Midnight Means Good Morning

“There’s no such thing as midnight because after 12 it’s a new day already.”

When a six-year-old tells you something so profound, you listen. And whenever 12am obnoxiously flashes across any digital devices, or the hour and minute hand perfectly overlay each other in a vertical position, these words will be sparked.

At that moment, however, I shook my head in wonder at how a mind so young could look at a world so large and complex and come to that conclusion. For him, 12am is an exciting time. For him it’s the promise that whenever mom said tomorrow, 12:01am marked a whole new journey. A clean slate. New possibilities. Endless possibilities

Meanwhile, we try to wrestle with the 24-hour time zone, going so far as to bargain with it through inventions such as fast-food, dishwashers, microwaves. All in an effort to speed up productivity rate while we can slow down our routine.

All it has done, however, is allowed for us to fill more hours with more fast-food mentality productivity. And we’re fried, no pun intended. See, time is one of the most coveted and yet casually treated commodities we can claim. Time has become a billable asset.

But to one little six-year-old kid, it was a discovery. He could recognize Sunday-Saturday, knew what yesterday, tomorrow and before or after meant. For a young guy, his reminiscing was sharp, but for as much as he lived in the now, he was always eager to live in the what’s next.

So much so, that that when trying to get him to sleep throughout the night he asked half-asleep and 100% disgruntled, “Why is it taking so long to wake up?” In other words, why wasn’t it time to get up?

All he wanted was for the morning to come so he could punch the possibilities in the face and conquer yet another day.

The only thing I want to punch in the morning is my alarm clock. (Did you know there’s actually a national holiday for this?) Regardless, we all have different schedules. We all live different lifestyles. But we all have developed a unique relationship with our bed that is hard to sever come wakey-wake time. But wouldn’t it be nice to develop some element of sentiment in which we look forward to getting up? 

Wouldn’t it be nicer if we got up in the morning and half the work was already done?

A Few Simple Ways to Kick-Start Your Day Wisely:

• Don’t Be an “I Have Nothing to Wear” Victim

Lay it all out…Our mom’s did this for us for years; it’s time we adopted the habit. This task includes more than matching an argyle vest with a checkered shirt. It’s about checking the weather to verify whether our clothing will be compatible with adverse weather conditions.

• Plan an Emergency Exit Strategy

Don’t get mad, get even? Yes, that doesn’t really work when you’re behind schedule, stuck in traffic or are still at home and unintentionally tried to give yourself a double shot of espresso via osmosis by spilling it down your front. No, don’t get mad, get up even earlier. Plan an exit strategy that will give you plenty of time to make your real entrance right on time.

• Block Time for Breakfast

For some of you that may not be food. But we all need to begin our day by digesting what energizes us. Maybe it’s exercise, maybe it’s reading, spending a few minutes with your children before they head off to school - maybe it is physical food. But what is the first portion of your day?

When we get up in the morning, we far too often see just another hour, another number and the endless tasks. I challenge you to see endless possibilities and that no matter what, 12:01am marks a whole new journey. A clean slate. New possibilities. Endless possibilities.