Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives. It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We also gain immediate access to our powerful inner resources for insight, transformation, and healing.
Have you ever felt like you’re constantly on autopilot, rushing from one task to the next without truly experiencing the present moment?
In our hyper-connected world, finding moments of quiet and calm can feel like a luxury. The responsibilities, Pressure of being present physically/virtually everywhere, and continual stimulation of modern life can be mentally exhausting for everyone of any age group. But in the middle of this chaos, maintaining equilibrium and achieving inner serenity is very essential. Therefore, understanding the power of mindfulness is very important.
What is Mindfulness? It is a practice of attending the moment actively and getting engaged. It offers various benefits, like reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being.
According to American Psychological Association:
“Mindfulness is awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness can help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.”
Mindfulness isn’t just about sitting in silence and meditating (although that can be a helpful tool like THE JKZ MEDITATIONS APP ). It’s about cultivating a sense of awareness and presence throughout your day. It’s about appreciating the simple things, responding to situations with greater clarity, and finding inner peace amidst the chaos.
The good news? Anyone can cultivate mindfulness with a little practice. Here are seven powerful techniques you can incorporate into your daily routine:
Non-judging
One of the basic aspects of mindfulness is non-judging. This technique involves noticing your thoughts and feelings without tagging them as good or bad. This simple behavior of observing each and every thought as if it is a natural process but not pertaining it for categorization or analysis on the contrary letting it go you can develop a more accepting attitude towards yourself and others. Therefore better be an impartial witness to your own experience. Become aware of the continual process of judging and reacting to inner and outer experiences. Adapting this practice in daily life will reduce overthinking, and internal conflict and will promote inner peace.
Patience
Patience is another crucial element of mindfulness. It is a form of wisdom, being patient demonstrates that you accept the fact that things sometimes unfold in their own time. This process involves accepting that things unfold in their own time and holding the present moment without any rush. Whenever you feel impatience, just take a deep breath and remind yourself that everything has its speed. You can react to life’s obstacles more calmly and effectively by focusing on the present and letting go of the need to hurry. This will greatly minimize the level of stress and worry.
Beginner’s Mind
Beginner’s mind is all about looking at everything with a sense of curiosity and openness as if you are going through them for the first time. Initially to observe this behavior, engaging in a few familiar activities, like drinking tea or walking, with a fresh perspective can help you notice details you might usually overlook. Embracing experiences without preconceived notions can enhance your appreciation of everyday life and foster creativity and curiosity.
Trust
Making mistakes is not a sin, everyone can do it and correct it but you have to trust yourself first. Trusting yourself is very necessary to practice mindfulness, involving faith in yourself, your intuition, and the process of mindfulness itself. Recognize your feelings and instincts, and trust in your ability to handle situations as they arise. Being gentle with yourself and understanding that mindfulness is a journey can boost your confidence and help you navigate life’s challenges with greater ease and assurance.
Non-Striving
Non-striving, the practice of being rather than only doing one particular work, allows you to be present without trying to achieve or fix anything but to feel the moment and enjoy your work. Set aside time to simply be, without any goals or tasks, and observe your breath. Letting go of the urge to complete the task can reduce stress and burnout, helping you find balance and satisfaction in the present moment. the ultimate aim of life should be to be with yourself right here, right now.
Acceptance
Acceptance is about admitting reality as it is, without resisting or wishing it were different. By perceiving your feelings and thoughts without trying to change them and recognizing what is within your control and what is not, you can find peace and satisfaction in acceptance. This practice can lead to greater emotional strength and harmony, reducing the suffering caused by inner conflicts. Therefore, see things as they are. This lays the groundwork for you to act morally in all circumstances.
