In our hectic lives the secret to finding balance and inner peace is often not about what you add to your life. It is about what you take away.

1. Eliminate Watching TV.

2. Eliminate Worry.

3. Eliminate Perfectionism.

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Bzzzz… Bzzzz…
The annoying sound of an alarm clock pulls you out of your dream. You open your eyes, make an enormous mental effort and take one hand out of the covers and hit “snooze” to happily drift back to sleep. A few moments later you hear the same familiar sound. Have 15 minutes already passed? You calculate that you can afford another 15 minutes of lolling about and hit snooze again.

By the time you drag yourself out of bed you have just enough time left to take a quick shower, get dressed, gulp down orange juice and grab something “eatable” on your way to the door. You spend the rest of the day feeling somehow annoyed and frustrated, because it seems that all you are doing is trying to catch up with your busy schedule! Does it sound familiar?

If yes, than the morning is probably not your favorite time of the day. Just like it was not for me. Although, I have learned that it does not have to be this way!

Here is how to make your mornings enjoyable and start your day on the right foot:

1. End the previous day right. Never go to bed in a bad mood. Settle any arguments, let go of frustration and make a conscious effort to relax your whole body. Calm down your racing mind. Stop thinking about work or going over all the stuff that needs to be done. Night time is meant for rest so make the most of it.

2. Get enough sleep. Being a night person myself I know how tempting it may be to stay up late chatting with your friends or just watching your favorite movie at home. It is fun, but you need to be smart about it. If you are robbing yourself of two extra hours of sleep, you are doing yourself a great disservice. 7 hours of sleep is an absolute must for most people in order to feel refreshed and energized the next day.

3. Do not close your blinds all the way. Our body has a built-in biological clock that is synchronized with natural light. When we find ourselves in darkness, our brain starts to produce “the hormone of darkness” – melatonin that signals to our body that it is time to sleep. Melatonin production is inhibited by light and this is how our body knows that it is time to get up. If you sleep in complete darkness, you will wake up in the morning feeling light-headed and tired.

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