--:-- Mel Robbins: Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. Ooh, I am so excited about what we are going to talk about today. And it is the perfect topic for a Monday. You may not be listening to this on a Monday, but I am dropping this conversation on a Monday. So here's what we're talking about: mornings and getting serious about your morning.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I got to tell you, this is so important because personally speaking, getting serious about my mornings changed my life. And getting serious about your mornings will absolutely change your life. Even if you think, "Oh Mel, I already have a great morning routine," skip? Don't you dare skip this conversation, because I'm going to inspire you to take that morning routine of yours up a notch.
--:-- Mel Robbins: But before you and I jump into this, I just want to say, holy cow, thank you, thank you, thank you. You absolutely destroyed the episode that I just dropped on goals. I mean, gobbled it up. If you haven't listened to it, don't worry about it. You can listen to that one next. It is right before this one in the queue. It is fantastic. We go through the research on setting and achieving goals and the two steps that everybody misses that you do need to know.
--:-- Mel Robbins: The reason I'm telling you this right now is because so many of you have been DMing me about that episode in particular. And what I've noticed is that whenever you write to me, or you put a comment on social media, or YouTube, or you write a review, you almost always say, "You're never going to see this, but..." And here's what I want to take the time to tell you: I read absolutely everything I can get my hands on. If you tag me, I am reading it. If you are DMing us, if you're writing comments, if you're reading reviews, we are looking at it all. And I am seeing so much of what you're writing.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time to review the show, to comment, to send me your personal stories, to make recommendations about experts. Thank you for sharing this show with your friends and family. Because of your support, because of the time that you take listening, you made the Mel Robbins Podcast the number five most followed podcast on Apple of the entire year. I cannot even believe it.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And we are going to get into the mornings. This is not a bait and switch. I just want to make sure no person is left behind. If you've been super busy over these last couple of weeks, and this is the first time you're tuning in, welcome back. And I want to make sure you know that I have a gift for you. I created it for you, and it will help you make this year one of the best years of your life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: What is the gift? It is a workbook that you can download at zero cost. All you have to do to get your hands on this puppy is go to melrobbins.com slash best year. And you know what? You're going to love this. This workbook is designed using the latest research to help you get clear about what you want, and it will empower you to take the next step forward in your life in the right direction.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And that's what we're going to talk about today. We're going to talk about moving in the right direction, taking the right step forward absolutely every single morning when you wake up. Because if you talk to any successful person out there, I promise you, they are extremely intentional about their mornings. So that's what we're talking about. The best year of your life is not going to happen by accident. It happens on purpose. It happens with planning. It happens with committed action. And that's what we're doing today. We're getting serious about your mornings.
--:-- Mel Robbins: That's why I'm so fired up, because I'm about to share something that I recorded for you a little while ago. I knew that this Monday morning, this is exactly what you need to hear right now. So let's start with the facts about mornings.
--:-- Mel Robbins: When it comes to mornings, there are basically two types of people. There are thinkers and there are doers. Which one are you? Are you a thinker in the morning? Are you a doer? Let me tell you about a thinker. Thinkers mean you love to plan. You love buying journals. You love making vision boards. You love dreaming. Nothing brings you more pleasure than a whiteboard. I know this to be true because I used to be a thinker.
--:-- Mel Robbins: If this is you, you've probably already downloaded the free workbook at melrobbins.com slash best year. You filled it out. You've poured yourself into every question, maybe even highlighted a little bit, because there's nothing more that you love than planning, thinking, and dreaming. But here's the problem with being a thinker. No matter how many planners you buy or online courses you take or books you read or podcast episodes you listen to, unless you know how to convert those dreams and thoughts into committed, consistent action, it never happens.
--:-- Mel Robbins: For a long time, that was me. I had a lot of big plans. I had all kinds of dreams, but I'll tell you what, I was going nowhere fast because I couldn't get out of my head and get my butt into gear. So that's the thinkers. Now let's talk about the doers. I bet if you consider yourself a doer, you're probably sitting there smiling because you're thinking, "Oh, this is the better category to be in." It can be. It can be if you are a doer that is acting consistently and intentionally based on a plan.
