How I Ended My Struggle to Get Out of Bed in the Mornings
A Tiny Life Moment on overcoming despair
The Moment
I woke up, but not ready. Not ready to face another day Not ready to carry on the darkness Not ready to wander aimlessly without hope and joy So I curled back into bed.
Getting up, I would be alone, No strength to carry on; in bed, I had company.
Despair crept in silently -warm on a cold day laying next to procrastination Indecision was a comfy pillow – didn’t see laziness, but he was there. A fear of failure swooshed all over Guilt and shame stood guard I could lie here for hours They will never leave.
I looked round my bedfellows Not liking what I saw, so 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Still not ready, I got up.
Reflection
Ah, lying in bed. It’a alright to have the odd lie in. The indulgence of not getting out of bed on a cold morning. But there is another type of lying in that is destructive, negative and a sign of poor mental well-being. For a while, I struggled with getting out of bed in the mornings.
I could not find the strength to get out of bed. There was no motivation, no inspiration. Nothing worth getting up for. The morning brought an impending grey nothingness with flickers of despair and whispers of misery. This is where I found myself most mornings and I was fed-up of being fed-up.
I was in perfect health. My legs, arms, torso felt great. Nothing physical prevented me from getting out of bed, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. You can only understand if you’ve been there before, have you?
Lying in bed did not make it better, instead a single negative thought would engulf me in every shame experienced; every failing. Even the future I had not lived seemed bleak, the past I had lived had no good in it.
In this state, I needed company, a warm body, strong arms, that would hold and comfort me. I needed a hug, a caress, a touch. I could not be alone and I wasn’t. Despair was a strong man, procrastination with a fear of failure was his strong hold. He held me tight with indecision, hugged me with guilt and stroked me with shame. He said he would never live, we could lie here forever. Would I die in bed?
Luckily a few weeks ago, I had listened as Mel Robbins gave a Ted Talk on How to stop screwing yourself over. In this, she mentioned the 5 second rule. I researched further and watched more of her videos. The Five Second Rule stuck with me.
With this simple rule, my struggle ended. I learnt that I had to interrupt my mind. I remembered this, counted down. The Five Second rule. It worked and I jumped out of bed, leaving my bedfellows behind.
In her book, the Five Second Rule, Mel Robbins talks about creating this rule at a time when everything in her life was falling apart. Since then, the rule has worked for countless people, from athletes, parents, entrepreneurs, managers and even people contemplating suicide. The science behind the rule is compelling, but yet the rule is simple to use. You can listen to Mel Robbins talk about the rule below.
Takeaways
- Sometimes it’s better to be alone than have the wrong bedfellows
- If you are comfortable with negative feelings and remain with them, they will overwhelm you and kill your joy, your life, your zest.
- You don’t have to be ready before you get up
- Your mind will always want to keep you comfortable, but you can interrupt the pattern. Practise the 5 second rule.