Primed for Progress

Just as some pumps need to be primed to work effectively, our lives need to be “primed” to flow efficiently. Good mornings and productive days don’t happen by accident, and by “priming” your day, you can set yourself up for better results. Does it mean you won’t have bad days? Of course not, but it’s making your day happen instead of just waiting for what happens. Once again, it’s a choice of being proactive rather than reactive. You will still have challenges and difficulties, but how you face those hurdles and respond to the struggles will be different with a primed mindset.

I am sure there are many ways to prime your day and set the tone for the hours ahead, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for all. However, the process of creating a plan or a model of how things should unfold is a great place for anyone to start. Also, as I have mentioned before, how you actually start the morning is critical - the battle with the alarm clock is your first chance at victory for that day.

Priming your day is winning the morning and starting off your first waking moments being intentional. Those pivotal first couple hours can make or break how you experience the rest of your twenty-four. For me - and I don’t assume this will be the same for everyone but I want to give you an example of what I am suggesting – winning the morning involves priming myself in four different areas, spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. Here’s what it looks like:

Alarm goes off … and I actually get up. No snooze. After putting in my contacts so I can actually see, I read my Bible for a few minutes and spend some time in prayer, priming myself spiritually.

Then, I write a love letter to my amazing wife so she has something nice to read when she wakes up and prepares to battle our five kids while I am at work. This creates both feelings of gratitude and appreciation. Primed emotionally.

Then I go to the gym. But I don’t just show up, I come with a plan for everything I must accomplish. While I am there I consider the challenges I will face at work and throughout the rest of the day. My goal: to find a way to make myself so uncomfortable during the workout that whatever I am up against at work will be far easier to deal with than what I have already overcome that morning in the gym. Primed mentally and physically.

Your process might be totally different than that and mine evolves as well. That’s okay, but I think the main thing is to enter every day with a plan and strategy. No more waking up like your day is an accident. Be primed for progress.