For most people, it’s hard to imagine achieving anything before breakfast; they roll out of bed and maybe shower, and then it’s breakfast time. However, many of the most successful people in the world achieve a lot before this important meal. Here are some of the things you’ll see many of them doing.
Drink Water
After a night of sleep, your body will have become dehydrated, and successful people know that it’s important to fix this immediately. They’ll often have water by their bedside table, gulping it down immediately after their alarm has gone off. This immediately springs their body into action, more so than a cup of coffee could ever achieve.
Read or Listen to Inspirational Content
It’s a great idea to start the day with positive and motivational content. Successful individuals might read books, listen to podcasts, or watch videos that inspire and educate them. This habit nurtures a growth mindset and keeps them motivated before they’ve even sat down to eat breakfast.
Practice Gratitude
As a part of their morning meditation, some successful people will express gratitude, which is a powerful morning ritual. Acknowledging the positive aspects of life gives you a sense of contentment and optimism, so tomorrow morning, consider doing the same. Write down a few things you are grateful for, visualize how it makes you feel, and you’ll no doubt gain a more positive outlook throughout your day.
Meditate for Clarity
One of the most common activities that successful individuals begin their day with, often before breakfast, is meditation. This practice helps clear the mind, reduce stress, and improve focus. A few minutes of mindfulness can set a positive tone, making it easier to tackle the day’s challenges with a calm and composed mindset. As Mindful.org points out, the morning calmness just feels right for meditation.
Engage in Physical Exercise
It’s also common for the most successful people in life to get their exercise out of the way before they even start their day. This could be a quick jog, a session at the gym, or yoga; it doesn’t really matter as long as it gets the body moving, boosts energy levels, and enhances mental sharpness, preparing them for a productive day ahead.
Plan the Day
It’s rare to find someone who has achieved success in life who doesn’t take the time to plan their day before they even think about food. They’ll jot down their tasks, set priorities, and schedule them into time blocks. This habit helps them stay organized, focused, and ensures that important tasks are completed efficiently.
Review Long-Term Goals
When you revisit your long-term goals each morning, it keeps them at the top of your mind, ensuring that you never fall off track. Perhaps unsurprisingly, successful people always do this, setting aside time first thing in the morning to remind themselves of what they’re aiming for, reflect on their progress, and make any necessary adjustments to their goals.
Connect with Loved Ones
Another fantastic way to start your morning is to spend some quality time with family or friends, either before or during breakfast. This could be a quick chat over breakfast or a simple good morning message; either way, these connections provide emotional support and strengthen relationships, something that successful people know pushes them forward in life.
Talk to the Mirror
While this might sound strange, successful people are known to talk to themselves in the mirror, hyping themselves up with a pep talk. Speaking motivational thoughts and messages out loud can do wonders for your confidence, so give it a try sometime.
Visualize Success
Similar to talking to the mirror, successful people will also practice visualization before breakfast, a technique in which they spend a few minutes imagining their success and their efforts and trying to see it in their mind’s eye, along with the positive outcomes that it will bring. This practice helps these goals become more real, while also pointing them toward steps they must complete to fulfill their dreams.
Tackle a Challenging Task
There are very few better ways to start your day than taking on a challenging task straight away before you’ve even had a chance to relax with some breakfast. These quiet morning hours are often spent by successful people focusing on difficult or high-priority tasks, exercising, or even simply making their bed, setting a precedent for the day while their energy levels and concentration are at their peak.
Avoid Digital Distractions
You’ll rarely find a successful person who spends their mornings scrolling through social media or even checking their emails. Instead, they dedicate the time to digitally detoxing, instead choosing activities that enhance their productivity and well-being rather than getting caught up in digital noise.
Practice a Creative Hobby
Mornings don’t have to be about hard work and achieving goals; many successful people simply like to engage in a creative hobby, such as writing, painting, or playing music. This activity stimulates the brain, reduces stress, and brings joy, making it a fulfilling start to the day. Furthermore, they might not have time to complete this later in the day, so they get it done first, ensuring they make time.
Review Financial Goals
Your mind is completely clear in the morning, so a lot of successful people use this time to think about their financial health. They might review financial goals, budgets, and investments in the morning, ensuring they are on track with their financial plans and can make informed decisions throughout the day, which is smart.
Set Daily Intentions
Sometimes, it’s wiser to set daily intentions rather than goals, helping to guide actions and decisions as opposed to setting them in stone. A lot of successful people take this attitude, taking a moment to decide how they want to feel and what they want to accomplish, providing a sense of direction and purpose for the day without too much rigidity.
Engage in Self-Reflection
Successful people know that self-reflection allows for personal growth, so before they even think about oatmeal, they’ll take some time to reflect on their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They might do this during meditation or as a separate, dedicated activity. Either way, it helps them understand themselves better and make improvements where needed.
Practice Deep Breathing
Similar to hydrating, a lot of people who do well in life will practice deep breathing exercises to get their lungs going for the day. They find that it reduces anxiety, improves focus, and promotes a sense of calm, deep breathing, which they will then try to continue automatically throughout the rest of the day.
Get Dressed
While many of us sit around in our pajamas after we get out of bed, drinking coffee, and eating breakfast over some TV, successful people will often get dressed straight away. They showered the night before to save time in the morning, so getting dressed immediately symbolizes them starting their day with smartness and confidence, not wasting any time.
Stretch and Mobilize
It’s a fantastic idea to stretch in the morning, as it helps to wake up the body and increase flexibility. Successful individuals often do this before they’ve even had a bite to eat, starting their day off with reduced muscle tension and a sense of flow. After all, it’s easier to stretch on an empty stomach, so they just get it out of the way.
Review Affirmations
While it might sound strange to you, a lot of people put their success down to their positive affirmations, which are short, positive statements or mantras designed to boost confidence and positivity. Repeating these each morning reinforces their belief in their abilities and potential, kicking their day off to a motivated and inspired start.
Enjoy a Moment of Silence
Above all, successful people love waking up early and simply taking a moment of silence. This will likely be difficult to achieve later in the day when their routines get busy, so it can be profoundly grounding. So, consider waking up early tomorrow and doing the same–you’ll be surprised at the sense of calmness that it brings you.