“Your day is pretty much formed by how you spend the first hour. Check your thoughts, attitude and heart.”

I remember it well. It was the last month of 2013. Winter had just begun. My husband was still rehabilitating from an abscess in his brain that had crushed his nerves system. For months he had been working hard to recover what he had lost. I’ve never seen anyone so determined to regain movement in his left side of his body.

In October that year we had been brutally surprised by this uninvited houseguest. It involved brain surgery and some intense emotions we never experienced before.

By the end of that year I was exhausted. Not only had I been taking care of Carl, I was still working 40hours a week at a job with a 3 hour commute. I was emotionally drained and I could feel that my reserves were running out.

Something had to change!

Thankfully the universe showed me signs how I could solve this problem.

For weeks wherever I would go or what I would read or see on my computer or television, my attention was drawn to books or online videos of teachers who would explain to me the importance of a morning ritual.

At first I got a lot of resistance to this idea. I was always tired, so how could waking up one hour earlier solve that problem? But I had to acknowledge the sign. The universe was showing me a way.

Was I going to react or ignore?

I can assure you that after an event as this, your zest for life is in high gear, so I was able to convince myself to ignore the resistance I was feeling and GO FOR IT!

Together Again!

My husband and I went on a well-deserved holiday at the island of Cape Verde, where we relaxed for the first time in months. It’s here where we started to talk about our future. Our wedding date was sett and Carl would start his own company. And we really set our minds on traveling the world together.

The teachers who’d crossed my path inspired me. It was clear to me that my new purpose in life was to follow their footsteps. I had to take back control of my energy in order to succeed.

I planned to get out of bed one hour earlier than normal. And for the next weeks I polished my ritual with bodywork, meditation and gratitude.

And I had immediate results. I would go to work with a full cup of energy. I would not give in to tiredness and I was also more equipped to deflect frustration or negative feelings coming from others.

I felt powerful, strong and confident!

I kept my morning ritual going for several months and the outcome was extraordinary. I really felt good even though I was extremely busy.

One remarkable benefit was that ‘the good-feeling’ worked infectious. People around me start to notice and I realised my positive vibes were not only beneficial on my behalf but also for the people around me. And I worked in Sales, so my numbers went up enormously.

I’m a person that doesn’t do well with the same ritual. I get easily bored. I like variation! So ever since the beginning of 2014 my morning ritual has been on a path of its own, changing all the time.

I can easily say that a morning ritual enhances my day immensely.

Of course I’ve had periods that I lacked doing them and I immediately felt the effect. Without my morning ritual my energy is low and I’m easily persuaded to act out with negative feelings that don’t come from an authentic place. It gives me feelings of regret, guilt and others, creating a vicious circle.

Thankfully you don’t have to wait long for results. A daily ritual gives you results right away.

In the next video I provide you a morning ritual.

When you need help with creating and implementing your own personal Morning Ritual, don’t hesitate and contact me at hello@jjvanzon.com I’m happy to be of service. 😉

When you’d like to see more videos of me I post material on my Facebook page JJ van Zon – Today I Start and you can find more videos on my Youtube Channel.

I wish you lots of fun with your morning ritual and I can’t wait to hear about the journey you embark on. Let me know in a comment.

Namasté JJ

PS. As English is not my first language there can be grammar mistakes. Hopefully you can read around this and focus on the essence of the text. Thank you!