Your preparations have to start the night before.
Sit down on your bed before lying down to sleep, and tell yourself that tomorrow morning you are going to wake one hour earlier than usual. Repeat some autosuggestions or affirmations to make the mind accept this idea. Think for a while about the benefits you will gain by waking and getting up earlier, and about the things you can do in this extra hour.
It is not enough just to wake up early. Often, after waking up, we do not get out of bed, but stay for some more minutes, and then fall asleep again. You have to persuade and explain to your mind that you have to get out of bed immediately after awakening. It is pleasant to cuddle under the blankets, especially on a cold morning, but on this special day you need to get out of bed immediately.
Set your alarm clock to the appointed hour and enter your bed. While in bed, watch the thoughts that pop up into your mind, but try to do so detachedly and without any tension. Just watch them dispassionately, calmly, and in a relaxed manner, until you fall asleep.
When the alarm clock rings in the morning, get up immediately, with a smile on your face. Don't give in to the desire to stay some more minutes in bed. Don't listen to your mind, which will probably persuade you to stay in bed a little longer, because it is too early. The feeling of pleasure and power you gain by getting immediately is greater that the pleasure of staying in bed.
Get up, wash, change your clothes and sit for meditation for about twenty minutes, using any meditation technique that you know. If you do not know how to meditate, just sit down and visualize some pleasurable and happy events from the past.
I am not going to describe how to handle each and every action and situation during the day, as every individual has a different life and schedule. However, I am going to give some general examples and hints to help you design your own day.
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Waking up earlier, gives you more time in the morning. So
why not enjoy a nourishing and tasty breakfast? Prepare something you love,
something that you usually do not have the time to prepare in the morning. You
have got the time today.
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Endeavor to be aware of what you are doing throughout the
day. When you eat for example, pay attention to your food, and don't read the
newspaper or watch the television at the same time. If you do so, you will enjoy
your food much more. In the same way try to focus your attention on your other
activities. Concentrating on what you are doing helps you do it better and more
efficiently.
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Remember to smile more often during the day. It is
important that the smile is not a artificial, but that it comes from inside you.
Smiling makes you and other people feel happier.
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Expect the best and do your best.
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Be patient and tolerant toward others.
