Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning
- What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion?
- What for tranquility
- What am I? A mere body, estate holder, or reputation? None of these things.
- What then? A rational being.
- What then is demanded of me? Mediate on your actions.
- What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring?
- What did I fail to do in all these things?” —Seneca
What do you do every morning when get up? Do you get up 15 minutes before your commute to work, race to get ready and grab something to eat out the door because you see no point in getting up any earlier?
Are you a person that sets their alarm 30–45 mins before the start of their work day to recollect your thoughts and reflect on the previous day’s events? Maybe you even prepare and eat a filling breakfast then leave before hitting the morning rush hour.
Option 1, is simple reacting to the situation they have subjected themself too. By waking up 15 mins before leaving for work, that persons barely has time to think, they are acting on previous habits they have built and feel that work for them without reflecting on what is working and not working within their own life.
Option 2's morning routine has been built in a way that allows for reflection and conscious action. Giving them time to reflect on the previous day and the event that followed, they have the chance to examine their actions and make efforts towards doing better.
Developing a routine which allows one to reflect and review oneself is important because you are able to check-in.
This idea may sound ludicrous at first, however, this action is very beneficial.
Upon checking in with oneself, you be able to to really focus on how you doing, feeling, what thoughts are affecting you in certain way which will lead to shifting resources in a way that benefits your goals and etc.
We are accustomed to checking in with everyone we see on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, to see how they doing.
This method of checking in is the same idea only now you are doing it with yourself.
The difference is, when checking in with yourself, you will not focus on all the problems and external factors you cannot control like many other people unload upon you.
You will only be focusing on your thoughts & actions, reflecting how you can do better and what you can do to re-adjust certain things in your life to improve the quality of it.
From time to time is only human nature to want to talk to yourself about what Bob did at work today that upset and frustrated you. However, remind yourself, you can not control Bob, but you can control your reaction and thoughts on what bob did. Make the concious choose to not invest time, energy or effort into thinking or focusing on bob’s actions.
I will leave you with this, whether your mornings look like Option 1 or 2, carve out a rough routine which you can stick to. At first you may need to make the-adjustments, you may even miss a few days which is understandable just remember to continue. During your day carve out a time slot to check-in with yourself and reflect on your actions and how to do better. Lastly remember, this about you and no one else, reflect on you and the one thing you can control, your mind.