Letting Go
When you pay attention to your inner experience, you will discover there are certain thoughts, emotions, and situations the mind wants to hold onto. Finally, letting go involves unleashing attachment to thoughts, emotions, and outcomes, allowing yourself to move forward freely. Identify something you are holding onto, such as worry or resentment, take a deep breath, and consciously release it. Focusing on the present moment and letting go of past and future concerns can free you from negative emotions and thoughts, fostering a sense of liberation and inner peace.
Conclusion
Remember that adapting and implementing mindfulness is a personal journey, not a destination. Allow yourself to experiment, make mistakes, and discover what works best for you.
Every moment spent with yourself without any inner conflicts, not judging anyone or any of your thoughts, trusting yourself, and letting go of the grudges will be an opportunity for self-discovery, healing, and inner transformation.
Incorporating these mindfulness techniques—non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting go—into your daily routine can change your life in a better way.
These practices will also help you to cultivate a deeper sense of presence, reduce stress, and enhance your overall well-being. Embrace them with an open heart and discover the profound benefits of mindfulness in your everyday life.
In addition to these techniques, consider exploring resources like guided meditations, mindfulness apps, or even attending a mindfulness retreat to deepen your practice.
Your mornings are the most important time of each day. Developing the habit of waking up with motivation is key to maximizing daily productivity. Hence, waking up with motivation should be one of your key habits to develop. How to motivate yourself to wake up early? there are motivation tips to wake up early.
And this is why every one of us wants to start strong. Nobody wants to wake up in a sleepy and tired manner. We all want to wake up full of energy and motivation.
We want to go through a brand new day with a great morning.
As human beings, every one of us goes through days when we feel motivated and days when we feel slumpy.
There are mornings when we feel tired and lazy to get up. And there are also days when we feel so highly pumped that we can’t wait to jump out of the bed and get going.
Successful people do what they need to do, whether they feel like it or not.
I like how Haruki Murakami puts it during an interview. Being a successful writer, Murakami has developed the habit of taking action no matter what happens. This is what he said:
“When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at nine p.m.
I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.”Haruki Murakami
If you want to produce extraordinary results in what you do, you must learn to maintain your motivation each day.
More importantly, you must master yourself so that you can wake up with the motivation to work on your goals, day-in and day-out.
Also, this was what Ernest Hemingway used to say:
Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail.
It is normal that motivation comes and goes. But to be successful, you must master your motivation so that you can go through each day feeling inspired, motivated, and driven.
And here are 10 great tips on how you can wake up with motivation and start your day strong, every day.
1. Give yourself an exciting reason to wake up
If you want to wake up with motivation each morning, you must give yourself an exciting reason to do so.
Why do you want to wake up in the morning?
What makes your life exciting?
What makes you want to jump out of bed and start doing?
What are you looking forward to doing or accomplishing?
Make your reasons so exciting that you can’t wait but jump out of bed with excitement.
If your only reason to wake up each day is that you need to go to work, I bet that each morning you will have a hard time waking up.
You need a more exciting reason to get up, my friend.
Think about all the successful people in the world, especially those who inspired you. Learn from their purpose and why they do what they do.
If you have always wanted to visit Korea and suddenly you get a chance to do so, I believe that you will feel the excitement when the day comes to travel there. You’ll jump out of your bed when the alarm rings in the morning. Perhaps, you feel so excited that you can’t even fall asleep the night before.
When you have something exciting to look forward to, like enjoying a great breakfast with your lover, it is easier to wake up.
Thus, you need to find a passionate reason to get up each morning, my friend.
2. Use an outrageous alarm tone
Most of us wake up with the alarm clock. So it is the first thing that triggers us to get up.
Hence, make your alarm tone exciting. If you are using your phone as an alarm, get the app called The Rock Clock.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson wakes up at 4 AM almost every day and kick-start his morning workout session while most of us still sleeping.
Dwayne then created this motivational app to help you wake up early to tackle your goals.
It is a free app for anyone to use. Well, for your information, Dwayne is not a fan of the snooze button, hence, this app doesn’t come with the snooze function.
