Contributed by: Healthians Team
When your alarm goes off in the morning, you have two options to respond to it:
- Hit the snooze button and try to convince yourself to get out of bed
- Immediately jump out of bed with enthusiasm — no excuses
On World Health Day 2021, I have a challenge for you: Wake up 10 minutes early, little-by-little each day for maybe a week, until you wake up an hour earlier after 7 days.
Just 10 minutes earlier each day? Yes, that’s right.
Let’s face it. ‘Early to bed, early to rise,’ the age-old saying simply doesn’t come naturally to most people. Even the thought of waking up early makes people yawn. That being said, you can change more than you think in a few months’ time if you focus on making ‘microshift’ changes in your waking habits. A MicroShift is a small, tiny action – we’re talking ten-minutes tiny – that nudges you to wake up.
How should you do it?
If your normal wake-up time is 8:00 a.m., sudden changes of an hour earlier will be difficult and unlikely to last because your body needs time to adjust. So, start with tiny, almost unnoticeable shifts to get one step closer to abundance than you were before.
Today’s action steps – bit by bit, day by day – are very simple yet powerful.
Are you ready?
Let’s do it!
Instead of a 6 a.m. wake-up right away, every day get up 10 minutes earlier than the day before. For example, if you usually get up at 8 in the morning, this is your schedule for the next seven days.
- Day 1: 7:50 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 2: 7:40 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 3: 7:30 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 4: 7:20 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 5: 7:10 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 6: 7:00 AM (move on to the next Micro Shift of 10 minutes earlier)
- Day 7: 6:00 AM (you have arrived at your destination!)
Crystallize the Reason
You can achieve this by giving yourself an irresistible reason to wake up early. Use that additional hour to condition your mental focus – without any interruptions and distractions.
Waking up an hour early gives you those extra quiet hours to get things done, instead of getting lost in distractions. If you set a target of waking up an hour earlier and bundle in some meditation, light exercise, and some wisdom of the ages, your entire life will change. You can call it your “hour of power” to get to enjoy a little time with yourself. A little silence. It’s important, but most often overlooked.
Analyze your Vision in Life
To make any change in your life, including waking up on time, you need to clearly define why it’s important to you. When you focus on what pillar is most important to you in the morning, you proactively begin taking the necessary actions towards what you’re trying to accomplish in life.
Ask yourself, “What’s my motivation for getting up an hour earlier?”
To be more productive, of course!
But why else?
Be honest with yourself. Examine what breathes inspiration and life so that you have a clear vision, specific strategy, and the true desire to wake up early and build a different life.
Recall the three pillars of a better life: Health, Wealth, and Wisdom. These are the foundation of everything else. Evaluate which pillar is really deserving of your extra time and energy along with the outcomes.
You want to be healthy, right? Do it for your kids so you can play football with them. Do it so you can enjoy hiking, biking, scuba diving, paragliding, skating, or whatever. Do it so you can “feel good” every single minute of the day.
You want to have financial stability, right? Do it so you can break the cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck. Do it so you can have enough money to spare. Do it so you can donate to a charity you admire. Do it so you can give an abundance mentality. Do it so that one day you can get your finances in order.
You want to be wise, right? Do it so you can optimize your opportunities. Do it so you can improve your productivity. Do it so you can learn from the mistakes of others. Do it so you can talk to yourself differently.
The bottom line:
Start tomorrow. Give yourself an extra space in the morning. If you change this key area of your life, you will find that every other area of your life will improve. And remember, radical changes — breakthroughs — are not spontaneous. They are the product of microshifts.
Are you up for the challenge? Starting now?
AWESOME!
