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Motivational
7 Morning Routines For Peak Performance
If you are like the vast majority of people, I am sure that you will want to be more productive and be able to work at your peak more frequently and for longer.
Working at peak performance will allow you to get more done in a shorter time and you are much more likely to achieve your goals when working in a peak state.
This acts as a positive reinforcement loop and you will get even more done so it is a key skill to develop if you want to get the best out of life and be a success in whatever you set your mind on.
Peak performance and how to achieve it is not a secret. You just need to follow and model how the super peak performers, achieve the success that you also desire.
This means sacrifice and being more than willing to step up and do things you never thought possible.
When you mention “sacrifice” people shudder and puts many off before they even give it a real shot, but nothing worth achieving is going to be easy.
Peak performers have a certain mindset, and you will need to develop this if you want to work at your peak.
They will also have certain habits and daily routines that they will use to help to put them into a peak state first thing in the morning and to stay there throughout the day.
If peak performers are using habits to start their day in a peak state, don’t you think that it would be worth developing some habits and morning routines that will help you in this way? Of course, you do!
These routines aren’t rocket science or weird; they are just simple things that can help you to start the day in a positive state and to help you make the most of the day ahead.
OK, here are 7 morning routines that you can use to develop peak performance from the minute you get up! Don’t be fooled by their simplicity, but give them a try and see what kind of difference they can make to your day and you performance and productivity.
Take A Cold Shower First Thing In The Morning
This will definitely shake the cobwebs out of your head. Besides the alertness factor, you will be boosting your metabolism.
If you lack energy, then having a cold shower first thing in the morning will fix that.
Start with luke warm water and gradually head to a full cold shower. You should build up this practice by slowly increasing the time under the cold spray.
Perhaps start at 2 minutes the first day and go to 3 minutes the second day. Work on your tolerance at your pace rather than someone else’s.
Note: If you have health issues such as high blood pressure, check with your GP first to make sure cold showers aren’t going to affect you adversely.
Get Some Exercise
Exercise right after your cold shower. If you are in the martial arts, chances are you already do the cold showers and know how it improves your performance. Pick an exercise that makes you sweat. You want to work on your heart rate, flexibility and strength.
This means having some equipment at home or doing bodyweight exercises.
You can also hit the gym if you don’t mind the fees and other issues.
Doing exercise before you start the workday, helps with your energy levels, avoiding procrastination on work and elevating your mood.
When you get your exercise done first thing in the morning, you get a “happy,” blast of feel good natural chemicals coursing through your veins. People who suffer from depression or low moods, can use exercise to change how they feel.
Getting a good dose of oxygen from vigorous exercise works marvels for your mental health and ability to perform at peak levels.
Write It Down
Write in your journal, while you relax for a bit after a workout.
Write down how you are feeling at the moment and what you may need to do in order to keep your brain activated for peak performance.
Journaling helps you to sort out your thoughts into a logical order instead of a jumble in your head and can give you clarity and focus which are critical for peak performance.
Practice Meditation
Once you have written in your journal, why not meditate about what you have written today for 5 to 10 minutes? Just be calm and let your mind flow. Inner calmness is what makes peak performers great.
As high performers get hit with adversity during the day, it flows off them and they do not allow it to affect how they feel or perform.
Meditation and mindfulness really do help you to cope with any unforeseen obstacles and can keep you focused on the task(s) at hand.
Practice Gratitude
State what you are grateful for today. You should be grateful every day you wake up and have a new chance to make it happen.
Start by being grateful for the breakfast you are about to eat for nourishment and work your way through everything else.
Be grateful for the people in your life and the ability to perform and contribute to others.
You can also ask yourself questions that can make you feel grateful and really lift your mood. Try questions like these:
“What am I really grateful for in my life right now?”
“What about that makes me feel grateful?”
“How does that make me feel?”
If you are a Christian or have a spiritual belief then you can do the same thing with prayer, giving thanks to God.
