When my alarm went off this morning, I contemplated my early morning activities. Out of bed, let the dog out, change into work out clothes, work out, short recovery – which may involve letting the dog in & out several times based on his desires of the morning – shower, figure out what to wear, coffee, breakfast, get the girls up & dressed & fed & ready for their day, maybe do my short Bible study, waste some time on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and get out the door by 7:30. Which is why my alarm goes off at 4:45 a.m. I usually spend about 15 minutes in contemplation with myself, usually trying to talk myself out of one of the above activities. Most are, obviously, non-negotiable. It’s interesting that my wasting time part usually isn’t part of the negotiation either.

After deciding I needed to be stronger than my excuses and finishing my #21DayFix Lower Fix workout, I was sitting on the floor, posting my results to my challenge group and thinking about my routine and wondering if I should start getting up earlier so I can stop the negotiation. Ha! Sorry, self, but have you met you? The negotiation would only start earlier and go longer. I’ve got this routine down. I know I need to start this dance by 5:10 a.m. or something gets left behind.

I know I spend too much time on social media and playing mindless games on my phone. I know I need to take the time to do my Bible study/prayer time to center my brain for the day. I know I feel better when I get that work out done first thing. I know all of this. I don’t have a knowledge problem; I have an execution problem. I need to remind myself to be stronger than my excuses each and every day. It may take 21 days to create a habit, but we all know it takes much less time to break it.