I’ve always had a hard time “trying” to wake up in the morning. Despite hearing of all the benefits of starting the day before anyone else and how the majority of the successful people would get up as early as 5 AM for their morning routine, I just couldn’t get the first step done. Which is waking up early.
I would set my alarm but when it rings, I end up snoozing without noticing. Sometimes, I just sleep through the alarm. At one point, I thought to myself, maybe I’m just not a morning person. Even though I know it can’t be true because the Miracle Morning disproved it, I just couldn’t figure out how to get my body to awaken.
That's when I realized, the real trick wasn't to wake up early.
It was to sleep early.
The only reason I couldn’t get my body to awaken is that I’m still too tired to be getting up. This all changed when I reset my alarm from a rise-and-shine call to a “go to bed” signal. It took a while for me to understand my sleeping habits. After all, it varies from person to person. Fortunately, I reached a conclusion.
For me, 8 was the magic number. I needed 8 hours of sleep every day. Any more would make me drowsy, but any less, I would end up falling asleep during the day. Now all I had left was to set my “Goodnight” alarm 8 hours before the time I want to wake up by.
Overcoming the challenges of temptation
I must admit, following the night alarm was incredibly tough, almost as difficult as waking up early. This was mainly because the only free time I have is during the evening. So I’d often find myself caught up researching for another blog post or socializing with family and friends at night. And when your friends want you to stay a little longer to chat, it’s hard to say no.
However, what made me feel worse than to leave early, is knowing that life-changing experience is sitting right in front of my eyes. But I can’t get there because I can’t resist the temptation of staying up late.
I didn’t like the idea of excusing myself early or stopping my research when I hit the sweet spot. But more than that, I hated the idea of not being able to change when I know I have the potential to achieve more. That is why I must exercise self-discipline and follow through with my decision to sleep early. I have to fight the temptation and stay committed to changing for the better.
In one sentence,
To wake up early, you must first sleep early.
If you sleep early, you’ll be well rested by the next morning and waking up will be so much easier. You won’t sleep through alarms anymore because your body will be naturally filled with energy by sunrise. Keep in mind that sleeping early might require certain discipline or commitment to resist the temptation of staying up late.
