Happiness Mama

Create the life you want, with mindfulness, purpose, and self-care. Go from striving to thriving!

Body Love: How I Lost 17 Pounds In 7 Months 21

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Happiness Mama Podcast Episode 21 Love Your Body

Welcome to Season 3 of the Happiness Mama Podcast with Heather Ash! Season 3 is all about Self-Love…

Loving ourselves, body, mind, and spirit.

This episode is about loving our bodies, and specifically I talk about how I lost 17 pounds in less than 7 months. Listen to find out how I did it, and learn tips and strategies to make your own new healthy habits easy, doable, and fun!

(I even analyzed some data from my bullet journals… You might be surprised at the results. I was!)

Highlights:

  • My weight journey
  • Pregnancy weight gain
  • Postpartum priorities
  • How I’d rather not be motivated to lose weight and get in shape
  • The foundational mindset for losing weight and getting in shape (or making any other changes in your life)
  • The biggest factor in my weight loss success
  • The second biggest factor in my weight loss success
  • Dealing with imperfection
  • Imperfect dieting and exercise
  • The slow carb diet by Tim Ferriss
  • The key to losing weight
  • Real weight training results
  • Surprising results after climbing a mountain
  • How to make your habits stick
  • Surprising nerd results: What the charts revealed…
  • Creating a self-love mindset: Body Love Affirmations
  • Show your love by becoming a Happiness Mama Patron! And get mentioned on the show…

Books and Resources Mentioned In This Episode:

Spread the Word:

If you enjoyed the podcast and want to help other mamas be happier, too, visit iTunes orStitcher and kindly leave me a rating, review, and subscribe. Thank you!

How to Subscribe to the Happiness Mama Podcast:

Thank you so much for listening! I hope this podcast helps you love yourself more, body, mind, and spirit. Love to you!

Which Shining Academy Membership Is Right For You?

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Are you thinking of joining Leonie Dawson’s Shining Academy? I hope this article will answer your questions and help you decide which Shining Academy membership type is right for you at this point in your life.

Choose the Shining Academy Membership For YOU

Did you know you don’t have to have a business to benefit from being a member of the Shining Academy?

Did you know you can join the Academy and get access to tons of life resources and courses, without paying the full membership price?

Are you thinking of joining the Academy, but you’re unsure about what is included in each membership type, and which one makes the most sense for you and your life, right now?

Read on!

Shining Academy Membership: Two Types

There are two types of membership in the Shining Academy.

One type of membership is Life + Biz Access, which is full Academy membership.

Next there is Life Access Only membership, which includes a plethora of life resources and excludes business and technical resources.

Let’s dive in to learn more about each type of membership so you can decide on the one that’s right for you.

Life Access Only Membership in the Shining Academy

Membership in the Shining Academy includes a wide variety of life programs, courses, and resources to help you in all areas of life: family, spirituality, creativity, health, relationships, home, meditation, and more.

If you don’t have your own business, but you love Leonie and would love to gain access to all of her life resources and trainings, Life Access Only membership may be right for you.

Life Courses, Trainings, and Meditations

Here are some of the life courses and resources included in the Shining Academy. Over 72 life courses, workshops, and resources are available to Life Access Academy Members.

The following list is not exhaustive. These are some of the highlights. Check out Leonie’s website for more.

Personal Growth/Life Courses

Radiant Goddess E-Course
Creating Your Goddess Haven E-Course
How to Be a Morning Goddess
How to Create More Joy In Your Life Mini Workshop
How to Trust Your Intuition Mini Workshop
Healing Goddess Workshop
How to Face Your Fears
7 Life-Changing Habits for an Abundant 2016
How to Find Your Purpose Mini Workshop
Boundaries Bootcamp

Creativity Courses

Creative Goddess E-Course
Intuitive Art Workshop
Mega Colouring Book
How to Create a Mini Retreat
How to Create a Dream Board
The Project Finisher E-Book

Meditations

I Create My Amazing Year Meditation
Best Day Ever Meditation
Divine Dreaming Meditation Kit
Chakra Healing Meditation Kit
Releasing Fears Meditation Kit
Holy Dinger Uber Zennifying Meditation Kit
Instant Uplift Meditation

Shining Academy Life Mastermind

When you join with Life Access Only membership, you gain access to a Mastermind of like-minded women. This is a great community to help you find support, encouragement, friendship, and accountability. The group is very active and is located on Facebook.

