Happiness experts say there are some simple habits that you can incorporate into your morning routine to positively influence your day. These tweaks can boost your mood all day long.
- Pick a wellness habit, then link it to part of your morning routine. Decide on a healthy habit you'd like to incorporate into your routine, like exercising or meditating, and attach it to something you every morning like making your bed. Psychiatrist Murray Zucker explains by tacking the ahbit you want to cultivate onto something you're already used to doing, you are more likely to stick with it.
- Get your phone out of your room. Career and life coach Allison Task says this is a non-negotiable with her clients because starting the day by checking your phone, tablet or computer first thing invites the outside world to dictate your happiness.
- Talk to yourself. Zucker is a big fan of using self-talk to psych yourself up and he says saying your own name when you do it makes it more likely you'll follow your advice and take control over your own thoughts.
- Reach out to somebody else. Make a social contact with a loved one, which can be as quick as a text or phone call, or meeting for coffee if you have more time. Even a short email or text to someone you can about can help boost your mood for the day.
- Incorporate gratitude. Research has shown that people who journal about things they're thankful for during the week scored much higher on measures of happiness than those who wrote down things they had been irritated by.
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