Your Golden Hour: How to Jump Start Your Day in a Positive Way

How do you spend your precious first waking hour? If you find yourself checking your e-mail, gulping your coffee, reading the paper, or watching the news, you are not alone—this has become standard for many harried workers today. We believe that your first waking hour of each day is your Golden Hour1, your opportunity to set your course and direction for the day. To a large extent, the way you spend this time determines the outcome of the rest of your day.n nHere are some helpful hints for making the most of the first hour of your day, every day. Perhaps you already do some of these. If so, keep up the good work and expand to do more. If these are unfamiliar, try just one or two of these positive habits, and see how much of a difference it will make!n nPositive Golden Hour Habitsnn1. Determine your intention for the day, and clarify your most important goals and outcomes. n2. Maintain a notebook with your personal mission and short-term and long-term goals handy. Review these each morning to ensure that your thoughts and activities of the day move you in the right direction.n3. Read something uplifting or inspirational such as poetry or a daily spiritual prayer or passage; some people like to do this out loud, others, silently. You might like to sit in a nearby park or garden or at least look out a window or focus on something beautiful in your home. n4. Take a few moments (or more) for meditation, or breathing and centering exercises, or to reflect on your life and all you have to be grateful for. Some people keep a gratitude journal and find this to be a very helpful morning practice.n5. Stretch your body as well as your mind and spirit. Try some yoga or Tai Chi, a gentle Asian form of martial arts that energizes the body and mind. In certain Asian countries, workers do Tai Chi together in groups prior to the start of the workday to ensure that they maintain focus and achieve optimum performance.n6. Try some form of aerobic exercise, especially outside, where, climate permitting, you can breathe some enlivening fresh air while you jog or walk your dog, bike or swim or garden. This is the perfect way to jump-start your day!n7. Immediately on waking, drink a mixture of half natural juice diluted with half water. Many people experience low blood sugar in the morning, and this is an excellent way to get your body and brain in gear and ready to go.n8. As you are showering or getting dressed, how about some uplifting or “get me going” music? Whether it’s golden oldies or gospel or eighties dance music, you know what helps put you in a great mood for the day.nn There are also some things you can avoid if you want peak productivity in your day. Many of these may be hard habits to break, but once you start seeing your Golden Hour as something special or even sacred, perhaps you will want to make some different choices. Try reducing or eliminating these morning behaviors, and notice the difference you will feel.nn* Avoid immersion in the radio, TV, computer, or newspaper when you first awake. While there is a place for morning news, try not to let fires, floods, scandals, and violence be the first thing to enter your consciousness in the morning. Search for a medium that also focuses on good news in your community or our world.nn* Avoid the e-mail imperative. Whether you have an office at home or away, we have all had the experience of stopping to check just one e-mail and emerging hours later from urgent (or not so urgent) matters in cyberspace. Curb your urge to check your e-mail during your Golden Hour—you’ll be glad you did!nn* Consider that food is the fuel that runs your body, and don’t skip breakfast because you are in a hurry. Instead, make yourself something you’ll enjoy for breakfast the night before, or buy individual sizes of yogurt or oatmeal and always keep fresh fruit and nuts handy.nn* Avoid the coffee and donut/junk food trap, which just revs up your body and then causes you to crash a few hours later. If you find you are addicted to your morning java, start gradually mixing decaf and regular coffee, or better yet, try a delicious cup of herbal, green, or white tea. Talk to a nutritionist about what food and food combinations are right for you.nn Nobody can do all these things every day—it’s not practical, or even necessary. Start with a few small changes, and note how your relationships and productivity improve. Begin tomorrow morning, then reward yourself after a week of consistent new practice. When you use your Golden Hour consciously and appropriately, expect a fruitful and successful day, week, and life!nn** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health”, visit http://selfgrowth.com/healthbook3.htmln