What’s Not Included

In Life Access Only Academy Membership, you do not get any of the workbooks or diary delivered to your door as you do with full Life + Biz membership.

However, you do get access to the Life Workbook, which you can download and print yourself.

You also don’t get the business and marketing resources/courses.

What Else Is Included

Discounts to various tools and resources for life and business.
Monthly live coaching calls with Leonie, so you can get 1-1 support.
Regular chances to ask Leonie and other team members questions within the Mastermind (live).

Investment

Your investment to join the Shining Academy with Life Access Only is $197, which is less than half the cost of full Biz + Life Membership.

You can also take advantage of a payment plan. If you choose the payment play, you make four payments of $60 each.

Full Shining Biz + Life Academy Membership

Full membership in the Shining Academy includes all of the life resources plus tons of courses and resources to help you start and grow your business.

Business Courses and Resources

Here are some of the business resources and courses that are included in full Shining Biz + Life Academy Membership. To find out more, visit the Shining Academy website by clicking here.

Double Your Business Intensive
Business Goddess 2.o
How to Hire, Grow, and Keep a 6-Figure Team
How to Market Your Business with Videos/YouTube
SEO Masterclass: How to Get to #1 on Google
Woman Breadwinner: How to Make It Work For Your Family
Grow Your Local Bricks & Mortar Business
Create Your Sacred Sales Funnel
Self-Love in Business
Money Manifesting Course
How to Raise Your Rates Mini Workshop
How to Get and Share Testimonials to Grow Your Business
Creating a Website with WordPress
How to Use Masterminds to Accelerate Your Business
The 7 Chakra Business Model
How to Create Your Standard Operating Procedures
6i Success System

You can read more about my experience in the Shining Academy in my Shining Academy Review.

Shining Academy Business Mastermind

Full Academy membership includes access to the Shining Biz Mastermind. Located on Facebook, it’s a very active community. It’s a great place to get accountability and support, find answers to questions, and find new connections and collaborations.

Workbooks, Planners, Diary, Oh My!

When you join at the full membership level, physical copies of the yearly planners and diary, plus calendar and to-do list are included. Shipping is included as well. This is a great perk of full membership.

What Else Is Included

Discounts to various tools and resources for life and business.
Monthly live group coaching calls with Leonie, so you can get help from Leonie.
Regular chances to ask Leonie and other team members questions within the Mastermind (live).

Investment

Investment in the full Biz + Life Academy membership is $497, or 4 payments (back to back) of $140 each.

What About Customer Support?

I love the customer support team at Leonie Dawson International. They are extremely responsive and just plain nice. I’ve never had any problems with my membership, but I have had a few questions here and there.

Customer support team members are just wonderful. I know that if I have any questions or need help with anything related to my membership account, they’re just an email away and will be happy to help. And as you know, that means a ton.

Which Shining Academy Membership Is Right For You?

Shining Academy

Do you love Leonie? She is an inspiring. uplifting, gifted teacher. If you resonate with her and her work, and you have a business you’re growing or one you’re just starting, I highly recommend considering joining the Academy at the full membership level.

You get all of the awesome business resources, plus you get the life resources, AND the physical copies of workbooks and diary will be delivered to you. That is included in the price of membership.

So if you want to get paper workbooks, this is a good way to go.

If you don’t have a business, but you want to transform your life, then Leonie’s Shining Academy Life Access is a fabulous resource and community of like-minded women.

Financially, the Life Access Only membership is less than half the cost of the full membership. However, if you do have a business or need help to start one, the full membership is a great deal. $497 over the course of one year comes out to only about $41 a month. That’s not a lot to invest in your business and life.

Paper copies of the workbooks and diary are not included in life only access, but you can print out your own copy of the life workbook. I started by printing out my first yearly workbook in 2013. It’s a great way to start.

