The Surprising Benefits of Waking Up Early: How It Can Transform Your Life

Work hard.

Play hard.

A saying that you will undoubtedly hear when living in Hong Kong.

"The city that never sleeps."

One soon finds out that this is the case and that you're pretty much working most the time, just like everyone else in the world. Although, Hong Kong is known for having one of the longest work weeks and this "on-the-go-all-the-time" mentality can quite rightly lead to a one feeling that "You don't have enough Time. "

On the flip side, "You don't have enough Energy." Having been working and living in Hong Kong for over nine years, I've become more and more interested in managing ones time and energy. "The hustle of trying to FIT everything in week IN and week OUT."

I have been a night owl for as far back as I can remember and came to the conclusion that it was the late nights that were most productive for me. Where I could go "offline" and be creative and productive.

Now to mention the fact that at 8:00pm in the evening, one simply doesn't have the same energy level as one would normally have in the morning.

Which means we're running on less fuel.

Willpower, discipline and motivation are affected and I feel it takes more energy to summon them when you are already running low. However strengthening your willpower and discipline will make it easier and allow you greater 'access'. As I've continuously adjusted and tweaked my schedule and routines and rituals, I've now been inspired to try something new. Experiment a bit more. Change IT up. Many people are doing it. Many people also attest to the fact that it has changed their lives.

What is IT? WAKE UP EARLY.  EVERYDAY. Is it easy? No! Does it pay off?  Yes! Within a few days! The maths makes it crystal clear. The sheer joy of having a few more hours in your day should be treasured. For sure, we get that and so we go on. Somehow it doesn't register and perhaps we try and try but it comes right back to finding the energy to live life to its fullest each and everyday. This too can become tiring.

"What a tragedy to waste a day in this life."

How is one to wake up early and thus make full use of that most beautiful time of the day?

The answer is to figure out what you are most passionate about in life.

That passion, that love, will give you the energy to spring out of bed at the break of dawn so you can give yourself to that which you love most. Think about what you really enjoy doing and plan to do that early in the morning. It might obviously be on your days off and or weekends. Or you make the time before heading off to work - it doesn't have to be a lot of time.

One problem that comes up of course is that many people do not know what their true passion is and so are not living an inspired life.  The following are questions to ask yourself to help you figure out what you love to do.  Here are those 6 questions:

1. What is it that you like to do for its own sake, without any concern for reward or compliment? Do you like the joy of building things? Do you like to just create music? Do you like to teach? Do you like the challenge of watching your thoughts in action?

2. If you won the lottery, I mean the really, really big one how would you like to spend the rest of your life?

3. If you were informed you are about to die shortly, what would you regret most as not having spent your time doing?

4. No matter where on Earth you are. In a rich, first world country, in the bush lands of Australia or high up in a Himalayan village what do you see yourself doing regardless of location?

5. What activity do you always find yourself coming back to throughout your life? What activity can you just not see yourself doing without?

   
   

There is another problem that sometimes comes up with regard to becoming an early riser and that has to do with health and energy.  Having good physical, emotional and mental health will go a long way in helping you, not only sleep better, but also in providing the necessary energy to kick-start the day bright and early.  If you find yourself lacking energy and feeling depleted there is no better cure for that than exercise, yoga, and or morning walks. (see post on on the value of walking https://www.marcelerasmus.net/post/the-value-of-long-walks)

It is said that one of the things that we human beings waste our lives doing is sleeping (too much).  So let that not be the case for you.  Search inwards, experiment, figure out what you love to do in life and then muster up the courage to go after it. 

There is a story of a Yogi high up in the Himalayan mountains and what he does early every morning is get up, stand and applaud.  He is applauding creation for the wonder of a new dawn, for the beauty of the sunrise and for the opportunity each new day provides.  Let us join him bright and early tomorrow morning.

I'm intrigued by how different people structure their day or if there is any structure at all. I especially enjoy learning about others' routines and rituals. Now I'd like to hear from YOU. What does your morning ritual/routine look like? Comment below and let's discuss this topic and how we can further tweak and adjust it for an optimal start to the day.