In 2016, the bestseller "Miracle Morning", signed Hal Elrod, appeared in France by First editions. Since then, the concept has continued to spread and catch our eye: what if waking up earlier and indulging in a new morning routine was enough to change your life? To gain energy, serenity, productivity? We explain why and how to indulge in "Miracle Morning", an essential method of personal development.
Jules Renard said: " The world belongs to those who get up early, until the time of the others. The idea behind this quote: the earlier you get up, the more time you have, and the more productive you are. The phenomenon of "Miracle Morning", a concept at the crossroads of personal development and coaching, which we owe to Hal Elrod, starts from this observation. Originally, a question: What do successful people who thrive in their careers have in common? The author, also a speaker and life coach, came to this observation: these people get up early. But getting up early is not the only thing you need to do in order to go further, to accomplish yourself and to achieve your plans. You also need to create a morning routine. In his book The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM (original title), translated by First editions in 2016, Hal Elrod shares with the general public the workings of his method. A method adopted since by stars like Anna Wintour, Tim Cook or Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. In France, Isalou Beaudet-Regen, author of Morning magic (Leduc.s editions), for her part, shares, in her book, the testimonies of Michel Cymes, Christophe André, and Marc Lévy, who all work in a morning routine. It's tempting, isn't it? Trying to rediscover the power of morning to change your life. So let's go.
The Miracle Morning method is available to everyone (and even heavy sleepers)
If you find the time is ticking fast and secretly dream of stretching the minutes, the Miracle Morning is for you. It is also tailored for you if (out of order) you want to breathe, embark on a project (write a book, a play, set up your box…) or even get to know yourself better. And the good news is, you can. You can get up earlier and set up your morning routine, because we all have a "morningophile" inside of us, no pun intended. Yes: No matter how much you love a late morning, even if you think of yourself as a heavy sleeper or a night owl, you can take action and make a difference. And therefore change your life.
The morning is all up to you
Do you have projects, desires to succeed, dreams in the back of your head, which seem inaccessible or disconnected from your reality? Morning can help you take action and achieve yourself. Why ? Because during the day, we all drown in thousands of bonds. We're expected here and there, and when, finally, we can take a three-minute breath, it's only three minutes. So we postpone our projects until the evening (for the most optimistic) or the next day (or next month). But life catches up with us. This is where the morning can change everything. Because in the morning you have nothing to finish but everything to start. Because in the morning, if you wake up before everyone else, you have the freedom and space necessary for your fulfillment and success to become the best version of yourself.
Start by reviewing your beliefs
All people are full of beliefs. Beliefs shape our world. We take them for "the truth". And beliefs around morning, evening, and more broadly different times of the day, we all have them. Maybe you are convinced that you are not a morning person, that you will never be able to get up early, that getting up early is natural, that you do not have the capacity to emerge in two steps three stretches , and so on … These beliefs block you. However, it is possible to set up new habits. It does not happen in three days, moreover it seems that it takes at least 21 days (others will say 9, or even 66 …). But whatever the numbers: it is obviously in the regularity that it happens. To get up earlier, you just have to get up earlier, and hold on. Hold on until this reflex is yours and even contributes to your personal balance. One fine morning, you won't want to throw your alarm clock out the window. Best of all, your eyes will open on their own.
Learn to sleep and bring your alarm clock forward a few minutes
The idea of getting into Miracle Morning is to get up a little earlier than usual. Hal Elrod even suggests getting up two hours before. However, no pressure: you can choose to get up an hour earlier, or even thirty minutes earlier. It’s a great start (and the beginning of happiness). This new time is yours, and as ridiculous as it may seem, it can help change your life. As the mornings progress, you will realize how precious this time is, already because you will have time to eat your breakfast mindfully. Of course, to get up early, you have to go to bed earlier. A real discipline of life! But contrary to what we imagine, it is not an ordeal (and it is good for your health). Take stock of the activities that precede your sleep, and see if they are important and good for you: Netflix, strolling on Instagram … By blowing them up, you will save sleep time, and even more, you will sleep better. Screens are our enemies. Don't hesitate to "anticipate" your mornings the night before, either. For the little (useful) anecdote, Marie Kondo, the queen of storage, prepares her clothes in the evening. In the morning, she doesn't have to worry about three T-shirts.
Make way for a new routine
Getting up early is one thing, but doing something with that saved time is another. Comate? Surf on social networks? Watch the news? This is not really the principle. Rather, the idea is to create a healthy morning routine that works for you and meets your goals. It can be tailor-made, or draw inspiration, in the early days, from Hal Elrod's Miracle Morning method. The coach explains that, every morning, it is important to establish a routine that cuts across all areas of our life. In short, each morning, you should start your day with six modules summarized under the acronym SAVERS, for Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Physical exercise, Reading (reading) and finally Scribing (writing), either: calm and meditation, mantras to remember that you are worth it (I am the best, and what?), visualize your life plan, do a little sport, read and finally, write. Does that sound a lot to you? It can only last 6 minutes. Because Hal Elrod says that the important thing is to get started, even if it lasts a minute (a minute of silence, a minute of sit-ups, a minute of reading …). Good to know, and we can start there: we wake up 6 minutes earlier than usual and we devote those six minutes to these activities that are good for us, our health and our morale!
Routine SAVERS of Miracle Morning in detail
"SAVERS" is pretty easy to remember. But to fully integrate what is behind this handful of letters, let's go into the detail of this morning routine so that it becomes a habit:
- Meditate : meditating in the morning is like seeking silence and anchoring yourself in the present moment, just to start your day calmly. This moment, just for you, of just a few minutes, sets the scene for your day. So it's always nicer than screaming and fidgeting because you're in a hurry.
- Visualize : Next, take a moment to "visualize" positively. In other words, activate your imagination and see yourself having a successful day. You can also see further, by practicing visualizing your dreams, your desires, in short, by creating your story.
- Daring mantras : certain quotes or affirmations boost your motivation? Write them down somewhere, learn them and repeat them in the morning. They should encourage you, remind you that you are capable of great things and that the only person who doubts it, surprisingly, is you.
- Move : it is important, in the morning, to put your body in motion. The Miracle Morning Method does not just awaken the mind and involves physical activity! The most determined will go for a run. But you can also, quite simply, undertake some stretching or some yoga postures. The main thing is to choose the sport that is right for you.
- Read : it's good to connect with your creativity by taking the time to read. So we avoid the news so as not to spoil our mind and we enjoy books or articles that really interest us, because they concern us, make us think, relax us, inspire us.
- To write : As you start the Miracle Morning method, start a writing notebook. Yes, a notebook! To write by hand. But to write what? Turn to the practice of the “3 morning pages”: let out what needs to come out. It's like a diary. But don't think about it. You don't even have to reread yourself. This exercise is a way to take stock of your private thoughts, to unload the heaviest ones and, also, to know yourself better.
Beyond these activities, shared by many people, you can add your own: a good coffee while listening to classical music, a tour of the block, a moment dedicated to expressing your gratitude (thank you for the day ahead), a good shower (which acts as a meditation if you take it in full awareness)… Be creative and remember: as long as it pleases you and your mind feeds positively, then it works.
From routine to the realization of its projects
If you get up earlier, it's not to turn on your computer and get down to work, even if the job is fun, because it fulfills a dream (writing a book, for example). Ditto, if you are setting up your business, you are not forced, as soon as you wake up, to read the press and work on your project and your account. What matters first is routine and time for yourself. It's about refocusing. Because we tend to ignore it, but this time spent taking care of yourself, however short, is a source of richness and creativity. He then helps us to move forward. Of course, once the routine is done, it's time for action and plans. You can take advantage of these "overtime" hours to focus on your life goals.
Keep a log
When you start the Miracle Morning method, keep (why not) a logbook. Thanks to it, you follow your evolution. Every morning, for example, write down your level of motivation, which should improve day by day. Also write down your observations: Over time, you will better understand your sleep, the number of hours you need, your ideal time to sleep and your ideal time to wake up. You can also take stock of the progress of your personal projects: do I feel more determined? More efficient ? And, more generally, do I feel better in my sneakers, do I have more confidence in myself? How do these new habits make me feel good, give me energy and courage? This is very useful, and it helps, week after week, to refine your morning routine, to "personalize" your Miracle Morning, and to create your own method of personal development. Because if we can all become early risers, the morning belongs to us – like our future therefore – and it is up to us to design it … as we wish.
Miracle Morning: books to discover to go further
Miracle Morning, give yourself extra life, Hal Elrod, First editions (original title The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM)
The magic of the morning, the extra hour that will change your life, Isalou Beaudet-Regen, Leduc.s editions
Everything is played before breakfast, get up early and reinvent your life, Jeff Sanders, Marabout editions