They both have payment plans, which is great.

They both have access to the discounts, which are one great way to save money on other courses and products. There is also an affiliate program which is fantastic, and a great way to easily make back the cost of your membership simply by telling others about the Academy.

If you have a business, then definitely consider the full membership. It’s definitely worth the investment if you will use it. From courses, to meditations, to discounts, to the mastermind, and the yearly planners… It’s a great investment in your business and your life.

Shining Academy Doors Are Closing Soon

Shining Academy Doors Are Closing Soon

Enrollments will close at the end of this month. Whichever membership you choose, make sure to join before the end of September. Doors are closing, and it won’t open again until sometime next year, 2017.

Let Me Show You Around + Presents!

When you join the Academy using my affiliate link, I have some special gifts for you.

1. A group video chat in November to show you around the Academy and get you off to a great start, so you know where everything is, how it works, and where you personally might like to begin. I’ll also share some tips to help you get the most out of your membership, so you can make sure you get the most possible out of it.

2. My upcoming course, The Self-Care Habit Formula, to help you create habits of self-care so you can feel your best and create the life you want. This is a great course that will empower you and help you feel your best so you can create your best life (and business, if you have one).

3. Optional: Mini Class to help you make back your investment through sharing the Leonie Love (being an affiliate).

What about you? Which membership type sounds right for you?

Questions? Just Ask!

I hope you found this article helpful! Please get in touch if you have any questions about either type of membership or which might be right for you. I know it’s an investment, either way. I’m happy to share my experience and answer any questions you have.

Love,
Heather

How to Achieve Your Dreams and Goals

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Happiness Mama

Intention without action is powerless.

Like a hot air balloon without hot air, it isn’t going anywhere.

I don’t want to live a life of wishes, intentions, and regrets. I want a life of mistakes made, actions taken, dreams realized. A life fully lived.

Imperfect action is necessary to learn.

It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to try.

First steps are not pretty. They’re not perfect. They’re messy. Uncomfortable. Even painful.

But without the first, you can’t take the next.

Sometimes, when you want to create something, you wish it would spring forth fully formed. But that’s just not how things work.

You have to start small, string together a bunch of little steps, and make plenty of mistakes… but eventually you’ll find that you’re actually going somewhere.

Sometimes it happens fast… you get into a creative whirlwind and ride your wild donkey until it’s done, through late nights and early mornings, notebooks and notes and thoughts and everything coming together until you have completed your goal, albeit imperfectly. Oh, the thrill of creating!

And sometimes it happens more slowly. I find that I’m on the slow track most of the time, sometimes making faster spurts of progress, but mostly getting there one tiny turtle step at a time. But that’s okay. That’s where I am right now.

When my children are a little older, I may have more time to work more and work faster.

For now, I’m happy to be making as many mistakes as I can, happy to try things even when I’m scared, happy to learn and meet my goals, even if it takes a while.

You can, too.

If you don’t try at all, you’ll definitely fail.

Failure isn’t making mistakes. Failure is not trying.

You want to do something? Get started, make a plan.

Or don’t make a plan. But definitely start. You can plan as you go.

Whether you want to start a blog, write a book, learn ballet, or start a new healthy habit, you can do it.

Even if all you have time for right now is the planning, that’s okay.

My Story: Shining Biz + Life Academy, Starting My Blog, and Coaching School

When my youngest daughter Rose was a newborn, I started reading about blogging and freelance writing. My blogging dream was in the incubation stage, and I enjoyed reading, learning, and thinking about what I might want to create.

Around that time I found my way to Leonie Dawson’s Shining Biz + Life Academy. In addition to gaining access to tons of inspirational and educational courses, when you join you become part of the most amazingly loving, encouraging, and helpful community of women from all over the world.

(And just so you know, a recent development in the Academy is that now you can join just for the life products,if you don’t need the business and marketing resources. Every year I enjoy using the Life Planner, and the Radiant Goddess e-course is one of my favorite of the life courses.)

Anyway, one thing led to another, and I decided to go to coaching school to become a Mama Bliss Coach. Coaching school was such a joy, and I am so excited about offering the gift of coaching to other mamas. Becoming a coach is perfectly aligned with my desire to help and support other mindful mamas in living their happiest lives.

