The Power of Your Morning Formula
Discover how your Morning Formula helps you align your thoughts, energy, and actions with your deeper intentions.
View below an example of a what a “Morning Formula” could look like:
Defining Your Principles and Life’s Intentions
Understand how your principles and intentions form the foundation of your Morning Formula, your guide to living in integrity and purpose.
My Principles – My Standards of Integrity
This exercise is about discovering the core principles that guide your life, your personal standards of integrity. These qualities reflect who you truly are and what you value most.
You’ll need some uninterrupted time (about 40 minutes) and a notebook or journal, ideally handwriting, but digital notes are fine too. You can complete it in one sitting or in two parts.
Step 1
Create Your List of Role Models
On the left side of your page, write down the names of people who possess qualities you truly admire.
Take your time. Reflect on different phases of your life and use this checklist to help spark your memory:
- Family members (parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles)
- Teachers, mentors, or classmates
- Religious or spiritual guides
- Friends from school, work, or social circles
- People in the healing or helping professions (doctors, therapists, coaches, trainers)
- Sports figures or athletes
- World leaders, thinkers, or spiritual teachers
- Artists, writers, musicians, or performers
- Figures from literature, mythology, or religion, real or fictional
Let your mind wander freely. Anyone who has ever inspired or touched you in some way can belong on this list.
Step 2
Identify the Qualities You Admire
Now, look at your list of names. On the right side of the page, write down the qualities or traits you admire in each person. For example: loyal, courageous, creative, kind, or truthful.
If several people share the same quality, simply add a checkmark next to it each time it appears. As you move through your list, you’ll begin to see patterns emerge.
For example:
| Person | Qualities |
| Mother | Loyal ✔✔ |
| Dad | Courageous ✔✔ |
| Aunt Josephine | Truthful ✔✔ |
| Uncle Jack | Compassionate ✔ |
| Zen Master Yuan | Inspiring ✔✔ |
| Mother Teresa | Generous ✔ |
| Simon Sinek | Intelligent ✔ |
| Neighbour Ruth | Loving ✔ |
| Teacher Margarete | Kind ✔ |
Take your time. The goal is to create a list that feels complete and authentic. No rush, no pressure.
Step 3
Feel Into Each Quality
Take a fresh sheet of paper. Look at each quality from your list and read it slowly, aloud or silently.
Ask yourself:
- Does reading this word warm my heart, even for a moment?
- Do I enjoy being around people who embody this quality?
Imagine your heart as a small lantern. When a word lights it up, that’s a sign that this quality truly resonates with you.
When you feel that spark, write the word on your new list. Continue this process until you’ve gone through every quality. You may transfer all of them or only a few, the number doesn’t matter. What matters is that each word touches something real inside you.
Step 4
Recognise What’s Already Within You
Now, look at your refined list. Every quality you’ve written has meaning for you and that’s because you already hold it within yourself.
If you didn’t recognise or understand these qualities, they wouldn’t have stood out to you in others. Seeing them means they live in you. These are your inner mirrors, the aspects of yourself that are ready to be remembered and lived.
Step 5
Claim Your Standards of Integrity
At the top of your list, write:
“These are my Standards of Integrity.”
If you ever doubt this, add the line at the bottom:
“I know these are mine, because I see them in others.”
Keep this list somewhere close. In your journal, your morning routine, or saved on your phone. Read it daily for at least a week.
Notice how it feels. If new qualities come up, or some no longer resonate, update your list by asking the same two questions: Does this light up my heart? and Do I love being around this quality in others?
You Have Now Named Your Standards of Integrity
Your standards of integrity are your guiding principles, your compass in life. They remind you of who you truly are, what you stand for, and what matters most.
They help you stay grounded when you feel uncertain, empowered when you feel small, and aligned when you make decisions.
These are your principles. Your truth, your integrity, your light.
You can also find a downloadable version of “My Principles” below:
My Life´s Intentions
“Intention is the seed from which transformation grows.”
Your life’s intentions are one of your greatest personal treasures. They reflect your deeper purpose, your desires, and the essence of what you wish to experience and express in your lifetime.
You can create as many as you like, there’s no limit. Enjoy the process, because it will bring you clarity, inspiration, and a sense of abundance that can’t be found anywhere else.