This is completely different from the questions most people ask themselves in the morning, such as “Why do I have to get up so early in the morning?”
Those types of questions make you feel lousy and will put you in a poor state for the whole day if you aren’t careful, so be very mindful of the questions you are asking yourself, especially those when you first wake up as they will impact the rest of your day!
Review Your Goals Daily
Those goals must be firmly implanted in your mind.
With the daily review, your subconscious mind will get involved and work to make things happen. Your subconscious mind will be driven to help you succeed and become a peak performer.
Remember the saying, “You are, what you think about all day long.”
And don’t forget to enjoy the journey as well as the destination (goal). If you want to learn how to focus on enjoying the journey too, take a look at this training called Enjoy The Journey.
Practice Visualization
Visualizing achieving those goals is another way of firmly implanting what you desire and then allowing the universe to completely understand how much you want to succeed.
When you have goals centered on peak performance, visualizing them helps to make them real.
This can take some practice, but visualization is a really powerful skill to develop so take some time to do so and you will reap the benefits.
OK, there are 7 morning routines that you can use to supercharge your day and to put you in a peak performance state so that you can be super productive and achieve anything.
Developing Yourself To Take Action
Have you ever spent any time studying very successful people? Do they seem to you to have something in common? There seems to be something about them, but it’s somewhat elusive, not easy to define.
Maybe you think it’s all due to lucky breaks….?
But have you ever heard the expression, “I find that the harder I work, the luckier I get.”? Something to think about, and, of course, it’s not just working hard, it’s also about working smart.
The most successful people share certain secrets. Any idea what they are? Call them ideas or call them traits, people with power or success or money seem to have these things in common:
- The power of persistence
- The power of passion
- The power of self-control
- The power decision and action
- The power of creativity
So, let’s have a look at them and see what these superpowers can do for your life.
The Power Of Persistence
We all know and admire people who have failed and gone on to great success. Before he invented the electric light bulb, Thomas Edison failed more than 1000 times. He never saw it as a failure; he saw it as one more step towards succeeding.
Henry Ford is another example. He came from a poor background with no education, but he looked at the horse and buggy, and saw the amazing cars we drive today.
Abraham Lincoln failed in business and in running for government several times, but we all know how he ended up.
Persistence will carry you when intelligence and luck do not. Many of us give up too soon. Winston Churchill, a hero in horrible times, is well known for this phrase,” Never, never, never, never give up.”
Call it persistence, perseverance or grit; do you have it? And if not, can you develop and nurture it because it will definitely help you when the going gets tough (and we know life has a tendency to put obstacles in our way from time to time).
The Power Of Passion
You’ve probably heard the expression, “if you can believe it, you can achieve it.” That’s telling us that a good idea alone is not enough. You have to believe in it. I’ll bet you know people who are very intelligent but have never risen very high in life.
And I’ll bet you know other people who haven’t had much going for them but have succeeded despite obstacles. It’s very likely due to their determination to achieve their goals despite anything that comes against them. To the extent that you can acquire this attitude, you will succeed.
It’s pretty obvious that if you don’t enjoy what you are doing then you are much more likely to give it up because it doesn’t light a fire inside you.
Can you develop a passion for something? Of course you can, but you need to stick with it long enough for that passion to develop and this is where the point above about persistence will help.
The Power Of Self-Control
As you probably know, entrepreneurs have a lot of power over their jobs and careers, but if it’s used incorrectly, it can lead to failure. The power of self-control in business is really about the way you handle your thoughts and your emotions.
As you start to take action instead of procrastinating to manage any drivers that keep you stuck, and to focus, you will increase your ability to succeed.
The way you think can have a huge effect on the way you act and being able to exhibit self-control is an incredibly valuable superpower to develop and nurture.
The Power Of Decision And Action
Studies have shown that one of the greatest causes of failure is lack of decision. Along with that, procrastination is the most common thing that holds people back from achieving their full potential.