--:-- Mel Robbins: But here's the thing about doers. There are a lot of doers that are so busy doing and moving so fast from one thing to the next thing to the next thing that you're not really intentional about anything. You're just doing. In life, the direction that you're heading in is way more important than the speed at which you're moving. I say that because in my life, I have fallen into the trap of being a thinker at times and a really busy doer at times. If I wasn't in my head thinking about what I was doing but not doing anything about it, then you know what I was doing? I was racing around like an idiot, but not actually moving in the right direction.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You have to be able to do both. You have to be able to think strategically and take consistent action. In fact, this is the theme I've been talking about for the last four episodes. You have to get clear about what you want, which requires strategic thinking. And then you have to wake up every single day and take a step in that direction, slowly, consistently chipping away day by day, stepping forward in the direction that you are intentional about moving toward.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And that's where our conversation about the morning comes in. In order to get what you want and achieve any goal that you have, you have to get serious about your mornings. You cannot half-ass this anymore. Thinking about getting out of bed is not the same thing as getting out of bed. Planning to exercise in the morning is not the same thing as exercising in the morning. And jumping out of bed only to reach for your phone and start scrolling on social media before you even brush your teeth? That is one of the dumbest things that doers do. I speak from personal experience on this, because I have fallen into both of those dumb traps. And that's why getting serious about your mornings will change your life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I want to warn you, this really isn't an episode with the six science-backed tricks that you need to follow to have the perfect morning routine. You know, like getting sunlight first thing in your eyes, or why exercise is important, or how the first meal is critical for your gut health, or why you have to delay coffee for 90 minutes for better focus. All, by the way, topics that we have covered extensively with experts on the Mel Robbins Podcast over the past year. Those are all really important, but that's not really what I want to focus on.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I want to talk less about what you need to do and how you do it. I want you to laser focus on why. Why this matters so much. The reason why this matters is because your mornings are your best shot at changing how you show up in life. If you already have a morning routine, congratulations, so do I. But I encourage you, and I'm going to encourage myself, to look at your morning routine with a fresh and critical eye. Here's why: your morning routine should represent who you want to become, not who you are right now.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Every single day when you wake up, the clock resets, and you get another chance to wake up and take action and show up for yourself and for what you want your life to look and feel like. That's why what you're about to hear begins with some tough love.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Today, we're going to talk about the topic of morning routines. I love my morning routine so much, I call it the Million Dollar Morning. Because it is, in fact, the morning routine that makes me feel like a million bucks. It gives me laser focus, and it is the structure and foundation upon which I chip away at my goals and I stay consistent and continue to build the business that I have built. I'm getting a lot of questions about that. So today we're going to focus on the components of a Million Dollar Morning routine. These are all based on research.
--:-- Mel Robbins: The thing I want you to think about is this. I really believe in something called behavioral activation therapy. Said very simply, behavioral activation therapy is the concept that if you want to change, if you want to be a better you, just start acting like the person that you want to be in the future right now in your day-to-day life. The actions that you take today are what will turn you into the person that you want to become.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Look, I know you have a vision for yourself. There is a version of you that you hold in your heart and in your mind that is a better version of the person than you are right now. The you that has a better, more fulfilling job or career. The you that is truly enjoying a deeper connection in your relationship or marriage. The you that has better eating habits, better physical habits. The you that really is experiencing a better connection to the meaning and purpose in your life. That life that you envision, you're capable of achieving it. You can do the work to make that version of yourself a reality, but it's not going to happen out of thin air. You have to put in the work.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I personally believe that every single morning you can wake up and experience a clean slate. You can wake up and you can create a morning routine. Not the one that the you right now likes, but the morning routine that the future you needs. The bottom line is, whether you consider yourself to be a morning person or not, a morning routine is essential.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Here's how I think about a morning routine. A morning routine is like the first domino. Let's just agree that every single day of your life, you wake up and you have the opportunity to create a new experience in your life. That first series of decisions that you make, which are basically your morning routine, is like the beginning domino that falls. If your morning routine sucks—like my morning routine used to suck—the first domino that falls in your day is procrastination, stress, anxiety, depression, suckiness. And that tends to trigger a whole lot more of that.