Life S.A.V.E.R.S.

The idea of Life S.A.V.E.R.S. is not my own, but borrowed from the author of The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod (link provided at end of document). In his book, Elrod talks about the dark place from which he came. A place of disability after a devastating accident, a place of depression as his fiancé broke up with him while waking up from a coma. Elrod goes on to talk about how often he felt like giving up on life and maintaining his existence that he would never walk again, he feared he had no chance of a fulfilling life.

Through many teachings and hours of research in various forms, Elrod came up with the heart of The Miracle Morning—Life S.A.V.E.R.S. The idea behind The Miracle Morning is that you spend the first hour of your day propelling yourself towards success, as you define it.  Elrod suggests waking up one hour earlier than you already do and using the Life S.A.V.E.R.S.
This acronym stands for:

S – Silence (meditation)

A – Affirmations (‘I am…’ statements)

V – Visualizations (using 5 human sense)

E – Exercise

R – Reading

S – Scribing (journaling)

These skills do not need to be practiced in the specified order, however it is important to capture each piece within the first hour of the day. I often encourage people to find a guided 10-minute meditation prior to trying the Silence on their own.  A quick Google search offers that meditation has shown to be impactful on reducing stress, improving concentration, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, increasing self-awareness, increasing happiness, increasing acceptance, slowing the aging process, benefiting the cardiovascular system and immune health.

Positive Affirmations are so impactful.  We know how important our internal dialogue is, and that we do have some control over it. That being said, why not take time to practice developing a positive self-image of success and achieving your goals?  During Affirmations the participant is encouraged to say aloud, and with as much energy as they are willing to put in, powerful ‘I am…’ statements.  This is a great opportunity as a therapist to explore what areas the person would like to realistically improve about themself.  This can be “I am a good listener, I am a good husband, wife, father, mother, etc. I am smart, I am funny, I am interested in others, I have a positive outlook on life, I am hopeful. Okay, you get the idea.  The main point behind the affirmations is to rewire our brains to think in a more positive, less self-demeaning way. I come from a background where our thoughts will create our reality, so if we practice wiring our brain in a more positive way, we will have a more positive life. I encourage people to start a word document with their affirmations where they can read them off, they can add, delete, move the phrases around to make it a more powerful experience.

Visualizations is a time when you take 10 minutes to imagine achieving a goal you have established whether it’s a promotion or finding a soul mate, use this time to close your eyes and imagine with as much detail what achieving this goal would be like. What do you see, smell, hear, feel (physical sensations, not emotions), and what do you taste. The point here being that the more time you spend thinking about your goal, the more you will consciously and unconsciously take steps towards meeting you goal.

Exercise gets our blood pumping, energizes us for the day, increases self-esteem, and plenty of other wonderful things. Elrod does Exercise first in his Miracle Morning routine because he found that it gave him energy and helped him feel more awake for the rest of his Miracle Morning routine. This doesn’t have to be any intense exercise, but even jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, yoga, or simple stretching is a step in the right direction and offers room for improvement to see success. For many people 10 minutes of exercise is more than they have done in quite some time.

Reading is an opportunity to read whatever you like. Elrod may suggest self help books, however, I’m a bit of a free spirit and suggest reading whatever you like. The caveat being that while you Read for 10 minutes, that you find something in what you read to take away, a message that guides you on a path you desire to achieve your goals.

Elrod offers a journaling prompt for Scribing that I really like. First journal on things you are grateful for, practice picking new things each day and keep this fresh or make a list and build on all the things you are grateful that day. Next Scribe on something that you are proud of yourself for doing in the last 24 hours. Lastly, journal on one thing you are committed to doing today to take a step towards your goal. Another great opportunity to set small achievable goals with people we provide services to.

I have found that many adults find the idea of Life S.A.V.E.R.S. to be a pretty cool, however few take on The Miracle Morning in its full essence, but rather take the bits and pieces that seem to work for them, which is what I consider most important. I’d like for you know that this is fairly aligned with the traditional Life S.A.V.E.R.S. routine, but I have adopted it into my own style in certain parts. If you’d like to learn more about The Miracle Morning contact us!