Often I hear people sharing their struggles to get up in the morning and being refreshed, energized and happy!
Every coach and every mentor I have had has always stressed the importance of starting my day well. Many even refer to the life of Jesus and say that Jesus got up early, before it was light, and went off to pray. This is where He talked to God. This is where he checked in and refocused on why he was on the planet.
They are right – all these people agree that the rituals that begin your day mark your life. I agree too!
What about how you end your day? Could this have anything to do with a successful life and the morning? I believe it does too.
Right at the beginning, in the book of Genesis, author repeats the same statement six times. If God repeated it six time I would think that this is important and he doesn’t want us to miss this point. He also knows that some of us are stubborn and destructed by the world. So HE made sure that we get it!
“….And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” Genesis 1:5
“…. And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.” Genesis 1:8
“…. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.” Genesis 1:13
“…. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.” Genesis 1:19 “…. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.” Genesis 1:23
“….God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31
For years I had the same problem to get up early and be refreshed and I used to believe in the self-fulfilling prophecy regarding “Night Owls and Early Risers”.There is NO truth to it. It is a simple excuse for poor discipline and behavioral habit!
Sleeping cycle is trainable feature. It need to be acquired through discipline!
Please allow me to raise some questions to examine our Evenings and Mornings!
- How was your evening?
- What time did you go to bed? Early at night or Early in the morning?
- What did you do in the evening before bed?
- What time did you have your last meal?
- How was your household relationship interaction in the eveening? In Peace or in War?
If you end your day by watching the news with stories of murder, crime and war there will be a portion of your brain that will continue to think on these things throughout the night. How can anyone have a truly restful nights sleep with this playing subconsciously through your thoughts? You can’t, no matter how hard you try — the imprint has been made and the brain will continue to process this horrible stuff.
I’ve shared this concept with a few people and most deny that letting this toxic stuff enter their brain would affect them. But is does. It’s not only that – we listen to this stuff in the car, at work and over lunch. It’s everywhere. I would much sooner miss out on some current events than let my mind be filled with this joy robbing junk.
How you end the day sets you up for how you begin the next. If you have a toxic night’s rest you will not wake refreshed and ready for the day ahead. So how could you ever get up, before it is light, and talk with God? Get focused, read an encouraging book? You can’t. If I don’t start my day right then for the rest of my day I’m looking to fill some hole in my heart and it usually is toxic: Toxic food, toxic conversation (negative talk) or toxic news. If you want current events, read the paper, at least you can throw out the junk, and do it before noon so you’ll have plenty of time to fill you mind with positive thoughts before bed.
The success of our morning experience is completely dependent on our bedtime routines. So pick up that encouraging book again, offer a prayer before sleep, and meditate on a scripture. Whatever you do, make it peaceful, joyful and positive.
It is in our power and hands! The last thing we need is to become spoon fed babies and wait that someone around us will feed us positive stuff and we depend on it, and without it we will shrink back to the sick lifestyle. Be positive and proactive is our personal responsibility!
On the day when I had a race Subaru Series Sprint Triathlon race, up in Huntsville. I had 4 people doing it with me, all my friends disciplined people. We had a healthy, early dinner and went to bed early, to have a good night sleep and rest before this race. Every one of us made the best personal record. It works for me, my family and my friends. It would work for you too, just stay disciplined and fill your life with positive attitude & gratitude.
Be blessed,