Working with a coach is an excellent way to find support in moving towards your dreams, one small step at a time. Not only is it really helpful to have that one-to-one support, it is such a source of joy in itself. I always feel happier after working with my coach. I feel that I have been heard and understood, supported, and nurtured, and I know I’m not alone in my journey.

Mama Bliss Coaching is a special type of coaching which focuses on supporting mamas through strengthening the Four Pillars of Mama Bliss, which are self-care, creativity, values, and simplicity.

Are You Ready to Grow Your Life and Business?

If you’re a creative entrepreneur who wants to create a life of purpose, mindfulness, and self-care, I work with a very limited number of coaching clients. At the moment, I have room for 2 more private coaching clients.

Want to know more about Leonie’s Shining Biz + Life Academy? Do let me know.

You can also check out my 2016 Shining Academy Review to learn more about what I love about Leonie and the Shining Academy. I have loved being a member.

And if you join using my affiliate link, I have some extra special goodies for you: a copy of my upcoming course, to help you create lasting self-care habits, plus a group coaching call in November to help show you around the Academy and help you get comfortable. It will be fun!

Did you like this post? Share it with your friends. See the easy share buttons above.

What can you do this week to take action on your dreams and goals?

Even if your dream is in the incubation stage, you can take small steps towards your goals. Each small step takes you a little bit closer.

And there is joy in the journey.

Happy mistake-making, learning, and growing!

Love,
Heather

Leonie Dawson Shining Academy Review

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Here it is, a Shining Academy Review just for you! xo

Leonie Dawson Shining Academy Review
Thinking of joining Leonie Dawson‘s Shining Academy? In this Shining Academy Review, I will share about my own Shining Biz + Life Academy membership experience over the past few years.

I’ll also give you the scoop on everything you need to know to decide if Shining Academy membership is right for you.

Shining Academy Review Overview

My Shining Academy Review will help you learn more about Leonie Dawson and all that Shining Academy membership includes, so you can decide if it’s right for you! Also, it’s always fun to talk about unicorns, mermaids, and empowering women, which this Shining Academy Review most certainly does. So, let’s get started!

Who Is Leonie Dawson?

Leonie Dawson is an inspiring, totally herself, totally woo woo, and self-described hippie mama from Australia. She is also a creative, heart-centered, and super smart entrepreneur.

She went from working in a government office job while selling her artwork and running women’s retreats on the side, to creating a 7-figure business teaching other creative women entrepreneurs how to follow in her footsteps and create the businesses of their dreams.

With an irreverent, quirky sense of humor and a love of colorful language (ie, if you can’t handle the f-bomb used in humor, she’s not for you), Leonie’s fun, devil-may-care, completely honest personality is one thing that makes her stand out from other business teachers.

Loving her family is one of her passions, along with helping other creative women find success in their businesses.

Leonie loves mermaids and unicorns and being honest and real. She has shared so much of her own trials over the years, both in business and in life. For example, during her second pregnancy she shared about her struggle with hyperemesis gravidarum. And more recently she shared about how she was going through a time of not feeling like her creativity was coming to her as it had in the past, and how scary that was. Such honesty and openness is refreshing.

One of my favorite things about Leonie is her huge heart for helping others, and the fact that she lives it out through her actions. Leonie Dawson International supports a number of charitable organizations.

What is the Shining Academy?

So, now that you know a lot about Leonie Dawson, what exactly is the Shining Academy, you ask? The Shining Academy is Leonie’s online membership program for creative entrepreneurs, or for women who want to be creative entrepreneurs.

What Does Leonie Dawson’s Shining Academy Membership Include?

The Shining Biz + Life Academy includes ALL of the courses and products Leonie has created and continues to create, every month.

Members of the Shining Academy have access to thousands of dollars worth of business courses, life courses, meditations, recordings of live calls and trainings, and more.

The community, or Mastermind, of Academy members is another awesome perk. There are monthly live calls in which you can ask Leonie questions and get her feedback. Plus her team is active in the community group, answering questions and making sure the group stays positive and supportive.

