mindset

THE MORNING
 the morning
mindset­.

LEAD YOURSELF TO DAILY

SUCCESS.
Would you believe me if I told you that 20
minutes of your time in the morning had the
power to change your entire day?
 How many times have you started a fitness
program to lose weight, but then you never
finished and fell back into your old habits. There
are many reasons that could’ve caused this, I
believe the piece missing from your efforts is
the development of a powerful mindset.
Once I began to practice a strong morning ritual my goals have
been much easier to reach and maintain. Make sure to take
my word on this and read very carefully. This ONLY works if you
do it every single day.
What if I told you that being consistent with this could change
your entire life? If you have a hard time staying on track
with your goals, I truly believe this will be a game changer.
Evidence based science is now proving the benefits of
waking up early, writing down your goals, practicing gratitude,
journaling and visualizing. All these powerful tools are free
and have the possibility to shift our entire lives. By making
seemingly small, subtle changes to your routine, you will
cause a ripple effect, sending your life in to a more positive
direction. This will allow you to be more efficient, productive,
positive, and successful in your everyday life. When we
vibrate at this frequency, we attract more of this energy
to us and as a result our entire being begins to change.

ARE YOU READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR DAY?

YOU ARE?! GREAT!

let’s jump right in.

THE master
MORNING
ROUTINE:
I am going to provide you with key steps
to implement in the morning. Follow these
crucial tasks every single day and watch your
life transform.
ne
O

RISE AND
SHINE

EARLY RISING
Did you know that most successful people
wake up between 5-6am every single day? If

of said “are you out of your mind?!”

someone told me this a few years ago, I would

This may not be possible for some of you, but if it is, this
should be your new wake up time . Make sure you go to bed
early enough to allow yourself 7-8 hours of sleep per night. If
you are already waking up at this time, set your alarm for 20
minutes earlier. Yes, you heard that right. I know what you are
thinking, who in their right mind wants to get up 20 minutes
earlier? You do. Why? By allowing yourself to rise with purpose
and adding this extra time to your day, you are no longer
rushed. The world is quiet, and you have nothing to do but
focus on yourself and your new morning success practice.
 long story sh
NO MORE SNOOZE ort
Okay GIRLS, hands up if you are guilty Don’t hit the da
rn
snooze button!!!
of this?! I used to be a Snooze Queen. Get yo' butt up,
and in
When you awake, hit the snooze button, then fall back to return you will
feel much
sleep, you’re more likely to fall back into the beginning of better througho
ut  the day.
a sleep cycle.
This means that you’re starting to dip into a deep slumber, only to
be suddenly woken by the alarm ten minutes later. The beginning
of a sleep cycle “is the worst point to be woken up,” resulting
in feeling like we slept poorly. Normally we feel groggy, foggy
and confused immediately after awakening. This feeling will be
increased by hitting the snooze button, and will persist longer than
if you just woke up without pressing the button. Its much harder to
smash your goals when you feel sluggish and fatigued.

SMILE
The moment you get up I want you to train
yourself to smile for at least 15 seconds.
This will already begin to set your mind on the right path.

GIVE YOUR PHONE AND

SOCIAL MEDIA A BREAK
In these early waking hours that you will be taking
time for your mind and soul, don’t look at your phone,
email, social media for at least the first 30 minutes.
The phone will only distract you from clearing your mind and
allowing yourself to get into your success mindset every
morning. Reading emails , news, feeds, and texts will only start
your day with the problem of others. This is a very good way to
exercise your mental discipline muscles. Let me mention that
It is equally as important to not use your phone the last 30 min
before going to sleep. Use this time to summarize your day and
visualize tomorrow's agenda.
two
AFFIRMATIONS

