The Serene Morning Routine

A steaming cup of coffee sits next to me. A breeze drifts through my open window. Okay, that is a lie. A half empty, cold cup of coffee sits next to me and the only cool breeze I feel is from my air conditioning. It is mid morning in Oxford, Mississippi, aka humidity is fogging up the windows. But I like to think my coffee is steaming and the air conditioning is actually a soft, autumn breeze. If I turn around, I would wish to see leaves turning into a collage of orange and yellows, blowing off the trees and collecting at the ground. But enough of this intro, let’s actually talk. 

I started this blog because I sometimes feel like the world is moving around me and that I have no control over myself moving around the world. Have you ever felt this way? A feeling that there is so much going on in the world and it just piles on top of you until you cannot breathe? I feel this way a lot and can attribute it to a small, seven letter word; anxiety. I hate the word, saying it makes my chest compress and it is hard to breathe. Inhale, exhale. I repeat this mantra regularly in my journal entries. I swear a complete inhale and exhale resets your entire thought process in any moment. As I write this, my roommate is hammering pictures into her wall. Bang. Bang. Bang. Usually, this would send me into a spiral. Let’s get into why.

I was diagnosed with anxiety my senior year of high school. I had been dealing with it for years but was too stubborn to do anything about it. I hurt the people I loved most in this dark time of my life and that is time I can never get back. But from this dark period, I gained knowledge I can use to help people like you. Do I have a fancy degree from some prestigious university or a PhD in how our brains work? No. But I lived it first hand, something I think is more enlightening than any course you could take. It is like if someone said they knew how to build a car because they watched a video about it, but your dad was an auto mechanic and so you grew up helping him build cars. It is not something you learned, it is something that comes naturally, second nature. That is how I feel when dealing with anxiety. Years of dealing with it has taught me what is best for me personally, when trying to make it subside. Although this is tailored to my body and brain, the methods and practices I use in order to help myself are universal and can help anyone. Another great part about them, they are free. So put away your credit cards and bank statements and buckle up. 

Wow, I mean what an intro. I am no Faulkner, but I would say that went pretty well. So let us get into what I do everyday to help with my anxiety. First of all, I am medicated and it has helped me immensely. I currently take Fluoxetine (Prozac), and so far have had no problems with it. I am a firm believer, however, that you have to make sure something works for your body before you go all in on it. 

So! My mornings! They have been a work in process, but this is what I have found to help my mindset for the day stay serene and positive.

I wake up (Praise the Lord), and DO NOT go on my phone. Instead, I brush my teeth and go make a cup of coffee. I get comfortable, either at my desk or on my couch, with my steaming, cinnamon topped coffee with my three morning essentials; my bible, my journal, and whatever educational book I am currently reading. I have really been working on my faith recently and even if you are not religious, I would encourage you to do some sort of meditation in the morning. I meditate on the Word. I am currently reading Luke and each morning I read a chapter and then journal about it. I also journal about any worries I have for the day ahead of me to set my mind at ease and pray about it as well. Journaling is so important. I will repeat that. Journaling. Is. So. Important. Our world is so loud. Social media, friend groups, a constant need to know the new trends, it is too much for our brains. I am convinced that if I lived in the 1800s, I would not be anxious, but who knows. So I journal. I word dump onto the pages like I am sifting through sand to find gold. And I usually do. Little pieces of yourself you did not even know were there will pop out at you. But this is not about journaling, that I will go into more detail about later. After I journal, I pick up my book. I have currently been reading authors like Madison Prewett Troutt and Jennie Allen. I just finished The Love Everybody Wants by Prewett Troutt and Find Your People by Allen. These books are both Christ centered, but the genre is to figure out something about yourself you are confused about. That is why I choose these books for my morning routine. I am filling my mind with knowledge on how to help myself instead of reading a novel and entering someone else’s life. The morning is my time. 

Next comes breakfast! I absolutely adore breakfast, I think we should abolish lunch and dinner and simply have breakfast all day. I usually make some sort of avocado, egg, toast, lemon concoction and fill my body with goodness for the day ahead. After, and ONLY after I have completed my morning routine, do I go for my phone. If you fill your mind with too much too early, your mind does not have time to process one day from the next and you end up in a constant state of restlessness, wondering what the next thing on your to-do list is, always. Do not get me wrong, I adore lists, but not in my morning routine. I like to think of my time in the morning as the one serene place in my life. It is like when a football player is preparing for a big game. He probably eats really well and prepares his mind and body for intense action in his future. Well, that is what I do in the morning. My day could be as simple as going to the grocery store and maybe a walk, but my mind still has to be ready for anything. 

If you are still reading, I LOVE U LET’S BE BEST FRIENDS! I feel good about my first article and hope you glean some insight on how to make your mornings better after reading it. In the future, I will go more into depth of each part of my morning routine and how it helps parts of me specifically, but this was a good starter. 

With love, ECP

My current morning routine journal, bible, and book:

Current hyper-fixation song: