Want to be a happier person on the whole? Try making your mornings more positive, one step at a time, to get rid of the negativity first. The unhappiness will find its own way out soon…
I used to be a morning person and my internal clock tended to wake up around six. This was of course when I was heart-whole and fancy-free, and lived the wonderful bachelorette life. I got married to a non-morning person, but that didn’t really affect my waking hours much. I’d be up at six (and most times I let Grumpy sleep) and had the tendency to drop off to sleep around 10-ish. In retrospect, I was the conventional party pooper!
In the last few years though, I began to wake up grumpy. (No, not the husband – I still let him sleep, though mostly he wakes up on his own, on time, now…)
I mean that I had lost that morning zeal. Mornings started bringing a vague sense of irritability and resentment, rather than positivity. The first thought was about the chores to be done, the bills to be paid, the articles to be submitted, the children to be sent off to school – and that sinking feeling of ‘I think I have forgotten something.’ Being a WAHM is not easy at all, or perhaps being a mother with any sort of career (or not) is a tough act to pull. Children depend on you for everything, and partners need you, too – and there are times when I wish that a day could have more waking hours.
The problem with waking up on the wrong side of the bed is that you end up spreading and absorbing more negativity through the day as well – go to bed in a bad mood, wake up again with a bad mood – and fall into a vicious cycle of being an unhappy person. You yell at the kids instead of sending them off to school lovingly, you yell at the spouse/partner, you slam doors and thump stuff and end up berating yourself for behaving like a nag. So, I decided one day that this cycle just wasn’t cutting it for me, and needed to be trashed once and for all. Here’s what I did to make myself a little happier, by letting in more light, figuratively, every morning.
Keep That Phone Away
Our phones multitask a tad too much – and so, they are also our alarm clocks. We dismiss the alarm and then often end up checking the mail or What’s App or even Facebook, the first thing in the morning! Then the irritation begins – there’s a bill to be paid, a mail that went unanswered, a job rejection or even some snippy remark by a gripy friend on FB! To make your mornings just a little happier, and less complicated, keep that phone away and invest a few bucks on that alarm clock instead.
Enjoy A Brighter Morning
We tend to stay indoors in the mornings because mornings come with a huge set of chores that weigh more on our minds than the fact that a new day has dawned. So, take 5 minutes out – it’s possible, you know – and just step out. Go to the verandah, step onto the balcony or patio, or just stick your head out of your window. There has to be something around that you can take inspiration from – a birdsong, the rosy glow in the sky, the happy sound of children chattering, a leaf, a flower, the panorama… Breathe in that moment of happiness and prolong that feeling for as long as you can. The morning sun brings with it more than vitamin D -- it brings in a brand new page in your diary of life. Make it a happy one.
Finish Off Some Chores The Night Before
If you feel that your mornings are a little too loaded, try and finish off some chores the night before and don’t hesitate to ask for help or delegate a few chores to the others members of the family. And while you are at it, declutter a bit!
Try A Little Gratitude
Instead of whining over what you don’t have or what is lacking in your life, concentrate on what you do have. Frankly, it IS easier done than said. There’s a saying in Persian that roughly translates as ‘no one has everything.’ But everyone does have something. Revel in what you have, be thankful for it, and literally count your blessings. Not for the fear that they too shall disappear, but because you will feel happier that at least, you have that much.
Start With A Detox
A healthy start to a morning is usually a positive start – so start your day with a dose of health. Some exercise or a little yoga, 10 minutes of meditation, a little devotion and a glass of warm water with honey and lemon to cleanse the body of toxins should be part of your morning routine. Obviously, not all these changes can happen in one morning so start small – a 20-minute walk or a 10-round Suryanamaskar is a good start.
Baby steps – that’s how you start making changes that you can stick to positively – the kind that add a wealth of happiness to your life… Stay happy, stay positive. Do share your tips for a positive morning with us in the comments section below…
