March is Mental Health Month, and is it any wonder? Winter can be rough for some people, and emerging into spring with a fresh outlook can be challenging.  I know, for me, I can recognize the patterns that tell me I need to pay more attention to my mental health, and work on my mindset.

Every once in a while, I do a mindset challenge, so I decided to do one for the month of March.  Towards this end of this month, I’ll be doing a three day video series that focuses on mental health. To get us started, I’m giving you a chapter from my book, Journey Back to Health, for free! Chapter Two of Journey Back to Health is all about MINDSET. To download your free chapter, just fill out this form. 

One of my favorite resources to use for a mindset challenge is The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod. The goal of The Miracle Morning is to take time for yourself every day,  with the intention of bettering your world.

Here are the “rules”:

• Wake up at least 30 minutes earlier each day. (The book recommends an hour, but baby steps, y’all…)
• Take five minutes to do each of the tasks.

Here are the tasks:

• Silence (This can be meditating, or just sitting in silence.)
• Reading (Anything you want!)
• Affirmations (You can find an affirmation that speaks to you, or you can write your own. I do have some thoughts about affirmations, though, which I’ll talk about below.)
• Visualization (If you have a visualization board, this is a great time to pull it out. If you don’t have one, check out this post from Jack Canfield.)
• Journaling (Grab any notebook and start writing! If you’re stuck for ideas, start by writing a list of things you’re grateful for.)
• Exercise (Do anything! Go for a walk around the block, pop in an exercise DVD, do some push-ups, just get up from your chair and MOVE.)

Okay, a word about the affirmations. I actually do not use affirmations! I prefer to flip it into a question. For example, instead of saying, “I am rich,” I ask, “Why am I rich?”  Phrasing it as a question gives my brain an opportunity to come up with all the great answers,  instead of telling me all the reasons my statement is wrong. I love this question in particular, because it’s all encompassing. I’m rich in health, I’m rich in family, and yes, I have abundance!

You can do the tasks in any order you want, as long as you do them, and spend at least five minutes each on them.  Do what works best for you!

Here’s what my morning routine usually looks like:

• Journal. I like to get all my thoughts out on paper and then use those thoughts to create my affirmations for the day.
• Silence
• Affirmations/Questions.
• Visualization.
• Reading. I read an educational book, and use this time to better myself physically, emotionally and mentally. I usually spend about 20 minutes on this.
• Exercise. I go for a nice walk around the block.  If I am lucky my kids are still asleep and I can sneak out while everyone is resting and go for a quiet walk.  A lot of people like to slip in the headphones when they do this, but I’ve noticed that when I’m walking, I barely notice the music. Business ideas and family hacks start flooding my mind,  and I want to use the time to work through all that the universe is providing for me. I usually walk for 30 minutes.

Will you join me this month in focusing on mental health and mindset?  Come find me on Instagram and let me know how you’re doing! March often comes in like a lion, but let’s make it go out like a lamb.

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