Morning "Reset"

The morning is my favorite part of the day. But if you would’ve asked me if this were true a couple months ago, I would’ve shook my head and said, “Nope. I’m a night owl and love the evening best.”

But this past month and a half has brought about change in a lot of things—in our world, our communities, our homes. And for me, personally, one thing that’s changed is I’ve been able to learn the beauty of waking up early, drinking my coffee before my kids wake up (this is a gift in and of itself, guys) and almost declaring morning a “reset” of sorts.

Three things that have helped me do just that in the mornings:

1. I choose to not read the news right when I wake up. I’ll sometimes open up my social media apps, but limit it—Instagram seems most safe because my feed is full of makers and creators, positive influencers, and friends & family. Steer clear of anything that causes distress—if any social media does that to you, keep it closed in the morning.

2. Write down 3 things I'm grateful for at that very moment. This is NOT formal in any way—in fact, I currently just have a list going on my Notes app on my iPhone. Make is simple and easy to do—it will give you little in the way of excuses not to do it. You can give as much or as little thought as you wish. Today, my three were: my favorite coffee mug; my youngest child’s good morning hugs; and grateful for a good friend who texted me a funny meme to start my morning. Because—laughter is like GOLD right now, friends. Am I right??

3. Mindfulness. Breathing deep for a few minutes—whether using an app or on your own. Just giving yourself a moment to be present and still. I’ve tried for several months to work on meditation and you guys, IT IS HARD. Especially now, when my head is full of all sorts of questions, thoughts and ‘junk’. But I’m determined to keep trying. Some days I completely fail at this—breathing deeply for a minute is the best I can do. But not giving up, and sticking with it will help me grow into this—I know it helps me mentally/emotionally/physically and will only get better.

These three things are serving me right now, but they will look different for everyone. Is there something you’re doing that’s helping you?

While we don’t know what the next moment or day or month looks like, I’m reminded that we never have known before either. We just have to be grateful for the present, for the moments we have and to remember to live those to our fullest.

We are allowed to have bad moments. We’re allowed to be sad and frustrated and angry.

But we’re also allowed to be happy, to laugh, to find and seek out joy.

Let’s not forget to give ourselves grace in these moments, as well as toward others. We’re all just doing our best at this thing.

Here’s to a week of learning to be kind to yourself and for ‘reset’ moments.

All the love & gratitude, friends—

Sarah