“Morning is an important part of the day because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.” – Daniel Handler
People who understand this, people who know how important mornings are and how important it is to have a routine, a ritual around it, can not only win the morning but also win the life.
High performers usually follow the most common morning rituals of meditation, mindfulness, gratefulness, reading, exercising, etc.
In this article, we will try to understand who is a high performer and decipher how anyone can become a high performer. The article provides a list of 10 Morning Habits of High Performers.
Table of Contents
Who Is A High Performer?
Have you ever wondered why Kami Rita Sherpa has been able to scale Mt. Everest more than 25 times? Did you ever wonder why Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete? And have you ever thought about why Michael Phelps is the most successful Olympian ever?
The answer to this is their routine. All these top performers have gone up and beyond to achieve something considered impossible until they made it possible. They are high performers and have achieved this feat by having high-performance habits.
All the high performers have morning rituals to get them started and give direction to their day.
A high performer is someone who sets clear goals and takes the initiative to achieve them. High performers are focused and complete their tasks on time.
They have high-performance habits that set them apart from everyone. Their behavior is such that they command respect and admiration from everyone.
Morning Habits Of A High Performer
Following is the list of the top 10 morning habits of high performers which you can try to incorporate into your routine and achieve your goals with ease.
Wake Up Before Sunrise
The day of most of the high performers starts early. High performers are known to rise with the sun and sleep with it.
High performers also make sure their mornings are slow, as in they enjoy their morning me time. They take their own time, completing their morning routine calmly and composedly.
Waking up before sunrise ensures that you have more time for productive activities.
Take A Break
I often saw my cousin lying awake in her bed for some time after waking up. I used to wonder what she was up to, and one day, I asked, “Why do you lay awake in your bed?” Her prompt reply was, “We aren’t robots. We require some time off the Hu-Ha of the world. This is my way of taking my time off.”
Our minds are always thinking. We are always distracted by texts and emails. Notifications etc. Breaking this chain of distractions by shutting off the outside world will help us focus on our inside world.
Giving your mind a few minutes rest, emptying it of millions of thoughts that keep crossing it through the day, is crucial for our mental well-being. It gives rest to our brains and time to recharge.
Silence
Now, keeping your brain quiet is a difficult task to achieve. So how do we do that? We meditate.
Meditation is one of the age-old techniques that help calm and soothe our minds. Older saints used it to gain Nirvana, the highest form of spiritual awareness, and be closer to God. You don’t need it for that purpose.
So, you can start with a simple 10-minute meditation. You will learn to sit with your thoughts, and you will learn to let go of it slowly as well.
It’s vital to appreciate the stillness and beauty of silence in the morning. This will help your mind stay more focused and re-energize itself.
Regular Exercise
Exercising is a wonderful way to start your day. Regular exercise early in the morning is known to increase productivity.
Working out in the morning is beneficial for several reasons. It helps you avoid distractions. It strengthens your mental sturdiness. It can also increase your decision-making prowess. And exercising is sure to boost your metabolism.
It can also help with your circadian rhythm and fatigue.
Affirm
Affirmations are known to have a pioneering effect on our mental state. It can fill us with positivity and help us manifest the changes we want in our life.
You can practice affirmation during your meditation. Affirmation is a way of telling yourself that you can achieve this goal.
Keep in mind that the affirmations work best when they are action-oriented. And be consistent with practicing it.
Reflect
Reflections are a great way to heal your body, mind, and soul.
When you reflect, you are trying to focus on identifying your mistakes, recognizing the issue, and rectifying them.
The more you reflect, the more clarity you will have; clarity is one of the key skills of a high performer. They are clear about their goals and the methods they will use to reach their goal.
To-Do List
One of the top habits of high performers is making a daily to-do list.
Making a to-list is one of the key habits to staying organized, and being organized is the key to achieving success.
You can have clear goals, but you won’t be able to achieve anything if you are disorganized. High performers make a to-do list and try to stick with it throughout the day.
Seek Clarity
High performers seek clarity. They know that they can only perform well when they know the why and how of it.
Clarity enables you to focus and take action in a particular direction so that you are one step closer to your goal with each action.
High performers crave clarity in every aspect of their life.
Practice Gratitude
High performers are known to be grateful. They practice gratitude even while working on their goals.
They know they deserve better, but they are also grateful for what they have. Gratitude gives you a sense of satisfaction, and satisfaction provides tranquillity and serenity.
Read/ Journal
Now, these are not necessarily morning habits of high performers but daily habits.
High performers keep themselves educated and quench their thirst for knowledge by reading regularly. You can read whenever possible; there is no hard and fast rule around it.
High performers are also known to journal their thoughts daily. Journaling enables you to free your mind of negativity, and practicing affirmation fills it up with positivity. Writing things down also empties your mind of the unimportant things dn makes space for important things in your mind to remember.
Conclusion
Will Durant wrote,
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Habits are what makes a person successful, but don’t forget to remember that habits are not made overnight. It will not happen overnight.
Building a happy and healthy habit takes time. If you find it overwhelming to apply several habits at once, then start small. Start with one morning habit of high performers listed above, and once you are confident that you have assimilated one in your routine, you can try to incorporate another, and so on.
Another thing high performers understand is the importance of consistency and balance. They strive for excellence in their chosen field. Do that, and you will be closer to your goals than you have ever been before.
Also read: 100+ Morning Positive Affirmations For Productivity