It took me two and a half years to realize just how important a morning routine was for me and my kids, and I have since never looked back. There is a HUGE difference in the way that I show up for myself, my kids, and in general on days I go through my morning routine vs the days that I don’t.

As a mom of three young kids, I got to a point on my motherhood journey where I felt like I was just going through the motions. Motherhood was kicking my butt on a daily basis for too long and I no longer wanted to feel like a shell of the person and mom that I knew I could and wanted to be.

The massive shift that happened in how I felt and being able to find peace in parenting was all due to my morning routine. I went from waking up to screaming kids (and feeling my cortisol levels shoot through the roof like I was being attacked by a bear), to waking up an hour and a half before my kids and MAKING (key word: it became a choice and it took practice and consistency) time to reset, focus on myself and what I needed for the day and fill myself up before my kids even thought about waking up. Still three and a half years later, I am still doing my morning routine and it has changed my perspective on so many things in my life.

Did it start with an hour and a half Day 1? No way! Day one I set an alarm for five minutes earlier than my youngest child would usually get up. Even the difference that five minutes made was mentally game changing. If you have young kids and you are trying to get every last second of sleep, I feel you and I am with you in the lack of sleep department. At the time I had a two and a half year old and an 8 month old, so I was knee deep in feeling sleep deprived. What I came to realize is once I became intentional with my time in the morning, I had more energy and I was actually excited to get out of bed in the morning (which was never the case for me before!)

get up five minutes before your earliest riser wakes up for a week and see if it makes any difference in your mindset. See if your body feels different not being woken up by a yelling child, or see how your patience changes throughout the day

And from there keep setting your alarm a little bit earlier until you get to a point where mornings are YOUR time and you get to experience the MAGIC of the mornings before the world wakes up and your kids need you.

Want some suggestions on what to do with you time? Here’s what has worked for me

1. Meditate– yup I know I just lost half of you on to the next blog. That is quite okay with me 🙂 I was 100% on the same page, I wasn’t touching meditation after I tried it once and couldn’t sit still for five seconds. Meditation has been a HUGE positive in my life and once I found a consistent practice, and a style that I was comfortable with, it was a massive catalyst to help me focus on what I needed more of in my life, and where there were things that were no longer serving me. As someone realizing I was experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression for the first time in my life meditation was the tool that allowed me to work through it in a major way. It is something I think every single mother could benefit from. We spend so much time giving to our babies. If we took five minutes of that time for ourselves and figured out what we truly needed in our lives, we would create a beautiful space to show our children first hand what self care looks like and how they should make it a priority in their own lives.

2. Gratitude Journaling- Probably just lost the rest of you on this one :). This was actually my first step once I started a morning routine. I had realized that I had gotten so caught up in all that I felt was going “wrong” in parenting that I lost sight completely of all the things that were still so good, and things that I had in my life that five years prior I would have been so excited to have in my life! Gratitude journaling truly opened up a piece of my heart that had been closed off. I had lost myself in being a mom, and gratitude journaling reminded me just who I was and how many blessings there are in this world if you are INTENTIONAL in looking for them. After about two weeks of journaling I felt like a new woman, and I had to start looking into Gratitude more because the change was a feeling, but it felt like a physical change. Once I started researching Gratitude, I was blown away by the scientific studies that have been done where researchers have proven through brain scans that a Gratitude practice rewires your brain. Don’t take my word for it read THIS. Combining Gratitude and Meditation took my morning routine to a whole new level!!

3. The rest of my morning time I leave it up to me 🙂 One thing that motherhood definitely keeps reminding me is how to be flexible (which has taken awhile to get used too- Not Miss flexible pre-kids). Some days I need to sit and drink my MUDWTR, some days I need to read, write a blog post or do some work to prepare me for my day ahead. Or dominate my mornings and get my workout in. Whatever it is, after meditating and journaling I have a better idea of what I need that day and that is what I use this time for.

Let’s just say I have become a huge advocate for a morning routine, and starting the day with Meditation and Gratitude has been my success strategy. If we can show up for ourselves first thing, think of how good we can feel when our kids wake up. They might still wake up screaming or ready to go for the day, but guess what? You already set the tone for the day and you already took time for YOU. Now you can take that positive energy and focus and give those babies all the love they need.

When I first started my intentional Gratitude practice I felt like there weren’t a ton of resources or support. This was something I felt out and pieced together on my own. Once I felt how impactful it was for me I realized I needed to do something to help spread the word. That is how The Motion of Gratitude got started. From my own personal experience I pulled together stories and science and the most impactful Gratitude practices and packaged them all together to make it simple, beautiful and intentional to help support other moms on their journey. If you are looking for a new starting point, I hope you explore The Experience! We are here to support you on your journey to feel the impact of Gratitude in your own life and to see their is more to life than going through the motions!

If you are ready to dive in, choose The Experience that best suits you and get started!

You’ve Got This. I hope you have a beautiful day today!