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Now let's talk about the other option. Have you ever had a morning where you rolled out of bed because you had to be somewhere? You actually met a friend at the gym and the exercise class was kind of fun, and you felt really energized and proud of yourself for going, and you were set up for the meeting that you had, you were prepared. What's it like when that domino falls? It feels good, doesn't it? It makes you feel confident and alive and proud of yourself. It creates this energy and this motion in your life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: That brings me to a simple statement. If you were to get serious about creating a morning routine that makes you feel like a million bucks, that sets you up with the structure and momentum and positive choices that act like a domino, that send you into your day feeling like you have started the day off with a bang, checking the right boxes, getting it done, feeling proud, putting yourself first—imagine how the rest of your day flows.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You see, how you set your day up is how it ends up. Say it again: how you set your day up is how it ends up. If you are serious about making more money, or making change stick, or getting things done, or just feeling happier, or finally learning how to put yourself on the list, let's get laser focused on your morning routine. Because when you get laser focused on your morning routine and setting yourself up for success from the get-go, it's pretty amazing what flows from there.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Before we get into the components of my Million Dollar Morning, I want to tell you about the old Mel. For those of you that listened to the episode that we did about how to create an evening routine that truly sets you up for success in the morning, you have heard part of this. But the old Mel was a complete flipping disaster. I don't even recognize the sad sack of a human being that I used to be. I was addicted to my excuses. I was addicted to my alcohol at night. I was addicted to feeling miserable and to complaining about my problems.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You want to know the first decision I made every single day? For years, decades, in fact. The very first decision that the old Mel Robbins used to make: I'd hit the snooze button. Hitting the snooze button is procrastination in its biggest form. But you're not procrastinating on a paper. You're not procrastinating on a project. You're not procrastinating on a call or a chore. You're procrastinating on your fucking life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You're basically going, "The first decision I'm going to make today in this miraculous thing called life is to not do it. I'm just going to avoid it altogether." I have the option to make the most of this time. I have the option to put myself first. I have the option to move my body, to practice mindfulness, to go outside and listen to the birds. But you know what I think I'm going to do? I think I'm going to procrastinate. I think I'm going to avoid it. I think I'm going to roll over. I think I'm going to just opt out.
--:-- Mel Robbins: For me, I can now see that since the first decision I made was to avoid doing what I needed to do, it's so fucking obvious why I was a chronic procrastinator. Because I began every day like that. As you hit the snooze button and you avoid facing your life and you avoid facing the day, you're not feeling confident. You're not feeling energized. You're not feeling in control and empowered. You are basically embodying your excuses, your fears, your anxiety, your frustration, your fatigue. It all begins with the decision you make first thing in the morning. I believe that.
--:-- Mel Robbins: The reason I'm being overly dramatic about this is because one of my biggest problems in life was that I avoided the hard stuff. I had a million reasons why I couldn't fix things, or get a new job, or pay off my bills, or why I couldn't make things better, or why my husband was to blame. So if you're sick of your excuses, if you're sick of snoozing on your dreams, if you are sick and tired of letting procrastination and doubt and overthinking and anxiety run your life, let's talk about your fucking morning routine.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Let me tell you what the life of a chronic snooze button person looks like. It begins in the morning. You hit the snooze button four or five times. That was me. I'd stare at the ceiling, think about my problems, snooze, snooze, snooze. And the rest of the day, guess what else I was doing? Snooze, snooze, snooze on the problems. Avoiding the phone call I needed to make? That's hitting the snooze button on that. Avoiding the networking I needed to do? That's hitting the snooze button there. Avoiding the hard conversation I needed to have? That's hitting the snooze button there. Blowing off the gym? Another snooze button.
--:-- Mel Robbins: It's not just about how you wake up. It's how you set up the day. That's how it ends up. When you are constantly doing this to yourself, you're going to be full of stress. The snooze button is just one example of the series of disastrous choices I would make for myself. Whether it was hitting the snooze button five or six times, waking up late, not giving myself enough time, skipping breakfast, never having time to exercise, never being organized about anything. It was just honestly a nightmare.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I always say you are one decision away from a different life. One of the things that has changed my life is deciding that I didn't want to do that anymore. That hitting the snooze button every single morning was not going to help me change my life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: I also want to address something. As you're getting to know me, and as somebody who has struggled with childhood trauma and anxiety, I have also come to realize how profound of an act it can be sometimes to just get out of bed. I will share from personal experience with you that winning the battle first thing in the morning—to not succumb to the feelings of anxiety, to not let the heaviness of depression or overwhelm pin me to the bed—learning how to just roll through a simple series of promises that create structure and momentum, particularly on those mornings when I am not feeling it, is a game changer.
