Tony Robbins is a big believer in ‘priming’ himself to feel positive at the start of the day.
(I can’t quite remember how I started exploring this, I’m not a big Tony Robbins fan! But I’ve now reviewed most of his videos on this topic.)
This particular technique has really helped me (yes, even a sceptic like me!).
The key points
Don’t just hope you’ll feel positive at the start of each day.
Give yourself 10 minutes to prime yourself for the day.
If you don’t have 10 minutes for yourself you don’t have a life.
Start with your breathing
He starts with a breathing exercise designed to oxygenate the blood stream and energize the body.
First, sit comfortably.
Push your arms up above your head as you breath in, pull your arms down to your sides as you breath out through your nose.
Do this with energy and pace. Spend a minute on this activity. (In the video below below you’ll see he works through a series of these breathing exercises, in other videos he just does it once.)
Take a moment to reflect on how you feel (you may feel energized, your body may be tingling… just be mindful of how you feel).
Spend 3 minutes focusing on what makes you grateful
He describes the activity of spending 1 minute focusing on 1 thing that makes him grateful (and doing this 3 times). His emphasis through-out these exercises is on re-experiencing the gratitude.
Not just recalling the gratitude, or seeing it from a far, but re-experiencing the moment: the positive language, feelings and emotions.
Gratitude is the antidote to stress, fear and anger (which are three big barriers to a positive and happy day).
To re-experience gratitude is to prime your mind to be positive and happy through-out the day.
In the last minute, he makes a habit of focusing on something small that he has recently experienced: sunshine through a window, the smell of coffee, the pleasure of a short walk.
He does this to make sure that he’s not just grateful for the big events in life, but also the little things.
Spend 3 minutes ‘praying’ for family and friends
Tony then spends 3 minutes ‘praying’ for his family and friends. He’s quick to acknowledge that this is a spiritual activity, but doesn’t have to be seen as religious.
His focus is on the power of love.
He experiences the love he feels, and sends it to his family, to his friends.
This may sound a little ‘far out’ but it is a very positive experience.
Remember, this is about priming yourself to have a positive and happy day!
Spend 3 minutes focusing on your goals
Finally, Tony spends the final 3 minutes on his goals. He calls this his ‘3 to thrive’.
Again, 3 goals, 1 minute focusing on each goal.
Experience each goal as if it’s done. Breath it, see it, experience it as if it’s done.
10 minutes at the start of the day, to prime yourself for a better day
Watch as Tony guides thousands of people through this practice:
