I have been told from time to time that I can be a little … extra. Every morning, I wake up while the sun is rising, have a cup of coffee next to my cat and listen to uplifting music (which could be French folk one day and 90s hip-hop another). Additionally, I’ll open my window to breathe in the fresh air and graze my fingertips in the crisp, white snow. 

I know, extra right?

However, I do this for more than the aesthetic; I do this so I can start my day on a good note. Just as some people have their workouts or daily journals in the morning, I have my coffee, cat and window. Those quiet mornings have become my sanctuary, my little paradise that I come to every day. 

It took me a while to realize that my mornings don’t need to be an organized assortment of productive tasks. I even wrote about my journey toward a productive morning in 2019. I look back on that article, and I wish I could ask myself, “Why are you doing all that? Relax.” Sure, I was able to be productive, but I remember those productive mornings started taking a toll after a while. I was no longer enjoying my mornings, which impacted the rest of my day. 

I never even ran the marathon I wrote about in that article. It all became too much. I was forcing myself to get out of bed every morning to run, which turned something I loved into something I dreaded. 

Luckily, I was right about something in that article: Take it one step at a time. I had to take a step back and figure out what exactly I wanted to gain from my mornings. However, I made sure my choice had nothing to do with physical beauty, school or work. So, I started with how early I chose to wake up, then moved toward how I would get out of bed and continued on from there. 

Honestly, I have never been happier to get out of bed. Sure, it is hard at first, but I have something to look forward to when I wake up now, even if I have a hard day ahead of me. While I had my heart in the right place in 2019, I was doing entirely too much. 

It took time to learn that every morning does not have to be extremely productive. Instead, I decided to do what makes me happy.

I urge you to rethink the way you start your days. It has changed the game for me forever. My morning choices don’t need to match yours. Whether you choose to be productive or sit silently with your cat, choose your own happiness.