Your mindset and how you feel can be your biggest obstacles, or your biggest assets, when it comes to reaching your goals.
As we enter the last quarter of the year, you want to be even more aware of your mindset and how you’re feeling in order to reach your goals more effectively. Not to mention, also keep you resilient against the negative effects that poor mental health can have in your life.
In this blog I’m going to share 4 morning rituals that will optimize your mindset and your emotional state towards your goals. These routines will also help you reduce stress and help improve your overall functioning in your day – to have you perform and feel at your best!
The importance of your mental and emotional state in reaching your goals
I started my coaching business when I was 24. I tip-toed my way slowly for the first 5 years because, to be honest, I was afraid. My mindset held me back with thoughts like “I’m too young”, “I’m not good enough”, and “what if I fail?”. I often felt worried and anxious, overthinking every move and every conversation. This held me back from advertising my services, showing up on social media, and fully going for it. This is how our mindset and our emotional state can hold us back in our work.
Similar mental and emotional blocks held me back when I wanted to get fit and healthy. When I was struggling, my mindset was stuck on “I don’t have time”, “it can wait”, and “I’m just not the working-out type”. I felt embarrassed and anxious going to the gym, thinking that others were judging me. The process was just too hard and unpleasant for me to keep up.
Even in my relationship goals, my mental and emotional state had been the biggest challenge. From my past experiences, I had developed the belief that I inherently wasn’t meant to have a healthy and fulfilling relationship. My emotional state, having PTSD, made situations emotionally unbearable at times. So I kept myself from being vulnerable and getting too close to my previous partners, which kept me from having fulfilling relationships.
To this day (10 years later!), a lot of the challenges I still find myself in are caused by not being mindful of my mental or emotional state. What has allowed me keep growing my business, stick to my health and fitness goals for over 10 years, and be in a healthy and fulfilling relationship today, is practicing good mental and emotional hygiene. So that I make sure that I’m on top of my mindset and my emotional state, and to have them consciously serve me towards my goals.
Research shows that your mental and emotional state impacts your goals:
If you’re still doubtful of just how important the state of your mind and emotions are in meeting your goals, let’s look at the research. There have been numerous studies conducted over the past few decades showing that your beliefs around your capabilities (i.e., self-efficacy) and having a positive mental state (i.e., feeling good) impacts your success.
For example, in a meta-analysis (which means a study that combines research) of 225 studies, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues found that those with a positive mental state in the work domain had 31% higher productivity, 37% higher sales, and 3X more creativity.
In another comprehensive study published in the journal of Organizational Behavior by researchers in Virginia Commonwealth University also found that emotional factors are an important predictor of job performance. The study suggests that they should be considered alongside general cognitive ability and personality. Other researchers have linked emotional skills to:
- More effective leadership (showing a moderately strong relationship)
- Better negotiation abilities, better social dynamics, and better psychological well-being.
- Higher job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions
When looking at having good mental health in general, it has been linked to:
- Better work performance. A Meta-analysis from 111 independent studies showed that mental well-being and life satisfaction, is a moderate-to-strong correlate of work performance.
- Executive functioning – Executive functions include how well you can think, how smoothly your brain can shift between tasks, and your ability to focus.
The bottom line is that if you improve your mental and emotional state, you’re leveraging some of the most powerful motivators and predictors of success that you have.
The good news is that these can be built with the right strategies and routines, regardless of your current level.
Using a morning and night routine to optimize your mindset and emotions
Your brain is most susceptible to information first thing in the morning and right before going to bed. This is why using a morning and night routine is the best investment of your time when it comes to your success and mental health. And the best part is that it doesn’t have to take more than 30 minutes!
Start by having a solid morning routine. My clients can testify to just how important this is, and how quickly it can bring about positive results.
Here are 4 morning rituals that will set you up for success and good mental health:
1. Take 5-10 minutes to center yourself in the beginning of your day. Centering yourself is the act of putting things back into focus. It’s reconnecting with yourself and what’s important to you. This is a great way to anchor yourself and have a solid base for the day. You can do this through a breathing exercise, meditation, and/or by practicing gratitude (write down at least 5 things you’re grateful for). This not only helps to anchor you, but also to open up mental and emotional blocks that can hinder your critical thinking and help prime you to feel good for the day. It is a great way to lower stress and operate from a calm state of mind, and help strengthen these brain pathways. This helps to set your default normal day-to-day state to be calm and positive overtime which help your mind and body be in an optimal state.
2. Set an intention for how you want your day to go. Your brain needs guidance or else it’s easily swayed by situations and circumstances. Setting intentions by writing down what you want to create in your day will give it guidance on what to focus on. Make sure that you’re positively framing what you want. For example “I will have a productive day” instead of “I don’t want to lose focus today”. Your brain is on your side, it just needs the right information in a way that it understands.
3. Use power programming, also known as affirmations. Power programming is intentional programming of your mind to help you reach your bigger goals when it comes to who you want to be, how you want to feel, and what you want to achieve. The most powerful kind of programming comes from “I am” statements. This is claiming what you want in the present moment and integrating it into your identity. Get clear on what kind of programming you need (what do you need to believe) in order for you to succeed and then write them down. For example “I’m a 7 figure entrepreneur”, “I’m a high value woman/man”, “I’m confident”, “I’m a healthy eater”, “ I am loved”, “ I am beautiful”. Feel into your power statements in the moment and your brain will start to believe them, behave in accordance to them, and attract situations that will help you more easily get there.
4. Do something that makes you feel good/energized. Exercise, read an interesting book, take time to enjoy your coffee. You can also write down something you look forward to in your day. This helps set the tone for the day and give you an extra mental and emotional boost to keep you from burnout. The way you feel in the morning weighs heavily on how you feel throughout the day. Starting your day feeling good, excited, and positive makes it much easier for you to carry that forward into the rest of your day.
Your challenge this month:
For the next 30 days, choose one of the morning success routines above and implement it into your morning. Mark it on your calendar to commit to it.
Let me know how it goes by emailing me at info@leylabagheri.com. I can’t wait to hear about the progress you make!
With lots of love,
Leyla
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