Give Yourself Some Grace
It's OK if your morning routines aren't executed perfectly every single day.
I woke up unusually late today at around 7:30 AM. Normally, I wake up around 5 AM so that I can get a head start on my day with exercise, prayer, and reading. It feels great to kick off the day early. But today, I slept right in.
I shouldn't be disappointed by this. I shouldn't expect that I will have the perfect morning routine every single day. I shouldn't feel bad when this happens. In fact, I should actually celebrate that I was able to wake up at 5 AM for several weeks now. I've had vastly more days of waking up early than not. One late morning isn't going to erase all that effort and hard work. Additionally, I'm bent on continuing to develop this habit. So, I don't expect that this one late morning is going to derail my efforts completely.
I should give myself some grace. In fact, I probably needed the rest. I just came from a busy weekend where I spoke at a retreat for 5 sessions in total. I was already coming into this work week tired and lacking in rest and sleep. The funny part was that I was telling my wife just last night that my eye bags were looking a little more prominent than usual. My eyes were unusually tired and heavy. It was an indication that I really needed to get some extra rest. And so I did.
It's OK if your morning routines aren't executed perfectly every single day. Being flexible is part of the game. In fact, we should listen to our bodies. If our body is saying that it needs more rest, we should give it. It will help the body remain healthy and effective in the long run. Although I didn't keep the habit of waking up at 5 AM today, I got something else in return: extra rest that I probably really needed. Now, I feel more refreshed to take on the rest of the day with better concentration and creativity.
I just need to remind myself that I don't want this one instance to derail my early morning efforts completely. I'm determined even more to continue building my early morning habits and will bring myself to wake up at 5 AM again tomorrow.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
