A woman was sitting on a local bus reading and her son, sitting on her lap, was reading as well.
Someone walked up and asked, “How did you persuade your son to read instead of playing with smart devices?”
“Children don’t hear us” she said, “they imitate us.”
There are many parables that illustrate how we learn from our parents, but the moral is always the same: Kids don’t always do what their parents say, they do as their parents do.
I consider myself child-like and would agree that I learned a lot from my parents, particularly my mother.
My mother has taught me very valuable lessons with her words. One of my favorites is, “don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.” This one comes to mind every time I do the dishes ;-) Nevertheless, by observing my mother throughout my life I have found much more meaningful lessons.
My favorite would have to be the importance of routines and owning time for yourself.
Over the years I have seen my mother wake up with the sun, stretch and hydrate herself, read a book or play a mind game on her kindle fire, and then walk our dog without her phone. Her routine in the morning is her time, especially when she’s out walking or working out. By starting the day how she likes, she is able to own the rest of the day, which may be tough with a house full of boys.
I learned that it is important for everyone to have a personalized morning routine. In addition, there is a lot of power to making your morning automated. Not only do you wake up and start the day with healthy habits that make you happy and focused, but also you wake up already knowing what to do and having to make less decisions. I am a firm believer in what scientists call decision fatigue, which means we have a certain amount of decisions in a day where we can make optimal decisions.
Below is one prime example:
In 2011 there was a study done in Israel that observed judicial rulings for prisoners throughout the day to see if decision fatigue had an effect on rulings. The studies found that the likelihood of a favorable ruling for the prisoner is greater at the beginning of the work day or after a food break than later in the day. Prisoners who appeared earlier in the day actually received parole 70% of the time, while those who came later in the day were freed less than 10% of the time.
Thanks to Mama B, I started optimizing my morning routine and, in turn, my whole day.
When you finish your morning routine in your own fashion, there ain’t nothing you can’t accomplish because your mind is fresh and ready to crush it.
What can you learn from your Mom? Mine is taken ;)
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