Since I knew the
challenges above ahead of time, I had to prepare my self so I decided to sleep
early (meaning 10:30pm) so that I can have enough time to sleep. I also planned
to put my phone across the room so that I would have to get out of my bed and
turn off the alarm. It has been 40 days now and I wanted to share with you
the struggles and the things that I have learned for the last 40 days.
I have learned
that I have a weakness for sugar; it was almost impossible for me to avoid
sugar; especially in the morning so that was a failure through out.
I have learned
that I can get up early and spend the whole day without coffee and without
feeling grumpy. Giving up coffee was not hard because I am not a coffee person
but I have my days.
My 5 Am morning
devotions have taught me a lot of lessons and I am grateful for them because they
have changed my perception about early risers. First of all let me be honest.
IT WAS A STRUGGLE. The first 5 minutes of my mornings were a nightmare because
every time I would look at my bed and wish to go back. I would ask myself: Why
am I doing this? After those 5 minutes of hell, I would usually start my
morning devotion.
I have often
labelled myself as not a morning person, but after this journey, I realized
that I am a morning person. During those 40 days, I was more productive, more
organized, and more active. I had more
time to accomplish all my tasks of the day. My thoughts were clearer in the
morning and to know that I didn't need coffee to keep myself awake all day was
awesome.
I am starting to
enjoy my morning rituals because I look at the benefits and I am motivated to
wake up early every day. I should say that now I look forward every day to wake
up early even though the first few minutes of my morning are still a
struggle.
We often label
ourselves different things such as: “I’m not a morning person,” “I’m not a gym
person,” “I’m not a disciplined person,” “I’m not a reader,” and etc. I have found that if we keep such mindset,
we’ll never make an effort to change our bad habits. It is a good start when we
know our weaknesses because it allows us to think about ways that we can
change. For instance, I knew waking up early in the morning was going to be a
challenge for me so I decided to put my alarm across the room so that I can get
out of the bed and turn it off. I also decided not to do my morning devotion in
my bed. Therefore, being out of my bed was important to overcome my weakness. The struggle was real, but it cannot compare
to the joy that I feel today. I am more proactive and I feel more alive when I wake
up early.
Here are few
examples of successful people who wake up early in the morning:
Michelle Obama wakes up at 4:30 Am to workout before she starts her day. She says, “If I don't exercise, I won't feel good. I'll get depressed.”
Kevin O'Leary a.k.a “Mr Wonderful,” a co-founder of O'Leary Funds and Softkey, wakes up at 5:45 Am to check the Asian and European bond markets.
And the list goes on! I share my experience so it can help another person. At the end of the day, however, the choice comes to that person who reads this. Are you willing to challenge yourself and see if this is true or not? The choice is yours.
If you want to
start this journey and you need more ideas about how to wake up early check out
this book, “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod.
