Hi, Hi, Hi . . . should we talk about the weather? Should we talk about the government?^* Both can be polarizing subjects but are these the conversations we have every day, even with those we are closest with?

Chances are . . . if you are single, you start your day asking for a latte or an americano. Maybe, you have a family and begin by verbally poking and prodding your kids out of bed. That’s right mornings are not the time for the deep and meaningful.

Mornings are for rushing about. Put yourself on autopilot to get through the logistics of the waking hours until you are in front of your desk . . . piling through your emails or rushing to attend morning start-up meetings. After, it is time to cross out the tasks on your to-do list and to write new ones down.

But where is all this going?

Have you ever tried to slow your mornings down? There are many productivity or self-improvement advocates who espouse the merits of waking up while the rest of the world sleeps . . . to get ahead, to beat the crowd to be the best you can be.

This is one half of the equation. Being an early riser provides the opportunity to be purposeful with where to direct your attention. However, the focus is still task driven, with an underlying imperative to go all out. Therefore, you are in danger of getting on the morning treadmill earlier and tuning out until you are done.

What is the other side of the equation?

I have been getting up at 5am regularly, shifting from going all-out to learning to value the experience and using the time to find meaning. I do this by devoting my time to provide a range of experiences which encompass a whole.

This morning, I am writing this blog post. Yesterday, I was reading my book. I also do online courses, or I shift my run to give myself more time of an evening. I even choose to sleep in every now and then.

I learned to appreciate the process, rather than focusing on a singular goal. Slowing down, I take the viewpoint not to overwork to accomplish set tasks in the short-term but adopt the long view articulated by Bill Gates and work towards achieving life growth over 10 years.

I enjoy my mornings, whether it is a misty Monday, or as it is now, a bright and beautiful Saturday. Giving myself the time to look up and enjoy observing out the window of my local Starbucks the telegraph pole that is leaning at a slight angle, or the sparse bit of greenery that someone has tended which has been walked past unnoticed.

I take time to think of the quote in Victor Frankl’s ‘Man’s search for Meaning’:

“What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you”

This quote reminds me to appreciate the mile I am running, the sentence I am writing or the individual words I am reading. This is where meaning is found, not in milestones, or lofty aims. When I switch from these micro-experiences to word count, or miles ran that the meaning can get lost. It is where I think about the slog and the time it will take to get through a 1000-page book, rather than wanting to see how the curiously written tale will reveal itself.

Previously, I ignored my curiosity because, being in tune with the planning fallacy, I was overly concerned with the time investment. Only when I gave up this approach that I re-found joy exploring a new subject.

You never know how things relate. I find that even tenuous curiosities end up relating to my core passions. They become supplemental, for instance a passage in a fiction book weaves its way into a blog post, providing a unique analogy.

Most recently, while running my first marathon, I dropped off the pace experiencing tightness. I again thought of Victor Frankl’s book. I chose to find meaning in my suffering and cover the distance no matter the difficulties without walking or stopping.

Although I did not get the time I wanted. I know I can work my way through a hard marathon and the pain I experienced has become learning for what I need to focus on in my training.

Reflecting on my experiences with my morning routine. I choose to use Seneca’s quote as inspiration:

“The path to wisdom is to find one thing every day”

Each morning, I pick one thing and find purpose in the time I spend doing it. I do not judge progress on a daily basis. Instead, I zoom out occasionally and look at the whole. Am I becoming a better human being? Am I making progress along my path as a runner or a writer? Most of all, am I enjoying the process?

My morning ritual has moved from becoming milestone driven, to taking the time to appreciate the experience of pursuing my interests. It is a time to enjoy the journey, being purposeful with where I direct my attention and have faith that growth will ensue.

Therefore, my advice is not to force yourself to get up each morning by beating your feelings into submission. Instead, give your feelings a meaning to wake up for. Enjoy the process of finding out about a quirky interest or gently coaching your teenage offspring out of bed by helping them find their own meaning. Most of all trust that growth will ensue rather than pursuing it directly.

___________________

^*Lyric by REM ‘Stand’