How do you stay zen all day long? A smile, a positive frame of mind, lots of energy – that’s our ideal day. Unfortunately, our smiles more often than not turn to grumbling, our thoughts turn in on themselves and we feel tired. What can we do about it? Zen all day long starts in the morning! Here are 9 morning habits you need to adopt as a matter of urgency.

1 – Get up as soon as your alarm goes off

Getting up as soon as the alarm goes off sends a message to our brain and to the Universe that we are MOTIVATED.

Motivated to start this new day. We’re thirsty for life and don’t want to waste time in bed tossing and turning, grumbling and thinking dark thoughts.

No, we’re up at the first bell, and that’s a powerful message!

I know it’s not easy. So I’m going to give you a few tips.

Either put your alarm clock away from your bed, so you have to get up to turn it off. Or, when the alarm goes off, tell yourself that you’re aware of how lucky you are to be waking up to a new day. That today is another day, and that you want to live it to the full. Guaranteed effect!

How can you stay zen all day long? By knowing that we’re determined to enjoy the gift of a new day.

2 – A gratitude list to stay zen all day long

Still in bed or drinking your glass of water, make a list of the 3 things you’re grateful for: my children, my partner, my home, the sun, birds singing, being able to breathe, sing, laugh, travel…

Gratitude puts a smile on our faces and soothes us. What’s more, it’s also a great tool for using the Law of Attraction. The Universe has big ears and likes to listen to us. That’s why, when we list all the things we love, the Universe sends us even more.

How can we stay zen all day long? By remembering our list of “thank yous” from this morning, and why not add more “thank yous” throughout the day.

3 – A breath of love

There’s nothing more effective for releasing the happiness hormones endorphins and dopamines than a big 20-second hug.

So we hug our partner and our children. And if we live alone, maybe we have a pet. And if not, don’t panic.

Playing sports has the same effect. Yes, jumping on a trampoline or doing 7 minutes of work-out allows us to secrete happiness hormones. That’s great!

How can we stay zen all day long? By giving our brains and bodies a nice dose of happiness with cuddles and/or sport.

4 – Take care of yourself to stay zen all day long

Taking care of ourselves in the morning means washing up, putting on make-up if we like it, and wearing clothes that make us feel good, beautiful.

In other words, it takes time, so let’s take the time to do it!

It’s hellish having to choose between combing your hair and brushing your teeth, isn’t it? So let’s make sure we set our alarm early enough to give ourselves time to get ready.

How can we stay zen all day long? By taking the time in the morning to look after ourselves, so we can get through the day feeling good about ourselves.

5 – Taking care of your home to stay zen

It’s out of the question to leave the morning’s dirty dishes, or worse, the evening’s dirty dishes, in the sink when you leave for a day’s work.

Why not? Because, first of all, when we get home in the evening, we may not have the motivation to do it, or we may have a setback. And, in either case, when we get home, it’ll smell bad and our morale will take a hit.

So let’s take the time to wash our bowl and cutlery!

Of course, we clean the bathroom behind us, put the dirty laundry in the basket, rinse the bathtub and don’t leave toothpaste in the sink…

How do you stay zen all day long? With the prospect of coming home to a clean house in the evening.

6 – Squeeze an orange

It’s out of the question to go out on an empty stomach, unless you have the opportunity to eat before arriving at work.

The body desperately needs energy to cope with the first part of the day.

If you don’t eat in the morning, or even take the time to drink a glass of water, your body is starved and dehydrated.

Of course, we must be careful not to eat too many sugars, as this would be malnutrition and risk making the body even more tired.

I’m no expert in nutrition, but if we can squeeze an orange and a lemon, eat a banana or a yoghurt, that’s great. Our bodies will thank us.

How can we stay zen all day long? By giving our bodies good energy.

7 – Leaving 10 minutes earlier is a good morning habit to get into

Maybe you’re reading my morning routine with a look of dismay on your face: What a crazy woman…

Yes, I’m well aware that it’s not easy to implement. What I invite you to do, first of all, is to choose the habit you like best or the one that could have the greatest impact on your day. Choose one, just one, and implement it for 30 days. See what happens.

So, leaving 10 minutes earlier is also a great habit to have.

Why? Because we get away from the stress of being late. Better still, we can take the time, for example, to stroll a little along the way, to make a little detour to treat ourselves…

How can we stay zen all day long? By getting away from the stress and taking the time to enjoy the journey.

8 – A nice thought before slamming the door

This beautiful thought is like a prayer to our friend the Universe.

We can ask it to do the right thing: Today, everything will be all right!

Or we can recite our favorite quote.

How can we stay zen all day long? By repeating beautiful things that make us smile.

9 – Decide on a moment of pleasure during the day

A day worth living is one in which we allow ourselves a pleasure break of at least 5 minutes. Something that nourishes our joie de vivre.

Unfortunately, we often don’t give ourselves the chance, because we think we don’t have enough time. But I’d say it’s more because we don’t think about it.

So every morning, before you leave home, write down something you want to do, something that will make you happy, and schedule it into your day.

How can you stay zen all day long? By giving yourself at least one pleasure break!

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover Become zen: 5 powerful tips for a peaceful life
Discover Being disappointed by life: 7 things to do to soothe yourself

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Zen of Listening by Rebecca Z. Shafir

This book explores the art of attentive listening and offers practical techniques for staying present and centered in conversation. Through the lens of Zen philosophy, Shafir explains how cultivating deep listening can contribute to a quieter, more harmonious daily life.

The book is packed with practical strategies for improving listening and applying mindfulness (meditation and living in the present) to the most important human activity. Anyone would benefit from reading this book, even if they don’t wish to engage in the meditative aspects. The author is clearly very experienced and writes in an attractive style.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself