Do you follow a morning routine?
In this week’s episode, I chat (for the second time) with award-winning mindset strategist Will Polston. Will aims to empower people to fulfil their potential in life and ‘make it happen’. He’s worked with celebrities, professional athletes, business owners, and also with people who are sadly feeling at the lowest of lows and about to take their lives. Through his work, Will assists his clients in achieving goals in their personal and business life. You might remember Will from episode 7, where we talked about setting a ‘North Star’ and get clear goals for your life and your business.
You can listen using the link below or via your favourite podcasting platforms here Starting to Scale with Emmie Faust.
In our chat, Will and I talk about morning routines. Will breaks down his own routine and shares each of the things he chooses to do in the morning and why they are important.
I also share my own take on it, and the incredible results I’ve experienced by waking up just half an hour earlier each morning.
Will and I also talk a bit more about the tool he uses with his clients, ‘The Happiness Monitor‘, which allows you to score (on a scale of 1 to 10) how happy you feel in 20 areas of your life. The idea is to update it every month and track progress. Because when it comes to personal development and business growth, you just need to keep moving forward. And reaching your goals – moving towards your ‘North Star’ – doesn’t mean having to compromise other areas of your life. You can live the life you want to be living and make progress in each area, rather than going after a particular goal and sacrificing everything else.
You will learn…
You will learn…Why we need to start the day by making time for ourselves first.
- Will explains that most of us have been conditioned to wake up and be in ‘reactive mode’ – we do things for other people, on their terms, rather than looking after ourselves first.
- Truth is, “if you’re not looking after yourself to the best level, then you’re not going to be able to serve other people to the best level you can”.
- The idea of waking up earlier than when you need to wake up (be an hour, two hours, or even just half an hour) is about starting the day for you. It’s about getting yourself in the best possible mindset to tackle the day ahead. Because success (however you define it) is 80% mindset and 20% skills and mechanics.
- Having a morning routine can have a great impact on your productivity levels and your mental state. Don’t believe it? Why not try it for 30 days and see how you feel after that?
What Will’s daily morning routine involves.
- Will shares that he has a ‘short routine’ (20 minutes) and a ‘long routine’ (two hours). Some of what he considers his ‘non-negotiables’ are meditation (including visualisation), gratitude practice, affirmations, reading a personal declaration, and learning something new.
- When it comes to meditation, Will uses Muse but also mentioned apps like Headspace and Brain.fm. Because meditation is a skill, Will recommends you practice it regularly (10 minutes a day at least) in order to cultivate mindfulness and train yourself to be present and be fully engaged with what you’re doing in the moment.
- Will also practices visualisation and spends 3 minutes picturing in his mind’s eye what his future will look like and then what his day will look like.
- When it comes to gratitude practice, Will recommends writing down 10 things you’re grateful for, including the less positive ones. Because when you allow yourself to change your perspective, you can see that most things aren’t entirely negative.
- Will then reads affirmations in the form of “I am” statements. This is important because your identity is your strongest form of belief. Tune in if you want to listen to some examples of Will’s own affirmations.
- Will then reads a page from the book The Daily Stoic and does some breathing exercises.
Why cold showers are great for you.
- A two-minute exposure to cold water (4 or 5 degrees or less) has the same cardiovascular benefits as a 14-minute cardiovascular exercise.
- Exposure to cold water (or cold in general) is the only way to quickly get out of the state we’re in when we wake up from deep sleep during a REM cycle. It’s been proven it takes us 5 hours to naturally get out of this state, which is why most of us reach out for a caffeine boost!
- Another benefit of having a cold shower is that it gives us the opportunity to do something we don’t necessarily enjoy but that is good for the greater good. Will talks about ‘class one experiences’ in life – the things that are good for us, the people around us, and the greater good. Having a cold shower is what he calls a ‘class two experience’ – something that doesn’t feel good but is good for you, others, and the greater good.
About Will
If you’d like to connect with Will, you can find him on his website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Will kindly shared his ‘Happiness Monitor’ with us, and you can find it here.
Other resources mentioned in this episode
The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod.
The Daily Stoic, by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.
More about me
If you’d like to work with me to help you find your purpose – or your ‘North Start’, as Will calls it – and to grow your business, check out my Work With Me page. You can book a FREE 30-minute discovery call with me. We’ll discuss the challenges you’re facing, and talk about how I can help you grow your business.
