In The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod explains to readers why a morning routine sets us up for success not only during the day, but for life. He’s right. I’ll explain why below.
Table of contents
The Miracle Morning
The Miracle Morning is the system Elrod developed to turn his life around when he was at his lowest point. He found committing to a personal development routine in the morning led to him being more productive during the day. And it helped him progress on his goals.
His routine worked so well, he shared it with his coaching clients. And then with the world by writing his book.
The Life S.A.V.E.R.S. System
The Life S.A.V.E.R.S. System is the key to The Miracle Morning. And we can adapt it to fit almost any lifestyle or need. Give each section ten minutes a day, or do some of them in four or five. The trick is to make the system work for you.
Silence
Silence is something most of us never get. Our lives are hectic and loud. And we’re connected to devices that vibrate, ring, tell us stories via podcasts or audiobooks, or play music.
Purposeful silence can reduce our stress and help us begin the day with a sense of clarity.
Silence can take whatever form you need it to. Meditation, prayer, breath exercises, reflection, or gratitude are all great ways to practice silence.
But try not to sit there and obsess about all the things you have to do during the day.
The important thing is to be present and let whatever method you choose calm your mind.
Affirmations
The way we talk to ourselves matters. We believe everything we say to ourselves. And so much of our self-talk is negative.
But taking time in the morning to say positive things to ourselves can realign our mindsets. And that’s important for achieving our goals.
Affirmations should be personal to you. They should reflect your personal struggles or your goals.
Speak them aloud or journal about them.
Visualization
Visualization means imaging achieving your goals. Mapping out in your mind how you are going to get to where you want to be. And visualizing how you get from point A to point B.
You can do this for a specific event, like imaging yourself giving a killer presentation at work. Or it could be making a Vision Board and visualizing the exact steps you need to take to make those dreams reality.
Write out your goals and reflect on them. Do this with a notepad or planner by your side in case you need to jot down ideas.
The optimal outcome of visualization is that you feel like your goals are achievable at the end.
Exercise
This could be your main workout for the day. Or it could just be ten minutes of gentle yoga.
The important thing is to get moving.
Elrod claims morning exercise wakes you up and makes you more alert throughout the day. And from my experience, this is true. Working out in the morning makes me more awake and alert.
And it doesn’t take an hour long sweat session to reap these benefits. Even just a few minutes of movement is enough to get your blood circulating and your muscles loosening.
Find movement that feels good to you. Whether it’s dancing in your living room or taking a quick jog down the road.
Reading
Reading is so important to our growth. Yet so few of us take the time to do it. Especially when it comes to personal development or non-fiction books.
Books exist for any topic we desire. We can learn about anything.
If you read at the rate of just ten pages a day, you’d complete a book a month. Imagine all the things you could learn! All the ways you could grow!
Scribe
There’s power in getting your thoughts out of your head and onto the page. Journaling provides clarity. It helps us untangle the thoughts and ideas swirling in our brains.
But scribing doesn’t have to be journaling. Maybe you have a book or short story inside you. Or you want to start a blog or do a personal development workbook.
Any of these are great options for your scribing time.
Related: 40 Journal Prompts For Self-Reflection
Learn more about the Life S.A.V.E.R.S. System by purchasing a copy of The Miracle Morning here.
My Miracle Morning
Here is my exact morning routine:
- Alarm goes off at 4:30 am. I sit up in bed and do gratitude and affirmation journaling.
- I do a meditation from Insight Timer. These are 5-10 minutes long.
- After getting out of bed, I change into my workout clothes. Then I sit at my desk to do my scribing. This can be working on a course or writing for the blog. I do this until about 5:30 am.
- Exercise time! 30 – 40 minutes of lifting or cardio at my home gym or outside.
- Coffee and breakfast while reading at the kitchen table.
- Spend time with my planners and reflect on my annual and monthly goals to see what steps I can take during the day to take me closer to where I want to be. This is when I do my visualization.
- Then it is time to get ready for work and start the day!
All together, my Miracle Morning routine takes about two hours. I like to spend a chunk of time writing and I like to get my full workout in before work.
But just like I crafted my AM routine to suit my needs, yours needs to suit yours.
How to Build Your Own Miracle Morning:
The trick to maintaining a successful morning routine is to make sure it works for you. Take each of the S.A.V.E.R.S. and incorporate them however you want!
Maybe for you, exercise is ten minutes of stretching. And scribe could be jotting down a list of things you’re grateful for.
Some people like to spend 10 minutes on each step. But it doesn’t have to be rigid and regimented. In fact, it need not be the same every day.
You can do these in whatever order you want, for as much time each as you want. Perhaps affirmations will be just three minutes, but you go for an hour-long walk for exercise.
There’s only one rule: Do you.
Just One Thing
Elrod warns readers about his controversial opinion before he unveils it: We don’t need much sleep!
He claims we can change our mindset. So instead of believing we should sleep 8 hours, we can feel rested with five or six.
Tell that to the bags under my eyes!
In this section, he cherry picks data to suit his narrative. He acknowledges scientific studies show we need about 7-8 hours per night. But then claims more sleep is linked to depression. He presents his interpretation in a way that makes it sound like sleeping too much leads to depression, instead of the other way around.
Excessive sleep is a symptom of depression. Sleeping 9+ hours a night doesn’t cause depression. That’s an important distinction.
However, sleep shouldn’t be a roadblock to our success. The solution: go to bed earlier.
But that’s not Christmas-morning-fun advice, is it? That’s not a sexy sell. Go to bed earlier? Who are you? Our mother?
I’d argue that depriving yourself of sleep is a surefire way to make sure you don’t make the Miracle Morning a habit. Your body’s need to catch up on rest will be your undoing. So go to bed earlier.
I love being productive in the morning. I get up at 4:30 to get things done before work. And I go to bed around 8:30 on weeknights to make it happen.
Some may find that crazy or not suitable to their lifestyle. But I’m a morning person. My energy is strongest before noon. And I’ve always recognized the value of a good night’s sleep.
Want to Get Started?
All you have to do is commit and set your alarm.
And start getting more done before 8am than most people do all day.
Visit author Hal Elrod’s Amazon page for all things Miracle Morning.
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