Start Your Day with Self-Love and Affirmations

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I will be the first to admit that I am not a morning person. As a result I can be rather grumpy, or at least foggy in the mornings. But how we start our morning can definitely influence how the rest of our day goes.

Feeling rushed getting ready in the morning? That rushed, anxious feeling probably is going to have your head spinning the entire day as you try to catch up.

Already having negative thoughts about how the day is going to go before you even get out of bed? Your perception on how things might go can lead to things turning out exactly the way you don’t want them to.

Still holding onto anger or frustration from something that happened the day before? It’s likely you’ll be coming back to that throughout the day until it has been resolved.

Are you looking into the mirror and determining that it’s a bad hair day or that you look fat in the dress that you picked out? You could have just washed your confidence for the day down the drain along with your toothpaste.

The start of our days can influence the direction they take.  

Follow these steps to start your day right:

1. Set your alarm with one of your favorite tunes and listen to music as you get ready. Music has the power to put a bounce in our step or mellow a bad mood.

2.  Begin with gratitude. For yourself, for the good things in your life. It can be easy to forget about what we are grateful for in the midst of the daily grind. Reflect on them or start a gratitude journal.

3. Find your joy power-up. This may be a leisurely cup of coffee, taking a walk, or reading a chapter of your favorite book. Enjoy and savor those moments that you have for yourself. Admittedly, this might not happen everyday because some mornings are more rushed then others. But starting the day with something that you actually enjoy doing, even if it is just for ten minutes, can go a long way towards a more positive outlook on the day. Even if that requires waking up a little earlier then usual, it is worth it.

4. Use your mirror time to take deep breaths and focus on your intentions for the day. Use affirmations that work for you to build confidence and are reminders of what’s great about you. Then go out and make it happen.

Morning Mirror Mantras

Part of the power of starting the day right is not only feeding your stomach the nutrients it needs but your brain the things it needs to hear for the day. If what you are telling yourself every morning (and during the day too) is crap, then you are going to feel like crap too. Saying positive things to yourself in the form of affirmations or mantras has the power to start your day the right way with self-love.

But you may have already discovered that it is a whole lot easier to say kind things to others then it is to say them to yourself. So make it easy on yourself and write out what you want to be saying aloud on a daily basis. Posting them in a place that you see every morning, such as your mirror, can be a great reminder to practice them every day.

Think, what do you need to hear? That you are beautiful? That you are going to rock that meeting? That you are blessed? That you will achieve something awesome? That today will be filled with laughter and fun?

Mantras or affirmations don’t have be completely woo woo, rather they can simply be a statement of something that you need to hear to have a positive and confident day. They also are a way of acknowledging any stress or anxiety you may be feeling and then attempting to turn those feelings into empowerment. Check out some other ways to integrate mindfulness into your life here.

Mantras and Affirmations to start your day with self-love:

List all the things that you find beautiful about yourself.

List the accomplishments that you are most proud of.

Use an empowering quote that is always a personal kick in the butt. My favorite is “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent,” by Eleanor Roosevelt.

“I love you.”

“I am beautiful.”

“I am blessed because…”

“I am grateful for…”

“I have people that love and care about me in my life.”

“Today is an opportunity to accomplish something great, try something new, be kind to others, etc.”

Here are some other resources for developing mantras and affirmations:

How do you start your day right with self-love?