I’m all about morning routines, and I’d wanted to read “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod for quite some time. I finally downloaded it to my Audible account and listened to the whole thing in just a few days. It’s only 5 hours long, and it’s an easy and engaging listen. The author begins by sharing his personal story and how he came to develop The Miracle Morning routine. Elrod was in a deep depression and started exercising as a way to strengthen his mental health. He felt so much better that he started researching all the practices that supported optimal personal development. In fact, he shared a quotation from Jim Rohn that I absolutely loved, “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.” The practices that make up the miracle morning are all aimed at increasing your level of personal development, and Elrod has a helpful acronym to remember the practices: SAVERS. Each activity has a ten-minute duration.
S=sitting in silence
A=affirmations (speaking your desired day/mindset/experiences into existence)
V=visualization (visualizing what you want to achieve, attract, or experience, rehearsing the day ahead)
E=exercise
R=reading to learn
S=scribing (journalling–he suggests gratitude)
Prior to reading this book, I already had a strong morning routine that included yoga, meditation, affirmations, and journaling (gratitude and manifestation/visualization). Lately, I’ve been following Elrod’s miracle morning, adding in reading for ten minutes. For the first few days, I followed his formula exactly, but I learned that I needed to make some changes. I found that 30 minutes devoted to affirmations, visualization, and gratitude was too long, leaving me short of time to practice yoga. I’ve adjusted it accordingly, spending about 15 minutes journaling my affirmations, what I want to manifest, and what I’m thankful for. I added the extra 15 minutes onto my yoga practice, allowing for 35 minutes on my mat and the remaining ten reserved for reading.
When you follow Elrod’s miracle morning plan, it is amazing how accomplished you can feel in 60 minutes. And, even if the rest of your day is a nightmare (it won’t be when you’ve set yourself up for success like this) OR you accomplish nothing else, you’ve exercised, journaled, meditated, and learned something new before you’ve even left your house. Elrod encourages readers to adapt the miracle morning routine to meet their needs and shares success stories and resources. You probably don’t need to listen to a 5-hour audiobook to start your own morning routine, but I found it both engaging and inspiring. Even though I’ve researched and practiced morning routines for years, it was a very worthwhile book and I highly recommend it.