on what you need to do, who you need to serve — and which tasks need to be executed for that to be done.

Let’s Be Honest

Mornings suck.

I don’t think it’s the mornings' fault, though.

I think we’ve become accustomed to not liking our mornings because of something totally unrelated to the time of day.

It’s something we shouldn’t gripe about or blame the morning for…

Because morning has no say in the matter.

No voice to reason with or way of defending herself.

So don’t blame morning.

Blame yourself.

Blame yourself for having a bed that’s too comfortable.

That’s right. You heard what I said.

Your bed. It’s too comfortable.

How big is that thing anyway?

Oh, wow.. a California king, eh?

Let me guess — because you’re a king.

Lazy ass Americans with their big ass, unnecessary beds.

Most of the world sleeps on a mat that rolls up.

And then we complain about getting out of our big ass beds actually to do something with ourselves.

And we lead the world (behind China and India) in depression rates.

But that probably has nothing to do with it.

Thanks For Joining Us

My name is Matthew, and I’m one of those lazy, dumb Americans.

Oh wait, I didn’t say dumb the first time. That probably applies to me.

Okay, now I’m done.

It was all too easy to poke fun at the fact that we all make such a big deal about finding the ideal morning routine as if there is some hidden mystical ritual behind simply waking up to start your day.

So I decided to have fun with it.

Isn’t that what makes good writing on Medium?

Reading something from someone who is writing about a topic you’re familiar with but doesn’t approach it from the same boring and dry angle everyone else does?

But seriously, this probably isn’t your first time reading about some idealistic way to start your day.

Which is cool. This isn’t my first time writing about it.

I guess we’re both obsessed.

If you want to become a Champion at something, it takes a little obsession.

And if you want to be a Champion at life — well, then I guess starting at the beginning of the day makes a bit of sense.

Back to the intro.

The one where I talk about being excited to serve the world and all that nonsense?

That actually is how I feel daily. At least now.

But it took some time to get there, and there were decisions I had to make along the way.

Inevitably some of those decisions involved deciding how I would conduct my morning.

Don’t worry — I’m not going to drag it out to gain read time for myself or waste yours.

Because you have shit to do.

Here’s the gist of what champions do within the first hour of waking up — in no particular order:

• Activate Your Mind
• Activate Your Body
• Activate Your Spirit

Activate Your Body

Waking up and getting out of bed is uncomfortable.

As it should be.

You just transformed from an unconscious, motionless abyss into a waking reality. And while your mind may be wide awake (albeit not), for your body to feel the same, you need to get the blood flow going as fast as possible.

The problem is we drag this process out by stagnantly sitting around or simply “waiting” for our body to feel awake and alert.

Which will be around lunchtime unless you go to the gym, do some deep stretches, or dance to your favorite tunes — first thing in the morning.

Combine it with a cold shower, and your body will be ready to achieve champion performance levels.

But most of you are too weak for that last part.

Activate Your Mind

Again, how you do this is entirely up to you.

But it needs to be as soon as possible. And in a way that is good for it.

Reading a paperback book by someone you look up to or listening to your favorite self-help podcast are great options.

Journaling is another great form of mind activation.

My daughter and I color with markers first thing in the morning, which also seems to stimulate the ole’ noggin a bit.

Maybe you get the idea.

But whatever do you — try and refrain from looking at your phone or any screens for the first 30 min.

If you have to use your iPhone or Kindle or access your materials, be intentional and don’t mindlessly check Facebook, Instagram, Medium, and your email — before finally opening that new morning mediation app that you told yourself you’d be more mindful about implementing.

The irony of that situation is funny.

But it’s no laughing matter.

Because it happens to thousands of unfocused, unintentional digital consumers every day that are more likely to fall for an app developer's marketing than actually to use it to change their lives.

That last part is a bit of a stretch.

But there's a degree of truth to the statement in our self-help-obsessed culture that marketers and developers feed off of.

So be aware, and be intentional.

Spiritual Activation

Again, the order in which these three things occur and what you do exactly to achieve each is up to you.

I’m not telling you how to live your life or anything like that.

But as human beings, I believe us to be very spiritual creatures that are meant to be in tune and have a relationship with our creator.

For me, this is praying to Jesus each morning to become more thankful and aware of the gift of life — that all of us are called to chase after each and every morning.

A thankful life is a happy life.

So remember to count your blessings each morning.

And do your best to align your own mission with His purpose for you.

Recap

You can read a gazillion morning-routine articles searching for the magic pill to solve whatever waking-up crisis you're facing. (I kid)

And you should because each person has a unique way of viewing and seeing the world, and what works for one person may not work for another.

This is hopefully obvious to you.

And so I’m hoping this article was both slightly entertaining and easy to digest.

Because in reality, there is no perfect morning routine.

The perfect morning routine is the one that works best for you and enables you to achieve whatever goals or work you have in front of you for the day.

And only you know what that is.

So get after it, champ.

Show em’ whatcha got.

And allow this morning to be one of the best yet.

-MDM