Morning Intentions: Why The First Few Minutes Matter

I have something to talk to you about,

And it is morning intentions.

Now,

Why intentions matter the first few minutes of your day might really surprise you at how important this is.

And people are always talking about mornings and how important they are,

That we set them right and that we set our intentions.

But I find that sometimes people don't explain why.

So I'm going to,

In detail,

Explain to you the science and how this all works about setting intentions in the morning.

And I think you're going to be surprised at how the first few minutes of your day matter way more than you might think.

Out.

I know mornings are already a lot for most of us.

Actually proven scientifically to change the trajectory of your entire day.

And this is the power of morning intentions,

Specifically morning.

Why?

In the morning,

Your brain is incredibly impressionable.

So when you first wake up,

Your brain is still transitioning from sleep into full alertness.

Your body is moving through this very real biological transition where your cortisol starts to rise.

Don't worry,

I'm just gonna get a little sciencey here,

But I'm gonna make it very practical for you.

And when your cortisol starts to rise,

Which is a good thing,

It helps you wake up so that you can meet the demands of the day.

Your brain is coming back online.

And what we know is that for the first few minutes of your day.

Your brain.

Is a little bit more.

Influencible.

A little more sensitive.

And researchers describe these in-between states like hypnotic states as more suggestible.

Well,

Your brain is more suggestible than your ordinary waking consciousness.

And so the question is not really,

Are you setting an intention in the morning?

The question is,

What intention is already being set for you?

Because something is setting the tone.

Your phone might be setting the tone.

Your inbox might be setting the tone.

The news might be setting it.

That random text message you woke up to might be setting it.

Your boss might be setting it.

Some emergency somebody has might be setting it.

Something negative happening in the news or in the world might be setting it.

Something is setting your intention for you.

If you are not setting it.

The science proves this.

And before your feet even touch the floor.

Your mind is already running in somebody else's direction.

And so here's a metaphor I want you to think about.

Your mind in the morning is like wet concrete,

Like wet cement.

And when cement is still wet,

Whatever steps into the cement or gets into the cement leaves an imprint.

It leaves a mark.

And once it starts to harden and set.

That mark that gets left.

Becomes much harder to smooth out.

And so this is what happens as your day starts to set.

This is what happens when your mind starts to transition in the morning.

The first things you consume,

The first thoughts you repeat,

The first emotional state you enter.

Can leave an imprint.

On your mind like this wet cement for the rest of your day.

And I know you know what this feels like.

Because I think we've all woken up.

Grabbed our phone and the first thing you saw was some stressful email or a bad headline or a post that stressed you out.

And then somehow,

Even after you put the phone down,

That energy stays with you.

So you're like brushing your teeth and you're thinking about it.

You're in the car,

You're in the train or you're walking to work and some part of you is already tense.

Already feeling behind before you've even begun,

Already irritated,

Already feeling like the day is rushing at you and you've barely even started and nothing's even really happened.

This is why your mornings matter so much.

This is why morning intentions matter.

Not because they magically make your whole day perfect.

They don't.

They don't do that.

But here's the deal.

If you don't tell your brain what matters,

Something else will.

And for a lot of us,

Our morning intention,

Without us even knowing it,

Ends up being based on survival.

Or stress.

Or I'm so busy,

Or I'm so tired and how exhausted you are,

Or what's wrong,

Or what do I need to fix,

Or who needs something from me?

So a morning intention is your way of interrupting that pattern.

And this is the part I really want you to hear.

Your intention does not have to be deep and powerful and poetic.

Like sometimes the most powerful intentions are not some poetic sentences or affirmations that you found online.

Sometimes it's just,

Today I'm going to prioritize joy.

Today,

I'm going to speak kindly to myself.

Today,

I will stay connected to hope,

Even in the face of all that's happening.

Today,

I will remember to breathe.

More slowly.

Intentions like that are enough.

Because the purpose of a morning intention is not about creating some complex ritual.

It's to choose an energy that you want to practice.

And I want you to focus on that word that I'm saying,

Practice,

Because you may set an intention.

That I'm gonna be patient.

And then within five minutes,

Life gives you a reason to be impatient.

And that doesn't mean that the intention fails.

That means the intention is working.

Because now you get to practice sticking to your intention when life gets real.

Your intention doesn't control the world around you.

It changes you.

Inside.

It becomes the footprint you choose to place in the wet cement of your own life before everyone else starts walking through your mind.

So before you let the world leave whatever mark it wants on you.

Take a moment to choose the mark you want to leave on yourself and on the world around you.

Is what we do.

And why the mornings are important.

Power of morning intention.

So in the morning,

When you wake up,

When you're brushing your teeth,

Or even if you're making coffee,

Or even if you're sitting on the toilet.

Just ask yourself.

What energy do I want to bring into this day?

What do I want to practice being today?

And if you want to practice setting your morning intention with me in an actual,

Like I'll take you through the process.

I have several practices here that will help you set your intention.

And because here's the deal,

Intention setting in your morning doesn't have to be this huge deal.

You just need a moment to sit down and take care of it.

This will absolutely change your life,

But most importantly,

It will help you remember who is leading your life.

You're doing great work,

Everybody.

The fact that you're here.

Means you already care.

And you're doing this deep work with us.

Thank you so much.

This is Justin Michael Williams.

Thanks for being here with me,

And I will see you in the next practice.

Bye for now.