Well, we did it. We’ve come to the end of our Very Best Self experiment/challenge – are you a new and improved person like I am?

woman stands on mountain over field under cloudy sky at sunrise
Photo by Victor Freitas on Pexels.com

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!  (^^^Obviously not me.)

Okay, actually last week went really well. I figured out that if I get up and get in the shower first thing, then, while my hair is air drying, I have time to do a 5-20 minute workout. I got up early and worked out 4 days last week!! These are not intense workouts – they are low impact – but they are challenging enough that I felt a little soreness in my muscles and I didn’t get sweaty so I didn’t feel like taking a shower first was a waste of time.  It was a nice feeling to know that I did at least some form of exercise in the morning, and one morning I even had time to fit in a short meditation.

This week however, has been a different story. I have been so tired all week and I’ve had to force myself to wake up at the latest possible minute. My husband and I had a fun night out last Saturday night and stayed up way too late, then I had trouble sleeping Sunday – Tuesday nights and it has been a sleepy struggle to stay awake and be productive during the day ever since. So this week, I’ve gotten up early exactly zero times.

So what did I learn from this experiment? A) I can be a person who gets up early only if I get enough sleep the night before, and B) that it takes me several days to recover from a late night out. This may seem like a no-brainer, but having an early morning habit is the direct result of a solid evening routine, and I’m thinking I may need to work on that part first because I don’t have a great evening routine. I often get to bed later than I’d like so some focused attention on that will help with my goal of becoming an early riser.

How did your experiments go? You guys were making some great progress last time I checked! Did you learn anything about yourselves that surprised you or that will be helpful going forward? Any ideas for another experiment or challenge? I thought this was fun and interesting – I’d like to do it again. 🙂