The Real Reason You’re Not As Far Along As You Should Be

There’s a certain status associated with being a morning person. As a society we’ve collectively decided that it’s a more virtuous thing to do. It suggests you were responsible the night before, have the character and self-control that will lead to more success, and take yourself that much seriously by getting a fast start to the day.

Many people say they want to be a morning person because they want to be more like that. They think they’d be more proud of themselves, self-confident, and achieve more if that were the case. But in many ways it’s virtue signaling and way too narrow of a commitment to actually be best for a person.

I know this because I had this problem. For years I set my alarm for 5:59 AM because then I could tell myself I was up before 6:00. It stroked my ego and made me feel like a high performer. But was it actually best for me?

At the time I didn’t know why I was easily distracted and had midday brain fog, not looking back at it today it’s obvious: I wasn’t sleeping enough. I was waking up early to feel good about myself but doing it was actually making me sick. 

What’s more important than being a morning person is being the type of person who absolutely crushes their day. Who’s to say that the day needs to start early for that to be true? In fact for many, it does the opposite because it pulls people out of their conditions for success.

So here’s the punchline: Make commitments based on what actually serves you and not what seems to be the best. The things you’ve decided to be ‘right’ might not be, and keeping a healthy curiosity and detachment from those beliefs will help you figure out what really works for you.

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