The Most Important Morning Fix

Published on July 9th, 2019

Spoiler alert: it's not coffee. That can help treat the symptoms, but it's not addressing the root issue.

Today I woke up feeling great but quickly found myself in a funk. Worse yet, I didn't even have a good excuse as to why my mood and experience changed from hopeful to annoyed and frustrated. Isn't that messed up? I wanted to have an excuse because I wanted to blame something rather than come to terms that it might be random or (worse) my fault.

Regardless of what gets you into the fun, the most critical morning fix is... resetting your state.

State?

We've all woken up on the wrong side of the bed, so to speak. That's normal, natural, and nothing to beat yourself up over. But what everyone can control is whether or not this brief, annoying moment ruins the rest of the day. Change your current mood, feelings, posture, and experience (i.e., your state), and you can completely change the trajectory of your day.

It's not always easy to fight the morning funk, mainly because it can have many causes: quality of sleep, chemical imbalances, life's stressors, etc. However, we all can experiment with different techniques and strategies that routinely get us into a more effective and more empowered place before we walk out the door.

In my experience, I've created certain morning rituals around breathing and affirmations that work for me about 80 to 90% of the time. While not perfect, there are times like this morning where they do the trick and get my head on straight. What could have been a shitty day now feels like I am rearing and ready to take on the world.

We don't always get to choose how we wake up. But we do get to choose and influence where things go from there. And that's why the most crucial morning fix is always to get into the right state.

Spoiler alert: coffee can help! :)

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About Rick Manelius

Quick Stats: CXO of Atomic Form. Graduated from MIT in '03 (BS) and '09 (PhD). Life hacker and peak performance enthusiast. This blog is my experiment in creative writing, self-expression, and sharing what I've learned along my journey. For more information, read my full bio here or contact me.