You’ll need a notebook (handwritten is ideal, but digital works too). Set aside around 40 minutes of uninterrupted time. You can complete this in one sitting or split it into two sessions. Make sure you won’t be disturbed.
Step 1
Empty Your Mind
Begin by freeing your mind completely.
On a blank page, write down everything you’ve ever wanted to do, have, or experience in life. Don’t hold back. This list is for your eyes only, you won’t be held accountable for it, and it doesn’t need to be realistic or practical.
Let it be wild, imaginative, and limitless. The wilder, the better.
For example:
- Own a vintage Porsche
- Write a best-selling book
- Buy my dream house in Costa Rica
- Speak on stage to 100,000 people
- Swim with dolphins
- Marry the love of my life barefoot on a beach
- Run a marathon
- Travel the world
- Build a school for my favorite charity project
- Meet the Dalai Lama
- Produce a film
- Find a cure for a disease
Whatever comes to mind, write it down. This first step is about releasing your desires onto paper.
Step 2
Discover the Why
Now, look at each item on your list and ask yourself:
- Why do I want this?
- What desire or feeling will it fulfil?
Write your answers on a separate page, phrasing them as “to be” statements. For example:
- “I want to write a best-selling book to be respected and to share my story.”
- “I want to travel the world to be free, curious, and alive.”
- “I want to bring my kids to Costa Rica to be a loving and inspiring parent.”
Keep it simple and honest. You’re uncovering the emotional truth behind each dream.
When you finish, take a short break, stand up, stretch, breathe deeply, or walk a little before continuing.
Step 3
Imagine Your 88th Birthday
Now, let your imagination play.
Picture yourself on your 88th birthday. You’re surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues. Everyone is healthy, joyful, and there to celebrate you.
Your loved ones have prepared speeches filled with appreciation and memories from your life.
Open your notebook to a new page and take notes: What are they saying?
Step 4
Hear Their Words
Make a list of everyone present: your partner, children, family members, teachers, colleagues, mentors, clients, friends, or anyone meaningful in your life.
Now, imagine each person standing up to speak about you.
What do you wish, from your deepest heart, they would say?
Write two to three sentences for each.
For example:
“My sister says I’m a loving and inspiring mother who always brings out the best in people. She remembers how, even when she struggled, I reminded her of her own strength and courage.”
Step 5
Turn Their Words into “I Am” Statements
Now, distil what they said into “I am” statements, the essence of how you want to live and be remembered.
Using the example above:
“I am a loving and inspiring mother.”
“I am encouraging and compassionate.”
If some don’t start with “I am,” that’s fine. “I live…,” “I love…,” or “I create…” are all perfectly valid.
Stay with the process; it’s worth it.
Step 6
Choose Your Life’s Intentions
Now, look at your list of “I am” statements. Which of these would you love to experience as true in your life?
Circle the ones that speak most deeply to you, even if they don’t yet feel real. Give yourself permission to choose what your heart truly longs for.
Transfer your chosen statements onto a new page.
These are your Life’s Intentions.
Keep them somewhere visible, ideally where you read them daily, perhaps as part of your morning routine, alongside your Principles.
Read them every day for at least a week before changing anything. You can always add new ones or remove others. Nothing here is fixed; this is a living reflection of your evolving Self.
A Final Reflection
This exercise can be both emotional and deeply fulfilling.
If you notice resistance, thoughts like “Am I really that?” or “This feels too big for me,” pause and acknowledge it.
The Latin root of the word intention is integro, meaning to stretch forward. That’s exactly what you’re doing. Expanding beyond what feels comfortable, into what’s possible.
Your intentions stretch you forward, towards growth, fulfilment, and truth.
Take your Life’s Intentions seriously, just as you do your Principles.
They are your inner compass, the guide that helps you stay on course, especially when life feels uncertain.
You can also find a downloadable version of the “My Life´s Intentions” below:
Visualising Your Life Through a Vision Board
Learn how to create a vision board that reflects your deepest values, emotions, and desires, not just your goals.
Crafting Your Written Vision
Translate your inner clarity into words. A written vision that becomes the heart of your Morning Formula.
Living Your Morning Formula
A closing message to help you integrate your Morning Formula into your daily rhythm and stay connected to your growth.