I've had the privilege and opportunity to work with some truly amazing people through my holistic psychiatry practice. I call them "walking miracles" because their lives exemplify what is possible through a holistic approach, not what is acceptable through a traditional approach.
Just last week, in preparation for my podcast series, I interviewed one of my patients who has successfully come off three of her medications and is thriving in her life. This week, I will be interviewing more individuals whose dedication and commitment to their healing created astounding results. I am excited that my podcast will allow them to share their experiences.
What I learned from my patients is that miracles take work and dedication. They need to be designed from the thought up. As part of my own personal commitment to creating miracles in my life, I am reading and applying the principles in "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod. I'll share an overview of his book and encourage you to read it as well. I am excited about empowering and changing my life by using his approach and hope that you'll join me in this amazing process. Have a wonderful week!
Creating an Extraordinary Life
Inspiration from "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod
The book, The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod had been sitting on my table for over a week. The subtitle says, "The 6 habits that will transform your life before 8 am." Anyone who knows me will say that I'm a classic "night owl." The only (early) mornings I know are the ones right before I go to bed. But there was something about the book that exuded a friendly, "read me!"
So, I began reading. Hal Elrod shared how his life had gone from a level 10 to a -1 the day a truck hit his Mustang. Both were going at 70 MPH. He lost everything. He was clinically dead, was revived, and stayed in a coma for a week. However, with perseverance, he recovered! Then, in 2008, his world collapsed financially, and he sank into a deep suicidal depression. He said it was worse than trying to recover from his car crash. That's when he created his "Miracle Morning" routine.
He wrote, "If I could go from being found dead, told I would never walk again, going broke and feeling so depressed that I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning to creating the life I've always wanted, then there are no legitimate excuses for you not to overcome any limitations that have held you back from achieving everything you want for your life. None. Zip. Nada."
"He has a point," I thought.
Another powerful point that Hal shared is that "according to the Social Security Administration, if you take any 100 people at the start of their working careers and follow them for the next 40 years until they reach retirement age, here's what you'll find: only one will be wealthy; four will be financially secure; five will continue working not because they want to but because they have to; 36 will be dead; and 54 will be broke and dependent on friends, family, relatives, and the government to take care of them. Monetarily speaking that's only 5% of us who will be successful in creating a life of freedom, and 95% who will continue to struggle their entire lives." He then describes why this happens and how to rise above mediocrity.
As I continued reading, I realized that I already value many of the things he recommended doing: meditation, visualization, reading, journaling, exercise, and affirmations. I just didn't do them every day, and I certainly didn't do them in the morning! However, Hal, like an understanding, patient friend, persuasively goes over each possible excuse and encourages us to rise above the pull of mediocrity and do the following each morning:
1) S for silence. Being still each morning through meditation.
2) A for affirmations. Create and go over affirmations about who you want to be.
3) V for visualization. Imagine a level 10 life and what it would entail.
4) E for exercise. Move your body to improve your energy.
5) R for reading. Learn something new every day.
6) S for scribing. Journal or write that chapter in your book.
The order of each activity is not important. You can spend as little or as much time on each activity as you want. Then watch for the miracles to manifest in your life.
Is it really that easy? Apparently so. From the thousands of people whose lives have been transformed by their miracle mornings, it is definitely achievable.
I did it for the first time this morning and loved it. Because I was up earlier and in a better mood, I got a new patient. The mother of the patient thanked me profusely for answering the phone so she didn't have to speak to a recording, which she likened to speaking to a "robot." Hal did say that abundance came with miracle mornings. So, there you go: my first confirmation that miracle mornings do create more abundance. Normally, I would have simply sent her message to voicemail, and she would have talked to a robot directing her to my assistant.
I had time this morning to calculate how many days I have been alive since I was born: 20,864 days. I like my life, but I know I can do far better. It's about time I dedicate a part of every day to self-development. I hope you'll join me!
Have a great week!