--:-- Mel Robbins: There will be many mornings when you wake up where you're not going to be feeling it. There are going to be lots of periods in your life where your anxiety may spike or you're struggling with grief or depression. Being able to come back to this simple morning routine is almost like a way to create guardrails on the road of your life. These are simple things that you know you can rely on so that you feel like yourself, no matter what's going on within you or around you.
--:-- Mel Robbins: When I start to think about my morning routine, not in the lane of "we're in the military" or "I'm a Navy SEAL" or "I'm training for a marathon" or "this is what billionaires do"—which is one of our most popular YouTube titles, it's not even my title, somebody took a bunch of my videos and mashed it up and was like "The Morning Routine of Billionaires"—but when you think more about your morning routine, it's just a simple series of promises that make you you.
--:-- Mel Robbins: No matter where you are, no matter what you're going through, these simple series of promises are things that you do every day to start your day, to take care of yourself, to set yourself up, to get the ball rolling, to put yourself first, to tap into your energy, to boost your mood. These simple series of promises are going to create some simple discipline in your life that you can rely on. You know that you're the kind of person that if you say you're going to do it, you do it. That is the greater power in a morning routine.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Yes, it will set your day up for success. Yes, it is the first domino to fall. But over time, what I have found to be really interesting about your morning routine is it makes you more of you. I'm going to warn you, this is not a sexy topic, okay? Morning routines are boring. They are repetitive. But that's good. Because this concept that I talk about—simple discipline, simple promises—this is the foundation to an incredible life. When you know that you can keep a promise to yourself, your life opens up in ways that you can't even imagine. Because you know that you can count on yourself to do absolutely anything that you say you're going to do.
--:-- Mel Robbins: This concept of using a morning routine to create simple discipline in your life and to practice keeping simple promises to yourself is a muscle that is going to pay dividends that are priceless. It's the foundation of confidence, and it's the foundation of resilience, and it's going to help you tap into this power inside you.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So let me help you figure out what a Million Dollar Morning looks like, okay? But first, we have to go to our sponsors. They bring the show to you at zero cost. We love our sponsors. So pay attention and don't go anywhere, because we're going to jump into the five parts of the Million Dollar Morning routine when we get back.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Welcome back. I'm so excited you're still here. I didn't scare you off. Good. Because you deserve to feel like a million bucks. And that begins with how you wake up. So let's talk about the five components of what I call a Million Dollar Morning.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Number one: when the alarm rings, get your ass out of bed. Look, it's your friend Mel. I know there are a million reasons not to get out of bed. "But Mel, it's 30 degrees. It's dark. It's raining. It's cold. It's depressing. I have a lot going on. I stayed up late. I'm exhausted. I'm hungover. I'm tired. My stress is through the roof." None of that matters. The only thing that matters is: do you keep the promises that you make to yourself?
--:-- Mel Robbins: How do you do that? I'll tell you how you do that. You're going to use my Five Second Rule. The alarm is going to ring, and you are going to count backwards: five, four, three, two, one, and then you're just going to roll out of bed. That's it. It's not sexy. It's not fun. I have been getting out of bed this way for 14 years, and I still have to count backwards every single morning: five, four, three, two, one. Because I don't like getting out of bed. I do not have the discipline to get out of bed.
--:-- Mel Robbins: If I have the choice any day of the week to lay in a warm, cozy, amazing bed with bamboo silky sheets and my husband sleeping next to me, or roll out of bed into the cold bedroom and start my day, I will choose the warm bed every day of the week. But that's not the conversation you and I are having, are we? We're not talking about comfort. We're talking about simple discipline. We're talking about the promises that you need to start to make. We're talking about doing things that are hard and uncomfortable. Why? Because you deserve to have the life that you want. Sometimes feeling like a million bucks for the whole day means you have to feel like shit for about five seconds. And that's what it's going to take.
--:-- Mel Robbins: This is also about keeping promises. If you can't rely on yourself to get up when the alarm rings, how the hell are you going to rely on yourself to do the really hard stuff? To have the hard conversation? To blow off the party and work on your resume? To get serious about your songwriting career or the second act that you want to create? Or finally meeting somebody who's not got so much childhood trauma that you're their therapist and not your lover? If you can't roll out of bed simply because you said you would, when the going gets really rough, you're going to bail on yourself. Which is why getting up when the alarm rings matters.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Now, there's a second reason why. The first reason is you're building a level of integrity. You're keeping that promise. The second reason why I want you to get your ass out of bed when the alarm rings is because—let's just between friends talk about what we're doing as we're laying there in bed. We're looking at social media. We're indulging our anxiety. We're experiencing trauma triggers. We are riding the wave of cortisol and stress hormones that are flooding through our brain and body. We're bemoaning the hangover we feel. We're spinning negative thoughts about the day ahead or the stuff we didn't do or all the regrets we have because we can't remember what happened last night. That's what you're doing in bed.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Let's be honest with each other. Is that what the new you wants to do? Of course not. That's the other reason why when the alarm rings, rule number one to the Million Dollar Morning: get your ass out of bed. Why? Because you're a winner, and you have no time to lay in bed like a loser like Mel Robbins used to be and listen to that bullshit and feel those awful feelings. Get your fucking ass out of bed and get on with your day. Show your body who's boss. Don't indulge that bullshit in your mind, because the longer you listen to it, the louder it's going to get.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Look, I get it. Some days it's really hard. I don't give a shit. All that negative stuff is lying to you. Five, four, three, two, one. Shut it down and get your ass up. Because the fact is, if you want a new life, you're going to have to fight for it. If you want a million dollars in the bank and financial freedom, you're going to have to work for it. This stuff isn't easy, but it's simple. But you have to do it.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So number one: alarm rings, ass out of bed. Here's the final thing I want to talk about when it comes to this. Why are you doing this? You're doing it for you. I think for years and years and years, you were getting out of bed for other people. Think about it. When you were little, when would you get up? You would get up because mom was yelling at you or dad was yelling at you. You were getting up because you had to get to school or make the bus or get to work. Or you get out of bed because you have to get the kids up or you have to get your aging parents up. That ends today.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Today, when that alarm rings, it is a fucking wake-up call. Ding, ding, ding. Your life is here, and it's time for you to get up for you. So tomorrow morning, we're not waking up for somebody else. We're not laying in bed and listening to that bullshit. Because you get to make a choice. You can choose to do what you've always done, which means you're going to have what you've always had. Or you can make a choice to show up as the new you. You can make a promise that you're going to not only wake up, you're going to get up for yourself. That you, my friend, are going to become the driver of your life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And that bullshit story, "I'm not a morning person"? Fuck morning people. Who cares? This is not about whether or not you feel like it. This is about you building the discipline because you deserve to, because that's the kind of person that you are.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Let's also tell one more truth. If I needed you, you would get your ass out of bed for me. If somebody that you loved needed you to set that alarm an hour earlier because they needed a ride to the airport, or they needed somebody to go to a doctor's appointment, or heck, they just needed you to be there for them, you would do it. So today, starting today, I want you to do it for yourself.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And if you can't do that, then let me tell you the science. Okay? You want to know the scientific reason why you should never hit the snooze button? Let me hit you with some neuroscience here. Two words: sleep inertia. That's right, sleep inertia. When you hit the snooze button, instead of getting your ass out of bed, you mistakenly create a condition in your brain called sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is a state that your brain gets trapped in for four hours after you hit the snooze button.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Here's what happens when you hit the snooze button. You're awake, and as the alarm turns off, your brain then drifts back into sleep. Here's the thing that researchers have figured out: when you drift back to sleep after you've woken up, your brain starts a sleep cycle. Sleep cycles take 75 to 90 minutes to complete. So when that alarm goes off again in nine minutes and you're like, "Oh my God"—have you ever noticed you're in deep sleep when you drift back to sleep? That's because you're nine minutes into a 75-minute sleep cycle.
