How To Be A Morning Person... Wait... WHAT?

True story. 

Our wee one loves to draw. One Saturday morning, I was cooking breakfast... okay, it was more like brunch judging from the time...  and she was drawing at the table. Excitedly, she called out for me to see her creation. I turned toward her, happy to accommodate. She said:

And, then, she said:

I had apparently been feeling a bit frazzled.   😂

It's okay. Go ahead and guffaw! I do! Sometimes, I laugh right out loud even thinking about this picture. 

It keeps lots of things in perspective for me.

Take, for instance, the how do you wake up question. Can a person who is not genetically programmed to leap out of bed every morning at the first sound of the alarm - if they even use an alarm - greeting each new day with a smile and a song, actually, become a morning person?

I have seen a flurry of blogs and ezine articles touting that all you have to do is follow "these easy steps" and... Presto! Change-o! You, too, shall awake shining before you even rise!

Wait... What?

Something tells me these champions of change were all ... morning people! 

I have sought to become a morning person over the years. Here's my take on their key points for change.



• Get more sleep. That's easier said than done, isn't it? Lots of us are juggling a job (or two!), kids (which means extra curricular everything!) and, let's not forget how quickly a house can fall way past disarray! Besides, speaking for myself anyway, I'm pretty sure that staying up late (and hating to get up!) is part of my natural body cycle. Honest. Even if I sleep for 9 or 10 hours straight, I still wake up on the grumpy side of things. 

• Move the alarm out of bed's reach. There's a tip that makes sense. I began using it years ago. If you have to walk across the room to shut the thing off, you are more likely to keep your feet on the floor.    

• Don't hit the snooze. It messes with our natural sleep cycle. And, you have to admit all that shuffling back and forth across the room to and from the alarm sort of defeats the purpose.😉

• Habits let you run on autopilot. You may not have chosen your outfit the night before since elementary school, but there's something to be said for mindless activity in those first minutes of my day. When I find my way to the bathroom, having everything I need waiting there works well for me.

• Wake up to natural sunlight. That would make things a bit better, but my alarm goes off before the sun comes up so...

• Work out immediately. Baha! No, thanks. Pretty sure I could do bodily harm.

• • Coffee is essential! I stumble to the kitchen first thing. Caffeine is a motivator. The hero come to the rescue! The memes that tout its importance in the morning are true! Oh, happy day, when I discovered coffee's wonderfulness!

  
  

  So, what's the outcome? If you choose to follow these tips, will you be transformed? Will you leap out of bed every morning singing the happy song?

  
  

  
  

  Take it from someone who's first thought upon waking is (and always has been), "I don't wanna!" The answer is no. Some of us just aren't programmed to be morning people. It has got to be hereditary. You should hear some of the stories about my aunt! Oh, my stars!  😂

I use some of the above techniques to help me cope. I realize I'm no fun to be around when that alarm goes off. Believe me, my family realizes that, too. They steer clear for a bit should I get caught stumbling down the hall towards the kitchen. Most days, I'm up before everyone else so I will be past the hardest part of my day before they arise. I have done so for decades. I just need that few minutes...  

Thankfully, I realize my sour outlook upon awakening should have no bearing on the rest of my day. Or anyone else's! So, I shake it off… Every. Single. Day.

As a matter of fact, I know, without a doubt, if you were not there to witness the stupor in which we wake, you would peg my aunt and me as morning people. Seriously. I'm just a little ray of sunshine... (the vast majority of the time, anyway. Everyone has a moment now and then...) and, if I'm a little ray, my aunt is a sunburst! That might be an appropriate comparison, if likening the sun to someone constantly exuding joy from their very soul!  

Yep. I want to see the glass more than half full every time. An optimist supreme. That's me.

Well... Once I roll out of the bed, anyway... And slam that cup of coffee.  😉

Be a little ray of "Sonshine" today.
Love,
C

*pointing to the comments section and whispering* It's so quiet here. You ought to say Hi! 

Alarm and Coffee Photos Courtesy FreeDigitalPhoto.net

Monster Slippers Stock Photo

Disney's Anna from Frozen....