An Early Bird.
An early riser. Someone is more active and alert in the early hours of the morning than later in the day. Calling someone an early bird means they get up early in the morning to do things. They succeed in doing something before other people.
The common phrase “the early bird gets the worm” is given as counsel to be early or prompt. The idea behind the expression is that the birds that wake up the earliest have the best chance of catching a good meal since no other birds have awoken to pick for worms.
I fought against cultivating good habits and routines because I didn’t want to feel like I had to live my life by other people’s rules. I wanted to be my person and do my own thing. Besides, keeping a routine was hard work.
Having no routine or structure is much more draining mentally, physically, and emotionally than any routine could ever be. By not doing the things I knew would make me better including habits like exercising, meditating, and reading, I deprive my body and mind of the energy that these types of positive activities create.
If you are a night owl that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never return.
A few years ago, I decided to take a different path. I realised that I was what I repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. I decided to listen to Aristotle and work on creating excellence in my life by establishing a positive daily routine.
The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favourite time of day. I enjoy that time of peace to myself when I can think, read, and breathe. I love how the day slowly gets brighter when the midnight blue turns to a lighter blue, the brilliant colours start to seep into the sky, and nature is painted in incredible colours.
I love being able to get up and greet a wonderful new day. I love the thought of being alive and using all my energies to develop myself, expand my heart to others, and achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
Habits are actions that I take on a repeated basis with little or no required effort or thought. Good habits are hard to form but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to form but hard to live with. That’s why it’s important to pick the activities that resonate most with me, the ones that push me to become the best me that I am capable of being, and to keep doing those.
I start every single day with this simple sentence in my mind “I define who I am, and there are no limits to what I can achieve!” as soon as I get out of bed. And yes, I even tell myself this on mornings that have followed nights that were too short or mornings that I wake up feeling like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Why?
These words put me in the right mindset for the day ahead. What makes a day good or bad isn’t the events that occur, but rather my response to them. I want to put my mind in a good state right away, because if left unchecked, it will try to tell me the wrong things, but through my daily habits, I overcome them.
Just as mental and physical aspects of my daily routine elevates me and push me forward, the same is true when I tend to myself emotionally and spiritually. Okay, this is technically called meditation, but if the idea of “meditating” is a turn-off, then just think about it as spending some daily quiet time alone. I was one of those people who didn’t think I could ever meditate (boy, was I wrong!)
What good have I done today? Asking and answering this simple question at the end of my day provides me with an opportunity to reflect and gives me perspective. It forces me to consider whether I am heading in the direction I want to go and take others into account. Did I help anyone today?
Having a healthy daily routine keeps functioning at the highest level possible on all three planes of existence – mind, body, and spirit. I make myself a better person. I constantly see opportunities and view problems as situations. In short, I do it so I am free from others’ expectations of me.