Why you have to wake up at 5am

Cru’s Letter

You should wake up early.

Considering I’ve woken up at 5am every single day (except two) for the last 7 years, I definitely am biased in that statement BUT now that you know my bias…

You should wake up early.

In working with so many high performers over the years, I’ve seen a trend in how much authority being on time to work or a meeting can hold over one’s ability to wake up early. People always say they “have to” get up a certain time for their job but the “have to” goes away as soon as the work responsibilities are off their plate.

Interestingly, I “have to” wake up at 5am every single day but do you want to guess who made that rule?

It’s me.

If the first moment of your day is owned by someone else (clients, co-workers, bosses, etc) then you’re setting yourself to respect yourself less.

When it comes to getting up before the sun, it’s hard to do and honestly, that never really changes. I don’t think getting up at any time is that easy but there’s something about that 5am alarm that has a special sting to it.

We all know that intentionally doing difficult things makes you more resilient to other difficulty and that feeling of overcoming is so fundamental to the human reward system but why do so many people pass up on the opportunity?

Think about this:

Who would you become if every single day started with overcoming something difficult?

What would you think of yourself if simply waking up in the morning was an achievement over and over again?

If you have no reason to break through the early wake-up wall, then you simply won’t do it but as soon as you realize how powerful it can be for building self-respect and confidence, you might find that you CAN even when you don’t want to.

A lot of people really resonate with being a “night-owl” and transparently, I can’t say there’s something objectively wrong with that but I do have a nitty-gritty critique on the approach of putting difficult responsibilities off until the evening…

When we look at nature, the sun rises and sets like clockwork, the temp goes up and down every day, our bodies need rest within this 24 hour schedule and whether we like it or not, we are in constant motion towards the future. Each day, a fresh 24 hour cycle starts and the journey to the end of the day begins. If the thing you’re in motion toward (the day’s end) is full of undesirable responsibilities, you’ll see the passing of time as a negative. If, however, you chase down the tougher responsibilities in the morning, you can then enjoy the rest of your day, relieved of the weight of what needs to be done (time passing is a positive).

Building momentum with a positive sleep schedule is a non-negotiable when it comes to fulfillment and self-mastery. If you feel like time is always chasing after you, maybe it’s time to give that clock a run for its money.

-Cru

P.S. Check out my recent youtube video that of course starts at 5am: