“How you start your day, is how your day will go.”
Growing up, I was always told to make the most out of my day. I was told to dream, to never wake up, so I stayed asleep for most of my youth. I missed the teachings on reality and lived my life as a superhero waiting for my chance to rescue a damsel in distress. When I reached the age of reason, I had a hard time understanding life because life had always been reasonless. In one fell swoop, I had lost my cape and my abilities to fly. Things had stop coming naturally to me so I began to try and force the puzzle pieces to fit. It was only after many days of trial and error that I caught a glimpse of the puzzle that I had created; what started out as a masterpiece became a lost cause for concern. The once promising glue that held the pieces together held no more and the puzzle, my life, had come tumbling down.
The Later Years
The later years of the dream became a nightmare caused by a confusing upbringing. As my mind developed, I uncovered a series of lies that were set in place to keep me young and inspired; getting up each day became a challenge. I had to adapt by way of force, I trained my self to stay ambitious, but the more I pushed the more I struggled. Half of my day would be ambitious and the other was half was spent trying to recover from the exhausting expectations that I had set for myself. Something had to change.
Self Discovery & the Battle Within
The time spent deciphering the cold truth left me questioning all sensation. I began to wonder about human perception, which led me to search for answers in an unfamiliar place, myself. Armed with mindfulness, I focused on every breath and sensation, and the thoughtless space in between. In the quietest places you hear the tiniest things; I found thoughts that I had muted. When the time was right I turned up the volume, observed ignorance, and battled it with compassion and wisdom. The thoughts that once held me in place where used as a vehicle for growth and understanding; the mindless child inside of me never stood a chance.
No Regrets Only Lessons Learned
Although this sounds like wasted youth, no time was wasted, the years spent as a lost child drew me a map for the remainder of my life. My life had gone from permanent and linear – to boundless and vertically expansive. The start and end became of little use to me anymore as I placed emphasis on the process, and on the moment. In the blink of an eye I had awakened. No more bad dreams, only reminders of the nights I had them. Out of the ashes arose a series of lessons that had to be learned; the most important one, the man who once saved the distressed now had to save himself.
The Take Away
Starting the day with productivity in mind was not the best idea. I was setting the stage for an anxious day; my productivity would tank from the overwhelming standards. My days would usually end with me having to fight off irritation, anger, and depression. Over time the message became clear – how you start your day, is how your day will go. The key to having a meaningful day has everything to do with how you start your day, not how you end it. This obvious fact seems to get buried under the never ending list of things to do. If you’re searching for more meaning in your day, dig deeper, and start the day by prioritizing the things that matter to you.
How do you start your day? Do your morning rituals help or hurt you?