Besides using The Rock Clock, you can also use a motivational song such as the Rocky Theme or any other song or music as your alarm tone.
I like the music from Two Steps From Hell. Some movies’ themes are great too, like The Avengers’ Theme. Check them out on YouTube.
By the way, do you know that I also shared personal development videos on YouTube? I create most of my videos using this amazing tool called Veed.io. You should check it out.
By the way, do you know that you can turn your own voice recording into your alarm tone?
Just be creative. The key is to choose an alarm tone that motivates you and is able to remind you of your dreams and goals.
3. Use the 5-Second Rule
I found that the 5-Second Rule from Mel Robbins works well.
Each morning, after my alarm rings, I use the 5-Second Rule and countdown to zero. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then I wake up, switch off my alarm, and walk straight to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
The 5-Second Rule works because it stops our brains from making decisions based on our feelings.
When you just wake up, you FEEL lazy and you FEEL that it is more comfortable to continue to sleep.
And thus, your brain FEELS your feelings and decided to continue to sleep rather than wake up.
Things change when you do the countdown. You have a 5 seconds window to listen more consciously to what you really want. And this is how it helps you make a better decision.
Of course, if you want to know how the 5-Second Rule works, read the book, The 5-Second Rule.
However, you don’t have to understand how it works in order to apply the rule.
Starting from tomorrow onward, countdown from 5 to 0 after your alarm fires. When you reach zero, get up, off the alarm, and start your morning routine.
4. Make your most exciting dreams and goals visible to you
Waking up with motivation requires a lot of mental work, and one of the techniques you can use is to create a trigger to remind yourself of your goals and dreams.
First, your goals and dreams must be able to inspire and motivate you.
Once you fulfilled the first condition, you can create a trigger and make your goals and dreams visible to you the first thing you open your eyes.
Jack Canfield, the worldwide best-selling author shared his experience and how he used his vision boards to motivate him to get up. Here’s what he said on his blog:
“I’ve been using vision boards in one form or another since the 1970s. My first ‘vision board’ was a $100,000 bill that I made myself.
I taped it to the ceiling above my bed so that I would see it every day when I woke up. I set the goal for myself that I wanted to make $100,000 in one year. At that point, I was making $8,000 a year so this was more than 12 times my annual income.
Every morning when I would wake up, I would visualize that. I would close my eyes and visualize my $100,000 lifestyle.
What it would be like… Where I would live… The Navajo rugs I was going to buy I put on my walls… The little lake house I would have… The car I would own… And everything else I could think of.
Guess what happened? Within about 30 days, I started having hundred thousand dollar ideas for the first time in my life.
Within a year I had earned $92,000. It was an amazing breakthrough.
At the end of that year, my wife asked me, “Do you think it’ll work for a million dollars?” I said, “I don’t know, It worked for $100,000. So, let’s do it.”
We made a million dollar bill and put that on the ceiling. And within a few years, I received my first $1,000,000 check for a book royalty for the first Chicken Soup For The Soul.”
As you can see, you need to remind yourself of your dreams and your goals each day. Preferably, every morning right after you open your eyes, like what Jack did.
Therefore, create a vision board or put your goals or any material that can motivate you next to your bed.
You can do like what Jack did and put your vision board on the ceiling too!
Drinking a glass of water upon rising is one of the best things you can do to get fully awake.
You have gone through long hours of dehydration during your sleep. And when you wake up, it is time to hydrate your body so that your body can function properly.
Studies have discovered that there are many benefits to drinking a glass of water upon waking up.
The benefits include improving your metabolism rate, helping your body rid the toxins, reinforcing healthy weight loss, promoting skin radiance, strengthening your immune system, and of course, making you more alert and awake.
It is a simple yet very beneficial way to make yourself motivated in the morning.
“Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally,” Bradberry wrote. “By improving nutrient absorption in your stomach, it gives you a steady, natural energy buzz that lasts the length of the day.”
