Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD during his rule Aurelius found the time to construct a series of autobiographical writings now known as the meditations the meditations is regarded as one of the greatest works of philosophy which is why in this video we'll be using some of its wisdom as a motivation to talk about 10 things we should do to wake up early number 1 find your aqui guy Marcus Aurelius says everything a horse a vine is created for some duty for what task then were you yourself created it guy
is a Japanese wellness theory that can make your mornings beautiful it's defined as one's reason for which you wake up in the morning which can be interpreted as your purpose in life Marcus Aurelius believed that we each have a purpose something that we were created for it's our duty to carry out that purpose because its purpose that gets you out of bed each morning you're a key guy could be anything your long-lost hobby a new skill you wish to develop or anything that gives you a solid reason to be excited about it the best way
to find your a key guy is by asking yourself this one a simple question if I had more time what are the things I could do you may come up with multiple answers so select the one that excites you the most is it a task you need to complete before you start off with your day because the whole world is quiet and you have ample time for yourself to pursue the activity you're excited about which will eventually help you to have healthy social connections to challenge yourself in a good way to relieve stress to be
fit to be creative and to ward off depression you need to give yourself a solid reason to wake up something to do every morning if it excites you the most number two prepare yourself for mornings in the words of Marcus Aurelius all our efforts must be directed towards an end where we will act in vain if it is not the right end we will fail utterly becoming a morning person requires more work than setting your alarm for 5:00 a.m. and hoping for the best people who've decided to make the most of their morning's not only
have a routine for when they wake up but before they go to bed as well one you may not have control over your consciousness while you're asleep you definitely have control over your evening activities that will make you get up out of your bed the following morning you can start by minimizing your television and phone time before bed by keeping everything ready for the morning for example if you wish to go to the gym then put out your gym outfit before you go to bed by putting out your clothing the night before you save energy
the next day if you exercise in the mornings it'll be tough to skip out on a workout when your gym clothes and trainers are sitting at the foot of your bed when you wake up this is a two-minute exercise that will save you energy in the morning you can even use your evening time to settle any unresolved issues having unresolved issues will not only have your mind racing before you go to sleep but you'll also wake up stressed out it's better to spend whatever time is needed to resolve any issues you can before you go
to bed this will help your focus as you get into your morning routine by making small sacrifices you can be on your way to becoming a morning person and squeezing the most out of your day to be more productive number three avoid distractions after you wake up Marcus Aurelius says concentrate every minute like a Roman like a man on doing what's in front of you and on freeing yourself from all other distractions some mornings you wake up and you feel that you're being pulled in lots of different directions you usually get distracted by all sorts
of things miscellaneous emails a new episode of your favorite TV show your cell phone ringing text messages the dirty dishes in the sink the unpaid gas and electric bills the list goes on no matter how early wake up you will be distracted there may be days when you may be convinced that the world is conspiring to keep you from getting anything of substance done much of the time the things that distract us are the things that need to get done but they aren't necessarily what we should be focusing on right that second if your waking
up early your waking up for a reason which is to make the most of this extra time to do the things that you love before you get pulled in by the demands of your daily life number four wake up consistently according to Marcus Aurelius you must build up your life action by action and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible and no one can keep you from this if you're serious about waking up early everyday then you have to do it consistently in order to make it part of your routine
you need to develop your self-discipline self-discipline is nothing more but the habit of consistency finding the motivation to do something a game and a game until you do it on autopilot and start seeing the results how elrod in his book the miracle morning tells us that we need to be consistent for the first 30 days to develop this new routine we need to divide the 30-day time frame into three 10-day phases each of these phases presents a different set of emotional challenges and mental roadblocks to sticking with the new habit the first 10 days of
implementing any new habit or ridding yourself of any old habit can feel almost unbearable if your new habit is waking up early then the first 10 days of your experience might be something like this oh god it's morning already I don't want to get up I'm so tired I need more sleep where's the coffee and then we hit the snooze button the problem for most people is that they don't realize that this seemingly unbearable first 10 days is only temporary once you get through the first 10 days the most difficult 10 days you begin the
second ten-day phase which is considerably easier while days 11 to 20 are not unbearable they're still uncomfortable and will require discipline and commitment on your part but by this time you'll be getting used to waking up early you'll also develop some confidence and positive associations to the benefits of your habit so stay committed phase 3 is also where the actual transformation occurs so you go from having an identity that says I am NOT a morning person - I am a morning person instead of dreading your alarm clock in the morning now when the alarm goes
off you're excited to wake up and get going because you've done it for over 20 days in a row you're starting to see and feel the benefits number 5 go easy on yourself as we learn from the words of Marcus Aurelius stick with the situation at hand and ask why is this so unbearable why can't I endure it you'll be embarrassed to answer the truth is our brain prioritizes instant gratification it values short term rewards over long-term benefits which is why 95% of people failed and time again to start exercise routines in the first 10
days the problem for most people is that they don't realize that this seemingly unbearable first 10 days is only temporary instead they think that it's the way then you have it feels and will always feel telling themselves if the new habit is this painful forget it it's not worth it which is why when we fail to wake up early on one day we often say to ourselves that I'll start waking up early from next Monday or from next month we need to understand that our ability to keep going is what molds us into a disciplined
