Dr. John Izzo helps companies maximize their potential from the ground up. For over 20 years, Dr. Izzo has worked with thousands of leaders around the world, on employee-engagement strategies and brand transformations. Dr. Izzo has been a pioneer in employee engagement, leading change, shifting employee and consumer values and corporate social responsibility. He is known for his hard hitting practical content, his inspirational storytelling and the lasting impact he has on organizations. In the video above and the post below, Dr. Izzo shares his advice for getting your day off to the best start:
How do you start your day? Good beginnings make for good middles and good endings. Unfortunately many of us begin our day without any thought about starting off in a good direction. We hit the alarm clock, check emails, grab coffee and rush through breakfast and off to the races we go! We may feel we’re ahead of the game by doing this, but it’s actually counterproductive.
I’ve discovered that how I START my day is how I LIVE my day.
Here are three things to do to start your day that will significantly transform the way your day unfolds. They are: meditate, ruminate and rejuvenate.
1. Meditate The first thing to do in the morning is meditate. If you have a specific form of meditation, do that. If not, simply sit quietly, calm your mind and get centered. I begin my day with fifteen minutes of meditation and it has made a large difference in the rest of my day. Research shows that brains of those who meditate are less reactive than those who don’t.
2. Ruminate Think about how you want to live your life. Maybe use a mantra such as “to practice kindness, to quiet my mind, to put my ego aside, to do my part to make the world better while accepting the fact that life is challenging and to go with the flow,” etc. Then sit and reflect on the day ahead and ask yourself how you can more deeply live those intentions today. In my book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, I noted that 85% of the happiest people have reflection hard wired into their life every day. So start your day with a few moments to be clear on your intention for the day ahead.
3. Rejuvenate Start your day with an activity that gives you energy. Maybe a morning walk or bike ride or even a work activity that fires you up. Often people start the day with the thing they dread to get it over with, but starting with something you enjoy will give you momentum to do the things you find boring or challenging. Don’t start your day ditching your energy, start by releasing the energy you want for your day. I often walk first thing in the morning after the next two activities. Now feeling that I have done the three most important things the day goes up from there.
Are you up to a challenge? How about for the next 30 days you start your day with these three things: meditate, ruminate and rejuvenate. You might have to get up a bit earlier or go to bed earlier, but the payoffs will be worth it and I guarantee these three things will change your day. Even five minutes meditating, five minutes ruminating and fifteen minutes on an activity that rejuvenates you might be just enough of a dose to shift the whole day.