25 WAYS TO WAKE UP AND STAY POSITIVE: LITTLE KNOWN FACTS THAT CAN AFFECT YOUR DAY
As published in Finer Minds: http://www.finerminds.com/happiness/25-ways-to-wake-up-and-stay-positive/
HOW DO YOU WAKE UP AND STAY POSITIVE EVERY DAY?
Have you ever spent a night in fitful sleep, had disturbing dreams or just awakened at 3 am with a mind so active you had to take a sleeping pill? Or are those just redundant questions?
Oh, yes, you’ve been there. The thought of getting up is a real downer. You try to roll out of bed with a dry mouth and a body that does not want to move in any direction. Sitting up takes way too much effort.
Is this any way to greet the world? Is this your best face, your sharpest mind or your most presentable body? You simply feel like the Ogre in the movie “Shrek.” Grumpy describes your attitude and that’s not a good look.
How could you feel any other way? There was unfinished business at the office yesterday, a relationship that is on the rocks, children who are not doing their homework or a PTA meeting that you really don’t want to attend. There is soccer practice, a piano recital and your resolve to get to the gym is thwarted by a lunch meeting the boss called. Sounds like a prescription to go back to bed.
Here are 25 ways to wake up positive and stay happy, stress free, and energized with creative fervor all day every day.
1. Don’t Move A Muscle
Lie still. Ease into the present slowly. Let your mind and body connect without jarring movements.
2. Try to Remember Your Dreams
Most people will say they cannot remember their dreams or that they don’t dream at all. We all dream multiple times during the night. You can train your mind to remember your dreams by lying absolutely still without thought. Dreams reflect our unconscious feelings. It’s worth paying attention to your unconscious emotional state. You might be enlightened.
3. Consider What Makes You Happy
Choose 3 things that make you happy. Turn up the corners of your mouth into a big smile. Your happy thoughts will be forefront in your consciousness all day long.
4. Relax Your Body
It’s natural when you first wake up to think you feel relaxed but you might not actually be relaxed. We tense up at night and we might still be tense when we begin to wake up. Consciously bring your body to a state of complete relaxation.
5. Meditate
Waking up the body is different for everyone. Some bodies and minds wake up more quickly than others, but a great way to enter the present is with an intention to meditate. If thoughts are running amok, try to clear your mind. Slowly roll out of bed and sit on a pillow, back against the wall and spend time (at the beginning 2 – 5 minutes) sitting quietly.
6. Align Your Energy
A straight spine is essential for meditating because it aligns your spine so energy can move through your body unobstructed. Shrug your shoulders back and feel your sit bones rooting. Note your body’s stillness.
7. Don’t Think
Meditation is not complicated. It is a process intended to let your thoughts go. You will have thoughts even with your intention not to think, but if you can’t stop, what is most important is not to attach any emotion to the thoughts.
8. Breathe
If your mind becomes active, focus your attention on your breathing. Extend the breath and you will continue to be in a peaceful state.
9. Focus On Breathing
Find your breath interesting. After all, breathing is the essential ingredient for staying alive. It is your life force so honor it with attention.
10. Have An Attitude of Gratitude
Your inner clock will begin to nudge you. It’s at this moment that you begin the gratitude phase of waking up: name 5 things you are grateful for and smile.
11. Get Rid of the Negative
Having negative thoughts at the beginning of your day is a definitely a bad risk for your well-being. Your brain wants to go into negative mode first. It’s human nature to dwell on the negative. Resist the negative and shift focus to what is positive about your day and your life.
12. Don’t Attach
Don’t attach to thoughts when you wake up. You’ve got the whole day to do that. Attachment fosters illusion rather than reality and causes stress and anxiety.
13. Let Your Most Pressing Issue Go
The most pressing issue of your day will be in the forefront of your brain. Is it positive or negative? If it is negative, put a positive spin on it. You can turn any negative into a positive.
14. Stay Relaxed
Your thoughts manifest in your mind and body. Notice how your body tenses with uncomfortable issues. Relax your body by taking a very deep breath and let the breath out slowly. Shrug your shoulders back and open your heart.
15. Think Yes Instead of No
No means resistance is at work. Yes means possibilities and opportunities. Yes means being strong and willing to cross over a mental threshold and be surprised.
16. Stay Present
Make an intention to stay present during the day. If you think future or past thoughts, reconnect with the present moment. The power of the day is in the now.
17. Eliminate Something From Your Day
Make an intention to eliminate something superfluous from your day. Make it a practice to give up something daily. Non-attachment and is good for the soul.
18. Be With Happy People
Make an intention to surround yourself with joyful, happy people during the day. Walk away from energy drains – people, places and things that stand in the way of your happiness and keep you stuck in the quicksand of the day.
19. Take On Positive Pursuits
Invest in positive pursuits during the day. Keep the negatives away. If you are lacking in positive energy, negative energy will go after you. Do something that brings joy into your life. Go to the gym, eat a healthy lunch or call someone and acknowledge the gift of that person’s friendship.
20. Stay off One Social Media A Day
Eliminate one social media outlet a day. Stay off Facebook or Twitter and rely on your own energy to keep you positive.
21. Be Mindful At All Times
Take time for self-reflection. Assess how you feel inside yourself. Self-reflection is like taking your emotional and spiritual temperature. You don’t need to know how things work or understand the meaning of life. Life just is. Live it.
22. Give No Excuses, No Blame
It’s human nature to make excuses and to apply blame when things are not going well. Make an intention to take full responsibility for what you do every day.
23. Embrace Daily Challenges
Life is an opportunity – it’s an opportunity to be the best that you can be. If you are thirsty, drink; if you are hungry, eat. Every thing you do has meaning and purpose and affects your creativity.
24. Exercise
Daily exercise promotes positive attitudes. Your neurotransmitters will be sparking away all day. Exercise in the morning – that morning walk is also meditative – noontime or evening. But do at least 20 minutes daily for good heart health.
25. Open Your Eyes
Open your eyes, turn on some favorite music, dance into the kitchen and make a great breakfast.
Dive into the day with positive energy and full consciousness and greet your day as a gift to cherish.
Your life will take on new meaning by staying positive.