Boost Your Happiness With a Morning Routine

If you're like me, you're not a natural "morning person."

In college, my morning routine was:

1. Wake up 5 minutes before my first class

2. Take care of basic hygiene

3. Walk to class, still wearing my pajamas.

There were more than a few days when I would forget to put on real shoes before going out into the world.

Fast forward a few years, though, and you'll see a whole new me. Yes, you heard it here first. I've been putting in real efforts to adjust my habits, one area of life at a time.

Thanks to the talent of its algorithm, my TikTok For You page has been loaded with "my morning routine" videos for the past week. I took this as a sign to set up my own routine.

Let's wake up together, shall we?

9:30 AM: Wake up naturally

I love my life for many reasons. For me, there are no morning classes in real life! In fact, I rarely have to wake up for any particular reason. Think about that in a cosmic sense: every day, I truly choose to get out of bed. Not for someone else. For me.

I like 9:30 AM as a wake-up time for a few reasons:

- It's in the single digit hours, so I'm not really sleeping in.

- At the same time, I'm waking up in the middle of business hours, which is my own special way of saying "f*ck the system."

Right after waking up, I say something nice and cheesy

You can promote the flow of serotonin in your noggin if you say something a little cheesy as your first sentence of the day.

Set a positive tone for your day with any of these statements of gratitude:

Thank you for a brand new day full of endless possibilities.

What a beautiful sunrise, both outside my window and within my soul

I am so happy and grateful to be alive for yet another day of fun, excitement, and love.

Once I do whatever I gotta do, it's time to stretch

Trying to start exercising every morning can feel overwhelming if it's not your thing in the first place. I didn't want to pressure myself into exercising every single morning and then come to resent it (and give up).

So, I chose to commit to something a little bit easier: stretching.

Stretching is easy. You don't even have to get sweaty for some good ole stretching. And, it feels really good. Stretch and visualize what's going on in your body and soul along the way.

Releasing the tension... extending your body in its full range of motion... the blood is flowing... your cells are awakening, all cheering for you... you're activating your highest self.

You don't have to do a specific yoga routine. You don't even have to stretch every single part of your body. It's fun to practice listening to your intuition. Simply stretch in whatever ways feel right, until it feels right to be done.

My energy juices are flowing, and it's Meditation O'Clock

During meditation, you can set your intentions for how you're going to approach your day. Many people set daily goals for things they want to accomplish, but I also set intentions for how I'm going to feel, regardless of what happens during the day.

The intentions are the same every day:

I love myself unconditionally.

That means: regardless of the conditions around me, I love myself and choose joy.

In response to any negative thoughts that come up throughout my day, I'm going to love myself and ask myself what I need in order to move forward with a stronger mindset

You could say I'm pretty damn good at this whole emotional regulation thing *wink*

In all seriousness, adopting this mindset has truly changed my life. The most difficult part about it is how simple it really is.

When I was mentally ill, I was literally addicted to feeling negative emotions. Setting strong intentions for how I'm going to navigate my life, regardless of what happens outside of my control, does take incredible discipline. It's worth it!

My favorite morning routine tip: don't check your phone right after you wake up.

I have to say, life feels a lot better now that the first thing I think about in the morning isn't the contents of the New York Times daily e-newsletter. I'm in a much better position to read about the world's latest disasters after I've set my intentions for how I'm going to respond.

There are countless other morning-routine ideas out there. Keep the ones that make you happy, and toss the ones that don't. I probably won't be making green smoothies in the morning anytime soon, for example.

No matter which practices you choose to adopt, by establishing a morning routine, you make a powerful statement.

You declare that your mornings truly belong to you.

You declare that you woke up not for work, not for class, but for your own beautiful life.