The Miracle Morning is the process Hal Elrod developed to improve his life after being in a serious car crash which caused him permanent brain damage and resulted in him having to relearn how to walk. He took all the advice he’d been given to improve his life and couldn’t decide where to start so condensed them into six steps that he implemented the next day and discovered how good he felt from his Miracle Morning.
This is the second time I’ve read The Miracle Morning, so I knew I was going to be motivated and I wanted to make more of it than the previous time by fully implementing all the steps. And it worked, I gradually moved my alarm forward by an hour so I was waking up at 5.30.
What is the miracle morning?
The basic premise of Miracle Morning* is that “if we don’t change now, our life won’t change” and to do that we need to control our habits (otherwise our habits will control us).
The miracle morning consists of six steps (SAVERS) that you do when you first wake up, in any order, which covers physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual (or PIES).
“By focusing time and effort each day on developing your P.I.E.S, and constantly becoming a better version of yourself, your life situation will inevitably – almost automatically – improve.”
S – Silence
“Silence is one of the best ways to immediately reduce stress, while increasing your self-awareness and gaining the clarity that will allow you to maintain your focus on your goals, priorities, and what’s most important for your life, each and every day.”
Previously I would have found it hard to sit in silence, but earlier in the year I took a mindfulness course where I was introduced to meditation. I’ve enjoyed listening to guided meditations and felt the benefit of them so now subscribe to Calm App.
A – Affirmations
“Affirmations allow you to design and then develop the mindset (thoughts, beliefs, focus) that you need to take any area of your life to the next level”
I’ve previously come across short one sentence affirmations, but Hal Elrod suggests writing your affirmations into detailed paragraphs that you read out loud every day so over time your sub-conscious mind begins to believe what you’ve written. I did not find it easy to write my affirmations, but fortunately, there are examples you can download from Hal’s webpage, and I know that I’ll adapt my text over time. I am … affirmations can be a good way to build your confidence.
V – Visualization
“Visualization…refers to the practice of seeking to generate positive results in your outer world by using your imagination to create mental pictures of specific behaviours and outcomes occurring in your life.”
The idea of visualisation is to see yourself achieving your goal as it encourages you to continue taking the actions needed to achieve your vison. This is the hardest step for me, in fact, I really struggle with it as my mind wonders significantly. I don’t know if this is because I haven’t defined my goals well enough or if I don’t have the correct technique for me.
E – Exercise
“When you exercise for even a few minutes every morning it significantly boosts your energy, enhances your health, improves self confidence and emotional wellbeing, and enables you to think better and concentrate longer”
For about a year I’ve wanted to get up early and exercise before the rest of the family are awake, but it didn’t come to anything until I read this book and felt inspired. I started by going running, but as I’m still not enjoying it I’ve recently started doing some body weight exercises.
R – Reading
“Reading …is the fast track to transforming any area of your life. It is one of the most immediate methods for acquiriging the knowledge, ideas and strategies you need to achieve Level 10 success in ny area of your life”
Although I’m a big fan of reading, I haven’t read in the morning for ages, especially not on working days, so it has been a revelation to read a few pages each morning and one I intend to continue. Hal recommends rereading books to get the most out of them and I find writing reviews helps me remember and review my thoughts.
S – Scribing (or writing)
enables you to document your insights, ideas, breakthroughs, realizations, successes, and lessons learned, as well as any areas of opportunity, personal growth or improvement
I have been known to write in the morning. Most recently I started doing morning pages after I attended a creativity workshop based on Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. However, I’ve lost my way as I don’t know why I’m doing it so I start to feel it is wasted time. I like the idea of writing to generate content I may use in blog posts so they become more personal, but I haven’t thought of a way to capture and review that writing yet.
Why wake up earlier?
“How you wake up each day and your morning routine …dramatically affects your level of success in every single area of your life.”
As a mum I often don’t do the things I want as I feel guilty that I should be doing things around the house or with the children, or I feel too tired to put in my best effort. But in the morning no one else is up so it is quiet and as I get used to waking up earlier I’m feeling more refreshed so can make the most of the time. It is great to start the day with a feeling of purpose, positivity and achievement, instead of reluctance and focused on my commute.
More interesting quotes from the book
- We are able to accomplish and overcome anything – “it begins with accepting total responsibility for every aspect of your life and refusing to blame anyone else.”
- “Every time you choose to do the easy thing, instead of the right thing, you are shaping your identity, becoming the type of person who does what’s easy, rather than what’s right.”
- “Don’t let the fears, insecurities and limiting beliefs of others limit what’s possible for you”
- “If you want your life to improve, you have to improve yourself first”
- “The moment you accept total responsibility for everything in your life is the moment you claim the power to change anything in your life”
- “We spend too much time thinking about the actions we should be taking to create the results that we want, but then we don’t take those actions.”
- “By simply changing the way you wake up in the morning, you can transform any area of your life, faster than you ever thought possible.”
Should you read The Miracle Morning
“Where you are is the result of who you were, but where you go depends entirely on who you can choose to be, from this moment on.”
Yes. This is a life changing book, but you need to change your life, by getting up earlier, to benefit from it. I’ve implemented a lot of and already feel the benefits. However, there are two parts that have room for improvement. I’m currently doing my meditation sat in bed and will benefit from getting out of bed to ensure I’m fully awake and I don’t find visualisation easy.
“Who you’re becoming is far more important than what you’re doing, and yet it is what you’re doing that is determining who you’re becoming.”
*Disclosure – this post includes affiliate links which means if you buy something after using it I will earn a percentage of your purchase but it will not cost you anything extra.
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I also wrote a book review for The Miracle Morning, which I read this summer, and it was just the book I needed at the time. Now my routine has slowly started slipping but I intend to get back into it, because what a difference an early riser can make!
http://www.lacasabloga.com