Studies have also shown that millionaires make a habit of making decisions promptly and then only changing them when necessary.
Decision-making is not just about the ability to do it promptly; it’s also about having the correct information on which to base the decision.
You may need to rely on others for help or information but base your decision on the most accurate facts possible. Once you feel you have those, take action.
If you don’t take action, then any amount of planning and preparation is completely useless, and you will never reach your goals.
Action creates traction and is absolutely crucial to any type of success in life whether that be health, wealth, relationships etc.
You must be decisive and take action as quickly as you can and don’t be afraid to “fail forward” because this way you will at least be making some progress and you will be constantly learning what does and doesn’t work.
The Power Of Creativity
This quality know as creativity, is seriously underrated. No doubt about it. Creativity does not just apply to writing a novel or painting a portrait; it applies to the life you create for yourself and the business you create for yourself in all their aspects.
And so much of your success will depend on how creative your solutions are.
Have you noticed? Almost every great success story in business begins with one good idea.
If you can’t think for yourself and imagine possibilities, you must depend only on what others before you have done. That might not be right for you. That might not be your best.
At its best, your plan of action will combine all these “success” qualities or traits to create a completely rewarding plan for yourself.
And when you develop these superpowers you are much more likely to create a plan of action and more importantly, to take action!
And don’t forget to enjoy the journey along the way. So many of us are totally fixated on the end result that we forget to enjoy the personal growth and achievement that happens along the way.
If that’s you then please check out this training that will encourage you to embrace the process and enjoy the journey so you can feel fulfilled before you even reach your goals which is a real win-win situation 😊
Using Challenges To Develop Self-Discipline
Ah, the prickly subject of self-discipline! We all want more of it so we can achieve our goals and dreams but it can sometimes feel so elusive.
Well, let’s look at a couple of ways that you can use to develop more self-discipline and hopefully this will enable you to become more successful than ever. Sound good? OK, let’s get started…
One way you can develop more self-discipline is to use challenges. This makes it more like a game and less like a chore.
Also, there can be the element of competition with others and having others help hold you accountable which improves your odds of success.
Challenges are very popular and you can find them in many places. Or you can make up your own and share it with a group of people. You also can make your own challenge or use one from someone else to just challenge yourself. However, you end up doing it is up to you.
When looking to see if a challenge will be useful to you, there are some factors to look for, so you can best benefit.
Is the challenge realistic? You want to stretch yourself, but not to the point where you have no chance of success.
For example, you could challenge yourself to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, but that is not very realistic. You also want the challenge to not be too easy.
You need to see if you have the time to devote to it. Be sure to include time for learning new things.
For example if you challenge yourself to build a new blogging website in 30 days, remember that if you have never done one before, you will have to learn some things and that will be extra time above just writing the blog posts,
If the challenge is a large one over a longer period of time, are there clear-cut milestones along the way to help you have a sense of accomplishment? If your challenge, for example, is losing 60 pounds in a year, you need to set up smaller weight goals along the way so you can keep up the momentum.
Milestones also help you see if you need to tweak the challenge, either lower or higher. If you lose 10 pounds in about 2 months, you are right on schedule, If you have only lost 5 pounds in that same time period, though, you may need to lower the amount you plan on losing in a year. Now if you lose 15 pounds in 2 months, you may want to raise the amount you plan on losing in a year or cut the time down to say 10 months.
When you do a group challenge, you have some added benefits. There is a sense of camaraderie when working together on a goal that you do not get just competing with yourself.
Other people can give you ideas, too. For example if you are in a group losing weight, people can share healthy recipes and support. Just remember that the primary person you are in competition with is not the others, but yourself and you can really enjoy doing a group challenge.
As you can see, challenges are a great way to build more self-discipline and one of the reasons they work so well, especially with group challenges, is due to accountability so let’s take a look at that next.
How Accountability Can Help You With Self Discipline
Many people think self-discipline means doing it all on your own, but it does not mean that at all. In fact, having a coach, or a group, or an accountability partner can really help you to develop more discipline.
