I’m what most people would consider an early riser. My alarm is set for 4 AM on weekdays and I’m usually up no later than 6 AM on weekends. People often ask me how I manage to get up so damn early every day. My answer? Just swing your legs over the side of the bed, put them on the ground and stand up. Seriously. That’s it. Pretty easy right? In theory, yes. In practice, absolutely not. The struggle is most definitely real, even for someone like me who’s been doing it for years.
Every morning right after my alarm goes off, there are hundreds of little voices in my head making excuses for why I should stay in bed. “You should be getting more sleep”, “You’ll be more productive at work if you’re well-rested”, “Just another 15-minutes won’t hurt”. And every morning I end up fighting off those voices by reminding myself what waking up early does for me. It allows me the time to workout, read, catch up on news, meditate, and prepare for the day ahead - all things that end up making me feel so much better throughout the day than an extra hour or two of sleep would. But despite knowing and being very familiar with all the benefits of getting up early, I still struggle with it every single day.
So what’s the point of this post then when all I’ve done is tell you that it really doesn’t get any easier? Well, that’s the point. We all have similar struggles, fears, and doubts. We all fight with those voices inside our heads telling us to take the easy way out. The struggle is most definitely real for pretty much everyone you interact with on a daily basis. The difference is that there are those who decide to throw their legs over the side of the bed and stand up, and there are those who decide to hit the snooze button. You just have to decide who you want to be…