If highly successful people believe that drinking a glass of water can make their day more productive and drive them forward, don’t you think you should do the same?
6. Exercise and move your body
Do I need to explain more on this one? I guess not.
We all already know that exercise and living an active lifestyle is good for our health, but what is more important is that when you move your body in the morning as part of your routine, you prepare yourself mentally and physically for what’s coming.
You have to understand one thing, our emotions are affected by our motions.
Whenever you feel sleepy, tired, and lack energy and motivation, try to move your body.
Sit straight, stand up, and jump a few times. You will see that your mood instantly changes.
Motions create emotions, my friend.
This is why a lot of highly successful people choose to exercise in the morning as part of their morning habits.
You should do the same.
When you wake up feeling lazy and have no motivation, move your body. Exercise and workout.
After the workout session, you will feel much better. You will that you are ready to take on the world and your mood gets better.
A must-read book for people who want to make the most out of their mornings. I have read this book countless times, and I strongly suggest you read it too. Get this book on Amazon.
7. Condition yourself for a great start
Motivation may not come to you automatically. You have to do something to make yourself driven.
And this is why you have to condition yourself for a great start. This is what successful people do, too, as they condition themselves with better mood with exercise.
If you want to wake up with motivation, you just need to do something that will drive up your mood.
Here are some good suggestions you can consider:
Meditation – Meditation is hot now and it has slowly become mainstream where more and more people are accepting meditation and credit it for their success.
People such as Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, Jeff Weiner, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Dalio, Bob Stiller, Russell Simmons, Steve Jobs, and more, are examples of extraordinary people who practice meditation on a regular basis.
Vision boards and visualization – This is another great way how you can condition yourself for success and motivation in the morning.
Just like the example I shared with you above where Jack Canfield put his vision board on the ceiling of his bed so that every morning when he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is his vision board.
You can do the same by conditioning yourself using vision boards. More importantly, you must give yourself at least a couple of minutes to visualize and see yourself achieving what you want.
Visualization is a powerful tool that you can use to boost your level of motivation and prepare yourself for what’s coming.
Affirmations – Affirmations work just like visualization, but instead of envisioning yourself, you repeat the sayings to condition yourself subconsciously to believe in what you say.
We all know that self-talk is important. We become what we say to ourselves most of the time. And thus, if you practice affirmations every morning after you wake up, you can condition yourself for success and get yourself ready for a great day.
Journaling – Another great way to start your day with motivation is to journal and write down your thoughts. There are many things you can record down.
For instance, you can write down your goals. Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, said that before he became famous and successful as a cartoonist, he would practice writing down his affirmation (his goal) 15 times a day.
No matter whether you choose meditation, visualization, journaling, or motivating yourself through affirmations, you must do it passionately.
Don’t do it for the sake of doing it.
If you want to seriously elevate your mood and make yourself motivated to start your day, do it with passion.
8. Include one thing you love doing in your morning routine
If you don’t like what you do each day, you won’t have the motivation and the drive to wake up.
Common sense, right? Thus, include one thing that you love doing in your morning routine to help you get up easier.
For example, if you love to play with your cat, you can do so in the morning as part of your routine. It makes your day and is able to drive you to wake up because your cat is waiting for you.
Tony Robbins says it well:
“There are 2 different kinds of motivation: Push requires willpower, and willpower never lasts. What will last is pull – having something so exciting, so attractive, something you desire so much that you have a hard time going to sleep at night, you get up so early in the morning and take it to the next level.”
So use the “pull” motivation to inspire, excites, and get you up in the morning.
I love and enjoy having a cup of coffee while reading. Thus, each morning, I will make coffee and read for about 15 minutes. This is what I love doing, and I’m willing to get up early to do it.
What about you? What do you love doing? Include it as part of your morning routine so that you will have no problem getting up early with motivation.
9. Create an uplifting environment
Your surroundings and the environment you are in are extremely important. It is one of the most underrated factors that can greatly impact our lives.
