Day 1 of 40: Waking up by 5am

Last night I watched Robin Sharma's video about How to Wake Up Early. I heard Robin speak at a live event a few years ago and he talked about his habit of arising at 5am as a differentiating factor in his life and success. While I 'wanted' to do it then I didn't 'commit' to do it the same way I did this time around.

I need a positive lifestyle and behavior change such as this! I have been staying up past midnight most nights and have had difficulty getting out of bed in the morning. I often didn't even see my kids off to school. I set the alarm on my iPhone for 5am and I deleted any other alarm times that I had. I named my 5am alarm "5am for 40 days (Feb 25)" in order to remind myself, at alarm setting time, what it is that I am committed to.

Robin says it takes about 40 days to install a new habit. Most of us have heard of the 21-day habit rule and perhaps the extra 19 days is for good measure, or to really, truly install it. There is certainly a spiritual significance tied with the number 40, when considering the various Biblical accounts associated with its use.

I see 40 as a number representing a rebirth, a renewal and the beginning of a grand new journey. A new chapter in the book of adventure that is our life.

Today I was actually awake by about 4:50am. I quietly disabled my alarm before it had a chance of going off and I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb my sleeping wife.

Even though I only had about 4-4.5 hours of sleep I feel good. I awoke with a commitment and a desire to become better as a result of this morning routine, my 'Hour of Power', as I refer to it. During this hour I will typically exercise, drink lots of water, listen to personal development audio, create my Top 5 goals for the day and write in my journal. The Hour of Power is to be followed by a healthy breakfast and then preparing myself to leave for the office.

I would like to document and publish a journey of my experience with this process, hence this inaugural blog post on the subject. Most of the content here was hand-written in my journal this morning. I will continue with the personal dialogue.

It is now 6:01am and I have completed my 'Hour of Power'. I planned my day and identified my Top 5 goals that when completed will make today a valuable day. I am confident that I can complete these 5 items before 9am. once I do I will setup the next 5 things I can do, in order of priority, and get them done!

I am so excited to create a new positive and productive habit in my life! It should help me to get to bed earlier too, and with greater ease. This morning was vastly different than what had become a 'typical' morning for me. Today I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, made a big pot of oatmeal for everyone, greeted my kids as they woke up and got ready for school, made their school lunches and had a morning prayer with my family before leaving for the office a little after 8am.

When my six year-old daughter came into the kitchen and saw that I had not only made breakfast, but had set out placemats, bowls, glasses with juice in them, etc, she was clearly surprised. She tried to hide her obvious excitement that her daddy had done all of this for her (& her brother) and it made me feel so happy to help her greet the day in such a positive way. It was awesome.

Make it an amazing day everyone!