While you go to the bathroom, wash your face, brush

your teeth, do your makeup etc., use this time to
create an affirmation routine.
Repeat these affirmations over and over. Say the words with
conviction. Feel them, believe them, become them. You want to
listen to or speak affirmations that begin with “I AM”, we want to
use present tense for power. “I am focused”, “I am in control of my
thoughts, behavior and attitude”, My personal daily affirmations that I
like to use are “ I am disciplined” “I am strong” “I am efficient with
my time” “I am unstoppable” “I am constantly improving”. Come up
with your own and share with others in our private Facebook group.
three
GRATITUDE WRITING
Gratitude is probably one of the
most important aspects on your path
my tips
to success. BE SPECIFIC
Why do I think it’
it’ss so important
important?? Gratitude is Think about what you’re grateful for with
perhaps the best researched emotion to date respect to your work, friendships, past
and is one of the most powerful emotions and events, or your life circumstances.
feelings on the highest frequency.
It is proven to be almost impossible to feel any
FOCUS ON PEOPLE
depression or any sadness while you're in a state This tends to elicit more gratitude than
of gratitude. Since I have undertaken my own focusing on things. It has the added
daily gratitude morning ritual, I’ve seen a huge benefit of automatically improving your
difference in my state of being. relationships. Really feel the emotion.
Don’t just write a superficial list. Try to
Gratitude makes us feel good when we
sincerely feel the emotion of gratitude.
experience it. It helps us notice what is already
This might take considerable effort at
good in our lives instead of what’s bad or missing.
times. For example, “I am grateful for
This helps us develop positive feelings about
having a loving ______ in my life”, or “I
ourselves and our life. It also increases our
am grateful for my friends that care for
resilience. Resilience is our ability to bounce
me “I am grateful to live in this wonderful
back and recover quickly from setbacks or
time where information if free flowing and
stressful situations.
I have constant opportunities to grow.”
Research has shown that daily gratitude practice
You may also say or write a few things you
can increase goal achievement and make you
want to bring into your life, like a future
exercise more often. Think about the benefit
prediction. Remember that using present
these last two can have with our fitness journey.
tense, feeling it as if it were now and not
Grab your coffee/tea and sit down in a nice quiet in the future is so much more powerful.
spot. Just take 3-5 minutes. Either write or say it For example, “I am grateful for my fit
out load but really feel the emotion and the love strong body” or “I am proud of this booty I
inside you of gratitude. built with discipline and consistency. “
four
GOAL SETTING
Goals: You are constantly creating your own reality at every moment.
Your thoughts determine your feelings, your feelings determine your actions, and your actions
determine your reality. If you want to create a better reality, you have to start by thinking
better thoughts. When you are clear about what you want, and you put your desires on paper,
more opportunities will show up at your door.
Find out your why. Why do you want to achieve your goals? What will change in your life? Why
should we take the time to write our goals each day instead of just holding them in our minds?
Studies show that You are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.
This is not just your fitness goals. Get really, really clear on what you want your life to look
like. Write it all down in as much detail as possible. The more specific you are about what you
want in life, including how you want your body to look like, the easier it will be for you to make
it a reality.

STEP 1:
Write down 3 big goals you have. As
we are working on our bodies, we can
have that as one of them, but please,
let’s not limit it only to that.
STEP 2:
Write down why you want to achieve
this goal
• How will your life change if you
achieve this one goal?
• How will this affect your mood?
• Your relationships or potential
future relationships?
• How are you going to feel?
Now that we have our goals, let’s talk about future self journaling as this
takes goal setting one step further.

Future Self Journaling

Future self journaling is successful as it creates conscious awareness around our behaviors, self
belief systems and patterns. In order to change our behavior, we must become conscious of our
subconscious behavior. The “subconscious” literally means below awareness. By being aware of
our habit patterns, we can shift them. Future self journaling is a beautiful tool that enables us to
become more present, aware and conscious. The more you use it, the more your consciousness
will expand. It’s in this expanded consciousness, where you find the ultimate empowerment.

SO HOW DO WE FUTURE SELF JOURNAL?

Choose one behavior you want to change. Just focus on one at a time. Write affirmations or
statements that will help you achieve this (remember the use of “I AM”). Write down some
action steps on how you will implement these new behaviors into your current daily life.
The key here is to then focus on this person, this new version/ reality of you. Really envision
who you want to be. Then write down the following:

How does my future self act?

