When you get up in the morning are you like 46% percent of people who go straight to their smartphone before even getting out of bed? Do you browse your emails, check the latest news, scan Facebook for any missed comments that happened the night before? What if you spent your first minutes being awake doing something else instead? Something that was way more mentally stimulating than any social media following could do.

Did you know that checking your phone throughout the day, especially in the morning, is actually linked to high stress? Let’s avoid that shall we.

Spend some time in your own thoughts instead of browsing the phone and reading someone else’s thoughts. That’s right. It will make us happier research says.

Related: 7 Self-Care Steps To A Better Morning Routine

Research also shows the less distracted you are from picking up and browsing your phone first thing in the morning before doing anything else, the more your mind has the opportunity to become more creative. 

Benjamin Hardy explains in his article “This 10 Minute Routine Will Increase Your Creativity and Memory” that…

“Research confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immediately following sleep. The study looked at morning and evening MRI scans and observed that mornings showed more connections in the brain — a key element to the creative process. Thus, your brain and mind are primed for creation and learning.”

That right there is a game changer for me. We are drowning our brains every single morning with wasteful information and robbing ourselves from the ability to be more creative. We take away the chance to strengthen our minds every morning decreasing our ability to learn. 

Here’s a great quote for you to meditate on, pray about and focus on as you go about your day today.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breath, to think, to enjoy, to love.”  -Marcus Aurelius

How does this quote change your mood? Does this message help you to appreciate your life and what’s really important?

I know that we can all get caught up in the little things, the tiny problems and the small mishaps that happen throughout the day. As a mom, sometimes our entire day feels like mishap after mishap. “Will it ever get better” I ask myself. Kids screaming, bandaid after bandaid, mess followed by an even bigger mess and some days are just filled with disciplining hours on end.

Your Life Is Not Defined By The Little Things

These days can be hard, but the positive side of this is that every day WILL NOT be like this. Each day is different and each day is not defined by the little things.

Related: How To Best Incorporate Self-Care

There is a big picture to life. It’s the love that fills our home, the laughter flowing out of our mouths during moments of joy, the warm embrace we share with our little ones at the most random moments, the fresh air we breath when stepping outside to our own yard and the ability to have the freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want day after day.

Take a moment right now and think about how blessed you are for YOUR life. Appreciate life’s little blessings and the big ones that we might sometimes forget.

Now, I know you are thinking to yourself that having these positive thoughts are so much better than reading your friends complaints and bad news on your smart phone every morning, right? So now I challenge you to start tomorrow morning and not pick up your phone for the first 10 minutes after waking up. Can you do it? 

Let me know how it’s going for you after your have tried it for several days? I can’t wait to hear from you. Please comment below with your thoughts.

Keep Smiling,

Dr. Jena Bradley, DPT

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

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Please leave a positive and uplifting comment or ask a question. I am here to help! After I read and approve your comment, it will appear. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to hearing from you!

-Jena