Emotional Stages of my Mornings

I haven't always been an early riser. In fact, in the early years of our marriage, I regularly slept until embarrassing hours while my husband took care of the dog and cleaned up around the house.

My, how times have changed.

As I talked about in my Day in the Life post, my mornings start early. Very early. Like in college I never saw this hour early. Here's the scenario my internal struggle most mornings.

Surprise Despite the fact that I set my alarm and it goes off at nearly the same time daily, I still am momentarily confused and have to think about what day it is and where I'm going.

Bargaining Which leads to the debate of "can I sleep for another half an hour or do I need to be at the gym by 5:45?"

Weariness My morning usually includes calculating how many days until my next opportunity to sleep in. Math is hard before 6 a.m., too.

Regret Why am I doing this again?

Acceptance By the time I get to the gym, long run meet up or CrossFit box, I've made peace with my choice. I'm here, let's do the things.

Elation The runner's high is real. My RoadID has my mantra on it: "'Til I Collapse." And that's what I do every damn day.


Satisfaction When the workout is done and I'm at my desk with a couple hundred calories killed by 8:30 a.m., I have my smugness to keep me motivated to do it all again.

Hunger My constant companion roars after my workouts.

I think about this illustration often
via

How do you get through the mornings?