05:30am. The alarm goes off. Immediately in your head you have 1000 excuses NOT to get up. You have a choice. You can either satisfy your “now” need. Get more sleep and talk yourself into the fact that “sleep is surely good”kind of thing. OR you can invest try and satisfy your “long term” self. And recognise that the exercise you do right now will benefit you in the future.
It may sound like an easy and obvious choice but it is not. As humans we are conditioned to always prioritise the “now” need. Your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur is to learn how to overcome that and work on building up your future account instead. This does not only apply to looking after your body. It will have a translation in any aspect of decisions you make on a daily basis.
Running is not for everyone
I have always had this image of a perfect body runner as the success reflection. I have tried and failed. For months I have been waking up in the morning, I hated every second of it. It made me feel very bad as I desperately wanted to reach that success you can see on the runner’s face! It was frustrating as I constantly had a back pain, even though I pushed through the 60 days, managed to get to the 5k from literally zero. All of this for me to hate every moment of it? No, I knew I could do better.
You are unique
I remembered a story of an elephant, monkey and a dog going to school and taking a climbing exam. Elephant and a dog are simply not made for it. What if I wasn’t made for running? I had one obvious thing to try. Swimming. I come from the family of successful swimmers. My father had more gold medals than sense, my uncle made a career as a swim coach. It is strange as you would think I would grow up with this swim mentality in the background. But I didn’t. I just about knew how to swim – nothing above average!
8 months later
It started with one swim. I have hardly missed my morning routine since! It was the love from the first sight. The feeling of lightness, the silence under the water – those two small things make me feel as if somebody has given me my wings. I love my mornings! I attended a small number of private swimming lessons (my teacher told me she has never had such a fast learner before) and now I swim 1000m in 30 mins. My adventure has just started. I look forward to learning other styles and getting to 1500m in that time next.
Conclusion
If you hate your current morning routine – don’t continue. You may not be able to pass the climbing exam, and it is OK. Find the skills that suit you. Running, swimming, cycling, dancing, yoga – some of a very few things you can try. Keep trying until you can’t wait to be up in the morning. That’s when you know this is the exam you will pass with the flying colours.
