Unless you have been hiding under a rock you have probably read 147 articles about the perfect morning routine – that you must do to become successful, super productive and a high-performance machine. You may even have attempted to follow 27 of them. I have.
If only you wake up at 5 am, oh wait, 4 am is better.
If only you don’t look at your phone first thing when you wake up.
If only you meditate or sit in an ice tub or dance or run a marathon…
… then you too will be successful, like [insert a name of a celebrity here].
The problem is that these articles persuade us to follow some idealized, trending, perfect ritual – whatever that perfect ritual of the day is.
The problem is that when we can’t keep up with the routine, we feel like a failure – utter, complete failure.
Just reading and trying to keep up with the superhuman morning routines can make you feel terrible.
“I feel terrible. I’m not living up to this standard of perfection. I must be doing something wrong. I must be a loser.”
Stop. Wait!
Here’s the thing:
There are thousands – millions of successful people who don’t follow these so-called perfect routines. Besides, are we even sure the super “successful” few that claim to have these routines do them? Perhaps these are ideal scenarios for them, but the reality may be much different.
“People are far more likely to describe their ideal morning than their realistic one.” Gordon Flett, a personality researcher at York University
To become successful while enjoying happiness and life satisfaction is not hinging on having a perfect morning routine.
To become successful means to show up.
To become successful means to tick off the tasks and activities you need to accomplish to move on to the next one, and the next one…
…consistently over time.
To become successful means making smart decisions that move the needle and drive results.
That fact is:
You can be successful. You can be a high performer. You can be an energizer bunny each day (if you want to) – without trying to follow somebody else’s morning routine.
You can be anything you want.
Do you. Do what works for you.
If your mornings are helter-skelter, messy and all over the place, embrace it.
If you feel your mornings could use more organization, clarity, focus…
…make a few changes, simplify a couple of things – see how it goes.
Experiment. Test. Adjust.
Be flexible and be kind to yourself.
Perfection is an illusion.
. . .
Like what you read? Sign up to get updates and insights (not published here) via email.
This piece first appeared on LinkedIn.com