The one question to ask yourself every day

There’s a lot of talk of morning routines out there; those things you do, often in a specific order, to get all systems moving in the same direction to optimize your day. Common elements in the morning routine include: hydrating, meditation or a contemplative practice, journaling, exercise, hygiene and nourishment.

These elements do indeed make for an aligned and energized start to the day, and become as essential to a productive day as having priorities.

But as devoted as I am to my morning routine – several decades of practice – everything about my experience of daily living up-leveled when I started asking one question:

What would make this a great day?

When you pose such a question to yourself, so many things happen in your brain! For one, it engages the imagination. The imagination is a divine trait that is sorely underutilized by many of us. When you engage the imagination, it lights up the brain with possibilities…and those possibilities are motivating.

Of course, you can use your imagination negatively as well, by imagining a stressful or unrewarding day. And guess what? What you imagine happening is more likely to happen!

I’m not talking about pie-in-the-sky manifesting here, such as imagining winning the lottery. I’m talking about imagining the things you will do and how they will make you feel – the things within your domain that you have control over.

There’s some neuroscience to this. The brain is a prediction machine! Since its primary job is to keep you safe, turns out that predicting is one of the primary ways it does that. All. Day. Long.

Your brain is predicting when you read a restaurant menu: What do I feel like eating, or, What will bring me pleasure?

Your brain is predicting when you decide to exercise: I’ll feel better if I do this, or, avoiding the pain of guilt or disappointment can be equally motivating.

Your brain is predicting that you’ll feel better after you do the dishes.

Your brain is predicting that you’ll feel accomplished (and less stressed) if you complete your To Do list.

This trait also works to our detriment when it comes to bad habits: your brain predicts that the emotional pain will go away if we eat a pint of ice cream, for example.

This is the realm of “self-fulfilling prophesies,” which we engage in whether we are consciously aware of them or not.

Disappointment, then, is merely a reward prediction error.

Harnessing the power of prediction is a powerful tool for shaping our days, the experience of our days, and ultimately, whether we find satisfaction in our days.

Seek and ye shall find

Asking yourself What will make this a great day? is fundamentally different from setting an intention or goal. Instead of telling yourself what to do, think or feel, somehow imposing this wish upon ourselves, asking the question is an invitation to engage your whole being in creating the experience you want to have.

In many ways this inquiry practice is similar to a gratitude practice. With a gratitude practice, we make a habit of recalling the things we are grateful for, eventually priming our brains to look for and recognize gratitude in a multitude of small things. And so it is with a daily inquiry of What will make today great? We are priming, or preparing, our brains, programming it to look for certain things.

You know how when you’re looking for a new car, and you’re considering a specific model or color, you suddenly see them everywhere? Or a piece of clothing? This is your brain’s filtering at work – there’s just so much information to process, visual information in particular, that the brain needs to filter on what’s important. It’s not that there are more of these objects, it’s just that we’ve programmed our brains to notice them. This is known as the “Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon,” or more simply, “frequency illusion.”

We can consciously or unconsciously program our brains to notice certain things. Some people who are perpetually negative don’t realize that they can choose to see different things. The negative things they are observing will still be there, but perhaps they can look for solutions or alternatives as well.

With all the negative things that are going on environmentally and socially, it can be easy to just focus on how everything is so messed up, and look for blame in all the familiar places. But with a little practice, it can also be easy to focus on the small kindnesses that people do every day to support the earth and their communities.

When we consciously or unconsciously look for the things that confirm our point of view, this is known as confirmation bias. Or as my dad used to say, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

When it comes to shaping our day with the question of What will make this a great day?, there is nuance, of course. I have found it to be much more effective to answer the question with feelings attached to actions, rather than just actions alone.

For example, here’s a typical response to the daily question What will make this a great day?

• I will experience a deep connection in contemplation practice…and feel centered, at peace, and full of love
• I will have a great workout…and feel invigorated and energized for the day
• I will do a great job cleaning the house…and feel satisfaction
• I will triumphantly complete the top 3 things on my To Do list…and feel progress
• I will pause frequently to re-center myself…and feel connected and guided by Source
• I will have a heightened awareness of the present during the day, so I can perceive my thoughts and actions objectively and not act automatically out of habit.

In other ways, this sets us up to play in the cosmic game of creation, helping us feel resilient in even the most adverse of circumstances.

And if you’re wondering what this has to do with quitting sugar, health or lifestyle improvement, here are some ways you can answer the question, What will make this a great day?

• I will eat whole foods today…and feel satiated and energized
• I will move my body in a way that is just right to improve my fitness and flexibility… and feel accomplished and relaxed in my nervous system
• When the thought of having a treat or distraction comes up, I will pause and find a substitute action…so I will feel mastery over the thoughts and impulses.

You have the power to change your health trajectory! If you want to learn more about how to master your thoughts in service of your health goals, please use this link to find a time on my calendar for a Pep Talk or Clarity Call.