Own your morning Reset your A.M. routine to unlock your potential

The editor-in-chief of Women's Health magazine, Plosser believes that how one starts one's day is how that day will unfold and offers a blueprint to making the most out of its first hours and minutes. She asks readers to identify their core values then offers short bios, suggestions, and motivations that align with realizing those values in morning activities. Plosser presents the topics of relationships, self-care, meditation, and health foods in such a fun and colorful way that readers will be eager to try at least some of her suggestions. VERDICT Offering a wealth of ideas and strategies for making mornings "magic," this title is highly recommended for personal purchase and public libraries.

People ask me all the time, "How do you start your day with so much energy and enthusiasm? Where do you find that fire to get after it?" My passion for mornings begins with the knowledge that how I start my day is exactly how I'll live my day. Once you believe that, like I do, you'll do whatever it takes to own your morning. The truth is, I was not born this way. My journey to becoming a morning person reminds me of lifting weights at the gym: The more you flex a muscle, the stronger it becomes. I'm mostly a happy person (phew). But the reality is that I am not a superwoman....I just play one on TV (or more accurately, on my Instagram account!). Kicking my day off right enables me to give my best effort in each hour that follows. So I am disciplined about my mornings and take care of myself the way I would my three kiddos--boy-girl twins Charlie and Lucy, and their little brother, George. For example, imagine your child has a soccer game tomorrow morning. Would you let him stay up late watching movies? No way! He'd be rubbing his eyes and weepy from fatigue before the game. Would you walk him out the front door without a healthy breakfast? Absolutely not. He'd have a stomachache from hunger pains. What if you forgo the jacket or sweatpants? Good luck actually making it to soccer if he's cold and uncomfy! The point is: You'd anticipate everything he needs to feel his best out there...and to minimize the chance of a meltdown along the way. I've learned over time that I am basically a toddler in an adult woman's body. If I'm cold, I'm cranky. If I don't get enough sleep, I'm oversensitive. If I'm hungry, I can't hustle. So I anticipate everything I need to tee up an awesome a.m. This book is the blueprint to making the most--whatever that means to you--of those first few hours and minutes of your day. In chapters one and two, you'll identify your core values: the ways you spend your energy, time, and resources. Once you're clear on your values, you'll leverage them to align your morning routine with your goals, hopes, and dreams. The remaining chapters are filled with science-backed suggestions from researchers, doctors, athletes, engineers, actors, poets, and the editors of Women's Health for how to do just that. So feel free to read this book choose-your-own-adventure style. Or soak it all up. It's your journey. But any healthy choice you make is good. So congrats on a very excellent one: reading this book! It means you're already improving your well-being and on the way to owning your morning. Excerpted from Women's Health Own Your Morning: Reset Your A. M. Routine to Unlock Your Potential by Liz Baker Plosser All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.