The 5 a.m Affair

Are you one of those people who always wishes they could be a natural morning person, to wake at 5 a.m and seize the day? But in reality you can count on one hand the amount of times you have actually seen the sun rise, that truthfully you feel like a failure and just cannot seem to get yourself up and out of bed in the morning.

Well I am or I was up until recently that is.

The Dream..

For years I have been wishing for this, wanting it to be part of who I am. I always imagined it would go something along the lines of this. Waking up to hear the song of the morning birds, streaks of dawn just beginning to ooze through the sleepy sky. Gracefully rising from your slumber to seize the day with bundles of energy and good vibes. The warming aroma of freshly brewed coffee wrapped around you while you read a chapter of your latest book. Flexing your goddess-like sun kissed yogi body before going out into the world. Sounds great doesn't it.

The reality..

Every night I set my intentions and set the alarm clock and without fail every morning I unconsciously snooze it or switch it off altogether. I growl at Gavin if he even attempts to wake me up before 7 a.m. Just five more minutes, just two more minutes, I'll get up when it's an even number. The usual excuses. I can't bare to part with the warm soft bed. When I do eventually wake up I'm in a groggy haze, disoriented and moody- a typical Cancercian trait apparently. With my hair whipped and tossed into a lobsided nest on the side of my head I'm anything but graceful.

The Bad Habit..

Rather than getting straight up and out in those first few seconds after I come to life I instead reach for the phone and spend another 5-10 minutes scrolling through social platforms before realising I've left it too late and will only have enough time to get dressed and scoff down a "standing-up" breakfast before having to dash out the door to catch the bus.

It's incredibly frustrating. The lazy version of myself wins the battle every morning and everyday I feel annoyed and disappointed with myself for not doing it yet again. But still, I will repeat this cycle every night and every morning. It's exhausting.

Changes I've made..

I've recently being thinking about my "inability" to rise before 7 a.m and have begun listening to a very interesting audiobook called "Rewire your mindset" by Brian Keane. He explains why we think and do the things we do and that if you pay attention or even dig a little deeper into why you do the things you do, you can change the way you react to these situations. I started listening to the book on Wednesday 14th April and would you believe I have actually woken up everyday since between 5.30 and 6 a.m. Better still I get out of the bed as soon as the alarm sounds and I'm down the stairs sipping a cold glass of water before the lazy girl inside me even realises what is going on. I feel as if I have unblocked a part of me that was stuck in that lazy cycle. It's still very new to me and I'm working on time management to get the most productivity out of the morning but I can confirm it's everything I hoped it would be with the exception of the goddess-like sun kissed yogi body (one mountain at a time). With a bit of determination and a one-step at a time approach I think I can crack this morning business and become that best version of my morning self.

So tell me, are you an early riser? Have you had to battle with it the same way as I have? Have you read "Rewire Your Mindset"?

xx