An example would be when someone puts off housework until they know someone is coming over, and they race around to get the house all tidy before their visitor arrives.
It is far easier to give in and be less disciplined when you just have yourself in the picture. When you have a person or people hold you accountable though, you are far more likely to make sure it happens.
An accountability partner is someone you set up a contract with to hold each other accountable for reaching goals. This is a mutual pact and is probably the easiest to set up.
The goals do not have to be the same ones, the point is to connect on a regular basis, often once a week, and share with each other how much you have accomplished. The best way to do this is to break up the task into daily chunks and do each one each day so that you are not trying to finish up the project the night before you meet with your accountability partner.
It is often easier to schedule a meeting with one other person than a group of people. You also usually do not have to pay for this method, and most masterminds and coaches are paid programs.
You also have more flexibility in how you meet with an accountability partner. You can just call them on the phone, or use an instant messaging program, You could meet for lunch once a week at a restaurant, or at your house.
You may prefer joining a group like a mastermind instead of just a one on one accountability partner.
The advantage to having a group is additional pressure on you not to let the whole group down, and the fact when you run across an obstacle, the group can help brainstorm ideas to help you out. Two heads may be better than one, but sometimes multiple heads are much better than just two.
You may find that you want some one on one coaching, or small group coaching instead, to keep you accountable. Maybe you are trying something new and need teaching as well as the connection.
One on one coaching tends to be the most expensive option since you are taking up a lot of the time of your coach.
Group coaching is becoming far more available because it allows the coach to help more people at the same time, plus gives the advantage of having other people that can help you out with specific issues, like a mastermind. They also usually cost a lot less than one on one coaching so may be more in your budget.
Whatever method or methods you use, remember you still have to be disciplined for them to work.
Use Strategic Thinking To Build The Life You Really Want
Are you feeling a bit confused by strategic thinking? You know it’s essential for your career and your business, but how do you actually do it?
Most people will know why they should be using strategic thinking, but knowing why you need to do it and how to actually pull it off are two completely different things, so let’s look at how you can get started thinking strategically.
5 Questions You Can Ask Yourself To Clarify Your Strategic Thinking
Here are five questions you should ask yourself to really sharpen your strategic thinking.
Yes, there are probably way more than this, but by keeping it to five questions, this shouldn’t look too overwhelming.
What Do You Want?
The most important thing to work out is where you want to be. Everything—goals, strategies, steps, should all be pointing to your desired destination.
Do you want to be CEO, or be running your own company?
What do you want to achieve this year, in five years, ten? What are your actual goals? What’s your vision?
Get it all down on paper and think big! And don’t limit yourself at all; let your imagination run riot. Some ideas may seem silly, but it is really liberating to get it all down.
Once you have everything down you can start planning what you need to do to achieve it, but without an end in sight, you will probably never even get started.
Where Are You Starting From?
Do a survey of exactly where you are right now.
What skills, resources, and assets do you have? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks in your current job or business?
Are you satisfied with life the way it is, or do you want something more?
What connections do you have? Map out your network and what value you provide to them, and what they offer you. Write up your self-inventory.
What Do You Have The Power To Change?
Think about what is in your control at the present moment.
What can you streamline or eliminate? What do you need to add, enhance, or modify to reach your goals?
This can include anything from training, networking opportunities, to investment advice or strategic career planning.
What Do You Need To Move Ahead?
Take another look at your self-inventory.
What skills, resources, knowledge, and connections do you need to get closer to success?
If this is difficult or overwhelming, consider finding a mentor or life coach who can help you find your way.
It can be scary to even considering mentoring, but it could be the right move for you if you keep getting stuck on your own.
Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make, so at least consider it if you are struggling.
How Can I Reach My Goals And Still Enjoy Life?
Really going for success shouldn’t make for a joyless life, totally focused on getting ahead.
Make sure you take time to have fun and do the things that give you pleasure.
