gwunspoken

Choose Your Story Before The World Chooses It For You

• Garry • Season 2 • Episode 2

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey everyone and welcome back to GD I've been spoken. We discussed stuff we don't typically talk about, but probably should interrupt us season two, episode two, in our well-being episodes, and hopefully this will resonate with you too. Because if you know me, I'm actually a morning person. I actually love that stillness, the space before the world wakes up and it's nice and quiet. You've got that gold window before the day takes over and noisy kids are running around everywhere, too. So look, I will be honest though, sometimes I stare at the ceiling and I just think, yeah, come on, just five more minutes. Just give me five minutes. Is that really the alarm going off? Because sometimes that alarm clock feels like betrayal, all your routines in place, and getting up doesn't seem easy. So today's episode is about how to build morning rituals that actually stick. And if you're not naturally wide like me, or you know, even if you are, you can still get stuck sometimes in those battles in the mornings trying to get up when you know you have to and you just leave it to the last minute. And so, look, we're going to explore how we can actually have rituals that will work, and they won't just fall apart as fast as the news resolution. They'll have to actually become part of who you are. Alright? And so, you as a listener, you're you're the hero here. You you want your mornings to be calm, productive, and intentional, but instead I understand they're probably often a blur of alarm, scrolling, rushing in regret. And this is the shock stat. Now, according to the Sleep Foundation, 57%, now I'm reading this word for word here, 57% of adults check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up. And those who do report higher stress and lower energy by mid-morning. See, how's that for a fun fact? Probably not that fun, right? But you know, we think it's harmless, but that quick dopamine hit hijacks your focus before you even have a chance to set it. You know, I've had mornings where I've woken up early, ready to go, but I've lost 20 minutes to messages, emails, and I'm just stuck in my, what would you say? It's it's actually flipped where I wanted to go for that morning. And it's actually add more stress. So that peaceful early start just becomes noise. So the problem isn't when we wake up, it's actually how, how we wake up. So you listen to this episode now, how do you actually wake up in the morning? Does it look like scrolling? Does it look at your phone? Are you woken up by an alarm clock? You know, everyone's different. Some people like shift work, so it's definitely hard when you're having to balance sleep and the hours of sleep you've got. But look, I'm not an expert with a perfect record, but as a guy who knows a fight, I've studied the morning routines of athletes, entrepreneurs, even monks, and I've realized something powerful. You don't need a perfect morning, you need what's called an intentional one. So if you start your day on purpose, even small rituals can reset your mindset. Now, love the books from Donald Miller, but he says too, when you help someone envision a better version of themselves, you've actually helped them find a story worth living. And that's what a good morning ritual does. It tells your brain this day is a new story, and this day is going to be worth living. You know, you're setting your intention. So look, let's make it simple. They say really good coaches, and when you give good presentations, you have three major steps, no more than three. So here's three steps, no gimmicks, no five hour marathons, just something that's can probably stick for you. So, number one, as with anything, when you're looking at leadership or looking at change, you need to start small and have a lot of wins quickly. So this is the start small one. Anchor the wake up. So your first ritual should be instant and rewarding. So mine is the smell of coffee and stepping outside barefoot to let the dogs out, feeling the fresh air. All right, tells my body, hey, we're alive, let's move. Your version could be a stretch, a song, uh, a shower, a cold splash of water, anything sensory that signals your body or to your body, it's it's time now. It's time to get up. All right. So Mel Robbins also talks about the five-second principle. So if you find that hard to do, count down five, four, three, two, one, a bit like a human rocket blast off after ten. So he says counting down's better. And then on the one and you get to zero, you just move. Without any emotion, without any stress, without any afterthought, you you're gone. You're just up. Okay, so start small, anchor, wake up. Number two, protect your gold in 15 minutes. So this is sacred. So don't give it to anyone else. Don't give it to your phone, don't give it to your inbox, don't give it to a group show a group chat. For the first 15 minutes, just own your thoughts. All right. So that might mean journaling, making a bed, or simply sitting up with your breath. It could be getting up and brushing your teeth, having a whole drink of water. Alright? Make them yours. So if you've ever opened your emails before coffee and felt like you've aged three years, you now know why this probably matters, all right? And number three, focus on one win. So write down one thing you'll do today that moves your life forward. Not ten. Because you just set yourself up for five if you don't get to them. So just one. And that single focus point actually sets your momentum. All right, because motivation doesn't appear, it's built