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Best new year resolution

new year resolution for new beginnings
Toast to new beginnings
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream”

C S lewis

As the year is drawing to a close and winter has set in for good, it’s that time of the year when we look back at the year gone by and contemplate the bygones.

In my opinion the world is no better than what it was, sorry but that’s the way it is. The big question is, are u better than what you were, same time last year? Hmm! something to think about it.  All of us without exception, do get the thought that we are getting a year older, just when the midnight bell strikes.  Are we any closer to our dreams, our goals, our aspirations? It may be anything, personal or professional. But the bigger question we must be asking ourselves is have we changed or matured a bit more than we were last year. May be its time for new beginning with a new year resolution that we can stick to.

Personal growth

Somehow its my belief that progress cannot happen without an open and progressive mind. How can we be our same old self and yet expect situations to turn a new leaf or things to around us and fall in place. Get that coveted project, improve relationships, finish those courses etc. To achieve anything, we must work not just on the external factors but internal environment as well. We must Observe how our mind reacts to various happenings and conversations and people. Do we pass judgement? Do we blame others instead of taking responsibility? Do we procrastinate? When we learn to analyze our thoughts and actions we learn valuable lessons. As I told my son the other day you are your own best critic and own best control.  Self reflection is a great art to be honed indeed.

Turning a new leaf

We all make our list of new year resolutions. On most of those lists there is a health related resolution. The guilt we have of having a sedentary work life, poor eating habits, high job stress, makes us put up those goals. Somewhere we know we need to do something about it. Hence the resolution. The one healthy habit to pick up this year is to start walking in the morning.

Let me enlist the benefit

1 body energy improves greatly

2 the mind feels rejuvenated

3 its your free time to spend with yourself alone

4 body feels lighter and more agile

5 A sense of achievement or completion early in the day

6 better control on emotions and a more balanced view on life

7 less guilt when eating comfort food

8 automatic improvement in food choices that we make

guilt ridden food
Best comfort food

9 Body gets its dose of VIT D

I can go on…but these are the benefits I have experienced personally (https://musingsmorningwalker.com/how-to-wake-up-early-trials-and-triumph/ ). I know its difficult but still its worth a try. Find your reason to go for that walk and make it stick. It may be fitting into your old jeans or letting go of the emotional giant wheel you seem to be always riding or planning the next big move or simply looking for inspiration if you are a creative person. TRUST ME it helps. Don’t believe me…try it for yourself.

The habit for keeps

Waking up early is tough I have had my share of struggle with it. But once you are past that hurdle the world is yours to grab. Those health goals are within reach with a simple zero expense exercise. Let the new year see a newer you.

winter morning moon
Morning moon

Winters are tough to start the habit with. Still if you wanna see moon in the morning sky, the sun penetrating the cold horizon, your watch finally slowing down a bit…take that walk. You even get to see the night lamps on, which makes you feel you beat even the sun. Yep ! Winter mornings have a beauty of their own which summer sun cannot compete with.

street lights still on
You beat the sun

Hope each and everyone of you achieve the goals you have set up for this year. Let us all make a new beginning with a new year resolution which will pay rich dividend.

 Happy new year and happy new you !

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How to Wake up early: Trials and Triumph

“If You Want Something . Go Get It. PERIOD.” 
Chris gardener, movie: Pursuit of happiness

The story of all the methods i tried to wake up early regularly and how i succeeded finally
Struggling to wake up early

Breaking an old habit and making a new one is an arduous journey to undertake. If ever I have done anything tough physically…it has been getting into the habit of waking up early. For some waking up early is no big deal. But I belong to the slumber body. I just couldn’t wake up early. Now, don’t get me wrong the good intentions were always there. They were just not enough to get me off the bed.

wake up early
wake up call

It’s a herculean task to open those eyelids at 5 or say 6 in the morning. You know, only the eyebrows lift…the eyelids refuse to let go of each other. They feel swollen shut. You are very much still an actor in your dream play. So you are still wading with one leg each in dream and real world. Now, this is the zone you need to cross.If you happen to be snuggled cozily in your blanket in a darkened room with cold wind blowing from the AC, Boy! You are in trouble.

My early days

When someone says walking is all fine , waking up early is the problem. I understand that. Trust me I have been there. I faced this problem for a long time. I had this good intention of starting off on my morning walk for a very long time. However ,it was just not happening because of waking up late.

Every day after waking up late I would berate myself and then promise myself that I will wake up early the next day for sure. Oh! how easy is thy promise to fulfil 24 hr later. I would get charged up that tomorrow is the “THE DAY”. Making a full TO DO list down to the minutes. I would sleep that night all motivated. But alas! the calling from the yonder of a shrieking alarm cannot break you from the embrace of deep sleep.So, I would end up waking up again at my regular time having dutifully switched off even the snooze. Sigh! yet another cycle of self reprimanding  and motivating and planning.

