In My Simply Successful Secrets post, several people commented on how “disciplined” I must be. The first time I read that, I laughed. Then when several others joined in or e-mailed me, I thought, “Boy, do I have them fooled!”
Self-discipline is something I’ve been working on for several years now. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read, except to say, “lots.” Searching for articles on self-discipline is how I found Steve Pavlina’s website. But it was Steve Chandler’s 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself
that triggered the idea of rituals for me. Steve writes:
“See yourself as a shaman or medicine man who needs to dance and sing to get the healing started. Make up a ritual that is yours and yours alone – a ritual that will be your own shortcut to self-motivation.”
Chandler goes on to link motivation (and discipline) to Newton’s first law of motion, quoting, “ . . .an object in motion tends to stay in motion.” Remember that little gem?
The first way I applied this concept to my life was to motivate myself to write. I love writing, but when the pressure was on to write a blog post, article, or part of my book, I would frequently put it off. So to get myself “in motion,” I would start writing – anything. I did not force myself to start writing a post, I’d just write. Before long, just a few minutes, I would find myself writing on the designated project.
Now, I can motivate myself into doing just about anything I need to do, without giving it much thought or effort. So how did I get from point A to point B? Through the use, repeated use, of morning rituals. Let me explain.
I had so much success in motivating myself to write by writing, I decided to try it in other areas of my life. I would “trick” myself into exercising, by telling myself that I’m just going to spend 5 minutes on the treadmill. Then, once I’d been going five minutes, I would decide to stay 10. Then I’d think, “might as well finish the workout.” When I was in a really good mood, I’d challenge myself with, “let’s go for a record today and stay on an hour. Yeah! That would feel great!” But in the beginning, before I got on, walking was the last thing I really wanted to do. Starting to see how it works? An object in motion tends to stay in motion.
Anything I wanted to do, but couldn’t seem to summon the willpower to get started, I would “trick” myself into just doing a little bit of it, or doing something closely related. What I found, was that many times, just getting my day started, was the “trick.” If I could get a good start on my day, everything else for the rest of the day flowed easily and naturally.
The next step, was to develop my ideal day. I’ve written about this before, but the basic gist of it is this: given your values, goals, and mission, what would your ideal day look like? What tasks would you perform? What is the best use of your time? Lay it out – hour by hour, or in whatever increments work for you. You can either do this at the end of each day for the next day, that was another one of my rituals several months ago, or you can set an overall “perfect” pattern that you follow as closely as possible. It just depends upon how varied your schedule is.
The more specific you are about your ideal day - whether it’s a set plan or changing daily - the more control you will feel. The more control you feel, the happier you are. The happier you are, the more you enjoy life. The more you enjoy life, the more successful you are. The more successful you are, the more successful you become. Vicious cycle, isn’t it?
I worked on my ideal day for several weeks until I came up with a set pattern for my days when I’m working from home. On days I travel, well, needless to say, I have to plan those separately. But I want to point out, that when I take the time to plan those travel days, even though it may seem like they’re already laid out for me, if I take the time to think about what I’m going to do and when, even those days flow more smoothly and I’m always glad I thought through things ahead of time.
Now, I know a lot of you right now are thinking, “Wow, she’s really disciplined. I could never achieve that.” But let me tell you folks, I was not always this way. That’s why your comments a few weeks ago blew me away. I used to be the type who “loved spontaneity.” And I’m going to get to divine guidance and how that plays in all of this in just a moment. Right now, I want you to understand this: If I can do this, anyone can do this! You can do this, it just takes time. And getting there is half the fun! Which brings me to another point.
I didn’t give up having fun, or listening to divine guidance in order to have these plans and schedules the way they are. In fact, part of my morning ritual is about listening to my higher self and setting the course for my day, changing my original plan if necessary. And feeling in control while at the same time listening to my inner voice is so much more fun than “flying by the seat of my pants” not knowing if what I’m doing is the right thing to be doing or if I’m just wasting my time. My time is so much more directed and feels so much more productive this way.
To those who say, “God is in control and it does no good for me to make plans.” Has it ever occurred to you that God can speak to you more efficiently when you’re quietly planning your day the night before, or even a week in advance, than when you’re in the middle of your day running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off? Seriously, this is why I’ve learned that when I’m having “one of those days,” I stop and meditate or pray. Meditation is best because I’m just listening – not asking for anything. But that’s another post! Back to this one.
So once I got my ideal day laid out, a pattern developed at the start of each morning that would “jump start” my brain and body into activity. I came to count on this ritual to get me going and I do it almost 7 days a week. Are you ready for it? Here it is.
I get out of bed, go downstairs, and fill the electric teakettle with water. I plug it in, get down my tea pitcher and place four tea bags in it. I put on my shoes and go outside to feed the birds. I come back in, pour the hot water over the tea bags and set the timer on the microwave. While waiting for the tea to brew, I lay on the floor and stretch. When the tea is ready, I add sugar, pour myself a glass, (I drink it iced), then head back upstairs to my office.
I pull out three books: Daily Guidance from Your Angels
, my daily goal writing journal, and my 2007 goals journal. I write my life mission/ultimate goal in the journal designated for that. I open “Daily Guidance . . .” and read the entry where the book falls open. I take a few minutes to reflect on what I’ve read. Then I open my goals journal and read every goal, there are now 20, as well as the action steps. I evaluate what I’ve accomplished, where I am in making progress on each one, and write down any new actions steps I am ready to take – any divine wisdom that has been shared with me since yesterday morning.
That’s it! That’s my ritual. It gets me started. I don’t have to think about it. One step leads to the next step. The entire process takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete. During the process, I usually receive an inspired idea to do that day, or I might just get reassurance that the plan I’ve laid out is the correct one for this day. My days are laid out both during my weekly planning, and the night before if any changes are required.
What I do next depends upon that day. Sometimes I get into the shower, sometimes I write, sometimes I meditate.
This ritual gives me a sense of control, wakes me up, and allows for divine guidance all at the same time. I’m not suggesting that it’s better than anyone else’s ritual, I’m just pointing out that it has created amazing results for me. When something happens to interrupt my ritual, I feel out of balance and unconnected with my source energy. But when that happens, I know exactly what to do to get back in balance.
So now it’s your turn. Even if you do not consider yourself a ritualistic, disciplined person, you would benefit greatly from starting your day in a positive, action-oriented, life-balanced, mission-centered way. What would that mean for you?
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to comment or e-mail me directly with any questions, comments, or concerns. It’s great when you comment because then everyone who reads this article can learn from your successes, failures, triumphs, or just funny stories.
Have an ideal day!
You can subscribe to this blog here.
GET THE BOOK If you’d like to read all my latest success tips and how I’ve applied 20 years of solid business principles and the law of attraction to acquiring the life of my dreams, and am helping others do the same, you’ll want your own copy of Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Self-Empowerment Guide. It comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.” Both are downloadable, so you get them immediately, pay no shipping, and it’s only $19.95.