--:-- Mel Robbins: That groggy, exhausted, heavy feeling that you have when you hit the snooze button several times and you can't quite get awake and you complain that you didn't get a good night's sleep? That's not a function of how well you slept. That's you and me being an idiot for hitting the snooze button and putting our brain in a state of sleep inertia. Because when you hit the snooze button, your brain is now freaking trapped in a sleep cycle. And it takes your brain, based on research, about four hours to get through that groggy-ass feeling.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So the most productive period of the day, which is the first two hours after you wake up—it's when your brain has the highest speed of processing. It's when you're the most alert. You just flushed the best two hours of brain power down the freaking toilet because you hit the snooze button.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Why am I so passionate about this? Because I wasted years of my life doing this. I was a chronic snooze button alarm hitter. I was also a chronic all-nighter puller in college. I was chronically late with deadlines. This was prolific in my life. I would always complain about not getting enough sleep. The truth is, I lived in a state of sleep inertia.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So take your power back. Whether you're inspired by the science—because it's just kind of stupid to do this to yourself once you realize that this is what happens—or you're inspired by this idea that wouldn't it be fucking awesome if instead of waking up feeling obligated to the rest of the world, I took my life back and I started waking up for myself? I started seizing the day. I started seeing that alarm as more than an alarm. It is a wake-up call for the rest of my life.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So rule number one for a Million Dollar Morning: five, four, three, two, one. Get your ass out of bed. Because you, my friend, have a lot of cool stuff to do.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And that brings me to rule number two. So when we come back after hearing a short word from our sponsors, we're going to talk about rule number two. Do not go anywhere. You need all five things for the Million Dollar Morning routine. I'll be right back.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Welcome back. Okay, it's Mel. We're talking Million Dollar Mornings and why you deserve one and how you create one. And we're on rule number two. So let's dig into it.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Rule number two of the Million Dollar Morning. You ready? Because you deserve to feel like a million bucks. You're going to make your bed. That's right. Make your bed. Why, Mel?
--:-- Mel Robbins: Making the bed is about completing things. See, normally the old Mel would roll out of bed after hitting the snooze button and the bed would look like a tsunami hit it. And then for the rest of the day, whenever I walked into the bedroom, you know what I saw? Something that was incomplete. I saw a mess that needed to be made that I had left for myself to clean up.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So one of the reasons why I love this simple habit as part of your morning routine: always make your bed. And I mean always. If I'm traveling for work and I'm staying in a hotel, I make my bed, even though you know somebody's going to come through and make it even nicer later. I don't care. Why? Because your morning routine is a way for you to be you no matter where you are. If I'm visiting my parents down in Florida or up in Michigan, I make my bed. Why? Because I'm myself no matter where I am. That's the power of your morning routine.
--:-- Mel Robbins: This is about the promises you keep. It's about the rhythm in which you start your day. And this is a habit about completing something. Isn't it awesome to think that you start your day by checking a box? That you make your bed because you know it's a way to finish something? And there are mornings where Chris might still be sleeping. Maybe I got up a little earlier and he's sleeping in for whatever reason. I just make my side of the bed. I might even tuck in the sheet around them, you know, kind of tuck them in a little bit as a little act of love.
--:-- Mel Robbins: But there's another reason why to do this. And I love this framing of it too. Because making your bed is a way to give the future you a gift. Later on, you're going to walk into this bedroom and you're going to lay down and you're going to dream. And isn't it awesome to walk back into this bedroom tonight and there is a beautiful bed made for you, a beautiful place for you to lay down tonight and dream, a little gift from the morning you to the evening you to say you deserve this. It's also a gift because if you walk back into your bedroom, you've already taken care of it. There's nothing to do. There's no mess that's been left for you to clean up. You have left this gift of getting it complete. Just amazing.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So rule number one: alarm rings. It is a wake-up call. Your life is waiting. Get your ass out of bed. You got stuff to do. Rule number two: we're going to make our bed because this is about a series of promises that create a positive domino ripple effect to start your day.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And rule number three: High-Five Habit, baby. You got to get in that bathroom after you brush your teeth and high-five yourself in the mirror. Now, I did a whole episode about this, but I'm going to explain it for those of you that are brand new. Here's how we're going to do this. Right after you brush your teeth, and we're going to do it after you brush your teeth because this habit should be paired with something that you already do and you don't even think about. That's called habit stacking, and it's going to help you encode this habit of simply high-fiving yourself in the mirror.