Think of what Future Successful You enjoys doing. What makes your future worth striving for?
Write down all the fun things you will do, whether it’s staying in 5-star hotels or being able to work for only half the year. Imagine driving your dream car. See yourself in your future executive suite.
See what elements of your future life you can start to incorporate in the present and build on those. Before you know it, you will be toasting your success!
Now, one of the biggest issues that stops you from planning and building for the future is by staying in the past.
Remember: the past doesn’t equal the future!
If you keep looking back, you will never move forward, so let’s look at how you can let go of the past and build a fantastic future!
How To Let Go Of The Past
You have probably read a lot about why you should let go of the past. However, it’s more important to know how to do it.
Most people will eventually come to grips with why they should do it.
They get stuck on actually taking steps to make it happen. So, let’s look at 7 things you can do to finally rid yourself of the past and to use it as a tool to help you mould a better future.
Give Yourself Permission To Let Go Of The Past
That is an important step. Your brain can latch onto something and is waiting for you to release the responsibility.
By committing to this release, your brain can focus on other productive areas.
That release comes in the form of telling yourself to let go. If you can master this, you truly can be free of the grip that your past has on your life.
Is it easy? For many people it can be incredibly difficult, but if you can do it, the results are truly liberating.
Learn From Your Past Experiences
There are learning nuggets contained within your past.
Anything you have done or tried before is up for grabs in the University of your past and there are so many lessons that you can use to grow into the future if you will let them.
It’s up to you to recognize what those lessons are and how to use them effectively.
The way to use them is to determine why they happened and how to avoid them in the future. All experiences are opportunities for growth and they don’t ll have to be labelled as “failures” either.
Consider Learning Meditation
When you are relaxed, you will have an easier time of purging your past. One of the best forms of relaxation is meditation.
It takes several sessions to get your body and mind in tune with the techniques.
Don’t expect fast solutions with this. The key is to keep doing it until you feel the effects.
If you are a person of faith, you can try prayer too; the results will similarly give you a peace of mind and you can relax because you have shared your issues with God.
Don’t Hide From Your Past
People try to pretend certain aspects of their past did not happen, especially the more embarrassing moments.
However, this may cause them to come back to you with a vengeance since they are bottling up within you.
Acknowledge everything about your past but commit to pushing forward.
Hiding from the past solves nothing and can cause bitterness to develop if you keep looking back at what you don’t have; instead look at what you have now and you will see that you have grown so much already.
Keep A Journal Of Your Experiences
Be as detailed as possible so you can refer to the journal when faced with similar circumstances in the future.
Don’t treat your journal as a bible, however. Just use the journal as a guideline.
Journaling can be a really great way to bring clarity and focus into your life and helps you to put things into perspective when you look back on them.
And if your life is worth living, it is worth recording, right?
And you can show these to your kids so they can learn from the journey that you have gone through during your life.
Don’t Expect All Changes To Occur Immediately
Your past habits may be difficult to break. Therefore, don’t try to change everything in one shot.
Give it time. It took a long time to develop those bad habits.
If you are too hard on yourself about your past, stop. You don’t want to burn yourself out and give up before you have even got started!
It’s okay to acknowledge that you made some mistakes but don’t get overly critical of them.
Concentrate On The Good Aspects Of Your Past
Sometimes, you may focus on your mistakes and mask the fact that you had some wonderful experiences in the past as well.
These are equally important. So, don’t forget to look over the good times too.
It appears that human nature is hardwired to dwell on the negative, but take the time to look at the positive things in your life and you can feel better instantly.
Just try it and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can make yourself feel better by focusing on the positive 🙂
OK, I hope this article will give you some pointers on using strategic thinking to move ahead in your life and also to help you to let go of the past if this keeps holding you back.
Change Your Life: 5 Tiny Steps To Big Change
How many times have you told yourself that you must quit your job and try something else?
How many times have you paid for a gym membership, and yet, you haven’t set foot in the gym?
