What’s the very first thing you do in the morning? Do you spring out of bed and head to the gym? Do you sneak into the kitchen to make your spouse a surprise breakfast? Do you tell your kids how much you love them?
Or, do you hit snooze, roll over, and sleep for another 10 minutes?
Too often, we allow the first decision of our day to be a reaction, rather than a conscious decision of how to spend our mornings. In each day, I have exactly as many minutes and seconds as Isaac Newton, Elvis Presley, and Steve Jobs did. You don’t need more time to accomplish great things — no one gets any more time than you or I do. Rather, it’s how you use that time.
If you want to change yourself, change your future, or change the world, then you can’t spend your time reacting to the world. If you start your day snoozing your alarm, that affects the rest of those 24 hours. You sleep a bit later, you wake up and have to get ready in a frenzy, you don’t have time to exercise or eat a healthy breakfast, you drive like a maniac, cutting off other drivers on the road, and then spend your entire workday trying to stay on top of the millions of things that come at you.
Compare that day to a morning that you wake up with your alarm, go for a jog, shower and make yourself presentable to the world, and [CUE RELAXATION MUSIC] sit with your coffee and consider what you want to accomplish that day. You can then begin your work with a clear head and clear goals, rather than spending every waking moment [FADE MUSIC OUT] frantically putting out every fire that pops up.
The greatest innovators in history did not live in a reactionary state. Rather than waiting to see how the world would affect them, they acted upon the world they wanted to create.
If you’re ready to wake up your life, try these tips:
Today: Set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier. Don’t hit snooze, but get up with the beep. Use the extra time to write a list of your goals for the day.
This week: Begin a new exercise routine. Why do you have time to watch two hours of television every night, but no time to workout? Maybe it’s because you’re reacting to the lull of the television instead of acting with the body you want to sculpt.
This month: Make a calendar with specific deadlines for what you want to accomplish. Schedule the time you need to devote to your goals, and hold yourself accountable. Remember: the difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline. If J.K. Rowling found time to write Harry Potter as a single mother on welfare, I think you can squeeze in some time to bring your dreams to life as well.
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.
