#MondayMotivation #TheMiracleMorning by Hal Elrod #MondayBlogs #PersonalGrowth

Over the past months I’ve been reading a great number of motivational and inspiring books on the topic of personal growth. I’ve also been listening to podcasts and watching videos on YouTube. This interest has sprung from a combination of factors as I’ve recently reached a few significant milestones in my life; I retired and turned sixty and I have five grandchildren between the ages of three months and nine years. I am concerned with aging, health, and emotional wellbeing, as well as my children and grandchildren’s future challenges. I have more time to reflect and more things to reflect on, so I’ve found these books, podcasts and videos very helpful, especially in these uncertain and volatile times in which nothing can be taken for granted. I’ll be sharing my thoughts with you on Mondays.

This Monday I’m feauring a powerful little book called The Miracle Morning, or the not so obvious secret guaranteed to transmorm your life before 8am, because every morning is a miracle, and grasping that miracle from the moment we wake up is a life-changing experience.

The Miracle Morning has been translated into 27 languages, and it has almost 5,000 five-star Amazon reviews. It was published in 2012 and is still on the bestseller lists.

For the first sixty years of my life I never consciously thought about my mornings as the key to improving my life, I just got on with them as best as I could. Of course I had a regular routine; I got up, showered, washed my hair, blow dried it, had breakfast, got dressed, put on my make up, and rushed to work, in about forty minutes, every single day.

There was some planning involved the night before. I prepared my briefcase and my clothes for the following day, and as I’m a great fan of lists, I wrote out the following day’s to do list.

So obviously I had a routine which worked for me, but this plan had  no intention of fulfilling my dreams or improving my life. It was something I did to get through the morning as smoothly and efficiently as possible, because I needed to get to work with a clear mind, in the shortest possible time, with as little stress as possible.

Since I retired, my life is my own, and one of the aspects I’m now proud to own, are my mornings. So, I’ve listened to the experts, who all have diverse, but complementary views of what a morning rutine should be, and how these routines can help us to live better, fuller lives and accomplish our dreams. The best book on morning routines is definitely The Miracle Morning.

But before I tell you more about his proposals, I’d like to tell you more about the author, Hal Elrod.

Hal Elrod claims he is on a mission to elevate the consciousness of humanity, one morning at a time. He is a bestselling author of ten books, including one of the highest rated, best-selling books in the world, The Miracle Morning—which has been translated into 27 languages, has almost 5,000 five-star Amazon reviews and his method is practiced daily by thousands of people in over 70 countries.

It was published in 2012 and is still on the bestseller lists.

Hal died at age 20, when he was hit by a drunk driver at 70 miles per hour. His heart stopped for 6 minutes, but he eventually woke from a coma to be told by doctors that he would never walk again. Not only did Hal walk, he went on to run a (52 mile) ultra-marathon and become a hall of fame business achiever—before the age of 30.

However his physical challenges didn’t end there, in November of 2016, Hal nearly died again. He was diagnosed with a very rare, very aggressive form of cancer (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), which he also overcame and Hal is now cancer-free.

He is the Executive Producer of The Miracle Morning Movie—a documentary that both shows you the morning rituals of some of the world’s most successful people, as well as takes you around the world to show you the life-changing impact that Miracle Mornings are having, globally.

Hal is also host of the highly acclaimed Achieve Your Goals podcast, creator of the Best Year Ever Blueprint Live Experience, and bestselling author of ten [10] books in The Miracle Morning book series.

He is also an engaging and talented speaker as you will find out if you watch his talks and interviews. Such as this interview with Tom Bilyeu, co-founder and host of Impact Theory, a series of interviews aimed to expand people’s vision of wellness, which encompasses body and mind, in order to help people develop the skills they will need to improve themselves and the world.

I found Hal’s recipe for happiness and success in the face of adversity a real eye-opener.

ACCEPTANCE. What cannot be changed must be accepted. The key here is to determine when you’re being complacent and when you’re being realistic. That’s a tough decision, and it’s up to each one of us.

ASSUMING RESPONSIBILITY. Once the situation is accepted as inevitable, you have to assume responsibility. You are not a passive observer, there is always something you can do in your new situation or circumstances. Be aware of the power in your hands.

TAKING ACTION. You have accpeted the event and are aware of your responsibility, so now you have to take positive action.

The Miracle Morning: Practical Suggestions

Hal identifies six life savers in the book, namely:

Silence, which can include meditation, prayer, reflection, deep breathing and/or gratitude.

Affirmations. These positive statements harness the power of positive thinking by repetition of previously prepared statements.

Visualisation, which he also calls creative visualization or mental rehearsal, that is using your imagination to create mental pictures of expected outcomes occurring in your life.

Exercise, which will boost your energy levels and your health, improve self-confidence and emotional well-being, enabling you to feel better and concentrate for longer.

Reading. You should read something which will increase your self-awareness and lead to personal growth for at least ten minutes every morning.

Scribbling or journaling, which means writing a diary or your thoughts or ideas.

The book also has plenty of practical tips to actually get up and follow this routine do these ‘Savers’, such as ‘The 5-Step Snooze-Proof Wake Up Strategy’ for people who have a hard time getting up early, or ‘The 6-Minute Miracle (For The Busy People)’ where the whole routine is drastically reduced, from about an hour to 6 minutes.

The Morning Miracle really is a clear, simple and comprehensive book about how to empower yourself by taking a conscious and active control of your mind and body first thing in the morning, and believe me, it works.

Another important thing Hans tells us, is that his book isn’t written in stone, and we should customise his proposals. We all have different lifestyles and needs, and these ‘Savers’ are pointers we should follow and adapt as we go along, in order to achieve our most significant goals, faster than ever before.

Bearing this is mind, over the past months I’ve created my own, adapted version and created my miracle morning, which I’ll be sharing with you next week.

Take care and stay safe.

Here’s the link if you’d like to read my other posts on #PersonalGrowth