Lessons from a Digital Marketer Who Actually Does the Work
Today I’m excited to share the benefits of incorporating gratitude into your morning routine, especially as a work-from-home digital service provider, marketing assistant, or virtual assistant. This practice has the power to transform your days and infuse them with positivity. Keep reading to discover how gratitude rewires your brain, boosts your energy, and motivates you to GET. STUFF. DONE. so you can grow your business.
Gratitude allows us to recognize that we have more in life than we may realize, shifting our energy towards abundance and blessings.
When we express appreciation and thankfulness, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, important neurotransmitters regulating our emotions. These neurotransmitters make us feel good and instantly improve our mood, bringing a sense of wholeness to our minds.
By cultivating gratitude, we align our energy to live and work happily while pursuing self-improvement and personal growth.
So, we survey the marketplace and think about the cost of similar services. When we find similar offerings at rock-bottom prices, we feel challenged. After all, who are we to charge more for the same work? Or, we notice features we normally don’t include in our service packages. Feeling insecure, we add them to our work in the hope that we can justify the price that feels right to us.
In life, we have the power to choose what we focus on, the routines and habits we engage in, and where we direct our energy and attention.
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Why it’s important to express gratitude
Gratitude has a profound impact on your own mental and emotional well-being. It shifts your focus from negativity to positivity, creating a more optimistic outlook on life.
Regularly expressing gratitude has been linked to increased happiness, reduced stress, improved self-esteem, and greater overall life satisfaction.
Relationships are strengthened and deepened through gratitude. When you express gratitude, you acknowledge and appreciate the efforts, kindness, or support of others. This fosters a sense of connection and builds trust, making your relationships stronger and more meaningful.
It helps build resilience in the face of challenges and adversity. When you express gratitude, you become more aware of the positive aspects of your life and the resources available to you. This mindset can help you navigate difficult times, cope with stress, and bounce back more effectively.
Creativity is more than the time it takes to get things right, though we often value it that way.
Design is so much more than careful attention to detail, technical skill, and an eye for color or line.
Writing is more than grammar and mechanics, tone, and lexicon.
Artistic expression is more than technique or tools, materials, or training.
Expressing gratitude promotes empathy and kindness towards others.
It encourages you to recognize the contributions and positive impact of others, fostering a sense of appreciation and understanding. This, in turn, can inspire you to pay it forward and engage in acts of kindness toward others.
Gratitude cultivates a growth mindset by focusing on the present and acknowledging the progress you have made. It helps you recognize the lessons and opportunities that arise from challenging situations.
This mindset encourages personal growth, self-improvement, and a sense of purpose.
Overall, expressing gratitude is a powerful tool that benefits both individuals and relationships. It enhances emotional well-being, builds resilience, fosters empathy, and promotes personal growth. By incorporating gratitude into your daily life, especially in the morning, you can experience these positive effects and create a more fulfilling and meaningful existence.
Want to learn how to make self-care part of your business strategy? Check out my video with Jen Argue:
Benefits of a Morning Routine for Your Career and Business
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, an aspiring business owner, or simply seeking additional income through a side hustle, adopting a morning routine offers numerous benefits.
A few hours or even just carved out time before everyone else is up and running, and you are more likely to get disturbed, you can take this early morning time just for yourself.
Think about how relaxed and motivated you will start your workday after having that time just for yourself.
Also, how much time you can spend on your personal growth and mindset have a lot to do with how successful you will be in other areas of your life, such as your career.
Easy Morning Routine For Busy People
Focusing on gratitude is a powerful way to raise your vibration and improve your overall well-being.
Taking a few minutes each morning when you open your eyes to reflect on the three most grateful moments from the previous day can help cultivate a positive, appreciative mindset and set the tone for the rest of your day. By focusing on gratitude, you are actively raising the frequency of your energy or vibration, which can lead to feelings of greater personal power, clarity, peace, love, and joy.
Gratitude has been shown to be the highest form of energy. It is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness, helping people to feel more positive emotions, enjoy good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. So, taking a few moments each morning to focus on gratitude can have a profound impact on your well-being and quality of life.
One of the first things I say, when I wake up, is, “Good morning, Emily. I wonder what exciting things you’ll be apart of today!” My friend Kyra Matos taught me this little good morning-saying ritual. And it just puts me in a mood of excitement, not dread or immediately raise my brain to my to-do list.
Starting your day before your feet touch the ground with a smile can have a profound impact on your mood and well-being.
Research has shown that smiling, even when you are feeling down, can help reduce stress, boost your mood, and increase happiness. When you smile, you send a signal to your brain that you are happy, which triggers the release of feel-good chemicals like dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin.
So, smiling before your feet even touch the floor is a simple yet powerful way to start your day on a positive note and set the tone for a productive and fulfilling day ahead.
Setting your intention for the day is a great way to start your day on a positive note.
