Bed or Better
I went away for a writing retreat that had a completely optional schedule of events. It started with 6:30 AM meditation and 7 AM yoga.
Theoretically, this is an amazing way to start the day, but then the alarm went off after a less-than-excellent night of sleep and my brain immediately began rationalizing all the reasons I should stay in bed.
The first day of this retreat, I hit the snooze button but made myself get up before 6:30 and meditated. It felt great to accomplish this after wanting to sleep in and resisting the urge.
I then thought to myself, “Surely I can skip the yoga now. I don’t even like yoga and I already meditated!”
As I tried to sneak out of the room, I found myself putting my mat down on the floor and trying the class. It was easy yoga after all, and I had planned to stick to the schedule, at least for the first day.
Not surprisingly, once the 30 minutes of yoga were over, I felt much better.
As I went about my day, I was calm and centered and felt amazing. The bed was NOT better after all.
What are some of the things in your life that you’re not quite fitting in because your bed calls to you once the alarm goes off?
If we give in to the bed, we often lose the better.
As your day progresses, there are always going to be things you “should” or “need” to do while neglecting some of the things that you’d really like to do because you know they will help you feel better (e.g., your workout, healthy food prep, etc.)
For many of us, our biggest chance of succeeding at getting these things done happens before we start our day.
If you’re someone who excels at the end of your day, kudos to you. Most people I know are tired and unmotivated by this time and do not get things done if they wait.
Action Steps:
Think of one thing that would improve the quality of your life if you got out of bed 15 - 30 minutes earlier tomorrow.
Set your alarm 30 minutes earlier than you would normally get up (which still leaves you with a 15 minute snooze if you really need it).
Get out of bed earlier tomorrow and follow through on your one thing you committed to.
It can be anything that is important to you.
It doesn’t matter how small it is, just do it.
Then feel good about your accomplishment. (And think about trying it again tomorrow! Change happens with one small act at a time.)