Shining Academy Membership also includes her life and business workbooks and yearly diary, mailed to you, for free.

I share more about these life-changing workbooks below.

Who Is the Shining Academy For?

The Shining Academy is for you if you…

  • Are a creative woman who would like to start a business or grow your business
  • Would love to be part of a diverse community of creative, heart-centered women from all over the world
  • Like the convenience of having tons of useful resources immediately available to you for use whenever you wish
  • Resonate with Leonie: her warm personality and fun sense of humor, her colorful artwork, and her love for other women and the world
  • Would love to set goals and reach them so you can create the life you desire

If you are a photographer, designer, life coach, shop owner, health coach, or any kind of passionate liver of life who wants to make a living being creative or spiritual or whoever you truly are, the Shining Academy will be a good fit for you.

My Shining Biz + Life Academy Experience

I somehow came across Leonie, maybe through a blog post, and I quickly downloaded her Biz + Blog Star Workshop. I was so inspired by her story that she shared. At this point I was thinking of starting a blog, although it was still a twinkle in my eye.

My first purchase from Leonie was the 2013 Amazing Biz + Life Planner/Workbook. (At that time, the Shining Academy was called the Amazing Biz + Life Academy.) I printed out the pages of the Workbook, filled them in, and put them in a three-ring binder. I LOVED my yearly planner.

In fact, I loved it so much, I’ve been using them ever since, and they’re one of my favorite parts of the Academy.

Then in April of 2014, I decided to join the Shining Academy, and I haven’t looked back.

While I love my planners, my other favorite part of the Academy is the friendships and connections I’ve made there. They have enriched my life beyond measure (as wonderful people do), and they have helped me grow my blog and coaching business.

During the time that I’ve been a member, I have achieved so many of my goals, and I have learned so much. I created this blog, Happiness Mama, and I created The Happiness Mama Podcast. I love being part of the Shining Academy, and for me it has definitely been a worthwhile investment.

My Shining Academy Community

I actually signed up using the affiliate link of a blogger I admired. She later became a mentor and a friend.

Some of my best friends online continue to be friends I’ve made through the Academy. I’m thankful to count as dear friends lovely Academy members from England, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, and across the U.S.

Friends from the Academy have also been wonderful podcast guests, and I have done guest blogging for other Academy members. It’s a great place to meet some amazing women doing amazing work.

Last year I went to Denver for a special Academy live event, and it was wonderful, too.

And I’ve had the opportunity to do other members’ programs for free as a beta tester, and that has been really amazing, too.

Some of My Favorite Academy Courses

Two of my favorite Shining Academy courses are Business Goddess and Radiant Goddess.

While not technically a course, the yearly life + biz planners and the new Diary are among my favorite things about the Academy, and using them has been a great inspiration and support for helping me meet my goals.

Want to check out the other courses, trainings, resources, and meditations that are included in the Shining Biz + Life Academy membership? Cool! You can click here to see the curriculum in greater depth.

Should You Join Leonie Dawson’s Shining Academy?

If you are a creative, heart-centered entrepreneur or you want to be, Leonie Dawson and the Shining Biz + Life Academy are definitely worth considering. It is a treasure trove of support, community, and practical knowledge to help you grow your life and your business.

Leonie Dawson started the Shining Biz + Life Academy in 2010. While starting a family and working just part-time hours, from home, Leonie has grown the business to $3 million. She has been a finalist for Ausmumpreneur of the Year and Australian Business Woman of the Year. And she donates significant amounts of money to people around the world who are in need. For example, they recently built a school in Kenya!

It is an investment, it’s true. If you are at a place where you feel ready to invest in yourself, your business, and your life, then this investment will be worth it. You can click here to read all about the Shining Academy and tons of testimonials from happy members.

The Shining Biz + Life Academy will be closing its doors to new members at the end of September. If you feel called and ready to join, now’s the time. Doors won’t be opening again until sometime in 2017. So now’s the time to make it happen!

