Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: The Morning Routine for Smart People
The mornings are my time. It is the one part of the day that the expectations of life have not awakened. That can be the simple things like kids or work, but it can also be the more problematic things like the world and personal relationships. For that reason, I find it to be the perfect time to place some focused self-care actions into place.
This is usually when people start rolling their eyes at me. I get it… social media LOVES to demonstrate how unattainable success is for most people. Just look at this example of what “The Rock” does for his morning routines. Is it real? Is this ACTUALLY what he does every morning? I doubt it… but if it’s on the internet, it MUST be real right?
This morning routine seems sus to me…
This isn’t the sort of morning routine that simple mortals can do, and even if this is ACTUALLY what The Rock does, it will be done on a short term schedule. Movie stars don’t have unlimited time to use on themselves, they DO have a personal brand or business to operate after all.
The bad thing about posts like these is that it creates a sense of overwhelm for the average person who is just struggling to have a normal life. It sets the resistance to taking action too high.
“It’s unachievable for us, so why should we even bother with trying?”
“Maybe you can do this sort of schedule, but I can’t.”
I felt exactly the same way. I wanted to organize my life and make it more effective, but finding a system that was even remotely realistic was difficult. But what did I really want? One thing I did want was to really focus down on what is possible for myself. So I started taking note of what was important for me:
- Hydration
- Meditation
- Exercise
- Strength
- Journalling
- Gratitude
- Reading
- Fascia care (Foam rolling)
- Spinal Vertebrae Care (ELDOA)
- Positive Self-Talk
Now we see a problem. There are a LOT of things that I feel are important throughout the day and doing them all would take me up to lunch time. I’d have to take a break in the middle of the routine to eat, and this isn’t even taking into consideration family life or career. So obviously, something has to go or be cut down.
Morning routine’s primary goal is to create consistency in habits and “Unlock Achievements” early on in the day. Having some early morning wins helps set the tone for the rest of the day. The more wins we have, the easier it is to have a positive mindset for further growth. As I started thinking more about it, I realized the biggest problem that people have with success in their lives is that lack of consistency. We get started and then we quit as the resistance becomes too high.
So what happens if we set the resistance as low as we can and focus more on simply creating sustainable habits? Can this lead to a lifestyle shift that will over time have incredible returns on our time investment? You bet, and this is where my Healthy, Wealth and Wise routine come into place.
This is usually when people start rolling their eyes at me. I get it… social media LOVES to demonstrate how unattainable success is for most people. Just look at this example of what “The Rock” does for his morning routines. Is it real? Is this ACTUALLY what he does every morning? I doubt it… but if it’s on the internet, it MUST be real right?
This isn’t the sort of morning routine that simple mortals can do, and even if this is ACTUALLY what The Rock does, it will be done on a short term schedule. Movie stars don’t have unlimited time to use on themselves, they DO have a personal brand or business to operate after all.
The bad thing about posts like these is that it creates a sense of overwhelm for the average person who is just struggling to have a normal life. It sets the resistance to taking action too high.
“It’s unachievable for us, so why should we even bother with trying?”
“Maybe you can do this sort of schedule, but I can’t.”
I felt exactly the same way. I wanted to organize my life and make it more effective, but finding a system that was even remotely realistic was difficult. But what did I really want? One thing I did want was to really focus down on what is possible for myself. So I started taking note of what was important for me:
- Hydration
- Meditation
- Exercise
- Strength
- Journalling
- Gratitude
- Reading
- Fascia care (Foam rolling)
- Spinal Vertebrae Care (ELDOA)
- Positive Self-Talk
Now we see a problem. There are a LOT of things that I feel are important throughout the day and doing them all would take me up to lunch time. I’d have to take a break in the middle of the routine to eat, and this isn’t even taking into consideration family life or career. So obviously, something has to go or be cut down.
Morning routine’s primary goal is to create consistency in habits and “Unlock Achievements” early on in the day. Having some early morning wins helps set the tone for the rest of the day. The more wins we have, the easier it is to have a positive mindset for further growth. As I started thinking more about it, I realized the biggest problem that people have with success in their lives is that lack of consistency. We get started and then we quit as the resistance becomes too high.
So what happens if we set the resistance as low as we can and focus more on simply creating sustainable habits? Can this lead to a lifestyle shift that will over time have incredible returns on our time investment? You bet, and this is where my Healthy, Wealth and Wise routine come into place.
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” — Benjamin Franklin
Like a good artist, I stole the concept from someone else, namely Benjamin Franklin (who apparently was also a good artist as he stole it from a book written by John Clarke in 1639.) The HWW Morning routine needed to be short (30 minutes or so), effective (minimal and easy to duplicate), and comprehensive (holistic: mind, body, soul). With this in mind, I chose the following activities:
- Hydration with a bio-active Phytonutrient blend and Polyphenol blend. 500mL of water (because it sounds so much easier than half a litre!)
- 10 minutes of whole body movement: yoga, Bulletproof Posture, ELDOA or something ACTIVE. No low-hanging fruit activities like stretching, it needs to be active and whole body involved.
- 10 minutes of reading: non-fiction! No escapism first thing in the morning, focus on learning something new. It’s amazing how much more interesting your conversations will become when you are constantly learning something new!
- 10 minutes of writing: journal, 5-minute Journal, or Artist’s Way morning pages. This is done to clear the cobwebs from your mind and integrate your thoughts and voice. It’s quite powerful when you begin to develop your own personal voice and message.
- Positive Affirmation: What kind of person do you want to be? Say it, mean it, and grow into it.
That’s not so bad now is it? About 30 minutes of self-care first thing int he morning to help you grow and expand your wellbeing. The question people have is, “But what if I want to do MORE?”
The answer is simple. Don’t. Do the routine as scheduled above and focus on the consistency. If you want to do more, then make some time later on in the day to do it. We want the resistance to completion LOW. For example: if you decide to do a banger of a workout, chances are you will be sore the next day… and the resistance to completion will be MUCH higher.
After using this simple routine for several months, I began to share it with my clients. Of course it’s not for everyone, but the ones that take part in the simple routine find it effective and very simple. And of course, when it comes to successful lifestyle design we want to have habits that are consistent and duplicatable.
Check out the full HWW routine below!
