Become The Best Version Of You By Setting Aside Just 1 Hour A Day

Are you a morning person or a night owl? My ideal wake up time would be anywhere between 7.30am and 8am - this is generally the time that I wake up without an alarm.

Since I started working from home more regularly and no longer need to commute, I went through a phase of waking up between 7.30am and 8am every day - not just on weekends.

As lovely as it was, after a few months I started to think about what else I could be doing with the time that I previously spent commuting. What could I achieve if I woke up at 6.30am?

So I tried it! For a few weeks I attempted to get up at 6.30am whenever possible but it felt like a bit of a struggle. I didn't really have a reason for waking up early other than to enjoy a more leisurely morning before work.

When I woke up at 8am, I had a fairly quick turn around before work, whereas the few times I did wake up at 6.30am, I was able to enjoy a leisurely cup of tea in the morning, maybe head out for a brisk walk and get ready for work at my own pace. But I was far from consistent with it and mainly because I didn't have a reason that I believed was worthy enough to get out of bed 2 hours earlier. That's when I realised, that if I was going to seize the day and make use of these hours that I'd need to set myself a goal.

It wasn't long after that I was chatting to my mum who is, and has always been, a huge advocate for personal development. She was telling me about how she's recently joined this online community that meet a 6am every morning on Zoom to take part in what's called a Miracle Morning. If you're a fan of personal development, you may have come across Hal Elrod who introduced this concept to the world.

The main idea behind a Miracle Morning is that you spend an hour at the start of your day, every day, doing the following:

Silence

Affirmations

Visualisation

Exercise

Reading

Scribing

Also known as SAVERS.

The Miracle Morning was originally designed for people to do alone at a time that worked for them, but then groups started forming and communities started to grow which allowed people to come together in the morning to do SAVERS. Not only is this hugely empowering to develop personally alongside others on the same journey, but it also holds you accountable when it comes to creating habits.

I instantly fell in love with this idea but I wasn't convinced about getting up at 6am every day of the week. Now there is absolutely no expectation to join every morning, but I genuinely felt that if I was going to give this a go, I wanted to throw myself into it and create a positive habit. I gave it some thought and joined in on a session to see what it was all about before committing. All it took was one session and I was HOOKED!

Here's how it works:

I set my alarm for 5.50am every morning. I wake up and hop out of bed right away. (It's complete autopilot now - I don't even question getting out of bed) I head downstairs in my PJs and pop the kettle. I then get set up and Zoom and join the meeting with a whole bunch of other like minded, determined, positive and motivated individuals.

Each session is volunteer led and starts with a 10-15 minute meditation. This really is the perfect way to start the session as many of us are still a little sleepy at that stage.

We then move on to guided gratitudes and affirmations and use our journals to note these down each day. At times, there is the option to share what we're grateful for with the rest of the group too which can be really powerful.

The next part of the session is reading. To start, we all hold our books up to the camera and share our recommendations for great personal development books. I have got most of my inspiration for great books from the Miracle Morning community. We then read quietly for around 20 minutes before finishing off with a pumping, motivating song to kick start our day (at which many people get up and have a boogie).

I've been doing Miracle Mornings with this group for around 2 months now. I would say there have been a few days here and there that I've missed but generally speaking I've made every morning. Getting up at 6am is no longer an issue. I make much better use of time that I would have previously spent sleeping or driving, and the benefits from making this a daily habit have been incredible. Here are a few examples:

- In a blog I wrote this summer, I mentioned that I'm not an avid reader but long to be one. On average, I now read 1 book every 2-3 weeks and more often than not, don't want to put my book down!

- Straight after the Miracle Morning, I commit to doing 20 minutes of exercise at home, whether that be cardio or weights, which is already having a great impact on my health and mood

- In the past I've been quite an impatient person and it's something that I work on continuously. Since starting Miracle Mornings, I have developed the ability to be more patient which in turn has allowed me to relax and go with the flow more

- I very rarely feel angry or irritated. By practicing gratitude daily, I am able to see the positives in almost any situation and find something to be grateful for - which means

by-passing any negative response to a situation

- I feel overwhelming grateful for so many things in my life. Each day I reflect on myself and am grateful for the person I am, and am becoming, and I feel real gratitude for the people in my life, my career, my home and so much more

- I've honestly feel on top of the world. I know that might sound a little cheesy and I guess it's hard to describe without having experienced it yourself - but to be spending an hour a day to focus on developing yourself, being positive and determined to seize your day and make it count, is incredibly powerful

- I've now have an ever growing group of new and likeminded friends (crazy I know as I haven't yet had the chance to meet most of these people in real life but we all feel really connected)

I believe that when you focus on improving one area of your life, other areas will improve as a consequence. Take exercise for example - if I fancy junk food, all I need to do is go for a run because it is guaranteed that after exercising I won't want to eat junk food. Instead, I'll want to eat a healthy, delicious meal that will make me feel good afterwards, not guilty.

I've found the same with self development. By focusing on myself and becoming a better person, I've improved my relationships with those around me and as a consequence, so many opportunities have come my way that I've been able to seize.

So whether you're a morning person or a night owl, if you are keen to develop yourself personally and create a future full of abundance, I highly recommend the Miracle Morning (or evening/afternoon - which ever works for you).

If you'd prefer to work through the SAVERS at a time that suits you, in your own way - here is a link to get you started.

If you'd like to join 'Expect Miracles' - the Miracle Morning group that I am part of, please do join us! You can request to be part of the Facebook group here and the details to the Zoom meetings will be in there.

It's easy to dip in and out of personal development throughout your life, and it's far better to do that, than do nothing at all. But if there's one thing I've learnt over these past few months, it's that commitment and consistency is what makes all the difference.

You might be thinking that you are very fulfilled and happy in your life so don't need to develop personally right now, or you might be feeling that this blog post came just at the right time.

In my opinion, you don't need to be unsettled or in need of a change to develop personally. You simply need to be passionate about being the best version of yourself and have a desire to live your best life. If that's you then please do reach out and connect with me. The more incredible people I can surround myself with - the better!

Before I go, I'd like to give a few recommendations of books that I've read over the past few months that you might like too:

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

Book by Jen Sincero

The Miracle Equation: The Two Decisions That Move Your Biggest Goals from Possible, to Probable, to Inevitable

Book by Hal Elrod

Awaken the Giant Within

Book by Tony Robbins