Do you ever find yourself waking up in the morning with a life-induced hangover? You know, the kind where the events, emotions, or stressors from the previous day greet you almost immediately as you wake up?
You’re replaying the argument you had with your partner. You’re groaning about the mess in the kitchen. You’re still bitter about an interaction you had with a coworker the previous day. It’s not even 30 seconds into the new day, and you’re gone. Gone to a different time, a different place, a different day.
In contrast, maybe your life-induced hangover is centered around a sense of dread or worry about what lies ahead. You’re stressing about all you have to get done today. You’re worried about a meeting later in the morning. You’re dreading the family visit this weekend.
These moments take us away from the here and now. They grab our attention and drag it elsewhere, leaving us absent from the present day. How can we fully experience and tackle our day when we’re barely in it? The short answer: we can’t.
Moments like these call for mindfulness. They call for us to intentionally focus our attention on the present moment. Try using this mantra to start your morning mindfully.
I am present in this moment and ready for what today brings.
Slowly say this to yourself as many times as you need. Try to use a gentle tone, guiding your attention away from the pain of yesterday or the worry about tomorrow, instead focusing your attention on today and this moment.
It probably won’t be long until your attention is pulled back to that hangover-inducing thing, and when then happens, repeat the phrase again. And again. And again.
I am present in this moment and ready for what today brings.
By repeating this, over and over, you are intentionally focusing your attention on the here and now. You are mindful as you start your morning, giving your full energy and attention to the moment.
Over time, this practice becomes more natural, and life-induced hangovers become less consuming. Mindfulness is a muscle; the more we work it out, the stronger it gets.
Try using this mantra for a mindful start your mornings. Start your morning off present and engaged, ready for what the day brings.
