By now, 90% of the New Year’s resolutions have already worn off, so it’s time to dig deep and get gritty in 2023. Are you ready?
Raise your hand if you’ve got a goal you’ve been putting off because you’re not quite sure how to tackle it. Maybe you feel like it would be too hard to achieve it. Maybe you feel anxious about trying it. Ambivalence is a great word to describe your situation: “I want to, but I don’t.”
Turns out ambivalence is part of being human, and you can’t trust your brain as a “phone a friend” option in the case of ambivalence. Our brains are wired to protect us and don’t like change. As Mel Robbins explains about changing your habits for the better, “You’re never going to feel like it.”
So how do you separate facts from feelings in an effort to make lasting change? It starts in your thoughts. If you want to do things differently, you need to think differently. “I want to, but I don’t, but I will.” must become your new conversation.
In the spirit of new thoughts driving new actions, I invite you and your family to join as a Yellow Parachute community to make that change you’ve been putting off.
Are you ready to accept the challenge? I’m excited! Over the next few months, I’ll follow with posts that help you and your family members along the way.
Your first goal in making lasting change is to change one thing – no matter how small – about your morning routine.
What is a morning routine? A morning routine is a set of activities you do each day after waking up. Your morning routine may last 20 minutes, while another family member’s morning routine might last 60. The critical part of a morning routine is that it works for YOU and puts you in a positive state of mind to start your day.
Morning routine activities include:
- Setting up tech limits: not checking phone messages and email (especially not before getting out of bed).
- Drinking water before drinking coffee or tea to rehydrate after sleeping
- Enjoying healthy breakfast
- Walking, yoga, working out
- Meditation, prayer
- Reading, journaling
- Setting intentions and goals
- Spending quality time with family or friends
- Taking time for a creative pursuit or hobby
- Personal care time, like teeth brushing, showering, getting dressed
- Reading, writing, or speaking positive affirmations
- Finishing up work from the night before
- Making your bed, tidying your room
3 things to do with your family members over the next week:
- Think about your current morning routine and how you might change one thing about it to start your day on an even more positive note.
- It might mean getting up earlier, moving intentionally, setting your items out the night before, so you’re not rushed going out the door, brainstorming new breakfast ideas, writing a sentence or two in a gratitude journal, or one of the ideas above.
- Could you write it down? And aim to do it every day; if you miss, just don’t miss twice.
Stuck on an idea? You have the rest of the week to noodle on it because we’ll all start together next Monday, January 30th!
What will I choose? I have a love/hate relationship with the snooze button. Some days I’m up and out of bed before the alarm rings, but I would not use the word consistent to describe my morning routine. I will ask Mel Robbins for help and do the 5-Day Wake-Up Challenge. I hypothesize that when I wake up better, I will do everything better!
Looking for some inspiration? Watch Mel Robbins describing The 5 Second Rule (5 minutes) with your middle school or high school kids and ask them how it might apply to them.
Or sign up for our upcoming parenting series starting February 2nd!
I’ll take the rest of the week to get my family on board. Wish me luck!
Yours on the journey,
Cara