By saying “I am going to have a great day” out loud to yourself (or thinking it silently if you are in bed with someone who is sleeping), you are actively programming your brain to focus on positive outcomes and experiences.
This is where the Reticular Activating System (RAS) comes into play, as it filters and prioritizes the information that reaches your consciousness based on your thoughts and intentions. By setting a positive intention for your day, you are training your brain to look for opportunities, experiences, and situations that align with your desired outcome. This can help you to have a more positive, productive, and fulfilling day overall.
⚡Related Podcast Alert: Lessons of 2022 with Emily Reagan
I’m sharing the wins, highlights, and struggles from 2022. The biggest a-ha for me is the theme of staying positive, and persistent all while choosing to see the good.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio
Using positive affirmations, such as “I am” statements, is a simple but effective tool for personal growth and development.
By repeating these affirmations each morning while looking at yourself in the mirror, you are sending a message to your conscious and subconscious mind about the person you want to be and the things you want to achieve.
When you repeat affirmations, you are programming your mind to believe the positive statements you are making, which can help to increase your self-esteem and motivation. The power of “I am” lies in the fact that it is a command statement that can help you to become the person you desire to be.
However, it is important to be mindful of what you attach to the end of that statement, as it can have a real impact on your life and your experiences. By using positive affirmations each morning, you can start your day with a positive and motivated mindset, which can help you to achieve your goals and live a fulfilling life.
Meditation is a great way to start your day on a positive note and improve your overall well-being.
Spending just 3-5 minutes each day in meditation can help calm your mind, reduce stress, and improve your focus and attention. By stilling your mind and focusing on your breath, you can tap into your inner peace and create a more centered, relaxed state of mind.
Regular meditation has been shown to strengthen areas of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, and self-awareness. It can also help to calm your sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for your body’s fight-or-flight response.
Over time, mindfulness meditation can increase cognitive function, memory, and attention, making it an essential part of a healthy morning routine. Whether you meditate in the shower, outside in nature, or on your bed, make sure to find a quiet, distraction-free space where you can fully focus on your breath and still your mind.
Grounding, also known as earthing, is a technique that involves connecting your body to the earth to reap the benefits of its natural electrical energy.
Spending 5 minutes grounding each morning is a great way to start your day on a positive note and improve your overall health and well-being. Some of the benefits of grounding include reduced inflammation, improved cardiovascular health, reduced muscle damage, reduced chronic pain, and elevated mood.
There are many simple ways to practice grounding, such as walking barefoot on the grass, sand, or soil, or doing yoga or meditation exercises outside. By taking a few minutes each day to ground yourself, you can help reduce stress, boost your mood, and improve your physical and mental health.
Gratitude journaling has been shown to have numerous benefits, including improved mental health, increased happiness and positivity, better sleep, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved relationships with others.
It helps individuals focus on the positive aspects of their lives and cultivate a sense of appreciation for what they have.
By taking the time to reflect on your thoughts and feelings each morning, you can gain a better understanding of yourself and your goals, which can help you make more informed decisions throughout the day. Additionally, journaling can be a great way to track your progress towards personal or professional goals, and can serve as a valuable tool for self-improvement. So you can see why a small digital service business owner can benefit.
If you’re a pen-to-paper person, start your day with written words of gratitude.
To incorporate gratitude into your daily routine, set aside a peaceful moment for yourself every morning and evening.
Reflect on the events of the day and contemplate the things you can appreciate. Be particularly mindful of the moments that brought you joy. By focusing on identifying the positive aspects in every situation, you will find that gratitude permeates your life, bringing nourishment to your soul.
Gratitude is a wonderful practice to embrace. It may seem simple, but its impact is genuinely remarkable.
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The Takeaway
Incorporating gratitude into your morning routine can seriously impact your career and business game. Carve out some precious time before everyone in your house wakes up and needs your attention– give yourself a moment of peace. Just imagine how relaxed and motivated you’ll be when you kickstart your workday with that personal time.
Dedicating time to your personal growth and mindset is a game-changer.
It can massively influence your overall success, not just in your career, but in every aspect of your life. So, if you want to level up, start your day with gratitude. It’ll totally transform your mindset and boost your career and business ventures.
-Emily, Digital Marketing Consultant and Implementer
Emily Reagan is a mom of four, board game pro, freelance digital marketer and Marketing Assistant Mentor who has helped over 450 go-getters, including military spouses, stay-at-home moms, and professional women learn in-demand skills and find flexible remote work as digital marketing assistants and specialists. She’s shared 3,000+ job leads with her freelancer community The Digital Marketer’s Workgroup.
Ask her any questions over on IG @emilyreaganpr
“I help smart women learn the in-demand digital marketing strategies and profitable tech skills to get hired as a unicorn digital marketing assistant.“
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Further Reading
In-Demand Profitable Niches for Virtual Assistants in 2023
Preventing Burnout as a Work From Home VA
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
10 Must-Read Online Business Books for Digital Marketing Assistants
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