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Five Top Tips for Creating a Daily Positive Mindset, and Have You Smiling Each Day

What is the secret to waking up smiling and feeling positive at the start of each day? My top tip is to create a morning routine and make it a habit. I am going to share with you some super easy, but also super effective activities that you can make part of your routine. If you can do all of these - great. However if you can only add ONE in each day…you are doing awesome! Best of all, most of these can be done even before you get out of bed or open your eyes. I like to sit up …just in case I accidentally fall back asleep! I love to read about morning routines of successful entrepreneurs, authors and athletes. However, they can be a bit overwhelming to take into the every day life, especially if you have a family, responsibilities and it is not viable to get up bright-eyed each day at 3am to start the process. These are all super simple and easy to adapt and anyone can do it, from young children to corporates. adding these in, can have a huge impact. Let's get started with my five top tips for creating a daily positive mindset. 1. GRATITUDE: Call it gratitude or being thankful, either way, it has huge benefits to making this a part of your daily morning routine. You can write it down or mentally say and feel three things you are grateful for each day upon waking. . It should be easy to name the obvious such as your relationships, your job, and home. However, also write down the areas of your life that you take for granted such as the ability to see, drinkable water out of the tap, and hearing birds singing in your back garden. Gratitude allows you to realise that you are part of this big, beautiful world. Also, you get to see the big picture of where you are in your life, and take time to celebrate and appreciate the milestones along the way. Regular gratitude practice has been shown to reduce stress; improve our relationships; have a more positive outlook on life; improve our sleep; complain less and keep the doctors at bay with better coping mechanisms and management of illnesses. 2. BREATHING Practising a breathing technique allows you to bring your mind into the present moment. If you are truly present in the moment (a human being rather a human doing!) you will feel pure joy, contentment, love and happiness. Most of the time, we are so caught up in our thoughts of the past (memories) or the future (planning or worries) that we don't just let ourselves be in the present moment. Our bodies are always in the present moment. One of the easiest ways we can align the mind to connect with our body is through breathing techniques. There are many different types to try, however, I find the easiest ones are breath counting. Try this one for a few minutes each morning sitting or lying down. Try to make the exhale longer and deeper than the inhale, for example - count to 4 slowly on the inhale and count to 8 slowly on the exhale. Notice the change you feel after doing this, and release any unwanted emotions and thoughts. 3. MEDITATION I am always asked if you need to sit in silence for a long time to experience meditation. If you have the time - great! However, even 5 or 10 minutes can change your mindset, clear and calm the thoughts and set you up for the day ahead. You can do a guided meditation or just sit and be still and keep the awareness on the breath. Find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. I like to use the same spot (I have set up a meditation corner of the living room), however anywhere is fine. Don't worry if the thoughts come up - they will! It is said that you have between 60–80,000 thoughts in one day (24 hour period). It is about noticing when you get distracted by these thoughts and gently guide yourself back to your breath. Gradually there will be long moments of stillness between the thoughts. Imagine your thoughts are like all the clouds in the sky. Notice the blue peeking out, rather than the clouds. 4. POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS Whether it is adding in affirmations or reading an inspiring quote each morning, adding positive words in your mindset you up for the day ahead. I personally love to add daily affirmations at the end of my meditations and say them either out loud or in my head. Setting positive thoughts and believing in the power of affirmations are a way to achieving your goals and your life's purpose. We already have many affirmations, but they are often negative ones. We want to change the negative affirmations, such as ''I am so stressed at work'' into a positive one ''I am calm and productive''. When setting your affirmations, take out the words - no, not, or never and embrace the new you. Follow the P's for setting your affirmations and keep them positively phrased, personal, and in the present tense. Some simple affirmations can be: I am a success; I am in control; I am happy and healthy; I am worthly; All is well; My life is heading in the right direction; I am kind to myself; or simply make up your own. Even if you do not actually feel it at the moment, if you believe in the affirmation, it can be truly amazing. 5. EXERCISE With exercise, do not get put off if you don't have time for a full 1-hour gym session. Even a few rounds of a sun salute, some star jumps with the kids, or a brisk 10 minute walk around the block with the dog. Even better if you can go outside in nature and breath in the fresh air. Simply moving the body in some way, get the blood flowing, and your body will thank you for it! Heidi Horne is a Yoga and Wellness Teacher and Positive Mindset Coach. She loves to share her passion for creating balance and wellbeing and inspiring others with her retreats, online courses, and yoga teacher training. Sign up here for a free download of her Body Scan 10-minute Guided Meditation. https://bit.ly/3yvGrVa