The cult of morning routines

Every time I post about my morning routine, people go crazy. There’s a morning To view this email as a web page, [click here]() 3 easy ways to improve your morning routine (and a bonus 4th: don’t follow a cult) Every time I post about my morning routine, people go crazy. There’s a morning routine cult. [Meme] Isn’t it suspicious that everyone’s morning routine tends toward the same thing? A morning routine is supposed to be special, because it’s unique to YOU. I don’t give a shit about lemon water. I don’t need to meditate during this season of my life. If someone else finds solace in meditation, great! But it’s not for me. With morning routines, no one understands WHY they’re doing it. They’re just copying their guru of the moment. People love talking about morning routines … but do they actually do the morning routine they spout off about to anyone they meet? Here are a few things I’ve found helpful with my morning routine. 1. The best morning routines are decided the night before, the week before, or even six months before. Let me give you an example. Recently, with the help of Cass, I’ve been focusing on what time I go to sleep. Very few of us focus on this. We’re so obsessed with what to do in the morning. But the way that we feel in the morning is determined the night before, the day before, the week before. I know someone who used to eat food at night. They didn’t want to do it — they knew it was bad for them — but they were starving. By tracing it back, it turns out that the day before, they had stayed up late playing video games and so they skipped their breakfast and were hungry. There are often things that we can trace back — to the night before as in this example, but also to the week before, to six months before, to years before. When we realize that our behavior was determined so far in advance, we feel foolish. I don’t think this is foolish, though. I think it’s cool. And once we know that we behave in predictable ways, we can work to change our thoughts and behaviors into what we want them to be. 2. I’m constantly tweaking my morning routine. I go to the gym at either seven or eight, but I’m playing with it. How does it make me feel throughout the rest of the day? I’m testing it in constrained ways, though. It’s like an a/b test. I’m not testing every single thing. 3. I really slow down and indulge in the parts that give me a lot of joy. I’m not trying to be efficient. For example, coffee. I LOVE making coffee. I have a coffee spreadsheet. I’m always trying new coffee beans. In any given month, I order five or seven different bags. Honestly, I don’t like most of them. But if I find one every month that I like, I consider that a huge win. [Coffee Spreadsheet]() My coffee spreadsheet[Click to enlarge]() It’s a tiny bit of joy for me. I also ordered an extra French press because I was getting annoyed having to wash the same one EVERY … SINGLE … DAY. My coffee hobby is indulgent, but it doesn’t actually cost me a lot. It’s a total of something like $100 per month, maybe, but every day it’s like a little Christmas gift. [Gif] What’s your morning routine?If you have a morning routine, what are the essential things you do every day? If you don’t have a morning routine, take 10 minutes and write down 3 things you’re going to do tomorrow … and then actually DO them tomorrow morning (and then the next morning and the one after that). Reply and let me know how it goes. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how — and why — my routine changes when I travel. How to achieve TRUE morning mastery The thing I noticed about morning routines — especially the explosion of interest in this topic in the last few years — is that everyone wants to know every single intricate detail of morning routines. How long they brew their French press coffee, what site they get their Ashtanga yoga moves from, everything. This is the modern equivalent of wanting to wear Air Jordans. Maybe if I wear them, I can Be Like Mike. I guess we all just forgot about the 20 million hours of practice that Jordan did. But gimme those shoes! The most successful people aren’t living in peaceful Zen gardens with no interruptions. Like all of us, they live MESSY lives with too many decisions, too many things to do, and too many places to be. Sure, you can learn a trick or a hack. Hey, maybe it will help. Maybe deep breathing helps Tony Robbins perform at his best. Or maybe it’s his 30 years of working with people every single day and improving his craft, I dunno. Novices want hacks. Masters will take the hacks, sure, but they realize that all hacks eventually become outdated. But true mastery of the fundamentals never does. When you ask successful people how they juggle demanding careers, busy social schedules, family commitments, fitness, self-development, and downtime — and do it all without burning out or coming across as frenzied maniacs — what do they say? They don’t say “It’s my morning routine.” No! They say, “I just do it.” That’s because they’ve absolutely mastered their fundamentals: Time, money, relationships, and most of all, their own Mental Mastery. Here’s how you know this is true: If these people had to skip their morning routine one day, they’d still be successful. They simply decide they’re going to do it, and they get it done. They don’t second guess, they don’t stress, they just do it. They aren’t stronger. They aren’t smarter. They aren’t more gifted. But they ARE in total control of their minds. They have a Mental Mastery that allows them to do what they need to do … what they want to do … without any of the hang-ups that would make other people get stuck. It’s not about finding a magic pill — or a magic morning routine — that can transport you instantly to your goals. It is about mastering and harnessing your mental powers to transform your life in the way YOU want. I call this Mental Mastery. I've been fascinated by this for years and secretly collect examples of people who have it. What do they do differently? And more importantly, how do they think differently — and why? Anytime I met someone who seemed to be operating head-and-shoulders above everyone else, I peppered them with questions to verify what they did differently. Was it habits? Mental frameworks? Were they simply “gifted” from birth? Slowly, I built a map of this Mental Mastery. I wanted a blueprint to tap into this power source. I found that all winners had four core inner skills in common. Four deep differences that gave them an instant edge in business, work, even relationships. I tested each of these in my own life. I've shared some of them with my close friends and colleagues. The impact blew me away. And now I want to give them to you. I’ve put everything I’ve learned into my Mental Mastery program. [Mental Mastery]() These are the tools you need to crack the mental blocks that have been holding you back for years and replace them with [the four core inner skills of winners](). If you’ve already tried the treadmill of random productivity apps and hacks, and you want to go beyond symptoms to focus on what truly works, Mental Mastery gives you the precise, actionable steps to build these inner skills into your everyday life. It's time to go from "good" to "great." And Mental Mastery gives you this transformation fast — in just 30 days. Here's a sneak peek at what's included ([full details here]()): - The big lie we tell ourselves about motivation ADVANCED - How to get out of your own head - Going All-In: How to get over analysis paralysis - From lazy to driven: The secret to hard work that separates winners from losers ADVANCED - A personal “kick-in-the-ass” from Ramit - From HOT to COOL: How to develop effortless discipline - How to manage your inner critic ADVANCED - “Trust Your Legs”: How to overcome your fear of failure ADVANCED - How to fix your social media addiction - Intuition: The forgotten power of trusting your gut ADVANCED - "It's OK to be weird" ADVANCED - How to scrape the meat off the bone from every opportunity - Putting a lid on negativity - The language of winners ADVANCED - One technique you can use to make yourself happier every day - Inbox Zero and other productivity myths - "Your problem is not my problem": How to set boundaries and say “no” ADVANCED - Mental Reset: How to get back on track when you get distracted - “Your biggest growth is ahead of you” ADVANCED - How to develop natural confidence, even if you weren’t born with it ADVANCED Join Mental Mastery today and get your "secret playbook" to improve your confidence, develop your focus, control your motivation, and engineer an optimistic outlook. [Click here to learn more about Mental Mastery]() I’ll show you how to integrate these principles into your life. You’ll get a specific call to action every step of the way. [Signature] WHAT TO DO NEXT REPLY: What’s your morning routine? If you don’t have a morning routine, what are the 3 things you’re going to do tomorrow? Reply and let me know how it goes. [SIGN UP]() FOLLOW: Join the conversation about morning routines on [Twitter]() and [Instagram](). [SIGN UP]() JOIN: [Join Mental Mastery]() to get my secret playbook to improve your confidence, develop your focus, control your motivation, and engineer an optimistic outlook. [SIGN UP]() Featured Products [Learn how to be your own boss, do what you love, and earn more.]() [What if you woke up EXCITED to go to work? I show you how to achieve it, step by step.]() [Ready-to-use mental frameworks for increased happiness, confidence, & success.]() [No guilt, no excuses, no BS. Just a 6-week program that works. Over 1,000,000 copies sold.]() The I Will Teach You To Be Rich Podcast Raw, unfiltered conversations with real couples: - One partner is $300,000 in debt, but shrugs it off. The other cries at night, anxious about the future. - A couple that’s so worried about money, they feel like they’ll never have enough. They go to a restaurant and order chicken instead of steak to save $10. Their household income: $600,000. - Two parents who feel overwhelmed by work, kids, and debt. When I ask them how they’d describe their lives, they instantly say the same word: “Stuck.” Listen in to hear real money conversations from behind closed doors today. [Apple Podcasts] [Apple]() [Spotify]() [Google]() [IWT]() Follow Ramit: [insta]() [Twitter]() [twitter]() [youtube]() [Linkedin]() Was this forwarded to you? [Sign up here.]() This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may [unsubscribe]( at any time. 548 Market St #89946 San Francisco, CA 94104-5401