Persistent Early Morning Hopes
The alarm goes off at 4:20am every morning.
And, every morning, I have two persistent early morning hopes:
That I’ll pop out of bed and be…
MOTIVATED
INSPIRED
It never happens. Ever.
No, in the morning, I need the slow marinade: a mundane and boring routine.
A cup of coffee poured at 4:25am because I think it wakes me up.
A glass of chocolate milk finished by 4:27am because I think it gives me fuel.
If I’m being diligent, I’ll fill up my water bottle in hopes of staying consistently hydrated in the Florida heat and humidity.
I grab the coffee and water — along with a stack of books, my journals, my phone, and my headphones — and head to the porch.
As I’m sitting down at 4:30am on the porch, I still have hopes that the motivation will come. Hopes that the inspiration will come.
It rarely happens.
No, in the morning, I need the slow marinade: a mundane and boring routine.
I’ll spend 20–45 minutes — depending on what the upcoming day’s workout calls for — on the porch with all the goodies that I brought out with me.
Read a bit. Take notes here and there. Send a text message. Pop on a podcast. Sit and think and sip my coffee.
At some point after 5:00am, I find myself heading back inside carrying all my goodies back in with me and putting them in their respective “homes”.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I head out the door to swim practice by 5:10am.
On Tuesday and Thursday, I set up my bike for a trainer ride to start by 6:00am.
On Saturday, I head out for a long bike ride starting at 6:00am.
On Sundays, I grumble and slowly enter the world to do a long run by 6:30am.
Regardless of the day of the week, I’m still hoping to find the motivation by this point. To find that inspiration.
On a very rare and lucky day, I’m starting to feel motivated. Starting to feel inspired.
But, that rarely happens. In the morning, I need the slow marinade: a mundane and boring routine.
At this point in the day, though, I have enough clarity to remind myself:
Just DO THE WORK in front of you.
I’ve been doing this for a while now.
I started my own business in January 2020. And, 18 months later, it finally feels like something is gaining traction.
I got married in May 2020. A year and half in, we’re making a pretty good team.
I started training for my second Ironman in September 2020 and I’m only 5 weeks away from toeing the starting line.
We had a baby on January 15, 2021 and 7.5 months in, I’m starting to believe that I’m doing okay at being a dad—that we’re good parents.
And I think that it’s all happening because, each day, at 4:20am, I just DO THE WORK in front of me regardless of the motivation or inspiration.
It’s 11am. Today, I’ve gotten my hour and twenty minute bike ride in, made breakfast for the family while Julie biked, played with, taught, and fed Ezekiel before rocking him to sleep for his morning nap. I finished a book that I started last night as inspiration for my business and my clients, reached out to a few of my coaching clients, and wrote a portion of a swim workout for my new master’s coaching position at T2 Aquatics. And now, well, I’ve got a blog post written.
It never fails, every morning, I have two persistent hopes:
That I’ll pop out of bed and be…
MOTIVATED
INSPIRED
I’m a slow learner.
It never happens. Ever.
But, I have learned that if I engage in the mundane and boring routine by simply DOING THE WORK in front of me, amazing things start to happen.
So, I think I’ll do the same thing tomorrow.
It’s kinda boring.
But, maybe you should, too.
Who knows where it will take you.
Allow your day-to-day life to slowly marinate. Build your routine. Embrace the process of pursuing your goals. Let the outcomes take care of themselves — it’s pretty darn fun!
