Take-A-Step Thursday #6 – The 5AM Club

For as long as I can remember, my dad has always given me this piece of advice, “Get up early! You’ll be a healthier and more active person because of it.” Of course, having considered myself the reincarnation of a lazy feline, this was a concept way beyond my comprehension. I only realized the truth of his wisdom in the past few years when I suffered with a lot of chronic health issues and had to follow a strict diet and lifestyle routine in a naturopathy centre. One of the rules included getting up at 5AM and doing yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. This habit changed my life while I was there!

Although this was easily done in a different environment where everyone had to do it compulsorily, I just wasn’t able to keep it up at home. I set it as one of my DayZero Project goals to make sure I made a permanent lifestyle change (in fact 15% of my goals are lifestyle oriented). Finally in February, I decided to actively change my thinking in order to change my habits. Around the second week, I started getting up at 6AM almost everyday (I tried my best!) consistently for three weeks and followed a particular routine to start the day right. Unfortunately, I lapsed around the last couple of days of Feb and half of March and this was depressing me to no end! However, I made up my mind I would not let a temporary lapse ruin my resolve to improve my lifestyle so I went ahead and upped the game.

Since the 18th of March, I’ve finally gone ahead and joined the 5AM Club! This is a ‘club’ started by one of my favourite authors and leadership guru Robin Sharma who has always maintained that what you do in the first holy hour from 5AM – 6AM will set the tone for the entire day. Robin Sharma has also mentioned in the following video on getting up early that a study conducted by University College London says it takes an average person 66 days to hard wire a new habit into the system.

I’m not saying that this has been a piece of cake from Day 1. The first couple of weeks are always the hardest. My body clock has gone a bit haywire. I’m surprised I was even able to wake up at 6AM so easily last month and have the energy to do several things the rest of the day! I have had two days so far where I’ve woken up feeling extremely guilty for being late. On the good days when I have woken up at 5AM, I’ve fallen asleep out of exhaustion at around mid morning! But this is all due to the fact that I have been struggling a bit with trying to fall asleep early at night which I need to work on.

However, I am really excited that I am doing it. My morning routine is inspired by what Robin Sharma mentioned in this video and this is a rough sketch of what I do to jump start my day – After brushing my teeth and having a lot of water first thing, I switch on the TV and put on a few of my favourite motivational videos to get fired up while simultaneously skipping and stretching to get the blood flow going. This is followed by reading a few pages of an inspirational book and some journaling while sipping on warm lemon mint water. At 6:30AM, I have been going for a brisk walk every alternate day which lasts about an hour (I alternate this by going for a walk every other evening). On my way home, I stop by a grocery store and have my energy boosting natural electrolytes i.e. fresh coconut water to clear the system. Once home, I have breakfast after half an hour and then proceed with the rest of the day. It’s such a rewarding experience to have so many important things done all before 9AM! 🙂

Since I know firsthand exactly what the benefits of a good morning ritual are, I am determined to follow this through. Which is why I have publicly made it known to all of you out there. I might even post an update about it every Friday because I’m very much motivated by a fellow blogger Laura who has successfully completed her ‘5AM Experiment’ and blogged all about it. Also, Instagram has been of a HUGE help where I found so many others who have been successfully doing the same for fitness reasons.

If you’re planning on joining me in the 5AM Club or even considering it, you might find the following video resources and this infographic really helpful:
1. 5 Things Successful People do before 8AM by Terri Savelle Foy
2. My 7 Step Morning Ritual by Drew Canole
3. Good Habits and Morning Rituals for Daily Success by Brian Tracy
4. How to Wake Up at 5AM Every Morning Excited about Your Life by Project Life Mastery
5. 7 Morning Routines for Business and Personal Success by Evan Carmichael

If you’re already a part of the 5AM Club or get up really early to spend sometime for yourself then I would absolutely love to know your personal morning ritual in the comments below! 🙂

Finally, a BIG thank you to the recent participants of Take-A-Step Thursday – Ashley of The Bookish Obsession and Adam of Done The Impossible for sharing their inspiration and I would also like to give a HUGE shout out to everyone who has been sending positive feedback about this event! I am very grateful to read such lovely comments so thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart! 😀

Anything that has inspired you this week and caused you to take a step in the right direction? Participate in Take-A-Step Thursday by following the steps mentioned in this post.

You can email me at thistlesandwhistles@hotmail.com
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