Do you reach out to grab your phone first thing in the morning?
Great! You are giving your power away.
“Why so?” you’d ask. If you are curious to find out, keep reading.
The truth is, at the very moment we wake up, we transition between two worlds - the world of sleeping and dreaming, and the world of reality here and now. It’s a gentle transition. In some ingenious cultures they believe that a person shouldn’t be woken up suddenly so as to not disturb his / her soul while it is transitioning from one world to another.
So going back to the phone again.
The first thing many people do immediately when they wake up is check their phone. They start reading and replying to messages, emails, scrolling through social media to see the newest updates.
You might not realize it because it is very subtle, but guess what – by checking your phone first thing in the morning, you are allowing other people to steal your time and attention from you, from the very moment you open your eyes.
Checking your phone immediately after waking up puts you in reactive mode – you start reacting to the people who want to reach you. Checking social media at that moment opens the gate to your brain and a huge amount of information (often completely unnecessary) starts flooding in, and you aren’t even fully awake yet! All this might make you anxious without you realizing it. Instead of reaching out to your phone immediately, give this precious time and attention to yourself, so you can start your day in proactive mode – the one that allows you to be the master of your actions.
Unless you need to check on something urgently, I suggest that you check your phone after you have started your day in a mindful and self-caring way.
I would even suggest that you put your phone at least a few feet away from your bed so you can protect yourself from the radio frequency energy emitted by the device.
As you open your eyes, acknowledge waking up to a new day. Take a few slow deep breaths. Stretch your body. Unless you are running late, please don’t rush getting out of bed straight away. You might still be between dreams and reality. Slow down and savor that moment. Enjoy it for a few minutes. Allow yourself to transition gently from sleeping state to awake state. If you have a partner and he / she is next to you, take a few mindful moments to give time and affection to him / her. Enjoying these precious minutes of your morning will set your mood and attitude for the rest of the day.
Practicing gratitude and mindfulness from the moment you open your eyes will allow you to start your day in a mindful, grounded and centered way. It is another day full of opportunities to be and to do your best.
