Leaping out of bed

In the last 30 days, how many times were you leaping out of bed and how many times did you groan out of bed? Time for a wake-up call on doing what you love?

That 4 am feeling

Can you recall the feeling when you woke up at 4:00 am in the morning to catch a flight or start a drive to some fantastic holiday experience? Literally leaping out of bed? Can you? Can you recall the energy; the enthusiasm and joy and “jumping out of your skin” anticipation of the freedom and good times ahead?  It’s such a liberating feeling, isn’t it?

Now just think back to how you started your day last Thursday…. Was it different? Did you leap out of bed inspired by the day ahead, or did you “groan out of bed” to another day?

So what’s different between the two scenarios?

Perhaps the ratio of the small number of holiday first days versus say 200 work days? The sheer repetitiveness could have something to do with it, right? It’s so easy to get into a groove, a mundane and boring routine. Perhaps doing something you have to do, not something you want to do? Or not being recognized or acknowledged – so why bother? Maybe taking that all for granted because it appears to be the “same old same old”?

Thinking back on some of my past blogs, where discussed Are you a “fetch” person? or Managing Your State or What is your purpose? or Who is driving your bus? they all implied that this can largely be a matter of choice; that we can differentiate between an “attitude of gratitude” or chasing something meaningful we are excited about  or simply “going through the motions”, would you agree?

So what could influence us to make a different choice – every morning?

Let’s consider how we might influence these daily choices:

• What about developing a list of “things I‘m grateful for” and keeping it handy to reflect on when things may be a “little flat” so you take less things “for granted”? To remind you how good you’ve actually got it, irrespective of your current circumstances? At its most basic level, I just remind myself of the implications of : “a refugee’s life in Somalia” and a whole lot of things just come into perspective for me.
• What about reading some positive mental attitude books, or making sure to get around some positive, uplifting people? The “festive season” ahead usually gets us around more people than usual, doesn’t it? Why not exercise your choice?
• What about considering what really matters to you? Maybe remind yourself of the passion you devoted to certain “ideology issues” when you were a student and then drawing energy from them to map out something more meaningful for you?
• Check in with yourself: are you drifting through each week, very busy doing what “your environment” expects you to do – you know: like a yacht without a rudder at the power of the wind and tide?
  Or maybe planning, starting or doing something you believe in that will use all of your talents and skills to inspire and enthuse you? Maybe a relaxed “dreaming session” with friends around what you’d do with a big lottery win would create the energy to crystallize what really matters to you to develop some new or rekindle some old plans for your work, your career, your business or your life?
• Perhaps it isn’t anything as “grand” as that? Perhaps it’s just starting something exciting you have always wanted to do? Maybe a hobby, or a trip, or a visit, or a course etc?
• Or maybe you want to engage a coach to help you with that? A running mate or a thinking partner that can be your trusted sounding board, offer a range of new perspectives, conspire for your success, challenge your thinking and to hold you accountable to what you really want and know you can?

So What Next?

Go on : dare yourself. It’s that time of the year where we reflect back on what was and what could have been. Is next year going to be “the same old same old” or is it going to be different?

You know what might just be the catalyst for it being different: why don’t you try “leaping out of bed” tomorrow morning – and the next morning and see how good that feels?. It may feel strange at first, granted. But what if it worked and even rubbed off on those around you at home and in the office?

I have taught myself to leap out of bed each morning in anticipation of:

• Who might I meet today?
• What might I learn today?

I have found this keeps me “hungrily content” with who I am and what I’m doing.

Why not try it for a week?