The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod is one of my favorite books on self improvement. I love it because it gives a practical solution for improving your daily life and fulfilling your dreams.It takes an hour to complete the suggested routine. But the best part is that you can invest as little as 6 min every morning to see immediate positive change. Isn't this perfect?
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (Amazon Link)
What is Miracle Morning?
Miracle morning is a personal development routine. Success in life and business starts with accepting responsibility for every aspect of your life without blaming anyone. This is the first step toward self improvement. You have to accept the fact that it's no one's fault (your family, friends, government, society...) that you still haven't achieved your goals. You are the only one that can change or create anything in your life. When you realize that, it is important to make a commitment to leave the past behind and make your life the way you want it to be. You are worthy of everything you wish for and you can have it all by dedicating time each day to become the person you need to be.
The Miracle morning routine consists of small, simple steps you go through each day when you wake up. The way you wake up and the things you do each day in the morning dramatically affects your energy levels during the day and also levels of success in all areas of life. Focused and productive morning will generate a productive and successful day and lead toward a successful life.
This routine has 6 steps and a suggested duration of 1 hour:
How to Use the Miracle Morning Routine if You are an Illustrator?
Whether you are an artist, illustrator, fashion designer or something completely different, you can benefit from the miracle morning routine. All you have to do is wake up an hour before your usual wake up time and give it a try.
If you are not really a morning person, don't worry you will quickly adjust and it will get easier with each day. In order to wake up earlier, it would be best if you could go to sleep an hour early so you get the same amount of hours of sleep as usual. Also, don't underestimate the power of intention and every evening before bedtime set a clear intention to wake up without any excuses.
Set your alarm clock and first thing when you get up, go to the bathroom and wash your face with cold water. It will give you an instant rush of energy and you will be fully awake. Drink water and eat if you need to. Everyone is different and you have to see what works best for you. Personally, I don't function at all without breakfast and coffee in the morning and that is the first thing I usually do.
Silence
Beginning each day with silence will bring you calmness, clarity and peace of mind which will help you to focus on important tasks during the day. You will feel less stressed and rushed and more self-aware. Silence can mean different things depending on your preference. You can pray if you prefer, meditate, do breathing exercises or just reflecting on your life and the day ahead.
Meditation in the morning is a bit hard for me, so I usually do some short breathing exercise from an app called Prana Breath. You can choose whatever feels most natural to you and brings you calmness. This part can take as little as 5 min. Meditation can be very rewarding for artists as it benefits the creativity and helps to "empty" the mind of unnecessary clutter.
Affirmations
Repeating certain things makes it easier to believe in them and then things start to manifest faster. Affirmations are an effective way to acknowledge the potential that lies in every one of us. You can design and write down your own affirmations so they are in alignment with what you want to accomplish. Just think about the things you want, why do you want them and declare commitment. You can also use inspirational quotes and philosophies that resonate with you. Here are some examples of affirmations that I like to use:
"Every day in every way I'm getting better and better."
"I have everything to enjoy my here and now"
" I am an open channel for creative energy"
"I love doing my work and I'm greatly rewarded."
" I have enough time, energy, wisdom and money to accomplish my desires."
Visualization
Visualization refers to creating mental images of specific outcomes you want to create in your life. It is basically just imagining what you want and rehearsing how you will achieve it. Find a comfortable place and sit up tall. You can put some music or enjoy the silence. Close your eyes and clear your mind focusing on breath. Visualize your goal or desire and feel it, include all your senses (taste, smell, touch, hear, see). See yourself achieve this goal in the future. Then visualize all that you need to be or do to achieve this goal. Watch yourself enjoying the little tasks that will lead to achieving that goal.
For example, if you want to start earning money as a freelance illustrator and start living from your hobby, you have to visualize that. Imagine yourself getting a payment for your work and receiving emails about new orders. See yourself do all the necessary work, like practice sketching, advertising, telling your friends about it and so on. Engage all your senses, and visualization will get you where you want to be in life.
Exercise
Even a little bit of exercise can have a big impact on all areas of your life. Daily exercise improves your energy levels, boosts health, improves confidence and emotional well-being. You can do as little as 10 jumping jacks or push ups or if you have a bit more time in the morning, do a 20 min full body strength routine. Exercising early in the morning will help you get your workout before being tired from other daily tasks, which means there will be no excuses and will help you have greater focus and concentration on other tasks during the day.
Reading
Reading is one of my favorite ways to learn new things, to relax and also to get inspired and motivated. Reading books about areas of life you want to improve is like having a personal mentor. If you want to become better in drawing human figure, reading books from experts on this subject is the first step to improvement. Or if you are looking to become a well paid freelancer, it would be wise to find books about that and read experiences of other people who took the same road before you. You don't have to read an entire book every day. As little as 5-10 pages daily can have a great impact and it doesn't require much time.
Journaling
This part of the miracle morning routine requires you to put your thoughts in writing every day. You can document your ideas, insights, successes, lessons learned, opportunities and goals you would like to achieve. All you need is a physical journal or a journaling app and 5-10 min each morning to complete this. My favorite things to write about in the morning are 3 things I am grateful for at that moment, list of the things I need to do today that will bring me closer to my goals and brainstorms some ideas and work projects.
If you want to overcome being mediocre and live your life to it's full potential, then I would suggest you try to implement this routine. There is nothing to loose if you give it a try for a couple of days. Waking up an hour earlier than usually is not really that bad and you get used to it quickly. And if this hour helps you achieve all you wish for, isn't it worth to try? If not, you can at least try to implement these steps throughout the day every day and soon you will see improvements in your work and life.