Morning rituals to up the ante

Found this in my archives, and I realized that if I'd saved a few years back, and it still sounded nice today, it could go up here:

It's titled '7 steps that will keep you happy all day'.

We read a lot about this or that morning ritual that will make you productive. But what about one that makes you happy?

What’s the first step? Here’s a little secret: happy mornings don’t start in the morning…

1) Have Something To Look Forward To

Happy mornings start the night before. Make sure before you go to bed you have something to look forward to tomorrow.

Research shows anticipation is a powerful happiness booster. It’s 2 for the price of 1: You get the good thing and you get happy in anticipation of the good thing.

Got nothing you’re looking forward to? Schedule lunch with a friend or promise yourself you’ll do something you enjoy. It’s one of the secrets of the happiest people in the world.

People prone to joyful anticipation, skilled at obtaining pleasure from looking forward and imagining future happy events, are especially likely to be optimistic and to experience intense emotions.

Okay, you’ve got something you’re anticipating planned for the next day. Now what do you actually do first thing in the morning?

2) Manage Your Mood

Research shows your mood in the morning affects your mood for the rest of the day:

“We saw that employees could get into these negative spirals where they started the day in a bad mood and just got worse over the course of the day,” 

What makes you happy early in the day? Do that.

Are you often stressed in the morning? Then ask yourself, “What gives me a feeling of control?”

Anything that increases your perception of control over a situation — whether it actually increases your control or not — can substantially decrease your stress level.

You’re anticipating something good and you feel in control. Cool. What’s next? Food.

3) Eat Breakfast

I recommend you skip skipping breakfast. Eat something. It puts you in a better mood and increases willpower.

Think it’s just kids? Wrong. There's enough research to show it impacts adults as much.

Feeling good so far. Now it’s time to do something that doesn’t feel so good…

4) Do Something You Dread

Yeah, you heard me. This post is about how to feel happy all day. So ask yourself what that thing is that you’re avoiding.

What’s that thing you’re going to feel guilty about not having done? Going to the gym? Doing that awful chore?

Alright, you completed something you didn’t want to. Let’s cheer you up and cheer someone else up…

5) Send out a “Thank You” email

Every morning send a friend, family member or co-worker an email to say thanks for something.

There’s tons and tons and tons of research showing that over time, this alone – one silly email a day – can make you happier.

Or you can send a text. That’s fine too.

But the day will have rough spots. Let’s make sure they don’t get in the way of your good mood…

6) Plan How You’ll Deal With Challenges

Ask yourself the question “What’s the worst that could happen today?” Sound like a downer? This is how you keep the day happy. By being ready.

Ryan Holiday, author of the excellent book The Obstacle Is the Way explains:

…we look to envision what could go wrong, what will go wrong, in advance, before we start. Far too many ambitious undertakings fail for preventable reasons. Far too many people don’t have a backup plan because they refuse to consider something might not go exactly as they wish.

You’re feeling good and ready for anything. Last secret to starting the day right is quite wonderful and quite easy…

7) Kiss Somebody You Love

Smooches are good science. Men who kiss their wives before work live 5 years longer, make 20-30% more money and are far less likely to get in a car accident.

Psychologists do not believe it’s the kiss itself that accounts for the difference but rather that kissers were likely to begin the day with a positive attitude, leading to a healthier lifestyle.

(This study was only done on men but any women who want to repeat the experiment are welcome to contact me directly.)

No romance in your life right now? Sorry to hear that. But there’s a substitute: give 5 hugs today.

People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier.

We’ve learned a lot. Let’s round it up and get started…

Sum Up

• Have something to look forward to
• Manage your mood
• Eat breakfast
• Do something you dread
• Say “thank you” by mail or message
• Plan how you’ll deal with challenges
• Kiss somebody you love

Don’t wait. You’ll forget. Right now, plan something fun tomorrow.