5 Steps to Start Your Day With a Better Attitude
By Crystal, Contributing Writer
Ever have mornings where you wake up with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach? Maybe you overslept, perhaps you made a big mistake the day before, maybe you have something you are dreading in your life right now, or maybe you just woke up feeling “blah” for no known reason at all.
Whatever it is, if you let that sick feeling cast its gloomy shadows over your whole morning, it will spread its dark wings around your entire day.
Nip the bad attitude in the bud with this five step plan to a better attitude:
Make the Bed
One of the last things you should do is crawl back into bed — well, unless it’s 5 a.m. and you really need your sleep. But under any other circumstances, the best thing you can do is to get up and do something. In this case, I say make your bed. This simple act will help you feel like you’ve accomplished something and that tiny act can help to boost your dreary spirits.
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Exercise
No matter how much you don’t want to exercise, I promise you’ll be glad you did it. Even if it’s just putting on your tennis shoes and taking a brisk walk around the block or doing 10 jumping jacks, 15 sit-ups, and jogging in place for 5 minutes, get your heart pumping and it will help you get in a better mood for the day.
Turn on Some Music
Start your day with some upbeat, uplifting music. I’m constantly changing which “morning music” I especially love to begin my day with, but I’m loving Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Do Everything” and “The Great Adventure” right now. I can’t help but smile and feel energized when listening to them. Plus, they remind me that today is an adventure — whether it feels like it or not! — and I need to do everything to the glory of God.
Make a Short To Do List
It’s easy to sit and sulk about your problems or difficulties, but I can guarantee you it won’t help you feel any better. Do yourself a favor and write down three to five things you need to do this morning in the order of their importance and then just start plowing through the list, despite how you feel.
You might be surprised by how much motivation you receive by checking those first few things off your list. And it might just be the mood lift you need!
Count Your Blessings
No matter how difficult your life is right now, I know you have something be thankful for. As you’re working on your short to-do list, make yourself come up with five or ten things to be thankful for. It might be hard to start, but once you get started, you may have trouble stopping at just five or ten!
For more ideas and encouragement, check out the Early to Rise series I’m running on MoneySavingMom.com during the month of March.
This post is so perfect for me today! I’ve been doing Crystal’s Making the Most of Your Mornings Challenge over the past few days (I started it on my own since I was very pregnant when she did it this summer and I was just too exhausted to make changes at that time!) and this is something I really need to work on! I am not a morning person so my attitude can be quite awful in the morning! These tips are great and are coming at the perfect time! Thanks Crystal for another great, inspiring, timely article!
Thanks for the encouragement, Crystal! I keep over-sleeping and am tempting to start the day with a funky attitude when that happens. So, for me, it means being super intentional to go to bed earlier the night before–setting an alarm on my phone, asking my husband to remind me to go to bed, etc. If I’m able to have a bit of quiet in the morning, it makes all the difference for my day. If not, I will follow your tips above :).
Your writing is always so encouraging Crystal! I have definitely been feeling the morning blahs as I wait for spring to arrive! I find making a breakfast I’m looking forward to really helps. I always wake up starving so on the weekends I cook up a double batch of yummy muffins or a breakfast casserole or something that will be more than cereal and milk that we can eat on for most of the week (we still have a smallish family, I know this won’t work forever). Helps me get up in the morning for sure!
I can testify that these things really DO WORK! I remember years ago trying to get into these good habits as a young mom. It wasn’t easy at first, but now these things are like second nature. I would add that I need time ALONE before the kids get up, so they are required to stay in bed (if they wake up early) until I open their door at a certain time each morning. That way I can do these things alone and get into a better frame of mind before they all troop downstairs. It’s important to be saturated in Truth by spending time in God’s Word and in prayer each morning as well. I multi-task by walking on my elliptical and praying at the same time. God will give us other ideas/ways to make these things “work” in the various seasons of life we find ourselves in over the years. TERRIFIC article, Crystal!
these are great ideas
I’ve found that getting out of my pajamas as soon as I can is helpful. Though comfortable, I tend to feel like going back to bed or just lounging around if I’m not dressed. Showering (or at least washing my face and running a comb through my hair) and getting dressed in “real clothes” (i.e., not sweatpants) makes a huge difference for me!
Definitely music and exercise make the best way to begin a wonderful day. With too much to do these last days I’ve almost forgotten. Thank you for the reminder! And thank you for this inspiring blog. I’ve got to know it searching in the web how to treat mastitis, you’ve got a very helpful article on that.
As long as my husband is out of it, I always make the bed right away. It gives me that “blank slate” feeling and a moment of piece. I have to admit though, I make my to-do list before bed each night to get those items off my mind so I can fall asleep a little faster! Great post, Crystal!
Inspiring as always, thanks Crystal! I have been trying to wake up before my kiddos to get a better head start.
This is real helpful for me to be encouraged to get out of bed and not want to climb right back in it. But my bigger issue is wanting to take a nap mid-day. I still have my preschooler at home and when she has her “quiet time” (since she doesn’t nap anymore) I find myself laying down and napping. Any recommendations to fight off the mid-day snooze??
Thank you! Your post is God sent for me. I have been in a funk for a few day. I already knew a few of theses things but seeing in print helps. Also, to know I am not alone in this battle. God Bless!
This is a great post! My family has had a trying winter, and I find that I have been doing a lot of these things to help me be an example to my boys on having a good attitude. I have done a lot of batch cooking lately to help ease the burden of meal prep daily, but when I can’t shake a bad attitude in the morning I find making a special breakfast for my family will help lift my spirits. I love being in the kitchen, and the added bonus of serving my family a wonderful meal really helps move the day into a better direction.
What a great list! I think number 5 is the biggest thing I need to change. Counting my blessings before my day really starts is bound to get my mood up. Thank you for sharing this. ! And I LOVE SCC’s “Great Adventure” as well.
I always make my bed. It makes my whole house appear cleaner and organized, even if i don’t go in my room for the majority of the day. It also makes it easier to toss clean laundry on and fold, instead of leaving it sitting around in baskets.
Great blog post Crystal. Exercise early one is really good. One of the best productivity tools. It gives you so much energy and will just gets you alert. The to-do list is a tricky one for me, I find I put too much sometimes & just end up regretting not putting 100% effort in enough things. I’ll do a long list for the week, and stick with 3 tasks for the day/morning. 🙂
I needed to read this! I’ve been so negative in the mornings lately.
One tried and true thing I do (that I obviously need to do more of since I’m struggling in this area) is to spend time in prayer. Changes my whole perspective for the day, takes the focus off me, and onto God!