Routines are Essential to Achieving Your Desires by Debra Smouse

We’re firmly into 2024 and I’ve already heard the laments about the loss of excitement for resolutions. And discouragement from others that the goals they made a few short weeks ago feel incredibly out of reach. The first place to look before you give up on those goals is your routines, especially your morning routines.

No matter how good our routines may be, when our goals change, we have to evaluate those routines. We may need to tweak, shift, or change them.

How I begin the day always sets the tone for how that day plays out. If I begin feeling rushed or ill-prepared for the day, I struggle with finding my focus or struggle with feeling frustrated.

But if I begin the day in a more laid back and deliberate fashion and proceed with intention, my day builds upon my exceptional start.

I know that an extraordinary daily life requires deliberate choices. That means that my routines must reflect those choices.

Now way around it: my morning routines and rituals are imperative to me nourishing myself and my life.

In other words, my dear, if you want to achieve new things, you’re going to have to take actions that are different. You must find a way to create new habits that propel you towards your desires instead of leaving you feeling as if you’re treading water.

So, even if you have extraordinary routines in place that have felt golden in the past, making space for new goals and desires means that your routines must shift, too.

It’s a precarious time for us; when we change once effective routines, the new ways aren’t ingrained as habits yet. To usher them from “new ways” to “habit” requires that we nurture and protect our new ways they become superb, solid, and supportive parts to our daily life.

Big goals and dreams must be broken down into manageable steps. My suggestion, my dear, is that instead of tossing your goals aside, you simply recognize that your routines need to shift.

Begin with the single step of restructuring your morning routines to support your goals your number one priority for the next two weeks. I promise you that if you are thoughtful and loving as well as dedicated to morning routines that fuel you and move you towards your goals, you will see positive and measurable results.

I’m also going to warn you that putting new routines in place may make you feel exhausted.

That’s because your mind and body are used to those already in-place routines and habits, and it’s no secret that changes take both energy and effort. In those early days, before those new routine and rituals become ingrained habits, it’s easy to look at the end of the day exhaustion and say, “this isn’t worth it”.

Now, if you aren’t getting any results, it may not be worth all the energy. But if you are seeing even tiny results from your shifts, then, baby, you are on your way to creating the kinds of routines that are effective, nourishing, and supportive to your daily life.

Creating positive new habits is like starting a new exercise routine. We push our body to do things we haven’t done before (or in a long time). We’ll see some immediate positive results in the way we have a burst of energy or have that inner glow of satisfaction, but your muscles are going to be sore the next day.

It’s worth the time and the effort. It’s worth the expended energy. It’s worth feeling depleted at the end of the day as your mind wraps around your new actions.

It’s worth it because your goals, your dreams, your desires, and you are worth it.

Each morning, remind yourself why your new approach to the morning is important. And, though you may be ready to climb into bed a littler earlier than usual, know that soon, your new behaviors, if you stick to them, will become ingrained habits and feel more effortless. And the bonus, my darling? You will be firmly stepping closer to your dreams.

“Habit allows us to go from ‘before’ to ‘after,’ to make life easier and better. Habit is notorious – and rightly so – for its ability to direct our actions, even against our will; but by mindfully shaping our habits, we can harness the power of mindlessness as a sweeping force for serenity, energy, and growth.”
–Gretchen Rubin