Someone asked me once how I managed to be such an “early bird”.
And that’s a valid inquiry for a sleep site like this. Because, if you’re not heading into your day feeling well rested, then what’s the point of falling asleep in the first place? Right? See, I work from 10 – 7 at a physical therapy clinic a few days a week. And every day that I do, I get up by five or six, do a bunch’ve yoga, write an article, go for a run, clean house, clean body, clean mind (meditation), and then head out the door by 9:30. And, once I’m there in my let’s-high-five-everyone mood, my coworkers wonder A.) what drug I’m on, and B.) where they can get it. When I tell them that I just wake up early to fit in a well rounded workday already before work, then they have only one question for me: “How?”
“How did you become an early bird?”
(Sorta kinda spoiler alert: I didn’t. And I *def* don’t look like this when I wake up)
Initially, I didn’t know how to answer them.
Or – at least I thought I didn’t. But the truth is, it’s hard to say, “I just do it” without sounding like an arrogant douche. So, here’s the truth. I do just do it. When I hear the alarm and just get up, my body doesn’t have a chance to enter a second sleep cycle, only to be interrupted from it, and feel ultimately tired. Also, by doing productive stuff for my body and mind alike – I head into the interactive aspect of my day with the kinda clarity that makes you feel awake and refreshed. So, that’s why I keep doing it every day. But what I forget (and thus forget to mention) which would make me sound a lot less d-baggy, is this: By default, I’m not an early riser. And I didn’t always act like one. See, back when I was on a less clean diet (also helps with sleep cycles, btw) and less active, I was also waking up early-ish, but choosing to go back to bed because it felt comfortable and sleep felt nice. Why? Probably because my desire to hide in a fleece cocoon outweighed any passion or drive to be alive and awake did. But when I started acquiring some ambition and passion and wanting to live life in the face, I had a reason to want more minutes in the waking part of my day. Being an early riser was an identity I had to acquire for myself. I needed to get up and get ish done if I wanted to fit in everything. My two runs and muay thai training. My writing and social time. The hour or two of downtime I need to not punch people outside the dojo. And, you know what? I still have some days that I languish around in bed, letting my brain have a say in whether we’re gonna get up and hit the yoga mat. That torpid habit comes back double fast, if I let it. And when I do? It tosses off my whole day into cognitive fog and mental fatigue. I don’t even mind that I let myself lapse some days, either. It’s an excellent reminder of why I’ve cultivated the kinda routine that leaves me focused and alert more often than not.
(Protip: I set myself goals for motivation, too
“As soon as you wake up and hit the mat, you can have your matcha latte”)
So, in sum. The answer to “how did I become and early riser?” is: I didn’t. I opt to transmogrify into one from my lazy default self e’ery damn day. You know, no matter what time I get to bed or how I eat or what supplements I take, I’m likely never gonna feel like a sunrise punctual pigeon. Not right when dawn cracks, at least. And you know what? I’m 100% alright with that. It gives me yet another thing to conquer. It’s what makes me a cut above. See, I mentioned that I do martial arts, trail running, and yoga. But what I didn’t mention is that I do all’a that in spite of my fibromyalgia, scoliosis, and a herniated disc. That’s lot’sve pain. It’s also lots’ve excuses I never use to be lazy. But if any of it were easy, I wouldn’t esteem it as highly as I do. In the same vein, when I choose to overcome the overwhelming proclivity to hit the five-more-minutes button and badazz my way into the day, it’s equally valuable. We all have challenges. What determines our mental clarity and – ultimately – identity, however, is how we respond to them.
From “early bird” to “late avian” – we choose.
We choose whether to hit snooze and ignore those challenges…
Or literally rise to the daily occasion.