If you haven’t read the story yet, go to Build A Great Day By Dawn, Part 1.

You can’t build a strong house on a weak foundation, and you can’t build a productive day without taking care of yourself first.

Most of us are raised on a work/reward system that emphasizes doing what needs to be done and then enjoying yourself afterward. We’re told again and again that the needs of others take precedence over the needs of oneself. Generally it is honorable to put work, children, and pretty much anything else first, and dishonorable to start every day thinking of “me”.

But can you pour water for someone else if your own pitcher is empty?

Fulfill Others by Fulfilling Yourself

I became tired of waking up and stepping right into the pressures of the day, I desperately sought some “me time”. The only place I could find it on my schedule was at before work so I began by setting an alarm a few minutes early for some “me time.” As I laid down to sleep with a new alarm time, I decided to get productive and wake up before the rest of the world. The thought had me so excited I woke up and began a new routine that morning and never looked back. That was 6 years ago and still schedule in “me time” before I begin my day.

Chances are you rush in the morning, think at work all day about the things you’d like to do after work, then go home too tired to do much beside watch TV. This is the way most people are accustomed to, leaving self-fulfilment to the evening, as a reward for their hard work. It’s a lie we keep telling ourselves, that we’ll get to that novel we always wanted to write sometime and maybe we’ll write the first few words after work tonight. Then by the end of the day, well, there just isn’t enough time for what we truly want in life.

Break the rut. I encourage you to do this for one week: put your evening in the morning. Wake up 30 minutes before your alarm and spend those precious moments on yourself on yourself. Go to bed earlier if you must (really, are you doing anything important after 8:00 PM anyway?) Start every day having eaten well, exercised, read a book, painted a painting, or whatever it is that puts gas in your tank. Only when you’re the person you want to be for yourself, can you be the person you want to be for others.

Figuring out how to feel more fulfilled in life and work? I’d love to help. Click here to schedule a 25 minute complementary call.

I encourage you to enjoy life daily.

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