Waking up to a successful morning.
Wake up to a successful morning.
Every morning.
We like waking up to a well-functioning, joy-filled atmosphere, don’t we? The sun shines, the oiled gears of our routine are humming away, all get up when they’re told — the first time, someone is singing a beautiful hymn, the coffee is especially satisfying. Yes, we appreciate those mornings.
In our home, our mornings generally start with a gentle waking up, morning greetings, stretching, prayer, and diligent work up to breakfast time. There is a sense of duty, fellowship and joy in our forthcoming day, and it energizes our atmosphere. Our routine is in place because we have worked hard in creating the habit of a beautiful morning.
Once in a while mornings don’t go so well around here. Lurking in all the corners (and across the floors, on the couch, in bedrooms, on faces….) there’s mess, disorder, enmity, and crabby-pants. Sadly, it is usually myself that is the fountain of wretchedness which begins our day.
I am the one responsible for setting the tone of our home, and on this kind of morning my sense of anxiety, dread and selfishness, from what responsibilities were neglected the night before, translates into a harsh and cold environment. It is reminiscent of how my drill instructors would wake up our platoon in boot camp. Get up! Carry out orders!
And, these botched mornings, though tasks are accomplished (or else), they are a failure. Why, when we end up getting everything done anyway? It’s a failed morning because the persons in the home were not treated with respect as people, the family camaraderie and relationships were crushed underfoot, and the glory of what that morning should have been was broken. Murdered by a foolish tyrant, or the like.
So, why do some mornings go awry?
It does NOT have to do with the morning routine, surprisingly. (I talk about that over here.)
Successful mornings happen because of what transpired the night before.
The night before a debacle morning, sloth and lack of discipline come to call, and my husband and I leave the door wide open. (Since my husband is so often out-of-town, I’ll take responsibility.) On these nights, I do not follow through with my responsibilities.
Besides the usual evening routine, two essential precursors to a successful morning need to happened:
- Everyone’s care for our home is accomplished.
- The next day is prepared for.
Now since the young are not fully formed, and they tend to mimic the actions and behaviors of their guardian (me!), and because all things seem to tend toward mayhem if left without rule, you can see how my morning was setting up.
I learned from these faults of mine, and, thankfully, we have many more of those beautiful mornings that we aspire to, starting with waking up to the success of an evening managed well.
I hope you feel inspired to ensure that you will wake up to success also!
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.”
~ Colin Powell
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