What are their habits?

How do they feel?

What does their day look like?

The person I am becoming will experience more:

When I think about who I am becoming I feel:

five
VISUALIZATION
You attract into your life whatever you focus on and
feel strongly about, period! Proper goal setting +
visualization + action = success in any area.
Instead of unconsciously living life on autopilot, you can choose to
create the future you want simply by intentionally taking the time to
focus on what you want your life to look like.
Don’t ever limit your dreams limit your vision with what’s practical
or possible.
You will not be given a dream that you are not capable of achieving.
If you can imagine it, you have the capacity to make it a reality.
You don’t need to know every single step of the journey.
Just decide what you want.
Know that you deserve it.
Believe you can have it, and then take one small step towards it every
single day. Then another, and another, and another.
With every step, your path will become more and more clear to you.
Now that we’ve written everything down, let’s take 3-5 minutes to
visualize it. You must become a master of visualization.
For those who are thinking right now oh my God what did I sign up for?
There is evidence-based data on why this is so effective and
important. Visualizing what you want and seeing yourself in that future
rewires your brain. When you can visualize yourself in the future and
you do this consistently, your brain does not. know the difference
between vision and reality. Your subconscious will begin to think it has
already happened, which will cause you to make more proactive
beneficial decisions, actions and thoughts that steer your vision into
the future.
Again, as most of you are focusing on body
composition change here, I will give examples using
this as it relates to that, however, do not limit yourself
to body goals as your only focus. Close your eyes and
picture what you and your life looks like when you
have achieved your ideal body. How do you look when
you see yourself in the mirror? How do you feel? Do
you have a smile? Do you have a smirk? What is your
husband or your friend saying about you when they see
you? What does someone say to you that hasn’t seen
you in a while? Really hear this and feel it! Get serious

feel it!
and really picture and feel how this changes the way
you feel.

This exercise most effective when you can get as many senses in there
as possible. You’re going to see yourself fitting that clothing, you’re
going to see yourself at that favorite store of yours trying on a dress or
jeans and thinking “oh wow I look hot“, you’re going to hear people at
the store saying “wow you look amazing, how do I get my legs to look
like that!”

Now I want to you to see yourself exercising and sweating, visualize

yourself pushing through those last few reps. See yourself leaving the
gym after an intense workout feeling proud of yourself. I want you to
see yourself going to the grocery store and choosing the right foods. I
want you to even see yourself having that self-discipline and saying no
to the specific foods that you know are trouble.
I’m telling you, this exercise is so important and I did it myself when I
was training for big competitions including Ms. Olympia.
I’m going to ingrain this in you! The more you visualize yourself at the gym , making the right
choices, feeling confident in that dress, having people look at you and say “wow”, the more
likely you will go to the gym, the more likely you will choose the right foods, the more likely
you will take the time to prepare your meals, get those last reps in. I mean it girls, this is
some real powerful stuff.
If you do this every day maybe a few times a day (it only takes 30 seconds to think of a few
things). It has been proven that if you are really consistent with your own visualization, you are
actually reprogramming your brain. Set up alerts on your phone or use specific screen savers.
Do your best to remind yourself to visualize what you want daily. I literally have alerts on my
phone to remind me few times a day to stop and visualize my dream house on the water, a
continued happy marriage, I visualize my husband and I holding hands walking in Tokyo (next
vacation). I really believe this helps me stay on track with future goals.

