They're alllll good.

3. Give gratitude

Gratitude is one of the most important practices I always recommend my clients. It’s easy to get caught in the cycle of negative thinking and eventually forgetting how good you actually have it. When you spend some time in the morning to list out 5 things you are grateful for, it shifts your whole mindset and your day becomes so much brighter.

5. Focus on breathing

Throughout the day, the more stress and to-do’s get put on our plates, the more anxiety heighten. We may not even realize that our breathing changes and becomes more shallow as we get stressed out. A really quick and simple tip is take a moment and notice your breathing. Is it shallow? Take some deeper breaths and let them out very slowly. Do this a couple of times and enjoy an increased feel of relaxation within minutes.

6. Don’t attach to your thoughts

Each day we create stories around the circumstances and events that surround us. Researchers say that we have about 60,000 thoughts per day! How exhausting is that? The less you attach to your thoughts and let them pass through without believing them and letting them affect you, the more likely you are to feel at peace and relaxed throughout the day.

oh man, i'm always working on this one.  i have to actively tell myself to let things go!

Learning to let go takes a lot of practice for some of us.

Actively telling yourself to let go works -- repeat if necessary.

Lessons are repeated until they are learned.

http://pandawhale.com/post/18658/lessons-are-repeated-until-they-are-learned

This is uber powerful. One of my favorite "notes to self" is that we are the creators of our own conflict. I am offered the opportunity daily to be the star of my own drama or to be annoyed by the foolishness of others only to realize their choices or actions are 99% about their own wants or needs. It such a place of balance and peace to simply respond instead of reacting. 

"Respond instead of react" is a great mantra!

7. Stay off social media

If you’re one of the people that checks their social media or email as soon as you wake up – stop that now! I didn’t realize how much it affects you until you stop doing it for a while. Each morning spent away from social media is so much more relaxed, peaceful, and joyful. We aren’t screamed at by a constant influx of information and messages and our mind has the capacity to just be.

Hmmm...perhaps this means I shouldn't keep my smart phone by my bed?  I suppose this also implies I shouldn't check it if I happen to wake up during the night either...  :-)

Yes. That's advice from @gretchenrubin too:

http://pandawhale.com/post/453/stay-away-from-the-internet-for-at-least-an-hour-before-your-bedtime-gretchenrubin

14. Play with your pets.

It’s nearly impossible to be angry or sad after playing with your beloved pet.

awww... our beloved pets is right!

Which is why pets are so beloved!

17. Set your alarm to an uplifting tune

Consider changing your ring tone for the alarm. Don’t use the crazy buzzing noise. Instead, put something nice and melodic that begins soft and gets increasingly louder as time goes. It won’t jerk you awake and you are more likely to enjoy waking up to a lovely sound than you are to something intense, like a regular alarm noise.

Simple but effective.

18. Create a routine that includes morning self-care

Whatever that might be for you – meditation, yoga, reading, a walk… whatever it is, make sure you make it a part of your routine and something that is non-negotiable. After all having a great day is non-negotiable! The more you do this, the easier it will become.

this morning my 4-year-old son said, "mommy! don't you want to fix your face?"  i didn't understand at first, and then i realized he meant, "mommy, why don't you wash your face and brush your hair?"  (i thought we could do art projects without my hair up, but he is a stickler!)  so i "fixed my face."

i have to admit, i felt better immediately.

even toddlers have a sense of what works best!

We are our habits. When we miss a part of our routine, everything else is off too.

21. Ask yourself “How can I make this day amazing?”

It’s a simple question but it’s so powerful. By simply asking yourself “How can I make today amazing?” you make yourself realize that you are in control of how your day goes and how you feel about it. Then, do the things to make it amazing!

That one us my absolute favorite.  Start with good expectations.

Start with an idea of what would make this day great!

15. Read an inspiring book or article

Thank you PandaWhale and Bakadesuyo!

...which leads to my top 5 today

3. Give gratitude

i see what you did there, mark.  nice.

has anyone tried #10, self-hypnosis recordings?  i'm curious...

I haven't, but it's possible Geege has tried it.

I haven't, but I have tried lucid dreaming.  (I have lucid dreamt?  I have dreamt lucidly?)

I found my favorite ring I had lost by asking myself to remember where it was right before I went to sleep. I "saw" it fall off my finger while unloading groceries from the trunk of the car. And there my ring was in actuality, in the driveway behind my car.

1. Try to remember your dreams

holy smokes!  what a great story, geege!  the power we have is amazing... our brains blow my mind!!!

have you heard of senoi dream theory? http://www.nevada.edu/~manis/classes/senoi.html

Yes, amazing and magical!

Good story. Will ask Rob and Janill and Dawn if any of them has used self-hypnosis.

And Mark.

(nice grammar, adam!)

Thanks! A few self-hypnosis comments follow...

Have never tried self hypnosis, or did I?  When I quit smoking, I had an App on my phone with some British guy that I listened to every night for many months, it was hypnosis, but the instructions were from this guy, does that count?

P.S. I love the picture :)

The Hypnotist is Max Kirsten, he's very good, I just had my 5 year anniversary from when I stopped smoking :)

I slept really well listening to this every night.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quit-smoking-now-max-kirsten/id296101322?mt=8

I think that counts. Clearly it was affecting your inner brain.

i tried self hypnosis. while under i loaned myself five buck bought ice cream and stuck myself with the calories. I woke up with chocolate sprinkles on my lip and someone else's calories. where's the love?

Ha! One of the dangers of self-hypnosis: no telling what you might do while under!

Hi Adam, dreamwork is part of my practice, but I've not much experience with self-hypnosis... I mean if you exclude the self-medicated type.

Which type of self medication?

The recreational type...

Oh! I guess that has hypnotic qualities.

If you do the good ones... :)