A lot of my friends ask me, “How do you wake up early in the morning?”
My answer is usually, I:
- go to bed early.
- don’t use your phone before bed.
- have a fixed time every day to go to bed and wake up in the morning.
- practice meditation before bed.
While these methods work well, most people are not ready for change. This is too much work for them.
It can be difficult to shift your habits and daily routines. For instance, if you always go to bed at 12:00 am, you will struggle to fall asleep at 10:00 pm.
If you have the will-power to make this kind of shift then, by all means, you should do it. These methods will work wonders for you. You will be able to wake up early in the morning feeling fresh.
But like I said, most people don’t have the will-power. They are not willing to make this shift in their daily routine.
Wake Up With A Purpose
I was talking to a friend recently and he asked me: “Biliz, what do I do to wake up early in the morning?”
My answer was the same, again. I told him to go to bed early, not use his phone before bed, and sleep/wake up at fixed times every day.
“But”, he said, “I feel like I do not have a purpose to wake up early.”
Right there, I understood that you need a purpose to wake up early. There has to be something that excites you to wake up early.
I sat there with my friend and thought to myself, “What is my purpose to wake up early every day?”
My Purpose
As I thought to myself, I got the answer rather quickly. I usually go for a run as soon as I wake up. I come home, shower, drink coffee, and read a book.
Doing these things excite me every day. I look forward to going for my morning run. I am also excited to read my book.
But these were my daily habits. I thought for a while, again.
I realized that whenever I had something important to do, I am excited to wake up early that day.
For instance, in the days when I have planned to write about something, I always feel excited to wake up, do my thing, and start writing.
Going for a run, drinking my morning coffee, reading a book, eating breakfast, going to work, writing articles, meeting people—everything excites me. I look up to doing these things almost every day. So I understood that I had a purpose to wake up early in the morning.
Have A Purpose Every Day
I’m sure you have had days when you feel excited to wake up in the morning to do something important or exciting. It could be a work meeting, catching up with an old friend, date with your girlfriend/boyfriend, attending a party, or whatever.
You might have been planning a long time for this day to come. The night before the day, you feel excited—looking forward to the next day.
You need to have that feeling every day. Yes, we all have good days and bad days. All days can not be the same. But what if you make your daily activities your purpose? What if you look forward every day to go to work, meet your friends/colleagues, go to the gym, and spend time with your family?
Great minds like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk often say that you have to be excited to wake up every day. You should have a purpose—something that inspires you and excites you. Now I know what they were talking about.
Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, they all have the same 24 hours in a day. How are they able to achieve so much in a day? It’s because they have a purpose and they are excited to do their work every day.
If you begin all your days struggling to wake up then it is clear that you have no purpose. You are not looking forward to doing something in the day. Your job does not excite you. You have no motivation.
Easier Said Than Done?
My friend, who asked me the question, had answered his own question. He knew that he had no purpose to wake up early. I told him, “Well, there you go. You just answered your own question. Why don’t you find your purpose and then you will be able to wake up early—looking forward to the day?”
“But”, he said again, “I don’t know what my purpose is and I don’t know how to find it.”
Finding your purpose can be a daunting task. People struggle all their life in search of their purpose. Most people say that their purpose in life is happiness. “I just want to be happy in life”, they say. But the thing is, happiness is internal. It is a state of mind. If you seek happiness in the external world, you will not find it in your lifetime. Learn to make yourself happy. Find happiness in everything around you.
Do the work you are passionate about and you will be happy. When you are happy, you feel good. When you feel good every day, you will be excited to wake up every day. It all starts with you and your mindset.
Takeaways
You need to feel excited and inspired to wake up every morning. If you are not sure how to do it, plan your day. Include something exciting as a part of your daily routine. It can be as simple as drinking coffee at your favorite café, catching up with a friend, reading a good book, or going shopping. You should make a to-do list every day and include the things that excite you on that list.
It will be easier if you do something you are passionate about. You will be excited every day. For instance, I am excited every day to read books and write articles. I look forward to what I will be writing the next day. If you don’t like going to work and if you hate your job, you will not be excited. That doesn’t mean you have to quit your job.
As I said, find excitement in simple things. You will not only wake up early in the morning but also feel good the entire day.
What’s your purpose to wake up in the morning?
