3 Tips For Generating a Positive & Productive Mindset First Thing in The Morning

Can you tell how your day’s gonna go by your mood in the morning?

I sure can!

If I find myself in a negative mood early in the morning, it’s almost as though I should just crawl back in bed and say, “You know what, I’ll try again tomorrow.”

It’s funny but also very serious. The mindset we have first thing in the morning is likely to be carried with us throughout the day. Unless we put forth a major amount of effort to change, which is incredibly hard as anyone who has been in the depths of a bad mood knows. 

Understanding how important our mood is in the morning can either be empowering or terrifying depending on your perspective. 

If you hold onto the idea that you cannot control your emotions and the mood you’re in, then you’ll be waking up each day in hopes that today will be the day you’re in a good mood. 

However, if you feel that you are in control and can dictate how you feel, you realize the power you hold each and every day to get yourself into a positive and productive mindset. 

I hold to the latter of these two views and that’s exactly what I want to share with you. How you can use certain tools each morning to put yourself in a positive and productive mindset to take on the day!

The three tips I am going to share with you can be used individually, or all together as one large morning routine. It all starts with simply saying thank you.

Developing An Attitude Of Gratitude

If you operated each day from a state of gratitude, how much negativity do you think you’d experience? Very little, because when you’re feeling thankful for what you have and where you are, there is no room for negative thoughts to enter your mind. 

In terms of generating a positive and productive mindset, feeling gratitude is a remarkable tool. 

First thing in the morning, if you generate a state of gratitude, that will carry with you throughout the day. I know it may seem strange to think of gratitude being correlated with productivity, but it’s the truth. 

Gratitude attacks anxiety, depression, and many other negative mental states. So, by feeling thankful, you are working to eliminate these from your mind, which will allow you to be more productive as you move throughout your day.

To practice gratitude does not need to be complicated, and can be as simple as saying thank you repeatedly after waking up. 

Another practice you can use that is a bit more structured is writing out gratitude statements. Spend about five minutes each morning listing out everything you have to be thankful for. After you’ve written them out, read each one over and really feel the emotion!

Practice Mindfulness

First thing in the morning, how easy is it for your mind to begin thinking about all your obligations that day, worrying about what you may not get done, and fretting over something that happened the day or days prior?

This is where many of us begin to feel anxious, fearful, and down on ourselves in the mornings. However, if there was a way we could calm our minds and eliminate many of these unending thoughts, our days would begin much smoother. 

Luckily there is a way, and it’s by utilizing mindfulness. Mindfulness is the state of being completely present. But, it’s not as easy as it sounds. That’s why it’s important to begin training mindfulness. 

Each morning, you can train yourself to be mindful. The more you do, the easier it will be to carry this mindful state with you throughout the day. 

There are many ways you can practice mindfulness, but for the sake of talking about mornings, I’ll stick with the technique I find most beneficial. 

It’s a mindfulness meditation practice, and it goes like this:

1. Sit in a comfortable position, either on the ground or in a chair. 
2. Set a timer for ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath.
4. When you find your attention drifting, quickly return it to your breath (this right here is the act of training mindfulness).

Practice Mental Imagery

No matter who you are, there is an internal image you hold about yourself. This may be that you’re an unproductive person, or that you’re always anxious. Perhaps it’s a more positive view and you see yourself as successful. 

Bottom line is, we each have an internal image about ourselves.

What you can do is use this to your advantage by instilling an image you wish to hold about yourself. If you want to be more productive and positive throughout the day, visualize yourself efficiently working with a good attitude. 

By solidifying in your mind this vision of who you want to be, you will be molding that as how you naturally see yourself and will carry the new self-image with you each day. 

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