3-Minutes in the Morning

With one sneaker on the hot pavement, and the other on the torn grip-tape of my wooden skateboard, I stood there… gazing down the long steep road stretched out in front of me.

I had my doubts, but with judgement that comes along with being 9yrs old, I gave a couple kicks and was off.

As my speed picked up, the momentum created from my initial decision overtook me. In a blink of an eye I was out of control. The speed wobbles kicked in, sending me flying head first off the skateboard and into the air.

After a trip to the emergency room, and the dentist, I recovered.

That’s the thing with momentum, simple decisions can create circumstances that are hard to see until life is happening so fast, we feel out of control and the feeling of panic and despair sets in.

At 48, I’m not immune to making bad decisions, but one thing has helped me drastically reduce the speed wobbles of life.

It’s my simple, yet effective morning ritual.

Be mindful of momentum.

Life is busy. The key to a good day is having intention with how I begin my mornings. Experience has taught me leaving it to chance is a big mistake.

I purposefully use my morning coffee ritual to help slow down, prioritize and set the pace of the day. This is crucial to not letting the momentum of the day begin to pull me downhill, out of control before I even get out the front door.

For the last 20 years, I’ve chosen the simple pour-over process for my preferred coffee brew method. I love this process because it’s relatively quick, and the 3–5 minutes it takes requires me to be involved, both mentally and physically.

I’ve found this activity priceless as I use the time to slow down, breath deep and purposefully think of my family and what I’m grateful for in my life.

Being actively involved in brewing keeps my mind from wandering, like a simple meditation.

Harnessing these minutes every morning has been life changing. The key is to make it a priority. Taking 3–5 minutes in the morning to calibrate your mind with your body is the best investment you could make in yourself.

The Morning Joe

As I was recently roasting and shipping coffee, I realized one of the best things I could include with every bag of coffee beans was this story, and the encouragement to try my 3-minute morning.

Now, every bag of my coffee is delivered to doorsteps with a small card called The Morning Joe. The card has a short, but impactful thought printed on it. The purpose is to help you begin each day with a calm start, feeding your mind with positive and creative input.

There’s a new card with a every bag, so as the weeks and months go by, the small steps of progress turn into big changes in mood and happiness.

And don’t worry, you don’t need to buy any coffee to get The Morning Joe cards. You can get them for free in a bi-weekly email on our site.

I hope you’ll try it for yourself. Simply use your brewing time to reflect on what you’re grateful for, give thought to what’s printed on your card and how it can be applied to your life.

Choose “you” each morning. Begin the day on purpose, before momentum kicks in, and see the difference it makes.

Happy brewing and happy living.