Shining Academy Review Questions

I hope you found this Shining Academy Review to be helpful. If you have any questions about the Shining Biz + Life Academy, I will be happy to answer them. Feel free to share them in the comments below. You can also send me an email at heather (at) happinessmama (dot) com, or join me in the Happiness Mama Community to chat and meet other like-minded mamas.

I’m passionate about helping creative mompreneurs to create the lives they most desire while being the moms they want to be. And I know that if the Shining Academy resonates with you, and you decide the time is right to jump in and make the life and business of your dreams real, then it’s a no brainer.

Join The Shining Academy & Get Free Coaching and Goodies From Moi

Has this Shining Academy Review helped you decide that the Shining Biz + Life Academy is for you? If so, I have some bonuses for you!

For everyone who joins with my affiliate link (as long as you click on one of the links in this article, you should be covered), I will help you get started and get the most out of your Shining Academy Membership with a free group coaching call in early November, as well as a copy of my upcoming book.

It’s about creating the self-care habit, even (and especially!) as a busy mom and entrepreneur. You deserve happiness, as well as a thriving business. So let’s do this!

How to Create a Morning Routine That Works for You

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How to Create a Morning Routine that Works for You
Our mornings really do set the tone for the day, so it makes sense to start it in a good way, in a way that feels true to us and our values. However, if you’re a recovering perfectionist like me, you may have wanted to start a morning routine, but resisted because you felt like it was too hard, or you weren’t sure of the best way to go about it.

Thankfully, it isn’t hard to create a morning routine that works. Through small, simple changes, we can craft a morning routine that will help us start the day in a way that sets the stage for the kind of day, and life, that we want.

In this article I walk you through some tips to create a morning routine that works for you, while also explaining the evolution of my own current morning routine.

1. Think in Terms of Now

One thing I’ve been learning is that while I enjoy having routines, I also enjoy allowing them be flexible.

I’ve come to accept that they won’t necessarily be forever, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s a good thing because our circumstances and our needs change.

And it’s also really good because it takes the pressure off. We do NOT need to create the “perfect morning routine” or one that we are committing to for the rest of our lives. Whew! What a relief.

Lately I’m becoming more and more aware of the normal ebb and flow of life, and of my own energy cycle and moods. This ebb and flow is normal. Change is normal and something that is always there.

So remember, not only does your morning routine not have to be forever, it can’t be. It won’t be. And that’s good!

Feel free to try something and see how it goes. You are not locked in.

Maybe try it for one day, or a few days, or a week… and see how it feels. See what works for you now. For me, thinking this way takes the pressure off, and that helps me to take action.

2. Let Go of Perfection

There is no such thing as the perfect morning routine. You can go ahead and let go of trying to achieve that.

I loved the book Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, and I found it very inspiring. It’s a great book, and I encourage you to let it inspire you. But just keep in mind that you can do things your way. You don’t have to have all of the elements he has or recommends.

Pick and choose what’s most important to you right now, and what feels doable.

There are days that my morning routine doesn’t happen at all because I end up sleeping in because for whatever reason I was up in the night. And that’s okay.

It’s okay to be human. I’ve found that feeling guilty for not doing things “right” or perfectly is not helpful in starting or continuing new habits.

Being a mother has really taught me to be more flexible, to go with the flow, to accept the truth that I can’t always control everything.

We can be self-compassionate, letting go of any feelings of inadequacy, for example, and celebrating even our smallest moments of success.

Once we have children, we do really have to plan carefully in order to have time and space to focus on our own goals.

For me to have the morning routine I want, I have to wake up before the children. It helps to allow the quiet time to focus, and as an introvert, I need time alone.

Lately I’ve been waking up naturally around 5:00, and I really enjoy it. I usually have my alarm set for 6:00, too, so that at least I can hopefully wake up a little bit before my daughters.

Again, it doesn’t always happen, and that’s okay.

3. Start Small

When I create new habits, it usually helps to start small, such as starting with just one or two different activities, and then I add elements one by one over time.

Starting small helped me start meditating in the morning, which had previously felt almost impossible.

I had always meditated during nap time, but that meant it didn’t always happen. I felt that if I could start meditating in the morning instead, it would be easier to maintain a more consistent practice.

