Mastering Your Mornings By Breaking The Rules

You hear a lot about using morning rituals to get more done. But what if you could use your mornings to get more done for YOU?
In the fast-face world, we live in today; there seem to be two groups when it comes to how to use mornings—personal and productivity. Once folks remove themselves from the craziness of jumping out of bed, taking care of the kids, and hitting the drive-through, they choose one of the two.
But what if there was a third group that was more satisfying?
Before I go on, I need to admit that I didn't use to be a morning person and didn't like getting up early at all. I even quit my first couple of jobs as a morning radio host so I could sleep.
Later in my career, I would hit my desk at 5 AM and pound through my to-do list as fast as possible. I must have been saying, "I…MUST… GET… IT… DONE!" That didn't work well because I didn't see the purpose of getting out of bed early if it was only to work.
For a few years, I spent my mornings reading and meditating before heading off to the gym.  I got in better shape, but my bank balance was less, and my future goals were seemingly unreachable.
Then, one day out of pure frustration and sporting a brand-new I don't give a heck attitude, I asked myself a question that changed everything -
"What's the first thing I should do tomorrow morning that, if I do, will allow me to live a life of my design?"
Notice that I didn't ask about work or what was on my to-do list. It didn't have anything to do with getting more done or getting in better shape. I focused on the lifestyle I wanted to live - and it was life-changing.
In the years since I made that decision, I've started my days before 6 AM doing the most important thing I deem required to live the life of my choosing, and I've been happier for it.
I've also come across dozens of morning do-gooders who are getting everything done, except what they dream of doing, and when they realize it's not their fault, everything changes. They got caught up in the buzz of life, and everyone does.  But, the minute you choose to focus on YOU before anything else is when you start making real progress.
When you focus on what is important to you, you get what is important to you.