Yesterday was a bit of a stressful day.  I won’t go into the details…that’s a blog for another day.  But suffice it to say, it was a lot.  We have all had days like that.  Maybe yours was like that yesterday too. It happens.

But that was yesterday.

The mistake that so many of us make (me included), is that, when we start today, we are still living in yesterday.  We wake up frustrated or stressed about the day that was.  And when we do that, especially when we first wake up in the morning, we set ourselves up to live yesterday…over and over again.

That is why the first 60 seconds of your day are so important.

In those first 60 seconds, many of us wake up and stress about the day ahead or replay the day before.  By doing this, we create a life that plays on repeat…and it’s not the life we are intentionally creating.  According to Dr. Joe Dispensa, that is why so many of us feel like we are stuck in a rut.  The record of our life is on repeat.  And the song that is playing is stressing us out!

Let’s break that habit.

Starting tomorrow, let’s intentionally own the first 60 seconds of your day.  When you wake up, fight off that urge to live in the past by spending just 30 seconds or so thinking about what you are grateful for in your life.  It might be your friends, your family, your significant other, or your bed.  We all have something to be thankful for.  (Pro-tip…prime your mind with these thoughts before you go to bed too).

Now that you have primed your brain with that gratitude exercise, now think (for just a few moments) about things you are excited about in your life…and what you would like to create.  What are goals that excite you?  What are some things you want to accomplish?  Spend the next 30 seconds or so thinking about that.

Now that you have spent the first 60 seconds of your day priming your brain, take a deep breath…and attack the day.

And one final pro-tip:  you don’t have to wait until tomorrow morning to do this.  You can start your “first 60 seconds” any time of day.  But I find that when I start my day like this, it helps me set a foundation for a good day to come.

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