Spoiler: it has to do with a sense of power
I read “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod around one month ago, and as everyone who read it, I was challenged to apply the routine for one month.
For those who haven’t (yet) read it, I sum up the content in a broad outline. Hal Elrod suggests you to wake up at least one hour before your usual waking time, and he invites you to spend this hour in meditation, visualization, exercise, research… The basic philosophy of the book is that you will find more energy for the rest of the day and you will be more focused on your targets. More important, you will find your way to success. Well, you will also find your targets, you hadn’t.
I am European (Italian, to be precise) and this idea of energy and focus is not our common Mediterranean mindset. We are generally more focused on lifestyle, meant as good food, nice friendships, a good job which shouldn’t be too demanding. We are generally convinced that success is a matter of smart, well-connected people, and creativity is only a matter of talent. We know, like all the rest of the world, that discipline and hard work always pay off, but in our hearts, we suppose that fate has a role too, and you cannot drive it. So, the idea that you might fix a target of success and focus on it has always been quite challenging to me.
Anyway, I decided to give this new routine a chance, and I began waking up at 5,30 a.m.
The first days have been dominated by curiosity: for example, am I able to meditate? (The answer for the moment is “no”. But I am working on it) I was curious to see which incredible gift I would have received in terms of focus and success. Thanks to exercising, losing weight would have been an appreciated bonus.
After ten days, I hadn’t seen any difference, but I decided to go on.
After 15 days, I was tired and frustrated. I was sitting on my yoga mat, asking myself what I was doing, while the rest of my family was sleeping, and why I was losing a full hour of my sleep. So, the morning after, I quit. I woke up at my usual time, at 7 a.m. and I started my usual day. But while I was sitting at my desk, I finally got what I was missing.
At that moment, I realized that The Miracle Morning routine was giving me a great sense of power.
What has “the power” to do with your alarm clock?
Well, imagine the picture: you have already worked out, you have already taken your shower, you have already read the news, written an idea for your next article, and checked the urgent messages. In short, you have already accomplished all the daily tasks. They are over. While the rest of the world is starting a normal working day, at 9,00 a.m. you are ready to do whatever you want. You are free to focus on what are the most important targets of your day. Now, do you feel a sense of power?
You have a whole day for yourself.
You can focus on your job, you can organize that important meeting that was keeping you awake… Otherwise, if you are lucky enough to be your own boss, you can focus on your idea to success, find a path, and stick to it.
As you guess, in my diary I wrote that I was grateful I got this gift by The Miracle Morning routine, and I do not think I will ever stop waking up early and spend a full hour (and a half) to complete it.
Well, I also booked a lesson with a yoga teacher, to learn the fundamentals of meditation. I have the whole day to learn.
Be the first to comment