From the 31st of August to 4th September, I set out to solve one of my biggest challenges. Can I be a morning person for five days straight?  This week was all about testing my will power and changing my mindset in preparation for whats to come. I also really wanted to capture the sunrise on video, so I decided to take my HD handycam with me to capture my journey.

Part One: Day 1-3

Part Two: Day 4-5

Day 1: Teneriffe

Although I was up for my 5am alarm clock, I really didn’t feel awake. My body clock really took its toll. So I decided to start my week challenge with one of the easiest locations – so I thought. I decided to walk down by the river at Teneriffe. Initially it was horrible.

Brisbane had just experienced a week of much warmer temperatures – it had felt like summer again and it thought what a great way to start the week. However, it started to rain and there was plenty of cloud cover. This brilliant weather had just turned around and I felt like I was back into the middle of of winter again. I honestly was tempted to forget the entire experiment and head back to bed. No one would notice, I thought to myself…

But I had made a commitment to myself and spoke of this commitment on my blog. I’ve noticed as soon as you write a goal down, you are far more enthusiastic to follow through with it! Especially at the thought of failing my very first challenge for my blog site – that would have not set a good record for my year ahead.

So it did it, I braved the weather, (I had to hold the camera bag over the camera to avoid it from getting wet!) and in a short while, things started to improve.

Day 2: New Farm

I found it far easier to be waking up at 5am. Was I getting used to it? After braving the first day, it was time to branch out a little further and seek a location with a better view. So I jumped into the car and drove over to New Farm. Yet another cool morning, but no rain. I’ve previously travelled to this same spot, and filmed the sunset – with some spectacular results. I knew I wasn’t going to be dissapointed.

You’ll notice in my video – I was far happier, far more awake and inspired. It was the first moment that I knew that continuing on with the challenge was going to be worth the effort.

Day 3: Mount Coot-tha

Mount Coot-tha was the ultimte challenge, because not only did it require me to get up even earlier, I also needed to drive a fair bit further. So I awoke at 4.30am, had my glass of Berocca and headed up the mountain to view the dawn over the entire of Brisbane.

I cannot find the words to describe the the experience. I was in the moment, and I was given the opportunity to just be myself. So I sat on the concrete and witnessed the rise of the most magificant sun. I couldn’t think of a better place or time to meditate.

Day 4: Kangaroo Point Cliffs

After the overwhelming experience of Wednesday, I have to admit that by the time I got to Thursday, I was a little over it. I wondered if perhaps if the lack of wearing my Qlink device had anything to do with the fact that I really didn’t want to get up that morning. But I had made the commitment to myself to continue the challenge – so that’s exactly what I did.

I decided to travel to the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. Yet another beautiful city view, but the busy traffic stopped any attempts to  meditate. After I recorded the daylight appearing over the city, I turn the camera around and managed to get another brilliant clip of the sun rising. The noise of the traffic didn’t bother me any further!

Day 5: Hamilton Portside

Friday was exhilarating. You know that feeling when you are so close to completing your goal that nothing can get in the way of stopping you? I felt that sensation – I was on the homeward stretch. Forty minutes later, my challenge was a success. Shame it was still too early for coffee at the local cafe!

An Afterthought

After my weekly challenge was a success, I couldn’t wait to sleep in. But after sleeping in until 11am on the Saturday, I was reminded of the benefits of being a morning person. Once you get beyond the inital drag of waking yourself up – things get much easier. The increase in energy levels, inspiration and creativity were all part of the benefits.

Although I didn’t mention it in my video – I think it’s worth pointing out the difference in my sleeping patterns during the week. Yes I did manage to waken at least 2 to 3 hours earlier than my usual routine, but I also did decide to hit the pillow slightly earlier than usual. So with the help of my Qlink device, a few extra cups of coffee and berocca’s – I survived with being awake at least and extra 5 hours that week.

If you set yourself a similar challenge – what would you do? What do you achieve by awakening earlier and how do you make the most of your day?