What's the first thing you do when the alarm goes off in the morning?

I used to reach over, grab my phone, shut off the alarm and open Facebook.  Why?  Why did I want to start my day reading about other people celebrations, relationships, vacations, and problems?  I would often read a post that would have me sad, jealous, annoyed, or angry for the start of my day.  Why was I taking on someone else's emotions first thing in the morning?  I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, but I was letting my attitude for the day be dictated by something outside of my control.  I was letting my social media world dictate if I was going to have a good day. 

Here's an example.  I woke up one morning and opened up my Facebook to see that a friend I am no longer close to posted something like "Had a great time with my BFF tonight.  Cheers!!!" accompanied by a picture of them toasting a fancy drink.  It made me sad.  I began thinking about what went wrong in our friendship and how happy my old friend seemed, despite the fact that I was no longer in her life.  I started comparing her level of happiness (based on what I saw on social media) to my own.  I got out of bed that day feeling pretty crappy about myself and I carried that feeling with me throughout the day.  I began to notice this habit that I had and how it seemed to negatively affect my life.  I decided I needed to change my morning habits.  If I wanted to have happiness throughout my day, I needed to start the day off taking care of myself, not worrying about other people's lives.  So I decided to start meditating.  I started with 5 minutes per day and worked up to 15-20 minutes, most days.  The benefits began almost immediately.  I started my day off with a clear head and in a state of calm.  Focusing on my breath in the morning, made it easier to come back to my breath and state of calm when things came up later in the day.  I was more relaxed all day long.  I cared less about what was even on social media since it wasn't the first thing on my mind every day.  Meditating in the morning is one of the best habits I have maintained and it's much healthier than starting out your day reading about other people's problems.  

Try sitting for just 1-5 minutes in the morning.  I like to brew my coffee and sit it next to me while I meditate.  I try to enjoy the aroma of the coffee while meditating without drinking it.  After my meditation, the coffee is cool enough to drink and I'm ready to start my day.