There are always surprised looks when I tell people that I wake up at 3AM everyday--yes, even on the weekends.
The most common question is "what time do you go to sleep?" People also typically want to know what super power that I have that keeps me rising at such an odd time. The answer? I have no super powers and I generally go to sleep between 8:45 and 9:30. Every now and again I will get a wild hair and stay up until 9:45...if I just want to get crazy with it.
Why did I start waking up so early?
Initially, I woke up at 5AM. Before we had a kid, this was the perfect time to wake up, get a run in, and still make breakfast and get to work on time. For about a year this was the perfect mix.
Once our son was was born, and my runs got longer, I started having trouble trying to fit it all in and feel satisfied. I upped the ante and started waking up at 4AM.
Waking up at the new time worked amazingly, but then we moved. We moved so far from my office that waking up at 4AM wasn't going to get the job done. There is no way that I could fit everything in and not feel rushed, so I pushed the time up....again.
Is it always easy to wake up that early? No....nope....not at all. At this point though, it's become part of who I am.
What's in it for me?
At first, it was just out of necessity. I knew that I wanted to get my workout in and still take care of all of my husband and fatherly duties and not feel stressed out (adding stress defeats the purpose of what I am trying to accomplish).
As my routine evolved, however, it became more about accomplishments, consistency, and the power of dedication. I looked at my early mornings as my first win of the day. If I can wake up this early consistently and smash my workout, then anything life throws me after that will be a piece of cake.
More recently, I feel as though I have been tapping into the collective consciousness. It is so peaceful to clear your mind without all of the noise--literally and metaphorically. Since there isn't much going on in the collective consciousness at 4AM, I feel as though I am able to do my best thinking, be more creative and go deeper inside my own brain. It is such a freeing feeling.
Who else is crazy?
As I started to get deeper in my personal practice, I started to see a connection of successful people who also wake up crazy early.
Here is the list to name a few :
Tim Cook - CEO of Apple
Cory Gregory- CEO of Max Effort Muscle
The Rock -World's best human being
Dr. Eric Thomas- Top ranked motivational speaker and educator
Jack Dorsey - CEO of Twitter
Mark Wahlberg - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and other great things
Taking a look at the above people, my understanding of the feeling of where the burst of amazing thought during my routine comes from. If we look into the idea of the collective vibes, subtraction of all the noise leaves a smaller number of minds that are attempting to resonate on a higher frequency.
I wholeheartedly believe that no idea is owned singularly by one person. We all share thoughts and ideas, but the person that pulls it out of the air and executes on it is the one that gets the prize.
With that in mind, if I want to elevate myself to a higher level, why wouldn't I want to at least exist in the same metaphysical world as those that are achieving greatness?
It's not for everyone
While it works for me and I have found balance in what I do, it isn't for everyone. However, I encourage everyone to find time to slow down. So much in life, we are speeding around and trying to get so much done in the little amount of time that we have in the day. Operating at such a high speed all of the time will eventually cause burnout.
My favorite saying, that comes from my run training, "sometimes you have to slow down to get faster."