When You Want to Make It a Good Day, The Way You Start Matters

What’s the first thing that enters your mind when you wake up in the morning? This past Saturday morning I was thinking of all the stuff I wanted to get done. When was I going to find the time? I also found myself reliving some stressful moments from the past few days. Ugh!

Then I remembered – today we were going to get our Christmas tree and decorate the house. I didn’t want to start this day feeling overwhelmed or stressed! My daughter is so excited and can’t wait for this special time. I wanted to make it a fun experience for her (and me).  

So I looked into my toolbox and pulled out my morning intention. How did I want to be today?  What kind of experience did I want to create? I knew if I was going to enjoy the holiday decorating, I would need to be patient, engaged, relaxed, and ready to have fun. I find it easier to envision myself in these mindsets after focusing on all that I have to be grateful for. An extra moment in bed spent on gratitude is very helpful to me.

But how could I remember my intentions throughout the day? Something that works well for me is music. So I planned to have a holiday jazz station play on Pandora while we worked.  

It worked! We had a great day decorating, listening to holiday music, and creating wonderful memories I will cherish forever!

Do you have days in the next week or two that could benefit from starting with an intention for how you want to be? Make a plan on what attitude and emotions you could bring to make it a great experience and write them down.

Tina Hallis, Ph.D., is a positivity speaker, trainer, and founder of The Positive Edge, a company dedicated to teaching organizations and individuals the power of positivity to improve the quality of people’s work lives and the quality of company cultures.