Operation Morning Person
It’s high time that I started it.
I have a friend at university who has stuck to an amazing morning routine his entire life: waking up at 6 without an alarm, jogging, having a long breakfast with his parents at a Chinese restaurant (yum cha), reading the papers leisurely, before finally going to school for his 9:30am class. I’d teased him for adopting the retirement lifestyle prematurely, but deep down I knew that I admired him for having the luxury to enjoy the morning hours. This was especially the case when I had to rush to be in class on time. I found myself checking the time in 5-second intervals, inwardly screaming at every car or human being that kept my bus from traveling at lightning speed, and feeling very, very exasperated with myself. Why did I fail again?
I wanted to change, but when most of your peers lived the way you did (i.e. sleeping at 3am and waking up at god-knows-when), it was difficult to find the resolve to drag yourself out of bed. The thought that a salivating breakfast awaited helped a bit, but it was not always sufficient motivation.
Until I signed up for this class at church just three days ago.
It’s called the 2:7 discipleship course and it aims to help believers integrate their faith into daily life seamlessly by picking up simple habits: remembering useful bible verses, setting some time apart for meditation, applying the word of God across various situations, etc. The name 2:7 comes from the Apostle Paul’s words, “Rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:7) I signed up for the class because it has very good reviews from past participants, and I felt that I was ready to delve further into my faith.
Soon after signing up, it came to my attention that the class starts at 9:30am every Sunday morning. My church is a 45-minute journey away from my home approximately, which means I have to wake up at 8 if I want to get breakfast as well (correction: there’s no if. It’s a must.) I was quite flabbergasted when the reality of this sank in. And the class’s first lesson is in 2 days.
I talked to my mother about this, who also attended a class on financial management at church previously. Her class was also a 9:30am one, and she warned me that I had to be prepared for a colossal challenge (thanks mom). She added encouragingly, however, “But if you really, really want it, you can most definitely make it to every class on time.” I chickened out quite a bit and started tossing options around, anything to avoid the pain she just predicted: I would be better off doing this in the summer, I already have too much schoolwork to begin with, I’ve recently taken up tuition as well…She interrupted me mid-sentence,
“If you really want it, you can do it. Make some sacrifices. Go to bed earlier on Saturday night.”
Something struck me that moment. Why am I asking God to make way for my bad habits? Most nights when I sleep late I don’t actually have anything on my plate. I just enjoy being the last one awake and then end up feeling terribly groggy when I wake up no matter how many hours I’ve slept. Can this be God’s way of encouraging me to turn my lifestyle around at long last?
I wouldn’t know until I tried. I am certain that I want to attend the class though (and become a better person in general), so I’ve decided to write down some steps I am going to follow starting now:
- Think about what breakfast I am going to have the night before.
- Set the alarm at 8am. Then keep it as out of reach as possible.
- Wear a jacket to bed so I won’t have too much trouble leaving the warmth of my blanket the next day.
- Listen to my favourite music as soon as I am awake to stimulate my brain.
- Read a devotional while having breakfast. Listen to more music. Reply to my friends’ messages. Keep myself happy.
And there you have it. A wide awake me feeling more energized and accomplished than ever. (Well hopefully. We wouldn’t know until tomorrow actually. )
