If there's one common thing that most people miss in their life it's the decision to allocate time each day to work on themselves. We all live busy lives in an unpredictable world that demands our vigilance all the time, and if we don't take control of our environment, it takes control of us.

In this never ending rat race we forget what's most important - to stop and reflect, to make goals and plans and review our current trajectory, to work on our emotions, body and health, or simply to become present and mindful and make the world stop spinning for a bit.

Most of us want to be happy, but we are wired to feel worried and stressed out of habit. But instead of just hoping to feel good, we can actively work on making it happen.

Like every athlete trains his muscles, stamina or technique, you can train yourself to feel energetic and vibrant, to be more productive and achieve more.

Big revelation I had in 2016 that completely changed my life is that how you start your day will determine how you end your day. If you wake up grumpy, searching for the phone to hit that snooze button, then opening up your inbox or news and read about the depressing stuff from last night, how could you possibly feel good for the rest of the day? If you start your day like most people do - pissed off and nervous about all the responsibilities waiting for you, that will affect your health, your job, relationships and all other areas of your life.

When I introduced morning ritual (or routine) into my life, I started conditioning myself to start every day the right way, to feel the emotion I wanted to feel and to just be happier and more relaxed.

Because when you implement morning ritual, you don't go to bed at night stressing about all the things that have to be done tomorrow. No. Instead, you fall asleep relaxed and excited knowing that your ritual is waiting for you in the morning. Half an hour of time to work on yourself, your emotions and state, on becoming healthier or anything else your want to become.

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What should your morning ritual be for?

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Whether you are aware of it or not, you already have some form of morning ritual in your life. It might be - hitting the snooze button 3-4 times, having a coffee while reading the news from last night, calling your best friend to catch up before going to work. Everyone's vision is different, but you should find enough inspiration in the suggestions I'm going to write to create routine that fits you best. Remember, it should be aimed for your health, your mind and emotions. It should last for at least 30 minutes, but if you are really busy in the morning, than 15 minutes or so will work fine.

1. Smile :)

It's a new day to experience life to the fullest so why not start it with a smile. As we make the transition from child to an adult, we tend to lose the habit of indulging in this activity more often.

Smile triggers activities in our brain and many psychological changes occur that can make you happy even when you are not.

2. Drink water

You body dehydrates after a long night of sleep so it's very important to drink water first thing in the morning. It will rehydrate you and fuel up your metabolism and you'll feel an instant spark in energy. You can add lemon juice to alkalize it.

3. Meditation

You are probably familiar with all the ways meditation can improve your life. It's about relaxation and getting rid of thoughts that run around your head. At least for a while. Some benefits of meditation are

• it keeps you stress-free
• improves your concentration, clarity and self-awareness
• makes you happier
• improves your immunity and health

If you think meditation might help you unwind for a bit, make it a part of you morning ritual. Start small, set the alarm for 4 or 5 minutes, find a quiet place or play some ocean or nature sounds. Let go of any expectation or judgment and just focus on your breath. If your mind is all over the place, just notice it. You don't have be in a deep transcendental state to start benefiting from meditation.

Think of some things you are grateful for as part or after your meditation. It's the enemy of fear and anger. One cannot be angry and grateful at the same time.

4. Exercise

It does not have to be a long gym workout or a 5-mile run. Simple exercises like jumping jacks, push-ups, handstands or a short walk across your neighborhood will give your body immediate boost of energy.

Exercising early in the morning brings numerous benefits both to your health and the daily schedule. When your body goes through the efforts of workout, it sees it as a form of stress. So after you are done, you'll feel like the hard part of the day is behind, and you'll have much more confidence when dealing with real challenges throughout the day.

Put the headphones on, play some of your favorite music and take a light jog to the nearest park.

Bonus point: Instead of music, you can play an audiobook - creative juices will start flowing and new ideas for your next Steemit post may sparkle.

5. Reflect on your goals

Having clear vision and goals and reviewing them on a regular basis is critical if you want success. For the major part of my life I was procrastinating, without clear purpose I drifted aimlessly waiting for life to happen. Truth is we all have potential for great things, but we have to decide it's a must for us, not something we 'should' do.

Morning is the perfect time to look back on your monthly goals (I strongly suggest you have them) and see if you are making a progress and if some areas need more attention.

So have inspiring goals that will keep you motivated and reflect on them each morning to make sure everything is going as planned.

If you want to have every day organized, write down three outcomes you are after - three results that will make the day successful if you accomplish them. For this, I use RPM method developed by Tony Robins that looks something like this:

6. Affirmations

We all have limiting beliefs that prevent us from achieving our full potential. You may think of yourself like you don't have enough energy to exercise or willpower to eat healthy so you surrender to being overweight.

One of the things I discovered while transforming my bad habits was the true power of affirmations. Once you identify what's holding you back, affirmations can be a powerful tool to help you work on areas you are struggling with and completely balance your life.

Simply, come up with limiting beliefs you want to eliminate from your mindset and write down opposite ones. Read these affirmations as part of your ritual, but read them out loud and with conviction and confidence. Don't hold yourself back.

Bonus: Make a vision board with photos and quotes of your perfect, amazing life and and put it somewhere where you can see it all the time.

7. Read a book

Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others.
_{- Otto von Bismarck}

Instead of reading news or watching TV, feed your mind with content that actually interest you. Read books about self-development, marketing, business or any area you want to advance in. Reading books gives new perspectives, enhances knowledge or just make you enjoy life more.

8. Keep a journal

There are so many benefits of writing things down. Whether it be journal, diary or blog, when you write your thoughts and feelings on a paper or your Evernote, you get all these recorded memories that you later reflect on. Situations where you ask yourself: "Wow, this month passed by so fast, I can't remember if I've done anything important or memorable" will be thing of the past.

Besides being a permanent record for posterity, journals are a form of release for people writing them. There are plenty of reasons to keep one yourself and you'll find you're enjoying it's benefits immediately.

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Your time is your most valuable resource so make sure to spend it wisely and work on yourself. Try it and let me now how it goes. You may grow to love those early mornings. :)

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