Coaching Information

5 Minute Morning Balance Ritual


"3 Questions, 5 Minutes a Day: Make leaps towards greater balance in one single week with the Shicka Boom 5 Minute Morning Balance Ritual" By Laura Lallone, Certified Life Coach

This article is dedicated to a woman that I've never met and probably never will. Tall with dark, dark hair, she was perfectly manicured in a tailored suit with high-heeled pumps. We shared a subway car in Manhattan two years ago. She was standing, holding onto the subway car strap and meticulously applying three coats of mascara as the train bumped and shifted. With my jaw dropped in reverence of her talent, I imagined this to be her morning routine because she was REALLY good at it. (I can barely put on clear lip gloss in a moving vehicle.)

We all have morning routines and daily repetition makes us experts at them. What's your morning routine? Does it help to balance and center you for the day - or leave you feeling scattered?

I invite you to try a powerful five minute morning ritual to set your day off with awareness and consciousness, moving daily towards the balance and fulfillment you desire. The ritual is very simple, consisting only of three simple questions. The secret is to be honest, give yourself the 5 minutes? and to ask the questions.

Question 1: What am I grateful for?

This question holds astonishing power. If you only remember one thing from this ritual, please remember this question! Write it down and put it in at least three very visible places. Maybe you will choose your bedroom dresser, your desk or the dashboard of your car. This question has the capacity to change a mood and soften a heart in seconds. What are you grateful for? WHO are you grateful for? What are the gifts you've been given in your life that you sometimes take for granted? What are some gifts that are so obvious that you may never even notice them?

Question 2: What are my intentions for today?

Where are you now and where do you want to be at the end of the day? Meaning, what do you want to accomplish today? Beyond the "doing", how do you want to feel? How do you want to be or conduct yourself during the day? Close your eyes and imagine your day is set on a theatrical stage. How do you want the audience to feel about you as they watch you "play"? What do you want them to notice about how you are being? How do you want to be if things don't go as planned? Asking yourself this one question may be the most powerful way to achieve what you want in life. After all you can't get to where you want to be if you don't know where that is.

Question 3: What's most important today?

Keeping in mind your gratitude and intentions for the day, consider again all the aspects of your life: personal development, your intimate relationships, your family, friends, finances, career, health, recreation and spirituality. Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself 10 years from now. What does the future you say is most important for you today? It's really easy to come up with what SHOULD BE most important (as defined by society) but resist the urge to give into that voice. Take a deep breath and listen deeper. Trust that you have all the answers inside.

Some find that it helps to ask this follow-up question: What ONE THING can I do today to significantly improve the quality of my life? Don't concern yourself with the size or magnitude of your answer. It changes. Some days it might be "apply to graduate school" and other days it might be "organize my office".

________________________________________

Helpful Tips to Make It Stick

To make this ritual "stick", create a fertile "habit-forming" environment:

1. Fly solo. Use the five minutes as valuable alone time to ground yourself. Once this ritual is second nature, then I invite you to use these three questions in conversation with your family, significant other, and even work teams.

2. Be consistent. Select a specific time and location to perform your morning ritual. For example, lying in bed from 7:30-7:35am or on your morning commute from 8:30-8:35am.

3. Take it lightly. Have fun. Unpleasant tasks don't become habits. The morning ritual isn't a task. It's a way of consciously looking out at your day. Set the intention to create a daily ritual; to create a habit. But don't sweat it if you miss a day.

4. Start small. Stick to five minutes in the beginning. Perhaps you'll expand to 10, 15 or 30 minutes. Maybe not. A new program quickly gets abandoned when if feels like a burden, especially in the morning!

5. Keep no secrets. Tell someone about your morning ritual and ask the friend, coach, significant other or whomever to support you in keeping on track. This might sound like, "Terry, I've started a morning practice to keep myself balanced and focused on what's important during the day. It would be really helpful if you asked me how it's going every now and then. It just really helps to have you know what I'm up to."

________________________________________

Experiment and have fun. I'd love to hear how you've experienced the ritual and any other morning ritual ideas that work for you!

