About a month after saving “8 things every person should do before 8 am” by Benjamin P. Hardy in my Pocket library, I finally listened to it this past Saturday. The title really should’ve been ‘Developing the confidence to change your life’ as that truly is what morning routines provide. The thick introduction was about the anxiety that fuels the innate human resistance to change.

In life, there’s no way you’re going to be able to control every situation. Striving to is a recipe for perpetual hopelessness and never-ending anxiety. Instead, focus on managing your reactions and response to those situations.

This article puts the morning routine in a new light. Morning routines hit two chords: personal responsibility and self-discipline. Both are vital to managing your reactions and responses to life’s situations. Conquer the morning, conquer your day.

What holds many back from getting the most out of life aren’t the seemingly automatic excuses. At the root of all excuses to goal achievement is FEAR. Morning routines attack the fear the only way you can – through consistent effort.

Picture yourself in a forest and that your dream is a giant sequoia that has to be chopped down. Most give up before ever taking on such a massive undertaking. Seemingly not realizing that there’s no ax in the world that can strike 1000 blows at once – it takes a sustained and deliberate effort. Your morning routine is a way to wield that ax each and every day. with each swing, a flywheel of momentum takes over and generates the confidence needed to overcome complacency and the inevitable failures.

This article wasn’t what I expected, but just what I needed at the moment. I’d been wrestling with how anxiety inhibits fear. I always think that God has a funny way of bringing you just what you need at the exact time that you’re ready for it.

Favorite Quote: “The only way to change is to stop explaining your life by your past and to start explaining your life based on your future.”