Today is a great day. I am full of life, energy, and enthusiasm. I can choose to have a great day, and I choose to have a great day, today.
I have struggled all my life as a person who needs a lot of sleep.
This sounds like a silly problem to worry about. If your biggest problem is that you are tired and need to sleep a lot in order to function, you have a pretty great life, right? Well, yes. However, over the course of a lifetime, it can really add up.
When I was a child, watching my friends at sleepovers able to stay up late and not be totally destroyed the next day made me jealous. In college, the late-night study sessions would kill me for a week. As a young adult, I couldn’t socialize the same way some of my friends could.
Once I got pregnant, the one thing that made me most afraid wasn’t the actual childbirth, it was that I would never be able to sleep again, and would therefore go completely insane.
Now, as a Mom, it seems like the only time I can be productive is when the baby’s asleep or someone else is caring for him. I know amazing women who somehow can give their child attention and accomplish things
With a second child on the way I am legitimately concerned I may never accomplish anything again when not covered by childcare. Such are the worries of a person who needs a lot of sleep but also aspires to be productive.
Over time and with the assistance of LOTS of coffee, I’m generally better off in dealing with my need for rest than I was when I was younger. I get up earlier than I ever have before, and use that time as wisely as possible. Still, I don’t feel as productive as those counterparts who need less sleep than I. It still makes me jealous.
The thing about living with a deficit, whatever it is, is that you either allow it the power to keep you down, or you figure out how to compensate. I work hard to overcome feelings of fatigue and a need to sleep. We all have challenges to overcome, and strategies to deal with them.
It was from this coach, who later became a mentor, that I learned the power of a mantra. Self-talk can be a hugely powerful force in your life.
Before you just dismiss this off-hand as hippie-dippy ridiculousness, try to imagine yourself looking in the mirror. When you tell your reflection you’re beautiful – your eyes light up, you stand up straighter, and your face glows. When you tell yourself that you could stand to lose a few pounds, that’s what you see – the pounds to lose. You engage in self-talk all day – even if you don’t pay attention to what you’re saying – and it changes the way you see the world.
Try a self-audit of your internal dialogue. Really listen to what you tell yourself for an entire day. Only once you bring into focus your internal messaging can you begin to use that dialogue to shape your narrative – and by extension, your behavior.
This may sound insane at first blush. If you’re tired, you can’t simply talk yourself out of being tired, right? Yes and no. We all exist in a world of physical reality. H
Yes, some days are going to be “drag yourself through with a gallon of coffee, dry shampoo, all the concealer, and do the bare minimum to survive” days. They happen to everyone. But if you wake up every day and tell yourself that you are going to have a great day, you’ll notice a change. I promise.
So, here’s the mantra I tell myself every morning. Without fail. Print it out and put it next to your bed (on top of your phone). If you read it every morning before you scroll your feed, you’ll notice a huge difference in your life. It will be memorized in a few days – then just tell yourself this every morning and, more
Today is a great day. I am full of life, energy, and enthusiasm. I can choose to have a great day, and I choose to have a great day, today.
Let me know if it helps you too!