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Hal Elrod’s morning practices get your day started off right. Most of them are part of daily Jewish life.
Hal Elrod is a walking miracle. At age 19, he survived what could have been a fatal car crash. Then at age 37, he survived a rare cancer that had a 30 percent survival rate. What nearly upended him was the 2008 financial crisis which wrecked his business and pushed him into a suicidal depression as he despaired over being unable to support his family.
One day, Elrod shared his misery with his closest friend.
“Are you exercising daily,” the friend asked.
Elrod was puzzled. What did exercise have to do with his situation?
“Go for a run,” said the friend,” And listen to a motivational book while you're running.”
Elrod followed the advice. On that run, he listened to business philosopher Jim Rohn speak the words that would change his life.
“Your level of success,” said Rohn, “will seldom exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.”
Back at home Elrod started to study personal development practices. He came up with a list of six—he was determined to do them all.
The next morning he set a timer –he’d allocate 10 minutes to each of the practices. That day Elrod felt good to be alive. He kept at it and his Miracle Morning routine was born.
“Having a morning ritual acts as a buffer against dealing with life’s challenges,” he writes “Rather than waking up and immediately feeling stressed and overwhelmed, you begin each day in an optimal mental, physical, emotional and spiritual state, which will enable you to manage difficult circumstances, enjoy life, and achieve your goals more effectively.”
Elrod gave these practices an acronym, SAVERs, as in Life savers.
Here’s a rundown on all six and some tips on how to fit them into a meaningful Jewish life.
Preface: Set your alarm clock. Elrod’s usual wake-up time is 4 AM, but you do you. Note that Jewish tradition values an early start. For millennia, pious Jews timed their prayer sessions around sunrise.
Another tip: Set your alarm clock at the far end of your bedroom. No hitting that snooze button. Now that you’re up, your miracle morning begins.
That’s Elrod’s term for meditation which means sitting in purposeful silence either concentrating on your breath or just simply being quiet. Quiet meditation that focuses on appreciation and connecting to one’s spiritual self is a very Jewish practice. As you say the short Modeh Ani prayer in the morning that thanks God for restoring your soul, think about what you are thankful for and how you can take this gratitude into your day.
For Elrod, these are statements to remind ourselves that you are worthy, desirable, and capable of accomplishing anything you desire. In the daily morning prayers Jews recite, God alone “brings about miraculous salvations and renews the world each day.” He is the ultimate power and wants you to succeed. Lean on Him: “I can’t, but He can.”
Closing your eyes and see yourself going through the day focused confident and happy.
Elrod spends at least 10 minutes each day studying inspirational texts. There is a wealth of meaningful and inspire Jewish texts to read each day for 10 minutes. Find the book that best speaks to you and make it a daily habit.
Elrod recommends this as a way to achieve mental clarity and increase awareness of gratitude.
Jewish teachings instruct us to care for our bodies. That means having some sort of exercise routine. Elrod used a seven-minute workout that got his blood flowing, and eventually, he got back into shape.
Do all six and have a great day!