To really create new habits and to

change something in your life you
need to reprogram what you have
been doing. This is a difficult thing
to do, but by visualizing daily, it
will be much easier.
MEDITATION 101
Just like exercise trains the body, meditation
trains the mind. There are many different ways
to practice meditation and each technique
requires different mental skills.
If you think meditation is something only
Buddhists and Yogi’s do, think again. Every
single one of us can meditate and reap
the benefits.
What is meditation?
By definition, meditation simply means to reflect upon, consider
or contemplate.
It is about becoming more self-aware and self-connected. Instead of turning off our thoughts
and feelings like so many of us normally do, meditation is about learning to gain new
perspectives and observe our feelings, thoughts and behaviours without judgment in hopes of
better understanding ourselves.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Daily meditation practices can result in a myriad of health and well-being benefits. If relaxation
is not the goal of meditation, it is often a result. Why? Meditation causes a reduction in the
activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

ASIDE FROM BEING MORE RELAXED,

SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION INCLUDE:
• Lowered blood pressure • Increased gratitude and feelings
• Improved blood circulation of kindness
• Lowered heart rate • Increased energy
• Increased self-awareness • Improved sleep
• Strengthens attention span • Greater mindfulness
• Less anxiety and stress • More “presence”
• Increased emotional maturity
and health

In Buddhist philosophy, the greatest benefit of meditation is training our minds to be liberated
from the notion of attachment. It teaches us to be free of the things we cannot control and
instead focus on the things within our power. This sort of “enlightened” state allows us to just
“be” with what is, instead of looking for more, clinging to the past or reaching for what “may
be” in the future. Meditation calms the mind and gives us a sense of inner harmony.
Types of meditation

CONCENTRATION MEDITATION
This involves focusing on a single point. It could be simply following the breath,
repeating a single word, chant or mantra, it may be staring at a picture or
listening to a gong or “om”. In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your
awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind
wandering. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves. As
focusing the mind is challenging initially, a beginner might meditate for only a
few minutes at a time at first and then work up to longer durations.

MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
Mindfulness meditation encourages you to observe wandering thoughts as they
drift through the mind. The intention is not to get caught up in the thoughts,
nor is it to judge them, but instead simply to be aware of each mental note
as it arises. Through mindfulness meditation, you can begin to understand
and observe how your thoughts and feelings move in particular patterns. Over
time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an
experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, we begin to
remove judgment and just “be” with our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

GUIDED MEDITATIONS
This is a great way for beginners to learn how to meditate. You simply listen to
an audio recording of your chosen meditation and you are guided on your journey.
This can be a really powerful technique in gaining a deeper understanding in to
past traumas, current emotional states, belief systems and so on.

OTHER MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

There are various other meditation techniques and it is important to find a
technique that suits you. There’s meditation through yoga and movement, tai
chi, qigong, walking meditations etc.
How to start
meditating
The easiest way to learn meditation is to
choose one technique and practice every day.
Each person's preferred meditation type will
vary; there is no right or wrong way to do it; WHATEVER
Regardless of your chosen type of meditation, here are a few RESONATES FOR
tips you can implement to help you get into the right space. YOU IS THE RIGHT
ONE FOR YOU.
1. Avoid noisy areas where you can be distracted
2. If sitting to meditate is unappealing to you, lay comfortab
comfortably
ly
on the flfloor
oor or a bed.
3. If you aren’t doing a moving meditation and you choose to
sit, ensure you are comfortab
comfortablele.. Try not to slouch but try not
to be overly stiff either. Using a wall to support you at first
can be helpful until you get used to it.
4. Set up your space
space.. Make sure you aren’t too cold or hot, use
candles, dim lighting, use soft meditation music or guided
meditation.
5. Set a digital timer
timer.. Initially start with 2 minutes and work
your way up to greater lengths of time over time.
6. Breathe normally through your nose
nose,, with your mouth
closed. Your eyes can be open or closed. Focus on the
breath moving in and out of your nostrils, or on the rise and
fall of your belly.
7. When you notice your mind wandering, acknowledge the
thought, let it go and come back to centre.
Be careful not to get lost in the thought even though it will
tempting,especially if you're lying down.
What happens if...?
Meditation can seem really scary at first as people tend to feel as
though “they aren’t doing it right.
This simply can’t be true, meditation is your practice, it is whatever you want it to be. I
understand that people like a little bit of guidance, so I have addressed some of the most
common “concerns” for you below. Remember, mediation should not be stressful. Try to be
gentle on yourself at all times and resist feelings of frustration.

