Did you know that many of the most successful people in the world have morning success rituals? After studying these people and what they do, I found a pattern.
The vast majority of these highly-successful individuals perform a certain combination of activities in the morning which are conducive to success, and these rituals typically contain three essential elements (Mind, Body, & Spirit).
Additionally, engaging passionately in a morning routine is one of the best things you can do for opioid recovery.
Whether you’re tapering, going through Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS), have been off opioids for 1, 5, or even 10 years, having a morning routine should be a key resource for both quitting and staying off opioids for good.
Over the past few years, I’ve used some of these individuals’ morning success rituals, and I’ve also created many of my own.
I’ve enjoyed the success rituals I custom-tailored for myself the best.
In this article, I’m going to give you some examples of morning success rituals, and I’m also going to provide you with a simple, step-by-step plan to create your own.
Reactive & Proactive Morning Routines
I think we can all agree that most individuals wake up and have a “reactive” morning routine. Being reactive means “reacting to problems when they occur instead of doing something to prevent them.”
I still have mornings like this from time to time.
I’ll make the mistake of checking my email and Facebook first thing upon waking, and then I start responding to other people, and my entire day has started in a reactive mode.
A powerful resource for quitting opioids and staying quit is to have a “proactive” morning routine.
Being proactive means “creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened.”
A morning success ritual is basically just starting the day in a proactive way.
When you start your morning off in a proactive way, this typically helps you stay proactive (instead of reactive) for the rest of the day and evening.
Examples of Morning Success Rituals
There are many types of morning rituals. Oprah Winfrey’s morning routine is a great example.
Oprah starts her morning off with 20 minutes of meditation to clear her mind.
After meditating, she exercises on her treadmill, while simultaneously playing Scrabble on her iPad.
Once Oprah finishes working out, she eats a healthy meal or drinks a healthy shake that has a combination of carbohydrates, protein, and fiber.
Last, she gets to work as early as possible to start doing what she loves for a living.
Tony Robbins’ morning success ritual is another great example. Tony starts his day doing a cold water plunge. He submerges his body into freezing cold water that is 57 degrees Fahrenheit.
After that, he does a breathing and visualization exercise he calls “Priming.”
Tony does three sets of 30 Kapalabhati Pranayama breaths, which is an ancient yoga exercise.
Immediately after these special breaths, Tony takes about 10 minutes to do the following visualization exercise:
- Gratitude – He thinks about a few things he is grateful for, and he makes sure to incorporate small things such as the beauty of a smile, and something big like a major achievement.
- Strengthen/Heal/Resolve – He feels his organs, body, mind, friends, family, and people of the world all strengthening, healing, and resolving any issues within them.
- Goals – He imagines three outcomes he want to accomplish, and sees them as already done.
To end his morning success ritual, he fuels up.
He’ll typically go for an unexciting but nutritious breakfast, usually fish and salad, or something else that is plain but highly nutritious.
My Morning Success Ritual
I’ve done plenty of different morning success rituals in the past (including the Tony Robbins routine above), and I really love the one I’m currently doing.
First thing upon waking, I walk into the kitchen and start making a cup of Columbian dark roast coffee (single estate).
Then I’ll add a half scoop of BioRebalance into a tall glass of water and consume.
BioRebalance is the best multi-amino-vitamin-herb-probiotic-etc supplement I’ve ever used, and it’s excellent for tapering, PAWS, and for long-term psychological and physical health optimization.
Once I’m done with that, I drink my coffee with a little organic grass-fed half and half or milk.
While I’m drinking my morning cup of joe, I sit on my couch and plan the day.
I like to write out my list of actions, high priorities, and appointments on a sheet of paper because it’s fun for me to cross them out and check them off by hand.
Next, I’ll take a freezing cold shower. After I’m out of the shower and dressed, I’ll sit on my couch and listen to peaceful piano music and write in my journal.
Here are some of the things I journal about:
- Things I’m grateful for
- Goals I want to accomplish
- Things I’m going to manifest in my life
- Business innovation & marketing ideas/plans
- Measurements of progress over the long-term and short-term
After this, I’m done with my morning success ritual. One thing you may have noticed from these three examples of morning routines is this:
They all incorporated elements of Mind, Body, and Spirit.
How to Create a Morning Ritual
To make your own morning success ritual, you simply assemble a list of activities and make those activities contain all three essential components (Mind, Body, Spirit).
Your morning ritual could be as short as 5-10 minutes, and as long as two hours or more.
You can do the ritual at home, outdoors, or even a combination of places.
Here is a list of ideas for things to add to your morning success ritual:
- Nutrition
- Hydration
- Supplementation
- Weight-lifting
- Walking
- Swimming
- Running
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Qigong
- Meditation
- Visualization
- Reading
- Journaling
- Goal-setting
- Listening to personal development
- Praying
- Cold shower
- Spending time with loved ones
- Learning something new
- Contribution
To create a morning ritual, write out your plan.
Incorporate items from this list, add your own, or both.
Make sure you’re addressing the Mind, Body, and Spirit for maximum effectiveness and balance.
Make it a Habit
Writing out a plan for your morning success ritual is the easy part. Doing your morning ritual on a regular basis is the hard part.
That’s why it’s important to make your new morning routine a habit.
When people try to develop new habits, the first few days are typically easy.
This is due to optimism.
After about 7-10 days, something called “habit gravity” kicks in.
You now experience active resistance, and you need to do whatever it takes to keep going under this pressure.
If you keep going, and consistently perform your morning success ritual, after approximately 30 days, a new habit will form, and it will no longer take willpower or conscious effort to maintain this deeply-ingrained habit.
Transform your Life
I strongly encourage you to create and practice your own morning success ritual.
The amount of growth you experience in mind, body, and spirit is extraordinary.
A powerful morning ritual should be used for tapering off opioids, while going through PAWS, and for the rest of your life!
As a result of starting your mornings off in a healthy and proactive way, your levels of productivity, joy, and fulfillment in life will continue to rise, enabling you to live a truly awesome life.
If you have any questions or comments on morning success rituals, or if you’d like to share your morning routine, please do so in the comment box below.
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