If you want to know how your environment can impact our lives, read this article:
If you want to get up in the morning with motivation, just go to bed early and get enough sleep.
How can you have the motivation and energy if you don’t have enough sleep?
This is a fundamental problem that most people neglected. They want to wake up early with greatness, but they don’t want to get enough sleep.
It is like you want more fire but you don’t want to put in more woods.
And then you decide to use caffeine to boost your alertness, which is the same as pouring gasoline into the woods to get more fire.
Get more sleep, my friend.
Don’t sacrifice your health for the sake of getting up early. Many people have the wrong perception by thinking that if they sleep less, they are more productive because they have more hours to work.
However, this is not the case at all.
In fact, having not enough sleep makes you less productive. You want productive hours, not long hours.
There is no point to produce mediocre work because you feel so sleepy and can’t concentrate on your work.
It is better to get enough sleep, and then be able to focus and produce quality work.
What you want is quality, not quantity, my friend.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute published a great article on the effect of sleep deprivation and deficiency that I think you should check out.
Here’s what the article says:
“The way you feel while you’re awake depends in part on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development.
The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.”
So do not look down on the importance of getting enough sleep.
If you want to wake up with motivation and productivity, the first thing you need to do is to get enough sleep.
Conclusion
We may not be able to maintain our motivation every day, but we can do something to make sure that we stay motivated.
Follow the 10 tips above to wake up with motivation and start your day strong.
So what are going to do tomorrow to wake up early and still have the motivation to go through the day?
“Get out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” Brian Tracy
I’m a big fan of doing the unusual thing. Sometimes in big ways. Often in small and daily ways to mix things up.
Why?
Because this habit is a simple and relatively easy way to:
Get out of your comfort zone.
And if you change your perspective on yourself from someone who sticks to the old and comfortable all the time to someone who likes to mix things up then it will feel more natural and easier to break out of your comfort zone when comes to bigger things too.
It keeps you from getting stuck in the same old daily or weekly rut. And it adds more fun to your life.
Refuel your curiousness about the world and life.
When you do the unusual thing regularly you to discover a ton of new and exciting things.
And that will refuel your curiousness about what else is out there that you haven’t discovered just yet.
So how do you do the unusual thing and break out of your comfort zone in small and sometimes bigger ways?
20 Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
1. Eat the unusual thing.
Instead of choosing the meat-based dish at lunch try the vegetarian alternative.
Or try the fish if you usually go for the beef.
2. Smile towards everyone.
Instead of just going along with your day in your normal social way try smiling more.
Smile more towards your co-workers, the lady at the checkout at the supermarket, the people closest to you and smile to yourself when you encounter a mirror. See what happens.
3. Cook something new.
Each week we try cooking a new recipe.
It is most often a tasty experiment and helps us to find, sometimes unexpected, new favorites.
It has also certainly made me a better cook in the last few years.
4. Mix up your music.
I mix things up by trying new music every month.
I have a look at the best music on sites like Metacritic. Then I load a few of those albums on Spotify and listen.
5. Work in complete silence and stillness.
Shut the door to your office, shut off your music, unplug the internet and just focus on doing the most important thing you can do today while enjoying the silence.
6. Read something that your friends wouldn’t guess that you are reading.
Doing this has helped me to expand my horizons and learn new skills and many, often unexpected things about the world around me.
7. Do all your shopping for the week.
Instead of doing grocery shopping when you feel like it or need to, sit down and plan what you will eat and need for a whole week. Go and get all of that at the store.
Now you don’t have to go back there for a week and you’ll probably have a bunch of extra free time (and less stress) to enjoy this week.
8. Have a day of kindness.
Instead of having the usual bursts of irony, sarcasm etc. during your day try to go for a day where you are just being kind and friendly to everyone including yourself.
9. Enjoy it all.
All fluctuations during your normal day is a part of life and as life it’s a gift in some way or another.
