SAVERS is an acronym that author Hal Elrod created to help him start his day off right. In his book, The Miracle Morning - The Not-so Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform You Life Before 8AM, Hal spells out what SAVERS is.
This six letter word can help you start your day off right, with the proper attitude. I've seen it provide order and consistency to my mornings - when I do it. Following the SAVERS way takes about an hour. There are six practices to spend ten minutes on every morning.
S - Silence
A - Affirmation(s)
V - Visualization
E - Exercise
R - Reading
S - Scribing (writing)
You can also spend twenty minutes on Exercise and Reading and cut the others to five minutes, if you'd like.
I have found that when I practice SAVERS, it is easier for me to start with ten minutes dedicated to each category.
We've already discussed the positive attributes of spending a little time every day in silence, so I'd like to touch on "Affirmations." Affirmations, if you aren't aware, are the positive things you tell yourself. It goes along with image, something else I've written about.
A lot of people don't do affirmations which is a shame. You see our subconscious mind hears what we speak. What are we telling that subconscious? Are we telling it good things or bad?
If you wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom and say to the mirror as you are glassy-eyed looking into it something like, "This is going to be an awful day. I didn't get enough sleep and the bags under my eyes really make me look terrible," our subconscious takes that in and our mind begins to process it as truth. After all, we just told it that.
What if we instead told ourselves the opposite, "Today is going to be a terrific day. I feel rested and ready to take on whatever comes my way. I am confident that my positive attitude will have a positive impact on those I see today." Much nicer, don't you think?
Some people keep their affirmations simple:
I will make good food choices today.
I am stronger and stronger everyday.
I am worthy of love.
The key to affirmations is to repeat them several times in a row, a couple of times throughout the day. Try them when you get up and just before sleep. The last thing on our mind when we go to bed is often the first thing on our mind when we wake up. Make the statements positive. No fair telling yourself anything like, "I know this is going to be a bad day."
Affirmations are to be positive all the way around.
In his book, Hal provides a lot of information on how to get into the early morning habit, something that I've fought for a while. I've got my copy out and am re-reading it so I can make mornings more productive. I urge you to pick up this book.
So, join me as I take this extra step in Dangerous Living.