How many of you have a morning ritual?

I started and stopped mine a million times. After I did The Artist’s Way, I felt like I’d finally grasped it – finally “knew how” to journal. Morning pages taught me this. Three pages, every morning, right after you wake up. If you’re a creative type, chances are, you know this. Anything goes, no editing, it doesn’t even have to make sense.

It just means you get the chaos out of your head to make space for, well, your real creativity.

So I did it fairly regularly. Until I didn’t.

It was the usual story. I was applying perfectionism to the work. I wasn’t free writing – I was thinking about everything before I put it on the paper.

Not the way it’s supposed to work. So I stopped. I didn’t have a lot of time in the morning anyway. I had to get ready for work, take care of my animals, etc., etc. Sound familiar?

This happened often – the morning routine stopped and started many times. Despite this, I managed to write and publish some books, so I felt like I was still doing okay.

And then my life changed – in a good way – and I started journaling again seriously. Every morning, without fail. It helped. But the writing still wasn’t coming easy, and I still felt…wrong. Uncentered. That my days still weren’t under my own control.

Then I had a personal crisis. It brought me to my knees and I had no idea how to cope with it. Up until then, I’d meditated on and off, never really committing to it. But something told me it was going to be the only way I got through this.

So it became my thing. Every morning I woke up and meditated before I even got out of bed. Then I journaled. And I picked cards from some of my favorite decks (including Gabby’s). I also opened up “Miracles Now” to a random page and read the lesson, on faith that I was reading what I needed to at that particular moment.

And those things started me on the path to healing my heart. They also helped me get out of my chaos and get my next book written much more easily (and on time). And they keep me sane every day at the corporate job I’m still working at as I work through starting my own business and ramping up my writing so I can truly be my own boss. If I don’t do this morning routine, my whole day is off.

If you don’t have a morning routine, why not try starting one? And if you do, stop by Instagram or Facebook and let me know what it is! I’d love to share ideas.