Morning Routines Create Lasting Joy

I believe everyone at one point or another longs for MORE JOY in their life.  Joy, in my definition isn't a feeling, it's a state of being.  Happy is a feeling that usually comes with an experience such as going to a concert or a great movie.  Joy is a sense of gratitude for being able to go to the concert or movie.  Joy is being present in your life, feeling a sense of peace and purpose.  Does that make sense?  Life is full of highs and lows and we can't predict or control what is going to happen every minute of every day but, we can control our level of joy.  What I quickly discovered was that this doesn't happen overnight and it takes practice.   

I didn't really understand this at first.  Facing a major transition in my life (empty nest), I realized that I had to figure out how to find joy daily... not happiness, but joy.  I had happy moments after the kids were gone but those were fleeting and I was left feeling sad again.   

MORNINGS ARE THE START TO CREATING MORE JOY
I realized that how I started my day, completely impacted my level of joy.  So I needed to figure out a morning routine that inspired me to experience joy throughout the day.  But you can imagine, for 20+ years my morning routine existed of getting kids out the door for school.  I had no idea what I needed first thing in the morning to inspire joy.  

Being the self help junkie that I am, I researched how to find the best morning routine and what I found was profoundly interesting.  According to an article online at www.success.com, we all have a dominant personality trait- Practical, Action, Social or Emotional.  Actually knowing your personality type, can help determine your morning routine.  Practical types, like me, want a highly structured morning routine. I plan to do the same routine every morning:  Meditation, Journal, Motivation and Exercise, but I mix it up by changing up what I read, listen or watch and how I work out to keep it interesting.  Action people need variety.  If this is you, you may need to walk the dog while you practice gratitude and your workout might be a high intensity, type exercise like running or biking.  Social types need a morning routine built around people.  If this is you, you might need to call a friend and visit with her on your drive into work, and your workout routine would most definitely be in a group setting such as a workout class.  The Emotional type is sensitive and tends to be more introverted, so your morning routine should have a lot of quiet time and introspection.  You might spend more time journaling and your workout might be yoga at home.

The key though, with all morning routines is being able to stick to your plan.  Everybody has a morning routine plan until life hits you.  So it's important to create one you can stick with.  You will need to experiment and explore what works for you.  

FOUR CONSTANTS
From all my research and personal exploration, I believe there are four constants to your morning routine no matter what personality type you are.  

1. Meditate:  Get centered.  I do this through prayer.
2. Practice Gratitude:  What are you thankful for? I do this through journaling by writing down what I am especially grateful for each day. 
3. Motivation: Finding motivation to inspire you to be your best self.  I do this by listening to something one of my mentor has posted...a podcast, interview, or article online. Or I listen to music that inspires me. 
4. Exercise: It's a must to move our bodies in one way or another.  Moving our bodies keeps us healthy and stimulates our brains to be more creative. If you don't have time to exercise fully first thing in the morning find a way to move your body that bests fits your personality type for 10-15 minutes. 

Find what works for you through experimenting and exploring and then commit to it.  We all want to have joy in our life and have that sense of peace that comes from it.  But it doesn't just happen.  You must first want it and then you have to work for it.   I promise that it's worth the time and effort.  

Embrace Life and Love What's Next!

What personality type are YOU and what is one of the four constants you are going to explore first?  Share with us and leave a comment below.