The truth is that people resist change. They are afraid of the unknown and prefer to be in control. After all, we are creatures of habit.
What if you could transform your life without actually making big changes? Think of it as a gradual process that you complete at your own pace. Here are six tiny steps to get started!
Open Your Mind
The first step is to open your mind and embrace change.
We are wired to resist any changes that disrupt our habits and living patterns.
Unless you beat inertia, you’ll never be able to transform your life.
Relax and be ready for whatever comes. Forget the old saying “no pain, no gain.”
Big, dramatic changes won’t necessarily produce big results. Sometimes, it’s the little things that matter.
Stop Caring About What Others Think
Let’s say you want to relocate to a new city, but your parents disapprove.
They keep saying that you’ll feel alone, have trouble finding work, and waste a ton of money.
Even the tiniest change has its challenges. However, this isn’t a reason to give up.
Stop caring about what others think of you. It’s your life, your decisions, your regrets. Focus on the things that make you happy, come up with a plan, and go for it!
Be Grateful
No matter how much you want to change your life, be grateful for what you have right now.
Try to find joy in the smallest things, such as a walk in the park or the time spent reading a good book.
Gratitude will bring you joy. That will keep you going and boost your motivation.
Negative thinking may be holding you back and increase your resistance to change.
Celebrate Every Step Of Your Journey
The bigger your goal, the longer it takes to achieve it.
However, this shouldn’t put you down. On the contrary – take the time to celebrate and enjoy every step of the process.
Go out and have fun, share your accomplishments online, or call a friend – do whatever works for you.
The whole point is to be grateful for how far you’ve come.
Stick To It
Stick to the changes you have made. Don’t jump from one thing to the next.
Be consistent and take small steps toward your goals.
For instance, if you start meditating or practising yoga, do it every single day.
Want to build your own business? Do something in this regard on a daily basis. That could be setting up a blog, creating a Facebook fan page, or connecting with potential clients.
So, what are you waiting for? An awesome life is just a few steps away!
And to help you along the way, let’s look at some books that can really inspire you along the journey
Best Books For Developing Small Changes
Books have the power to change lives. Whether you’re getting ready to start a new career, leave your relationship, or start a side hustle, grab a good book that relates to your goals.
It might exactly be what you need to gain new insights and find your inner drive.
To help you out, we’ve made a list of the best books for developing small changes:
Habit Stacking: 127 Small Changes To Improve Your Health, Wealth, And Happiness
Need a step-by-step plan to improve your health, feel happier, and attract more money in your life?
Then this book is a must read! Inside, you’ll find a list of 127 small changes that you can implement on a daily basis. Most of them only take five minutes or less to complete.
The book also features nine routine samples that will boost your productivity and bring you closer to your goals.
You will learn the three types of habits you need to build and how to incorporate them into your life.
Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results
If you keep setting goals and failing to achieve them, then this book is for you.
Mini Habits relies on the premise that small changes drive big results.
It will show you how to consistently build small habits that will change your life for the better.
Over 95 percent of people fail to lose weight. If you fall into this category, it’s time to change your approach to dieting and exercise.
With this handy book, you will learn how to change your lifestyle and develop healthier habits effortlessly.
The strategies featured inside rely on extensive biological and neuroscience research, so they are sure to work. Your only job is to apply them and be consistent.
The Healthy Habit Revolution: Create Better Habits in 5 Minutes a Day
What if you could change your habits and build a better life in just five minutes a day? That’s what this book is all about.
The Healthy Habit Revolution will show you how to develop daily habits that support your goals and keep you motivated.
You will find out why your efforts have failed in the past and what it honestly takes to become more productive and reach your goals.
We’ve all heard the old saying Less is more. It applies to all aspects of our lives, including goal setting and the development of new habits.
The Power of Less will teach you how to create new, better habits by narrowing your focus.
By the time you finish reading it, you’ll work less and smarter, feel motivated, and enjoy a more fulfilling life.
