My Morning Routine: Turning A Simple Concept Toward Positive Action

A beautiful start to my day at Beaver Marsh in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

It is no secret to anyone that knows me, that I do a lot of talking. I would be willing to bet that first sentence will garner a chuckle from many of you, simply because of how honest a statement it is. You poor folks! Heh.

I woke up this morning with the strong urge to build upon the blog posts I have written recently, by offering you all a view into my daily life and how I go about the first part of my day. It is easy enough for me to sit here and write about these things. How easy it is to be positive, to have the drive to affect change. Let’s have a look at how I put some of those thoughts into action, who knows, maybe you can get some value out of this exercise too!

I start my days out as strong as I possibly can. This one thing has proven to be an essential key to my success! A strong start can mean the difference between a highly productive day, and a day spent in sadness, worry, or negativity. So how do I do this? I set my state of mind.

Mindfulness and gratitude are the perfect place to start! There is absolutely nothing in this world more freeing than mindfully being gracious for the things in your life. Every single morning without fail, before I do anything else, I prime myself. It’s a technique taught by Tony Robbins, a life coach (and everything else coach really) and it can be found on Youtube and many other places on the internet. The best part? It’s FREE! It costs you absolutely nothing. So why not give it a shot?

Ash Cave Waterfall. A truly magnificent place to visit in southern Ohio.

About fifteen minutes or so is all it takes. It follows a simple structure, and absolutely anyone can do it. There are three sets of breathing exercises in the beginning that are cycled through rather quickly, before moving on to the mindfulness exercises. I feel the beating of my heart, and am simply thankful for the gift of another day.

I then spend a few minutes thinking of three specific times or moments in my life for which I am deeply grateful. I call these my anchors. I walk into each of those moments in my mind, really feel them, and experience those moments again as if they were brought back to life. I think about how thankful I am for those moments, how much they mean to me. This can be profoundly meaningful if embraced!

I then switch over to more of a service-oriented state of mind. This is where I think of others in my life, how thankful I am for each of them, and how I want them to succeed and find happiness in their passions. With so many amazing people in my life, this is quite an easy task! There is power in positivity, and I let all of that gratefulness pour outward towards those people in my life.

Finally, I spend a few minutes thinking of a few things that I really want to accomplish. Goals from the heart that I am deeply passionate about. As with my anchors, I manifest these moments in my mind, and really take the time to walk into each one. To feel all of those positive feelings of accomplishment. It is a strong and liberating line of thought, that always leaves me feeling like a mental bodybuilder at its conclusion. Nothing can stop me!

Greeting the sun along the shores of Lake Erie is always an eye opening experience.

Then I’m finished! There’s really not a lot to it folks! Spending just twelve to fifteen minutes doing this in the morning makes all the difference for me throughout the day. My top goal as a writer, photographer, and conservationist is to inspire and serve others. Fulfillment for me comes in the connections that I make with other people in this pursuit. This issue weighed heavily on me this morning before my priming session, and I just want to share with you all how thankful I am to be a cog in the wheel of such a passionate and driven community. With positivity and focus, we really can change the world!

There may not be a “cure all” answer to navigating through the ups and downs of life. However, I think that with a bit of initiative, and the hunger to feel better more often, much can be accomplished when we assess our state of mind and take hold of the reins to point it in the right direction.

Wildside had an lot of fun at the Biggest Week in American Birding with our selfie contest!

With that in mind, let’s get ENGAGED in some wonderful conversation. I want to get to know every single one of you! This is what I do! I would love for you to get in touch, in any way you’d like to. I firmly believe that we can be strong individually, and even stronger together. So send me a direct message. Send me an email. Comment below or share this blog with others! I hope that you have found this piece helpful and insightful. Have an incredible day!

-Justin