Action plans

One day I realized enough is enough, got to get my a***off that bed. So, I come up with the master plan. After consulting google of course. I drank 3 big glasses of water at night before sleeping. Well you get the idea right? By the time my morning alarm rang I had already woken up thrice in the night to use the rest room. Needless to say, I woke up super irritated ready to punch the next person I laid eyes on. So, PLAN 1 failed.

 Next, I tried moving the alarm to the next room. Google experts told me so. If you have to wake up and walk to next room to switch it off, you would have crossed the zombie zone. Guess what I narrowly missed getting a black eye from other people in the house. Cause everyone heard it BUT me. Plan 2 fails

Next, I tried sleeping on a bare mat on the floor. You see google was targeting the cozy blanket part. It worked alright but a bit too early. I woke up in the middle of night with so much bodypain that I sleep walked to that cozy blanket and got into an even better sleep than usual. Plan 3 down the drain or sleepy lane shall I say.

Desperate measures

Then I tried my last resort. The most dangerous of the lot. I asked my dad to wake me up. He asked me, Are you sure? He had an amusing look. But I was determined\. Determined enough to put my hand in the lion’s den. Cause you don’t tell your dad something and back out. I had just closed the fire escape. So Yes! dad did wake me up in the morning. Not in a very subtle manner. Loud enough and assertive enough. So, I woke up. You would think I would be excited about finally making it. But hardly. I woke up sullen with dad berating me for being so lazy and how in his childhood waking up late was unheard of. So ya you can say I didn’t use that service again. Plan number 4 a big NO !!

Next I tried mom. You can see I don’t give up easily. She would be more gentle and persuasive. Our last resort is always mother. Period. So, the big day arrived…. exactly at the time it always did. I asked my mom why didn’t you wake me up? Well I tried but you just didn’t move. How many times can i call you? I called you thrice and gave up. I got angry with her. Well you can always try tomorrow she said. There we go ! How do I tell her TOMORROW is the bane of my existence which never gets converted to today. Plan 5 Zilch !!!

Now you can see it was not for want of trying that I Couldn’t wake up.


The Learning curve

Through all these funny and not so funny episodes I realized that its only ME who is losing out on something so precious. Ya! Loads of people have written about advantages of waking up early.All my heroes and heroines. I very much wanted to be part of that league. The morning people’s league that I mentioned in my previous post. You can read it here  https://musingsmorningwalker.com/league-of-morning-men/   .

If you have sailed in a similar boat you should know that it’s a process in the making. Making your brain inches by inches day by day tuned to the right frame of mind. By the end of all your episodes your brain would know that you want it badly enough. I am sure there is some study done on this process somewhere. Anyway there does come a morning and trust me on this one. When your eyes would open and your ears will listen to that alarm. Your legs will swing off the bed and you will finally break that adhesive bond to your bed.

THE TRIUMPH
beautiful sunrise
Glorious morning

The glorious day arrived for me. I walked slowly to the bathroom washed my face, brushed my teeth. Had a glass of water. Changed to my walking attire. FINALLY tied those sneaky shoe lace that have alluded me for so long. You should have seen the smile on my face that day. It was plastered all through the walk.  To a passer by I was smiling for no reason. But I knew it was a moment of personal triumph. I suppose that is how it feels every time we overcome our demons our fears our inadequacies. And it feels damn good.

So for those of you who do want to wake up early and are struggling with it, I would say don’t give up trying.Every single day strengthen up that mind. The war is not over yet. I still find it difficult to wake up on cold mornings. But I know now its only my WILL that needs to be strengthened. “Where there is a will there is a way”.Y Trust me, your BIG DAY WILL COME. Just don’t give up easily. I will leave with words of wise lincoln

 “I am slow walker but I never walk back”

abraham lincoln

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League of Morning Men

 “The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell. Don’t go back to sleep” Rumi

The art of waking up early (Trust me ! it is no lesser than an art), is a difficult one to master. I am a big believer of logotherapy byViktor Frankl. It primarily says any action is taken only when there is a motive or a desire to do it. How, kids wake up late on school days and early on weekends is a classic example of that. It holds good for gaining the habit of waking up early too. This entire write up is dedicated to honing this habit.  Why am I dedicating so much precious space on this habit? Cause I know loads of people simply don’t get into the habit of early morning walk due to their inability to wake up early and give in too easily. They are missing something so beautiful. There is a league of morning men who would swear by this habit of theirs.

The league

 Let me talk about some famous people who learned to beat the sun. Music genius A R Rahman had mentioned in an interview that he tries not to miss his morning prayers. He says “ A lot of grace flows into life at this time. It is during serene morning that one feels closest to omnipresent”. Michelle Obama hits the gym by 8.30. Tim cook is known to wake up early and catch up on his emails (although I wouldn’t agree on checking the mail part). Jaggi Vasudev the founder of isha foundation urges people to do their yogic practices early in the morning what he calls the brahma muhurta. Benjamin franklin, was a major proponent of “early rising”too. Hence his famous quote “early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”. 

