Like many people, I have gotten in the habit of starting my day scrolling social media and emails. And, if you’re like me – this is the fastest way to start a day filled with anxiety and stress. Asking myself in the wee hours of the morning, as my day is just getting started, “am I doing enough?”, “ugh, now I have to deal with this…”, “I should be doing this…”, “this person is hanging out on the beach, while I’m here in the freezing cold” and so on. You get the point. Perhaps you can relate.
So, I cultivated a new habit. It’s been a game-changer.
Start Your Day By Scrolling Through Your Own Photos
That’s it. When I have some time in the morning to get my mind right, to energize, to begin the day with gratitude and positivity – instead of scrolling social media – I scroll photos on my phone.
My brain is filled with images of family, friends and amazing experiences. Instead of starting my day with anxiety and stress, I have gratitude coursing through my veins. We all know the power of gratitude – for everything that you’ve been able to accomplish and experience, and acknowledging the goodness in my own life.
Because my family and I prioritize travel, I scroll through my own pictures to see and reflect on my own life-changing adventures, rather than obsess over others. I feel love for my three healthy and spirited kiddos. I am grateful for my relationship with my BFF/wife. It truly is the best way to start my day.
The Key to a Positive Day
I love to learn. I am constantly reading books and listening to podcasts from people I admire. Tony Robbins has great advice on the importance of how you start your day. He has a practice he refers to as the 15 minutes of fulfillment. He says the key to fulfillment is gratitude. And, an interesting thing about gratitude is that you can’t feel fear while you’re feeling extreme gratitude.
We don’t often realize the kind of impact watching the news or even scrolling social media has on our fear levels – that’s the place most people function from if they aren’t careful. Imagine the decisions you make, the impact you have on others if you’re constantly functioning out of fear.
According to Tony, when you start your day with gratitude you can tackle problems 10x bigger than you can normally handle while feeling fully centered. While his practice involves mantras and movement, he also touches on a gratitude practice with visualization.
There are all different ways to feel gratitude. For me – it works best to look at my own photos. They are there, keeping space on my phone, they are filled with everyone and everything I love, they make me smile, they remind me of everything I’ve worked and continue to work for.
Like Mollie, I tend to focus heavily on the future. This act of reflecting on our amazing experiences reminds me of how much we have to be grateful for. While I reminisce at our past, it actually reminds me to be present. It’s amazing! I highly recommend it.
More Tips
Keep the good vibes rolling by checking out this fantastic article loaded with amazing tips and why it’s so important for our mental health, especially right now: Why Is Gratitude Important For Recovery, Success, Mental Health And More?
Happy #wildbumming!