and strong person a bad day doesn't have to become a bad week a bad week doesn't have to become a bad year we need to realize that the new day comes with a new life and with another opportunity to be better don't forgive yourself for waking up late today and start waking up early from tomorrow number 6 practice voluntary hardship Marcus Aurelius says we should discipline ourselves in small things and from their progress to things of greater value if you have a headache practice not cursing don't curse every time you have an earache and I'm
not saying that you can't complain only don't complain with your whole being voluntary hardship means constantly testing ourselves and by making life routinely uncomfortable in some way we're hardening ourselves for the day we may need to live it for real to wake up early you can practice voluntary hardships like putting your alarm clock far from your bedside because if it's right next to your bed you'll shut it off or hit snooze never hit snooze if it's far from your bed you'll have to get up and out of bed to shut it off and by then
you're already up so now all you have to do is just stay up get out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm don't allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed if you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early you'll never do it don't make getting back into bed an option just force yourself to go out of the room jump in a cold shower if you have a hard time getting going in the morning jump in a cold shower you'll see how quickly it wakes you up the
cold water increases the circulation in your body which leads to a higher demand for oxygen you automatically start breathing deeper than this fights off fatigue number seven find an accountability partner to quote Marcus Aurelius it will even do to socialize with men of good character in order to model your life on theirs whether you choose someone living or someone from the past when you realize that your purpose is to wake up early then having a good accountability partner is very important as we go after our goals there's one skill that will stand out high above
all the others the skill of holding yourself accountable an accountability partner is a person who coaches another person to help them keep commitment your accountability partner could be your friends or your family or a colleague who's already achieved the goal you're working towards in this case your accountability partner will help you stay consistent with your morning commitments and your progress for partnerships you must select someone who is as committed as you are has similar values can be available when you're available and is genuinely interested in helping you succeed with your morning routine an accountability relationship
always feels good because knowing that we'll check in with someone who is emotionally and energetically invested in our success keeps us on track even when things get hard number eight remind yourself of death Marcus Aurelius informs us since it is possible that you might depart from life this very moment regulate every act and thought accordingly the Stoics made it routine to keep the prospect of death in mind and you too can practice this every morning there is a phrase within the stoic philosophy called memento mori which means remember that you will die the one perennial
truth rich or not successful or not religious philosophical it doesn't matter you will die the point of this reminder isn't to be morbid or promote fear but to inspire motivate and clarify this morning routine will help you to keep your perspective on things that really matter which your internal principles your house your money your fame is temporary and it can be taken away from you at any time the one thing that can never be taken away from you is your character it's only up character that defines us and carries us through life a man can
rise or fall just due to the virtues or faults of his character and it's often this that leaves a legacy so the idea of reminding yourself of your death will ground you just like Steve Jobs every morning look in the mirror and ask yourself if today were the last day of my life would I want to do what I'm about to do today and if you get too many days without saying yes to this question then you know you have to change something very fast number nine practice negative visualization every morning we're advised by Marcus
Aurelius when you wake up in the morning tell yourself the people I deal with today will be meddling ungrateful arrogant dishonest jealous and surly they are like this because they can't tell good from evil rather than imagining an ideal Society the Stoics see the world as it is negative visualization is all about keeping your expectations up front and being far more honest with yourself what could go wrong how could you handle such scenarios can you overcome or plan for them when you prepare for the worst you are in a better place to deal with disaster
if and when it does arise for example you go into work and your boss is treating you badly but since you've already visualized this scenario in the morning you're always prepared for your boss to be difficult and uncooperative as a result you'll be super pleased when he unexpectedly treats you well but even if he never does you'll be prepared and always able to keep your cool visualizing negative occurrences makes you fear them less leaves you less anxious when they happen and mentally prepares us to deal with the crises should they come along you'll also find
yourself feeling elated on the occasions where they don't occur number 10 appreciate your life in our final quote this video from Marcus Aurelius he says to the gods I am indebted for having good grandfather's good parents a good sister good teachers could associate good kinsmen and Friends nearly everything good Marcus Aurelius is very honest and humble about how he learned to develop his values and ethics and displays much gratitude to those who helped him to become himself we too can replicate this by keeping a great you journal keeping a gratitude journal is a simple process
gratitude doesn't have to be saved for the big things in life the habit of being grateful starts with appreciating every good thing in life and recognizing that there's nothing too small for you to be thankful for every day you should pick three to five things that you're thankful for and write them down in a notebook or journal so let's say you had a rough day at work focus on coming home to your family or your pet or simply that you're just grateful for being alive appreciating your life just before going to bed will not only
give you a peaceful night's sleep but will also give you good reason to wake up with confidence ready for the new challenges of the day if you like this video please do make sure to check out our fall stoicism playlist and for more videos to help you find success and happiness don't forget to subscribe thanks so much for watching
