There is a whole body of self-help literature dedicated to making the most of your morning time. Taking control of your mornings puts you at a clear advantage. In Wake Up Call- Take control of your mornings and transform your life by Thibaut Meurisse (Rupa Publications) the author delves into some actionable steps to establish a morning routine that is tailored to an individual’s specific requirements and lifegoals.
Wake Up Call
This book is a wakeup call of sorts. Since it is action-oriented, prepare to do intense groundwork in terms of answering some questions and contemplating what you want your morning ritual to do for you. Of course, arriving at a framework for structuring your mornings is an integral part of the book. However, it is the inner work before you set the morning ritual that makes this book different. It is in the questions that get you to probe deeper that you will finally discover value. You may have to battle some inner demons and resistance, but once the coast is clear, you’ll have a base on which to construct your very own morning ritual- one that works for you.
Wake Up Call outlines a 10-step formula to devise your very own morning ritual. It begins with clarifying why we want the ritual in the first place, gradually making way through different crucial steps and finally culminating into an actual applicable morning routine. Along the way, there are many suggestions and examples that will ensure you don’t get stuck at any stage. The exploratory questions in the book are indeed a treasure-trove that will help the reader articulate his or her fears, hopes, dreams, ambitions, apprehensions and expectations. In short, these will help the reader do the inner digging that is so crucial to set a morning ritual that will optimise your life.
Another concept that the book highlights has to do with limiting beliefs. Don’t we all know what is ‘good’ for us and what we ‘should’ be doing? Why is it then that many of us fail to act? The answer is self-sabotage. Though the use of carefully framed questions I love the way this book makes the reader alert about how we can often sabotage what is the best for us!
The exploratory questions in the book are indeed a treasure-trove that will help the reader articulate his or her fears, hopes, dreams, ambitions, apprehensions and expectations. In short, these will help the reader do the inner digging that is so crucial to set a morning ritual that will optimise your life. Here are some of my favourite ones:
Why is my life such a blessing?
What positive emotions could I allow myself to experience at a higher level?
What is my life purpose?
What the one thing I haven’t done, but really want to do? What am I waiting for?
What would I do today if I were to act like my future self?
What self-limiting beliefs have I been clinging to? How would my life improve if I could get rid of this belief?
What do I need to become to achieve my goals?
How can I experience more excitement and joy in my relationship with my partner?
How can I surprise my partner today?
How can I take better care of my body?
What could I do that would make my partner’s day better?
Take control of your mornings..takeaways
- Most people will never reach even a fraction of their true potential. They’ll remain a mere shadow of what they could have been, because they never make the conscious choice to create the life they want
- It’s what you do each day that determines your long-term results in life. You are, quite literally, what you do and think on a daily basis.
- It’s crucial to make a conscious choice to control your thoughts and focus towards what you want to attract in your life. If you don’t, you’ll continue having the same unhelpful thoughts you’ve had for years, will keep falling into the same behavioural patterns and will never be able to bring about the changes you want in your life.
- Your ‘why’ will always be more important than the ‘how’ and ‘how to’ of daily morning rituals.
- The only way to wake up early on a consistent basis is to have a strong reason to do so.
- While designing your morning ritual, you want to make sure it nurtures your body, mind and spirit, rather than just one or two of these.
- Have you ever talked yourself out of something you wanted to do? Why did you do that? Chances are, you did it because you have some fears or beliefs that made you think you couldn’t do it. Someone else could, sure, but not you. This is a perfect example of a limiting belief. Your morning ritual is also a great opportunity to overcome your limiting beliefs.
It is time to truly own your mornings and kickstart your day in the best way you can! Do you want to transform your life for the better? Start by taking complete control of your mornings.