--:-- Mel Robbins: So when you're done flossing, brushing, rinsing, spitting, put the toothbrush down. Take a moment. Look the human being in the eyes. You know who I want you to see? I want you to see all your hopes and dreams in the hands of the person in that mirror. And I'll tell you something, that person needs your support. And that person needs you to keep a simple promise every single day. You're going to start your day and your Million Dollar Morning with a little huddle with yourself. You're going to set an intention with yourself as you stand there after brushing your teeth. This is so grounded in research. You got to get your mind right.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You're going to stand there and decide: who am I going to be today? Is today a day about peace? About freedom? Is it a day about momentum? Courage? How am I going to show up today for myself? Who am I going to be? And then when you're ready, just like a winning team does, you are going to raise that hand and you are going to high-five the future you in the mirror. You are going to send yourself into the game of life knowing that no matter what happens today, you're a winner. You can do this. You are going to do your best. You're going to try. You're going to shake off the bullshit that comes your way and you're going to get out there and you're going to make it a great day.
--:-- Mel Robbins: You deserve to feel like a million bucks, and you don't feel like a million bucks when you're beating the hell out of yourself. And you don't feel like a million bucks when you're dragging shame and regret and failure with you. The High-Five Habit is the science-backed, fast-tracked, research-backed way to plow an entirely new neuropathway and relationship with yourself into your brain, body, mind, and spirit. I'm so passionate about this. Million Dollar Morning: you are going to add a high-five in the mirror to your future self and set an intention as part of your morning routine.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Alrighty. Rule number four: move your body and move your mind. Now, I need to say something because I haven't said it yet. And I forget to say this because I just think it's like something you need to do. It's like so obvious. And that is: have you noticed what I haven't done yet? I haven't looked at my phone. And I want to be very clear about this. You are to get your ass out of bed without looking at your phone. You are to get your ass out of bed before you look at your phone. You are supposed to make your bed without looking at your phone. And you are supposed to walk into the bathroom and wash your face and brush your teeth and do all that stuff and then do the High-Five Habit and send the future you into the day after this awesome huddle and not look at your phone.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And I now want you to move your mind and your body without checking your texts and email. Why? Because the second you pick up that phone and you look at a text or an email, you have now put the entire world in front of you. I want you to stop and think about how many people follow you online. Even if it's just a couple hundred people on Facebook, would you want them to walk into your bedroom every single morning? No, of course not. Would you want them to walk into the bathroom as you're standing there without underpants on, brushing your teeth? No. Then why on earth are you letting them do that by looking at your phone? Because that's what you're doing.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And more importantly, the second that you look at your phone, you are giving your most important resource as part of your Million Dollar Morning—which is your attention and your intention and your energy—to other people. We got to conserve that shit for yourself. Like your dreams, your energy, your focus, your intention, your attention. You got to fight to keep that yours. And so, yes, you may listen to something as you move your body or you may listen to a guided meditation as you move your mind, but do not under any circumstances look at your freaking texts or your email or you screw the whole thing up. It goes from the Million Dollar Morning to bankruptcy 101 because you just let everybody bankrupt your attention and bankrupt your energy and stress you the hell out before you gave yourself the time you're not going to find the rest of the day.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And this is so important because I know a lot of you like, "But I like to do it at the end of the day." You can't count on that. The only thing that you can count on is that first thing in the morning, if you get up early enough, you can put yourself first. You can move your body and you can have a mindfulness practice before the rest of the world steps in and steals your time and energy. So get serious about this. Yes, you can have a longer workout routine at night. Nobody's saying you can't do it twice. I'm just advocating for something based on the research and common sense.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And so rule number four of the Million Dollar Morning: move your body and move your mind. And I'm talking 10 minutes. There's a brand new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that has found that just 10 minutes of power walking every day can add years to your life. And the best part is that walking is fast, it is free, and it is a way for you to achieve better health, a better mood, and even better sleep. Now, what is a power walk? Walk like you're late. That's all you need to do. Get outside for 10 lousy minutes. This is so important. It not only adds years to your life, it improves your mood. Mood impacts focus all day.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And also, if you can get outside first thing in the morning and bang these 10 minutes out by walking your dog or walking with your kids or walking around the yard or whatever it may be, it resets your circadian rhythm when you see bright light or the outside first thing in the morning. And based on research, that's one of the best ways for you to develop healthier sleep habits. So 10 minutes physical exercise, 10 minutes of a mindset practice—whether you're journaling, meditating, praying, listening to some sort of calming app. Just move your mind, move your body. That's it. You're done. And bada bing, bada boom, you have put your mind and your body and your spirit first. And don't look at the phone yet. Don't check email yet.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Because rule number five—and this is what will make you a million dollars, this is what will help you pay off a million dollars in debt—it's called the Progress Principle. The secret to getting big things done is making little progress every day. You want to know how I have accomplished everything that I've accomplished? I make little progress every day. And so before you look at your phone, before you look at email, before you let the rest of the world in, take five minutes and move the ball down the field on something that's important to you.
