Five Months in the 5AM Club: What Changed for Me
It’s been 5 months since I joined the 5AM club. Well, it’s more like the 4am club, or today, the 3:37am club.
I know what you’re thinking. And yes, it’s as crazy as it sounds.
That much I knew going into it. What I didn’t know was this:
1. Discipline Starts With Small Things
If I don’t have discipline for the small things, how can I for the big things? It’s not like I was proposing to get up at 5am and go climb Mount Everest. I was just trying to climb out of bed to get to the YMCA. Is that really that hard? Truth is that yes, it was for the first ten days or so, and then BOOM. Now I am on auto-drive, waking up earlier and earlier, without an alarm.
2. Showing Up Daily Changes Your Body Without Trying
Even if I don’t give it my all every time, going to the gym every day has changed me physically. I’m more flexible, my skin is healthier, I just broke my personal record by doing a plank for an hour and 14 minutes, and everything is noticeably stronger. I am not doing it for this reason, but it just happened as a byproduct.
3. Early Mornings Created Space for Deep Meditation
Waking up before 5am has motivated me to go straight into deep meditation for about two hours.
If you haven’t tried meditation, oh man, I never had done so either like this. And wow, it is a gamechanger. I have had more ideas come to me during meditation than I have while being fully awake. Writing this post is one of them. Aren’t you so glad?
4. Prioritization Becomes Automatic
Friends want me to go out to dinner? Ok, that’s happening at 5pm so that I can get to the gym afterwards.
I want to go on vacation? Ok, but I am picking a later flight time so it doesn’t interfere with my morning meditation.
I’ve got a birthday party to go to? Ok, but I’m definitely not drinking because I have got a 7am workout tomorrow.
When the priority becomes the routine, everything else can still fit in, and the decisions become more obvious and also healthier by default.
5. The Cumulative Effects Are Life-Changing
Having done this for about 150 days, I can say that the effects are life-changing. Bringing in meditation, reading, writing, journaling, studying, breathing, dancing, working out, and tracking wins is certainly what I needed right now, and probably always.
I am less reactive, more kind, less frustrated, more energetic, and I created about 20 extra hours in my week that I didn’t have before. Win-win.
A Routine That Grounds My Life and Work
I could go on and on, and probably will as I learn more throughout my process. But this is a LinkedIn post, after all, and I gotta keep it tight so you can get back to your regularly scheduled emails.
I’ll end by saying this: I love helping others who are interested in creating healthier habits and routines to ground their lives. That is my sweet spot, and being an executive coach is perfect for it. And I want to walk the walk.
Cheers to keeping on keeping on, and working responsibly towards making it a great life.
Want support building habits that actually stick?
Learn more about my coaching work here.
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