through early action. Okay, mine is making my bed, I can't stand doing it, kick my toe half a time on the edge, but it feels like I've accomplished something early and it's a routine. Here's another shock stat. People who complete one clear task before 9 a.m., 9 a.m. are 31% more likely to describe their day as productive. I don't know where they get the stat from, but that's pretty cool if you ask me. Like a third more likely. So, you know, that's not luck, that's actually design. So look, if you ignore your mornings, they'll actually control you. If you design your mornings, you'll control your day. So without ritual, your minds sort of wake up reactive, chasing other people's priorities. With ritual, your mind wakes up creative. So you choose your own story. But here's a failure path. If you hit snooze, you scroll, you'll chase the clock all day long. But if you rise with intention and you lead your thoughts, by 9 a.m. you're already winning and you're winning quietly. Alright? And here's a great quote, you'll probably know this from we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Alright? Let me give you three simple ones. So three simple rituals now that can stick that has worked for me and many of the people participants I work with. Number one, the 60-second gratitude reset. Before you your feet even hit the floor, name three three things. Three things you're grateful for. So out loud, all right? Shift your focus from fatigue to appreciation. Your mindset is straight away into a positive loop. All right, not oh tired, what have I got on today? Will I get through all this today? What else do I have to chase? All right, just three things that you're gonna start off positively. All right, and that's a 60-second gratitude reset. Number two, have it like a movement micro burst. Put on your favorite song and move. Stretch, bounce, walk down the hallway, do a dance in the kitchen where you're putting your coffee on, whatever it might be. You know, it takes three minutes, it wakes your cells up, and it actually, again, get your mindset positive. Okay, so just try, just try and move. Your body, your body actually is built for movement. All right, you often say, or we often say in the house, here you've got a sore back or a sore neck, and it's probably from sitting too much on behind a laptop. So just move. And the other one is have have like one, a one-thought journal. Write down one line. So even say an intentional starter, say, oh today, today I want to feel, and whatever you always want to want to feel. Right? And then that feeling starts becoming your compass. You start looking for that. It's like when you're, you know, at the moment I'd love to have a brand new RAM if we had the money. I'd like to see a RAM. And then say now, every time you're down the road, you see RAMs everywhere. All right, so it actually becomes your compass. So mine yesterday was calm, but then I hit traffic behind a learner driver, progress wasn't perfection. So it it'll, I'm not saying these are things will will work all the time, but it just gets your mindset ready rather than being a loop of what you've probably been doing as a habit. So look, even if you're not a morning person, that's okay. Morning rituals aren't about time, they're about tone. So whether it's 5 a.m. or 9 a.m., the first 10 minutes you awake shapes the other 16 hours of your day. And look, if you are a morning person but still struggle, that's normal. It's not a lack of motivation, it's a sign that you're human. So just be kind to yourself and start again tomorrow. All right, so just just imagine this though. Just imagine you wake up, you stretch, you breathe, you sip your water juice or coffee, whatever you have, and you just spend five quiet minutes setting a tone. And by the time the world starts demanding your attention, you've already centered yourself. That's not just routine, that's actual ritual. And ritual is what turns chaos into calm and autopilot into intention. Alright, so just try those few things, just see if that works. And look, here's some homework for you for your journal prompt this week. So pen and paper, again, writing it down, open up your journal. I love when people actually write down you can do it on your app, on your phone, it's fine, but again, it's great to be off your device and writing things down. Number one, what's one small ritual that you can try that can make you feel grounded in the morning? What's one you can try? We've gone through today. Number two, what's usually the first thing that steals your focus? Yeah, and when you do know what that is, how can you protect yourself from it? All right, mine would often be an email. You know, what work have I catch up on, or what's happened overnight that I'm not aware of? Try and not let that steal your focus. And number three, if you mastered mornings for one week, what difference would it make? And then how would you show up for the rest of the day? Because that's the kicker. That's the thing that will actually change you. Not just, hey, look, I'm getting up early and it's it's fine. It's how is it going to actually change your day, change your perspective? All right, and change your compass. So, look, thanks for joining me in this episode. Remember, morning rituals aren't about being perfect, they're about being present. So, again, at a.m or 9 a.m. doesn't matter. If you start your day with intention, you've already beaten the chaos. And look, if this episode has helped you, share it with someone who struggles a bit with their day, and let's build better mornings together. And I'm Gary, and I'm looking forward to your company next time you listen to the show.