Start Strong and End Strong
How many times in your life were you asked or told to make your bed in the morning? How many of you make it a priority to make your bed every morning? Bed making in the morning, before the day has started, goes beyond an aesthetic pleasure- you reap great mental reward. It is making a simple (yet sometimes ignored) task, checked off the list of “to-dos”, it begins the start of organization of space, and it sets you up for a strong finish for the day rather then climbing into a messy bed. I’ve read in countless places about how people who start the morning strong by doing a task/chore/prayer/meditation, find themselves with a day that reflects what they started with; If you start the day by making your bed, you set yourself up for a productive day. If you start your day with meditation or prayer, you set yourself up with one of good spirit, thought, and reflection. Of course there may be hiccups in the day, but you’ve laid the solid foundations down for what to expect and thus creates how you act or react. So, I tried myself an experiment.
My kids used to go to bed early and wake up REALLY early, and now that they are “sleeping in”, I used morning time as MY time. But, I got into a horrible habit of watching TV for MY time, and then when the kids sleepily came downstairs THEY wanted to watch TV too. It got out of control- the emotional rollercoasters, the feeling like I never got enough done, the last minute hustle EVERYWHERE! Finally, I came up with the rule of no TV before school which I thought to help with the kids, but really it was myself that it has benefited most. After a little over 3 weeks I’ve noticed a difference and there is the power to change up the morning routine by diciding where I feel like I may need the most strength for the day ahead; if it’s Monday and I got a list of “To-Dos” a mile long, then I better make that bed… and then some. If it’s a Tuesday and I’m headed to Story Time with complete chaos and in need of inner tranquility, then I better do that meditation… it works!
To wrap up, all I’m saying is this- there’s something to making that bed in the morning. We work so hard on ourselves inside the gym to be strong, and sometimes forget about added effort for strength in mind and spirit. So when “3,2,1, GO!” hits, or the alarm clock goes off, start STRONG so you can set yourself up to end STRONG.
Workout of the Day
42 Kettlebell Swings 53/25
21 Pullups
30 Kettlebell Swings
15 Pullups
18 Kettlebell Swings
9 Pullups
or
For advanced athletes
21 KB Snatch, Left Arm 53/35
21 KB Snatch, Right Arm
21 Pullups
15 KB Snatch, Left Arm
15 KB Snatch, Right Arm
15 Pullups
9 KB Snatch, Left Arm
9 KB Snatch, Right Arm
9 Pullups