I’m pretty convinced that all the important things in a day happen before 7:00 a.m. I’m sure I am slightly biased (since I like waking up early), but I have never met any successful people that sleep in late all the time.
I think that there are three important things to note about the habit of being early to rise:
1. You Get to Set the Course of Your Day
By waking up early, you get to dictate how your day goes, not the other way around. If you wake up late, you are at the mercy of chance and circumstance. Not when you wake up early. You get to think, plan, prepare, and do the things that are important to you before the busyness of the day happens. Waking up early is one of the first important steps in achieving our goals.
2. You Can Work Out First Thing
Working out is another thing that provides substantially more value than just the physical benefits. I love working out at Fitness Plus every morning at 5:30 a.m. For me, the mental benefits far outweigh any physical health. When we command our bodies to do what aligns with our long term goals, we develop mental toughness, something that is not taught by society, school, or any other peer groups.
It’s something that you might find in the armed forces, but not necessarily a self directed mental toughness that you need beyond the armed forces. Working out proves to yourself every day that your mind is tougher than your temporary physical desires. This lesson should be applied to all area of life.
3. You Can Develop More Mental Toughness
Mental discipline is probably the toughest of any skills that I try to work on daily. Commanding my thoughts that then become my behaviors takes considerable work and continuous effort. I feel like I make only tiny forward small steps of progress even after incredibly efforts. Mental discipline is something we have to develop just like working out. Waking up early is like a daily mind over body exercise.
I believe that the only way that you will be able to reach your goals is if you make significant changes to how you think. Sometimes we have to destroy everything we’ve learned and build new patterns in order to change how we think and live.
Apply What You’ve Learned Today:
I have a lesson I teach in my technology classes that tEkk3: if you don’t apply what you’ve learned in 7 days or less, you probably won’t ever apply it.
Today, think about how you can be more intentional in waking up earlier. I realize that I have the luxury of working a normal daytime shift, but the same lessons can apply to you as well, no matter what your daily schedule looks like. Just get started with your day 30 minutes earlier. You’ll be amazed at how much better your day will go, and how much quality time you’ll have to think and plan.
Start working out. If it’s just a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood, then that’s a good start. Do what you can with what you have where you’re at today. Take small steps and be consistent.
Learn to be tougher mentally. I don’t think we will ever look back and say, “Man, I wish I would have done less with my life.” That doesn’t happen. When we are careful and intentional with our thoughts and patterns of thinking each day, we can change the way we view life. We can achieve our goals through daily incremental steps.
So today, I want to encourage you to change it up, apply some of these lessons, and wake up earlier!
What do you think? What helps you succeed? Share your thoughts in the comments below.