Feeling inspired

So far this year I have avoided talking about Covid 19 and focused instead on how to build ourselves a daily routine so that, no matter what, we have started the day in a positive way which can sustain us. This week, here in the UK, we are still in lockdown and living in what feels like a very uncertain world, and so now, more than ever, starting the day in the right way is important. One day last week my alarm didn’t go off and I didn’t have time to do my morning routine and I had a more challenging day because of it. On another day, which presented challenges within my working day, I survived it much better because I had started the day by investing in myself in this way. Its benefits to me prove themselves on a daily basis.

To recap, the building blocks of my daily routine are meditation, appreciation, inspirational reading and exercise. In the last two weeks I have written about mediation and appreciation and so today I am looking at inspirational reading. As with each segment of my morning routine, I spend fifteen minutes doing it (but how long to do each task for is up to you) and there are two ways that I approach the inspirational reading portion of time that I spend on my morning routine which totals one hour. You can either delve into a chosen book for fifteen minutes by opening the book at a random page and reading whatever is presented to you, or you can read it as you would a normal book. I find the latter interesting because you are really letting life decide what is right for you to read on that particular day but you will find out what works better for you. I tend to do what works best with the book that I am reading. Some books lend themselves to one way and others to the other.

Some inspirational books are designed for a daily read and so their contents has been divided as such. One book like this which I would recommend is ‘The Book of Awakening’ by Mark Nepo which has short but profound writings for each day of the year to inspire and fortify you for the day ahead. For myself, there is one book that I go back to again and again because of how much I have learned from it over the years and that is The Game of Life and how to play it by Florence Scovel Shinn. This book illustrates how important it is to use our thoughts wisely, to hone our focus in order that we place ourselves in the right state for good things to come to us. This really is one of my favourites for the simplicity and practicality of its message. As with many of the inspirational books that I have read, they give more on the second read…

What are the benefits of reading inspirational books?

They make us feel good

All inspirational books are full of positive messages that uplift us and make us feel optimistic. Reading such material first thing, after having written down all the things that you appreciate about your life, really boosts your positive mindset and this sustains you for the rest of your day.

They encourage us

Reading inspirational books encourages us to feel that we can do, be and have more than we do now. They focus our minds on who we really want to be rather than the person that we have been. They literally inspire us to more. They are forward-facing and they focus us on our future and they encourage us to expand our understanding of ourselves.

They improve us

By focusing our minds on concepts, ideas and the experiences of others who have expanded their own understanding of themselves and of life, we take on the ideas and start finding areas of our lives in which we can apply the principles that we are reading about.

Focuses our attention on the positive

By reading inspirational books, we make more positive decisions and take more positive actions. Where previously we sat in front of the TV all day, we might decide to do something more nourishing for our inner lives by going for a walk, starting a new hobby, project or a business. Reading this material inspires us to do things a little differently.

We start to act differently

By reading each day, we become progressively more self-aware and so we handle situations better. This is my personal take-away from this practice. It really helps me to take a breath before reacting to the things that I find more challenging in my life.

This practice complements the other two because mediation brings peace, affirmation brings positivity and inspirational reading energises and motivates us so that we can move forward into our day feeling inspired to be more than we were yesterday.

Day by day, like any practice, as we invest in ourselves, we can learn from our inspirational reading how to become more of who we really are, become more conscious of what we want for our lives – and what we don’t want – and ultimately become stronger people as a result. This is the true benefit of the morning routine, becoming stronger and more secure as people. Not only does this benefit us, but everyone around us too.

Remember, you are not alone.

hillybarker@gmail.com