The 15-Minute Routine That Has Revolutionised My Mornings

These three activities can improve your self-esteem and help you go after your goals, with a smile.

Before we start, let me tell you I won’t tell you to wake up at 5 am. Sure, it works for many people and has its benefits. But I’m the laziest person I know and even though I’m a personal development nerd, waking up that early and getting into a cold shower isn’t the pain I want to put myself through. I have warm showers even in the warm Indian heat, so…

Anyway, reading lots of self-help books since my teenage years has made me my own guinea pig of self-experimentation with various methods. They’re all spiritual, but also scientifically backed.

These three activities have helped me boost my confidence and belief systems. Removing all big words aside, it’s definitely made me mentally healthier and happier.

You don’t have to start with all three.

Yes, they only take 5 minutes each, but it's not a compulsion to be done altogether. So start as you wish and choose one if not all, because one is better than none.

Creative Visualisation

Eight months ago, I read stories about people who live life on their own terms. They earn well, do things they love, but mainly own their time. And here I was trying to find happiness and meaning in my corporate job because ‘this is how it should be’, or so I thought.

In the coming months, I educated myself about opportunities and what it takes to be a writer. I earned more money on the side than my corporate paycheck and am now serving my notice period to own my time, just like I saw people do.

Creative visualisation was a huge part of this. Here’s how you can use it.

Two ways to use it:

• Visualise your day: wake up to visualise how your day will be. Imagine yourself happy and strong. Have that important presentation due? Visualise yourself presenting confidently and your audience complimenting you. Visualise your goals: for the last 8 months, every morning I wake up and visualise myself typing happily with mountains in the background. I’m not sure why the mountains are there, but I feel this entire picture represents freedom for me.

Visualisation is a technique used by many athletes and successful people in all walks of life. We can reprogram our subconscious mind, which can help eliminate our negative beliefs. As Psychology Today states,

To attain our conscious goals, the idea is to access the subconscious in order to go beyond our limitations.

Gratitude Journal

I read about this in a book (The Magic) 5 years ago, and since then have written a gratitude journal every day. I’m no ninja and there are lots of days I’ve missed because we all go through this thing called life and perfection isn’t the goal.

For five years, each day I have written ten things that I’m grateful for. These things need not be different every day as the intention isn’t to find different things to pen down each day but to be aware of our blessings.

It’s helped me see light even during the darkest times, and start my day with a positive tone. The first thing I usually write is that I’m so grateful to sleep comfortably and wake up in a healthy body because both these things are a luxury to many.

I live in a developing country and it’s horrifyingly common to see people sleep on the streets. In fact, there are makeshift huts on the main road outside my house. Seeing this, I feel I must be grateful and appreciate living in a house that protects me from rain, hail or storm.

Writing a gratitude journal also makes you optimistic and optimistic people are more likely to be successful. Also, optimism is a skill that one can learn, so this is one way to cultivate it.

To start, just write ten things that you’re grateful for each day. Feel free to start with three, or five and then slowly move up to ten.

Affirmations

Affirmations work only if you believe in them, and the belief creeps in slowly with practice. Also, visualisation helps cultivate the belief in what you affirm because once you see it, it’s easier to say it.

The major benefit I see from affirmations is that it helps me be more confident and battle self-doubt.

I recite them as my third and last practice after writing my gratitude journal and it encourages me to kick off my day feeling like a boss instead of feeling here we go again.

We all have a self-image, which is what we think of ourselves. What we think of ourselves impacts how we lead our lives. For e.g., if you think you’ll never finish a passion project you started, you’re drilling it in your self-image that you’re incapable of it.

Whereas if you affirm that you’re confident and capable, and give world-class results to what you set your heart into — you will be more likely to get things done because you are wiring your mind in that way. The subconscious mind is programmable, remember?

To start, see the types of affirmations you need. I used a book called You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay to get affirmations for self-love, success, and money. You can refer to credible sources online or similar books that can help you.

I’d suggest limiting the number of affirmations you say from 1 to 10 to start with so you don’t feel too overwhelmed.

Takeaways

Here’s my 15-minute morning routine that helps me kick off my day feeling healthy and happy, and can help you start your day in a positive tone.

The three activities I do for 5 minutes each are:

1. Creative Visualisation 2. Gratitude Journaling 3. Affirmations

While life isn’t always easy, we can use these tools to help us get through and make good times better and difficult times easier.

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