I get up at 5 AM everyday. I know some of you will think I’m crazy, but I’ve been doing it for years. I get up at 5 and don’t have to get ready until 7. I used to get up at 7 and rush quickly to get myself to get ready for work. I always felt rushed, undone and robbed of time. I remember craving the mornings of the weekends because they were slow, and simple and sweet. Over the years I learned to adapt my morning routines where they all feel like the un-rushed rhythm of the weekend.
I spend the first hour of my morning drinking coffee and visiting with Jarrett and the second hour reading and writing. On some days, that’s the only intentional time that Jarrett and I get to spend together. We started this discipline when we were dating and were long distance, we face timed at 5 AM every day. A few mornings a week, when I have events in the evening (like today), I squeeze a little extra time out to get my workout done. These are disciplines that took time for me to build, but have grown into things I love. I love the still, quiet darkness of the morning. I love feeling as though I’m the only person awake. I have grown to crave this time, it’s truly my favorite part of the day.
I believe the secret to success is found in our daily routine. Not the big wins and losses that we think define our lives, but the things we choose to do with our time. Time is the most precious gift we have, how we spend it says a lot about our level of self care, self respect and discipline. I believe what we do today is building our future. The time, energy and resources we expend each day will come back to us at some point in our lives. I believe we are either adding to our future, our taking away from it.
If you are at all interested in changing your morning routine, I would encourage you to start small. Rise 15 minutes earlier for a week and slowly build up until you’ve given yourself an extra hour. Think of something you really enjoy that you don’t have time to do right now. Build that into your routine. For me it was sipping coffee, reading, writing and snuggling with Samson – that’s where it all began. Over the years the routine has changed some. The addition of Jarrett in my life changed it some and moving to Alpine changed it some as well. I used to walk each morning but am uncomfortable with the darkness and wildlife here as opposed to Canyon so I only walk on the weekends now when I can wait until it’s light out. Use the morning to honor yourself, invest some time in something you enjoy and start your day well. I promise, it will totally change your life. Much love and slow, sweet mornings my friends.
