The tone of our day is set the night before.
We often hear that if we win the morning, we will win the day.
As a general rule, this is certainly true.
How we wake up, the time we wake up, and what we do upon awakening and in the first few hours of our day sets the tone for everything that will happen after.
If we give ourselves time to think, time to reflect, and time to work on our goals, ourselves, and our creative projects first thing in the morning, we start the day with a win.
If, on the other hand, we start our day with resistance, fighting off the need to wake up, procrastinating on the things that must be done, and delaying the inevitable, we will find ourselves constantly on our back foot, irritable and hurried, and struggling to catch up while other people’s priorities take over our time, energy, and attention.
We get to decide, every day, what kind of day we will have based on what kind of morning we give ourselves.
This decision is not easily made in the morning hours, however.
Nor should it be.
This is a decision we should and often do make many hours before, the night before in fact.
In reality, how we wake up, the time we wake up, and the energy and attitude we wake up with are largely determined by how, when, and in what way we go to sleep.
Winning the morning might win the day, but winning the evening wins the morning.
Success and failure are largely determined by preparation.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
Follow Robert Van Valkenburgh and Holistic Budo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.
If you found this post helpful or meaningful in some way, please feel free to Share, Comment, and Subscribe below.