So on some days I just tell myself: “enjoy it all”.
Then I try to enjoy my day no matter if the inbox is overfull, if I’m hungry and starting to get cranky. The things I usually don’t like so much I tell myself to enjoy as a part of life.
And so my day actually becomes more enjoyable because much of how we see life is about how we choose to think about it.
10. Watch something odd.
If you usually watch thrillers then try a romantic comedy. If you most often get stuck with documentaries try an animated movie from Japan (I recommend anything by Hayao Miyazaki).
If you love Family Guy, try Severance or Shrinking. Expand what you watch to get new ideas and impressions.
A month that can feel too dark, cold and on some days almost endless. It’s no wonder it’s sometimes called the Monday of months.
So to help you to make this a good one and give you some laughs and new energy on tough days I’d like to share 85 of the most hilarious, positive and funny January quotes.
I hope you’ll find something here to help lift your spirits.
Funny January Quotes for a Happy Month
“January is the calendar’s ingrown hair.” – Stewart Stafford
“If I had my way, I would remove January from the calendar altogether and have an extra July instead.” – Roald Dahl
“I miss everything about Chicago, except January and February.” – Gary Cole
“I think it would be more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second.” – Helen Fielding
“Lots of people go mad in January. January is the third most common month for madness.” – Karen Joy Fowler
“January is the month of empty pockets!” – Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette
“January is the best time of year for gym owners. You all come. It’s great! And then, by Valentine’s Day, you’re not coming in anymore.” – David Kirsch
“January is the garbage can of movies in America, directly after all the Oscar contenders have been out.” – Michael Caine
“Feeling a little blue in January is normal.” – Marilu Henner
“I love the Mediterranean for the fact that winter is over in a minute, and the almond blossom arrives in January.” – Jade Jagger
“January is the Monday of months.” – Unknown
“Somewhere along the way, I realized that the new year doesn’t begin for me in January.” – Betsy Cañas Garmon
“I’ll never understand why everybody puts so much emphasis on January first. There are 364 other days in the year that you can make a change.” – Elizabeth Eulberg
“You’d be so lean that the blast of January would blow you through and through.” – William Shakespeare
“I like starting projects in January. That’s the best time to start something. It’s so inward.” – Carolyn Chute
January is here with its promise of new beginnings.
It’s a time of dreaming big and then taking the first step towards making those dreams real. A time of the future looking more hopeful again if last year wasn’t so good.
But it’s also a time of freezing cold days and long and dark evenings. And the motivational burst that many of us get at the start of the month can soon start to weaken.
So to help you to stay positive and keep moving all month long I’d like to share 101 of the most motivational, funny and positive short January quotes.
I hope you’ll find something helpful here to make this a happy and successful month.
Short Motivational January Quotes and Sayings for a Successful Month
“Make January your launch pad, not your waiting room.” – Les Brown
“Make this January the beginning of anything you want.” – Unknown
“No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference.” – Charles Lamb
“It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress.” – Brené Brown
“January’s challenge is not the weather, but your willingness to persist.” – Rip Miller
“This January, be brave enough to begin what others are afraid to start.” – Debbie Moore
“Turn January’s challenges into February’s victories.” – Elise Green
“The first month of the year sets the tone for all twelve – make it count.” – Unknown
“Start January with determination to end it with satisfaction.” – Jim Harper
“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” – Rainer Maria Rilke
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” – Hal Borland
“Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.” – Victor Hugo
“Your January habits will, in time, become your December achievements.” – Fay Collins
“Even the strongest blizzards start with a single snowflake.” – Sara Raasch
“If January is the month of change, February is the month of lasting change. January is for dreamers… February is for doers.” – Marc Parent
“Every year is a chess game. New Year is a new chess game! You make the right moves, you win the game!” – Mehmet Murat ?ldan
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S Lewis
“The beginning is always today.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