By now I guess you can see that it is the success mantra of most successful people. Surely, we all want to jump onto the bandwagon and join this league of morning men. Few of us  get motivated looking at life models of others. How long does the motivation last?  I firmly believe that one must make any change for the sake of themselves. Embrace change because you want to be a better person and want to do something good for yourself. This way the change is likely to be permanent. This one, habit has far reaching effects both on body and mind.

Why should I wake up early ?

That early hour, when light is still filtering through the sky, the breeze is pleasantly cool and its quiet everywhere, you connect best to your inner self.

the blessed hour
The blessed hour

There is a common energy current flowing through all beings and you feel it. Even those who hit the road at this time, refrain from honking lest, the quietude is disturbed. There is something very magical about the whole atmosphere. Your mind is much clearer and very positive.  In such an hour when one engages in practices of walk, meditation, yoga or any form of exercise, it has threefold effect ; strengthening the body,  refreshing the mind and  having a jumpstart to the day. You will be well prepared for all the activities ahead rather than playing catch the whole day.

Now if you feel motivated enough give it a try. Eat a light dinner, hit the bed early the previous night and give yourself the pep talk. Habit changes cannot be accomplished in a single day. Both mind and body need to get tuned. Sooner or later the body will buckle to the demands of the mind. So, initially you may struggle in waking up as I did. (that article is coming up soon ).  But, soon your mind will be trained into waking the body up early. Keep up the habit and you will find yourself enjoying that quiet wee hour all to yourself to be spent as you please.

Give it a go !

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The First Step

I can’t exactly remember when I started my morning walks.. but I do know that having once started and pursued it through the initial few weeks, it became my morning coffee…

First Step
The first step

Walking is a hobby thousands of people around the world pursue. Yet, for every single person who is into this habit there are at least a thousand who are not. I know, cause the park is mostly empty in the morning where I go. It’s a fact that it is one of the healthiest hobbies to pick up. Yet, somehow most people are not into walking. To see why? Let’s start right at the beginning…
So, what makes a man/ woman get up or not get up in the morning? Right from my childhood I have been a late night person. I would always tell my friends I have seen 5 am from the night end and not from the day side of the clock. For my exams I could sit as late as possible in the night studying. But, I don’t remember ever getting up early to study. I loved my early morning sleep so much. That is primarily the reason why most of us are not able to take the habit of morning walk. I shall tell you guys about my hilarious attempts on waking up early in a later post. For now, lets just enlist the reasons. There are scores of people who don’t feel motivated enough to wake up in the morning. But the catch is, the habit in itself is motivating i.e only one who has pursued it through the tough first few weeks (oh ! they are tough) knows that once you are in the groove you get addicted and get motivated from within.
Another prime reason is late nights. There are lots of people who are in the habit of sleeping late. Either they come back late from work or house chores are piled up or Netflix is simply too good. Let’s not forget our online alter ego. If one sleeps late its difficult to catch up with the sun. So that’s a big hurdle to cross.
There is a major working population who, must leave home early so can’t afford an early morning walk. For them an evening walk is always a good option. I have tried those too. It may not have all the benefits of morning walk but most of them still hold good.
There are few people who simply can’t leave home, whatever may be the time. Reasons could be many. But, even for those people, 20 min of “my time” engaged in exercise or meditation inside their home is helpful.
The biggest HURDLE of all is the same which stops us all from doing anything challenging in life. “The Will”. I am no expert. But take it from a person who devours inspirational books that no person, no book, no inspirational quote can catapult you into taking up any habit. The sheer inertia of morning sleep is pretty tough to overcome. The reasons for not taking the habit often outnumber the good ones in our head. So, what do we do ? YOU JUST HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND. Yes ! That’s the only thing between you and your sneakers. Your own mind. Whatever works for you to take that first step, TAKE IT! There is no one technique or mantra which works for all. BUT ONCE YOU START DON’T STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE CROSSED THE 2 WEEKS MARK. Not even on weekends. Let one weekend be late night free. Trust me you will thank yourself for trying this one out. Cause it would open your eyes to a different world that you never knew existed.
Just Do it (says nike too ! )
Here’s to the first step. Cheers !

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About me

Hey Everyone,
Hi! My name is Sonia and I am a morning walker. Walking is my way of starting each day on a positive note. It not only energizes me physically but gives me the “me time” we all need to have for ourselves. Away from home, it’s a clutter free… noise free… responsibility free zone of my own. ( I am a working mom you see !).
It took me a very long time to get into the habit of waking early and cultivating my hobby of morning walks. Over my years of having this habit I have noticed that if you are a lone walker, like me, this time of morning will also become your introspection time. Yes! Your mind is clear to plan ahead, to analyze the decisions, to observe life and enjoy so many little gifts of nature which we seldom stop to enjoy. There are multiple benefits to reap if only one gives it a try. I hope I can motivate few of my readers at least to try this hobby and see what a difference it will make to their lives.