MY MIND RACES I CAN'T SIT STILL

Firstly, understand that this is completely
normal, it is how the mind works. To find
your focus, you can simply start by counting
your breaths, or repeating a word or phrase
(silently to yourself. Eventually you will come
to a place where you can be in control of your
mind, acknowledging thoughts as they come
and then letting them go.
I FALL ASLEEP
Again, try not to stress about this. You’re just
relaxed, sleep is natural. A way to counteract
this and get the most out of your practice is
to try sitting instead of laying down and keep
your eyes open instead of closed.
Sitting still and just being present can be
hard at first, this is normal as our bodies
aren’t used to just “being”. If you have tried
seated and lying mediations a few times
and it just “isn’t for you”, try movement
meditations instead.
I AM TIME POOR
The reality is, if something is important to us,
we find the time. Mediations can be done in
just 5 minutes. As soon as you wake up and
make your way to your mediation regime.
That way it is over and done with and you
don’t find excuses as the day goes on not to
meditate. It just takes a little consistency.

Mediation is about patience, so just be patient with yourself. Mediation is an extremely

personal experience, for some people, it is simply becoming aware of the thoughts that have
always raced through their minds. For others, meditating is a feeling of intense concentration,
and for others, it is a deeply relaxed yet highly alert state. The fact of the matter is, when it
comes to meditation, there is no wrong
THE follow
THROUGH

MAKE LIKE SANTA – SET LISTS AND CHECK THEM TWICE.

Make your list then schedule those tasks. Lists lead to greater productivity
levels and higher levels of work efficiency. Schedule your morning routine, meal
planning, grocery shopping, read and schedule your workouts the night before,
schedule time with your children, partner, work meetings.

TRY TO EXERCISE IN THE MORNING IF YOUR

SCHEDULE ALLOWS IT.
You will feel much better with your entire day once this is achieved,

POSITIVE SELF-TALK AND AFFIRMATION – ALL DAY.

Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies, so it’s important to be
conscious of how we talk to ourselves. Encourage yourself. Compliment
yourself. Reward yourself. Repeat your morning affirmations to yourself
throughout the day, at the gas station, as you chew your food, as you wait in
the elevator. What we think, we believe, what we believe we become. Repeat
positivity to yourself as often as you can.

FIND INSPIRATION EVERYWHERE.

There is beauty in everything and everyone. Every day there are countless
opportunities to learn, be inspired and draw motivation from. Look for it. Don’t
just blindly walk through your life, live each day with intent and purpose. Find
something in every day to fuel your fire. Find what motivates you and use it.
DON’T BE A PROCRASTINATOR.
Do the things in your day that you find resistance with first. That way it is over
and done with and you’re free to do your more enjoyable tasks and hoBBies

CREATE A ROUTINE AROUND “FUTURE SELF HABITS”.

THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE SELF YOU JOURNALED ABOUT
EARLIER IN THE DAY, HOW DO THEY ACT?
What habits do they undertake daily to be successful? Do they prep their
meals, weigh their food, take the stairs, smile at strangers? Whatever that
person would do, start implementing those habits now.

THROW YOURSELF IN TO NEW CHALLENGES AND SITUATIONS

EVEN WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID.
You gain confidence by overcoming challenges. Say yes to the things that
scare you. Even if things don’t go to plan, you’ll learn valuable lessons.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LEADERS AND MOTIVATORS.

Your daily environment, who you surround yourself with, what you listen to
and what you read all play a significant role in creating our mindsets. After
all, we’re social creatures and are influenced by those around us. Surround
yourself with talented individuals, listen to educational and motivational
podcasts, read more. Observe those who can teach you new things and who
can encourage you to grow personally and professionally.

SWITCH OFF.
It is important to hustle yes, however, it is as equally important to shut off work,
social media and pressing thoughts. We find peace in the quiet. This is where we
reflect, observe, understand and grow. Give yourself a few minutes to just be.