How you start each morning can have a significant impact on your mindset, productivity, and happiness throughout the day. If you’ve ever had one of those days where you “got up on the wrong side of the bed,” and things continued to go downhill from there... you already know how true this is.

The good news is you can change this! You have more control than you may realize, but you need to start with a plan. To help you get started, here are seven easy-to-adopt habits that can help you makeover your mornings for better, brighter days.

#James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

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www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com

Habit #1: Embrace the Calm

Whenever possible, allow yourself to ease into each day slowly and calmly. Rather than waking up at the last minute and scrambling to get out the door, plan ahead to give yourself a few minutes of stillness and calm every morning. This will allow your mind to quietly embrace and contemplate each brand new day before jumping right into it.

For this habit, all you need is a few minutes of stillness when you first wake up. Give your mind a chance to gradually become more conscious of your surroundings as you navigate the transition from sleep to being awake. Avoid jumping out of bed in a frantic rush to meet the day head on. Instead, simply embrace the quiet of this moment as a positive way to start the day.

One great way to claim this time for yourself each morning is by placing your phone away from your bed while you sleep. For this to work, use a regular alarm clock or one that emulates the sunrise, instead of the one on your phone. You don’t want to have to jump out of bed to turn off a blaring alarm across the room when you wake up.

If you want to use your phone as an alarm, keep it on “do not disturb” so you don’t see notifications immediately when you look at it in the morning. Give yourself this time to wake up slowly before facing whatever notifications or messages you received throughout the night.
https://standingabovethecrowd.com/james-donaldson-on-mental-health-morning-makeover-habits-to-brighten-your-day/