I finally decided to give morning meditation a try, but I started super small, with just 2 minutes. I felt like, I can do anything for two minutes!

So starting that way helped me ease into it in a way that didn’t feel too difficult. And it did make it much easier for me to make sure I did my meditation every day.

4. Get Support

In a happy coincidence, shortly after I began my two-minute morning meditation, my friend and fellow podcaster, Dr. Danielle Eaton, decided to do a Just Breathe challenge in her 4-Dimensional Moms Facebook Group. The goal was to meditate for 10 minutes a day for a month. This was just the motivation I needed to increase my morning meditation time, and I was excited to try extending my time since I had come to the realization that I actually could meditate in the morning. (Yay! So exciting!)

Having daily accountability in that group was powerful. I wanted to make sure I did it so that I could check in and say that I had done it and receive encouragement from Danielle and the other participants. Doing something with other people is highly motivating.

Doing that challenge was a great motivator for helping me consistently meditate in the morning and for longer periods of time.

After that challenge was over, I decided to create a month of Mindfulness and Meditation in my own Facebook group, the Happiness Mama Community. It was so fun to continue the group accountability and motivation, and just having a set place to check in and write down when I’d done it was helpful.

If there isn’t a challenge happening right now that you can join in, you could get a friend to join you and check in daily with each other. Or you could tell someone else or even announce on social media that you’re going to do this, and then check in every day to say you’ve done it.

Accountability is powerful and rewarding, because you have other people to encourage you and help you achieve your goals. Being part of my own Facebook group has been a great source of encouragement, support, and accountability for me.

5. Use Anchor Habits

Something else that helped me to add morning meditation to my morning routine was having an anchor habit to tack it on to. Every morning the first thing I do is make coffee (Sumatra or Caffe Verona!). So making coffee became my anchor habit for morning meditation.

I started doing my 2 minutes of meditation after the coffee started brewing, and I usually stop after it is ready, sometimes before. At times I add “coffee drinking meditation,” where I mindfully sip my coffee for a bit.

After a while, I added another new element to my morning routine, which is journaling.

My meditation is now the anchor habit for my journaling. I enjoy a type of journaling called “morning pages,” described in Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way.

My way of doing morning pages is to just write down any thoughts or feelings I want to express in order to feel clear to start my day. I don’t write any set amount of time or amount. Sometimes it’s just a few lines, sometimes it’s longer. I just write whatever I feel like writing in the moment. There is no pressure of any kind.

It feels great to have journaling as part of my morning routine now, as I had been resisting it for quite a while as a daily practice, but that’s another story. ;)

At the moment, I also have an additional temporary element to my morning routine. I’m doing a course called Your SHEro’s Journey by Rebecca Kane, and it involves listening to energy clearings several times a week. The recordings are around 10 minutes (or less) long, and they’re similar to guided meditations, followed by a little bit of journaling.

So on some days I add this in right after my meditation but before the morning pages.

I am really enjoying this aspect of my morning routine, and I may consider guided meditations after the course is finished.

Next, I check in with my journals–especially my 2016 Diary from Leonie Dawson, and my 2016 Companion, by Rebecca Kane. I am loving using both of these. I use them for slightly different purposes, but without going into detail, they’re a good way to reconnect with my intentions, plans, and goals for the day and the week.

2 Things to Avoid First Thing in the Morning

I’ve learned that there are two things I have to actively avoid first thing in the morning. They are

1. Social Media

and

2. Email

It’s crazy how conditioned we can become to mindlessly checking email or Facebook! It feels like an addiction sometimes, and that doesn’t feel good.

I’ll be honest, the thought often crosses my mind to check my email on my phone in the morning… and sometimes I even do it mindlessly without even realizing it!

It is getting easier and easier though to be aware of this compulsion and actively not follow that urge.

Beautiful Morning

I love having my mornings filled with intention and focus. Having my morning routine allows me to feel more centered and grounded, to start my day my way, rather than to start by “reacting” to incoming information and external tugs.

It feels wonderful to start the day in this way.

What about you? What is your biggest struggle with creating a morning routine that works for you?