Cheers!
Laura

© Copyright Shicka Boom Inc. 2004 unless otherwise indicated

Laura Lallone is the creator of the 5-point Shicka Boom coaching system proven effective for those who deal with high personal risk, daily pressure and uphill battles. For more information on coaching and workshops, email contact@shickaboom.com or go to http://www.shickaboom.com. Don't forget to sign up for Sheer Balance, the ezine dedicated to greater balance for women!


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Post

Brooks makes coaching debut as Thunder visit Hornets
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 1 hour ago
(Sports Network) - The woeful Oklahoma City Thunder will have a new look Saturday when they face the New Orleans Hornets in the back end of a home-and- home ...
Thunder fire Carlesimo after 1-12 start The Associated Press
Thunder fire Carlesimo after 1-9 start NBA.com
Hornets 105, Thunder 80 Collison’s big game not enough NewsOK.com
TheNewsTribune.com
all 440 news articles


San Diego Union Tribune

Three-time Olympian, 61, still cycling, coaching
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 22 hours ago
By Don Norcross John Howard represented the United States at the 1968, '72 and '76 Olympic Games in road cycling. He won the Ironman Hawaii triathlon in ...


Benefield has done best coaching job
Times-Journal, AL - 12 hours ago
The quarterfinal appearance was the seventh of Benefield’s head coaching career and probably the most surprising. For getting this far, Benefield, ...


Clemson coaching search heats up, again
Daily Journal, SC - 12 hours ago
By Will Vandervort (Contact / Staff Bio) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Clemson coaching search to replace Tommy Bowden continues to roll right along even as ...
Spiller thrust into spotlight The State
all 6 news articles


Fitz scores 36, Giorgis gains coaching record in Marist victory
Times Herald-Record, NY - 10 hours ago
Rachele Fitz scored 36 points and Marist coach Brian Giorgis became the school's career leader in coaching victories as Marist crushed Northeastern 93-65 ...


Fighting Irish Insider

Little news on the coaching search
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Nov 20, 2008
Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Haywood is in town interviewing with athletic director Scott Woodward for the head coaching job, as I explained in my ...
UW coaching search - Rumors flying fast and furious Examiner.com
Report: Houstonian Haywood interviews with Washington Houston Chronicle
Haywood expected back from trip to Washington Rivals.com (subscription)
Chicago Tribune - South Bend Tribune (subscription)
all 23 news articles


Bleacher Report

49ers' Singletary once was a huge Cowboys fan
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - 57 minutes ago
By Daniel Brown Had things fallen differently, Mike Singletary would be coaching the Cowboys instead of the 49ers this weekend. ...
Backdrop for Cowboys, 49ers: 'Remember the Rams' Dallas Morning News
49ers notes: Rossum pays no mind to return stats Sacramento Bee
49ers' Singletary looking for a better result Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Sacramento Bee
all 26 news articles


Bleacher Report

Ex-Seahawk Jim Zorn's approach helps him stand out in coaching role
Seattle Times, United States - Nov 20, 2008
Jim Zorn stuck out when he arrived for his first coaching job. Well, at least his hair did, a flat top that went high and tight. "It must have been 4 inches ...
Zorn thinks Holmgren will return to football The Associated Press
Zorn, again: Former assistant returns with Redskins Seattle Post Intelligencer
Why Are the Seattle Seahawks Free Falling? Bleacher Report
Washington Post - Washington Post Blogs
all 427 news articles


May wins coaching debut
Briton SportsNews, MI - 13 hours ago
ALBION - Jody May was a winner in his debut as Albion College's head men's basketball coach as the Britons turned back Defiance College, 82-65, ...
• New Albion coach opens with a bang MLive.com
all 3 news articles


ESPN

Roy could find a fine fit in coaching Canadiens
London Free Press, Canada - 8 hours ago
... if it so happens that the Habs one day are looking for a coach and if Roy one day wants to pursue an NHL coaching career, might there be a fit? ...
Roy ceremony and Grey Cup: Party time in Montreal! ESPN
Remembering Roy Sportsnet.ca
Sharks, Rangers class of the NHL at quarter pole NHL.com
Examiner.com - Rocky Mountain News
all 186 news articles

Coaching - Google News

home | site map
© 2008