5 Reasons To Wake Up Early

Image by aussiegall on Flickr

I've made it a habit to get up earlier nowadays, around 5:30 in the morning. Doing so, I'm following in the footsteps of what apparently a number of successful people have done and do every day; this post from Business Insider lists 23 such individuals, including Disney CEO Bob Iger (4:30), Benjamin Franklin (5:00) and Brooklyn Industries CEO Lexy Funk (4:00).

It might seem hard to get up earlier -- but I've found no great feeling of "sleep deprivation" by doing so. Which is to say, I don't really "miss" the extra hour or two of sleep I don't get.

Here are five reasons waking up early can be to your advantage:

5 Divination Methods You Can Do Yourself

Photo by Dana Beveridge on Flickr

With a bit of research, a lot of practice, and some faith, you can be your own "fortune teller." While I can't promise you will always "see" the future like a Nostradamus, using divination techniques can be a great tool for self-discovery.

Here's a quick introduction to five methods of divination I am very familiar with that you can learn to do yourself.

How To Navigate Through Negative Online News

How do we avoid the clutter of negativity?
(photo credit: The Sean & Lauren Spectacular on Flickr)

Currently, I'm reading a book by Joe Vitale called "The Attractor Factor," about how we can bring more abundance into our lives by clarifying our goals and keeping a positive viewpoint. In a chapter called "Step One: The Springboard," he discusses how we "create" our own life situations by our mindset, and how the world outside us is a reflection of that. More specifically, Vitale advises that what we "take in" to our mind will work to create our life situation (positive or negative):

"One way to protect yourself from the negative influences of the world at large is to abstain from them...I don't watch the news or read the papers. After a while you begin to see how you are fed one-sided, negative heavy news. None of it is designed to help my well-being."

Learn When To Sway: Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy

World turned upside-down, roots coming to light

I haven't updated this blog in a good long while...so long, in fact, that I was actually embarrassed to go back to it. Like a cat who trips or accidentally walks into a wall, then acts like it meant to do it. "Oh, I had started this thing, but then it dropped off the map like so many things do..."

Calm.com Is An Instant Stress-Buster!

I've used several apps for my iPhone to induce "on the spot" relaxation...but sometimes you are on-the-job and don't have time to plug into your headset and zone out to the sounds of raindrops or binaural tones. Calm.com is a great solution for when you just need a few minutes to clear your mind and recharge!

You Gotta Fight For Your Right For Wellness

I think one of the biggest mistakes I've made regarding the quest for my own personal wellness is assuming it is something that comes smoothly and naturally -- without effort. "Simply find time during the day and meditate," is the advice commonly given. "Just integrate greater physical activity into your day." "Be happy -- if you be it, you *are* it!"

That isn't terrible advice in-and-of-itself, but it is incomplete. It doesn't speak of the dark nights of the soul one experiences on the way to wellness -- that week *after* you've seen the light and everything is golden. What about when you're stressed at work and have eaten that particular cupcake mostly to feel better and have more energy -- and then feel *horrible,* as if you've destroyed your entire diet?

What about all the excuses we make *not* to have that precious *me* time each day -- rationalizing that it isn't really important, and that we can make it up later? We have to literally *fight* for those moments each day, demanding (usually to ourselves) that they be spent focusing on ourselves and our own wellness.

I wish there were more self-help books that stressed this element. In this world, in this society -- unless we live in the woods in a log cabin -- there are so many demands on us to *not* engage in wellness tactics. And even when wellness initiatives are offered at our workplace or in our immediate neighborhoods, we sometimes feel so bogged down with other stuff that we either ignore them or minimize their importance.

7 Easy Steps For Better Health

Photo by Darwin Bell on Flickr

I was going to add the sub-head "That I Often Don't Do Because It Seems Too Easy" -- because that's the  truth! What follows is a list of dead-simple additions to one's routine that are hard to do because they're too simple to do. "Drinking more water will make me much healthier? Drinking any water will make me healthier? Lies, lies, and crazy-talk!"

7. Eat Vegetables. 
Seriously, eat some damn vegetables. Not just veggies that have been boiled or fried within an inch of their lives...but add some fresh vegetables in there. I've gone long periods of my life barely eating any vegetables, unless you consider potato chips a valid veggie portion. My skin was literally grey from unhealthiness. And yet as crazy as it may seem that someone would go through life without getting plants in their diet, I've known plenty of people like this. The worst are the ones who insist they are getting enough nutrients from heavy meat-eating so that they don't need vegetables; those must be some really unhappy intestines.

6. Get Fresh Air and Sunlight.
This is particularly aimed at those who work in the Cubicle Nation, though some artists and writers tend to become unhealthily housebound as well. Many of us are blessed to work in progressive offices where every amenity is provided to you, including a wonderful cafeteria filled with countless (and healthy!) food choices. One may be tempted to never leave the building during the 9 to 5. But that's really, really bad -- not only because of the relatively stale air and lack of vitamin D-producing sun rays, but because such a practice seriously reduces your perspective on life. Think about it: you have this wonderful hour to yourself that you could spend doing non-worklike things, and you choose to stay in the Work Zone. That's 5 hours a week you could have used going to the library or eating at a new restaurant or meeting up with friends or dancing in the grass in your bare feet.

Taking Time For *You* Is Essential

Photo by Alice Popkorn on Flickr

Do you have such a busy schedule that you've forgotten who you really are? If you strip away the part of you that's related to work and social engagements, does it seem like there's nothing left? Or that what does exist there seems almost foreign to you?

I've recently started to get up earlier each morning in order to have quality, undisturbed *me* time. Time to think -- to check in with myself and evaluate how things are going. Time to write and read about stuff that's important to me. And time to do nothing but relax. Surprisingly, the biggest hurdle here is not making up for the missed hour or two of sleep, but struggling with a sense that I'm being selfish or too self-absorbed by indulging in this "luxury."