--:-- Mel Robbins: This comes from research out of Harvard Business School. They call it the Progress Principle. It is so simple. People who feel like they've made progress on something that's important to them feel more fulfilled, period. It's not about getting things done. It's about making progress on things that actually matter. So whether that thing that matters is getting the photo album assembled for mom and dad's anniversary, or it's getting the paperwork in for financial aid for the degree that you want to go get, or making progress is clearing out the back bedroom now that your kids have moved on so that you have a place for the future you to really work on that new book you've been writing. Slowly chipping away at learning about it, studying it, moving it down the field. Five, 10, 15 minutes a day is all it takes because those little moves add up to major change.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And that, my friend, is the Million Dollar Morning. It's really that simple. It's based in profound research. It checks all the boxes. You can add anything you want to it. But what I love about it is no matter where I am—whether I'm home in Southern Vermont or I'm visiting my parents or I'm visiting a friend or I am staying in a hotel—this simple series of five promises makes me feel like me. It makes me know that no matter where I am and what's going on, I know I can rely on me.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Because every single day when that alarm rings, I wake up. I roll out of bed. I get started. I get my ass out of bed. I do not look at my phone. I do not look at my emails. I do not check my texts. I do not look at social media. I wouldn't dare do it because it's not part of my Million Dollar Morning. I then go and make the bed. Why? Because it makes me feel like a million bucks. I'm just that kind of person. And then I set the intention with the future Mel. That's right, bitch. We're going to go get it today. High-five to that. Get out there. Let's go. And that high-five, it washes away the worry. It jacks me up. It makes me feel a little bit more like I'm up to something. Let's do this thing. I feel kind of cool. Not going to lie.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Got to make time to move my body and my mind. 10 minutes. You got 10 lousy minutes. I still haven't looked at my messages or my emails. Not going to let it bankrupt me. I am on a Million Dollar roll. And then I got to move the ball down the field. That's it.
--:-- Mel Robbins: And I'm serious about this. I want you to try this Million Dollar Morning because I love you and I believe in you. And I believe that you can do this. You can create a morning routine that makes you feel like a million dollars. You can keep a set of simple promises that helps you create the foundation to achieve your goals. And trust me when I tell you, it will be worth it. All right. I will see you in a few days. Go do it. I love you.
--:-- [Pause, then a change in tone]
--:-- Mel Robbins: Is this on? Oh, good. Because instead of bloopers, I want to give you a gift. What's the gift? It's a free workbook that will help make this year one of the best years of your life. This workbook is something I designed using the latest research to help you get clear about what you want and to empower you to take the next step forward in your life. And the cool part? You can get your hands on this puppy in less than a minute. Just go to melrobbins.com slash best year. That's melrobbins.com slash best year.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Let your friend Mel guide you step-by-step through creating your best year yet. Why wouldn't you take this opportunity? It's free, it's quick to download, and it's ready for you right now. And as your friend, I gotta tell you, you deserve to have the best year of your life, especially after everything you've been through. Here it is. I'm offering to help you. Why wouldn't you take it? Sign up at melrobbins.com slash best year and do not miss out on the life you could be living this year.
--:-- Mel Robbins: Oh, and one more thing. This is the legal language. You know, what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist. And this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I'll see you in the next episode.
