The 5 AM Revolution: Why High Achievers Wake Up Early and How You Can Do It, Too

by Dan Luca

1. The space and the necessary instruments- A clock that is not easy to press the Snooze button I ensure that my Morning Ritual is clear and that I’m able to start it as soon as I wake up; I make the decision of waking up early the night before so I can avoid negotiating with myself in the morning; and I make sure that I sleep a minimum of 7 hours every night. Otherwise, I won’t be able to maintain this habit long-term.

The space and nessasary instruments

2. Rewards- Every morning I revel in the sunrise, one of the simplest and most beautiful wonders of this life; every morning, after I have completed my entire Morning Ritual, I drink my favourite espresso; and at the end of each week that I manage to wake up every day at 5.00 AM I go to a spa.

Rewards

3. Visualizing the immediate and long term benefits- When I imagine myself waking up early, I’m full of energy. I’m highly productive and I succeed in everything that I set out to do that day. After 5 years of practicing this habit, I have fulfilled even my wildest objectives.

Visualize the immediate and long term benefits

4. Defining exceptions- The days when I haven’t been able to sleep more than 5 hours the night before, and vacation days when I may socialise well after the optimum hour to go to sleep. Also, the days when I’m traveling for work purposes in areas with different time zones.

Defining expectations

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” (Lewis B. Smedes)

Forgiveness quote

I recommend the following 3-step process: Step 1: Forgive yourself! Forgive yourself for not being “perfect”... because nobody is. Step 2: Get back on the horse as fast as you can! Restart the sequence of “good” days – days when you’ve practiced the selected habit – as soon as possible. Step 3: Measure your progress to eliminate regret over a lack of perfection.

Steps to take on days when you don't wakeup early

Things happen this way because, when implementing new habits, an undisputed physics law applies: “a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.”

Physics motion & rest law

Implementing any habit is very similar to the start of movement of a train’s engine. It consumes a lot of energy to start moving and it takes a while until it catches some speed. However, after surpassing its initial inertia, it manages to reach a greater speed while consuming a lot less fuel. And it doesn’t just reach a greater speed, it becomes unstoppable, which is what you actually want when it comes to your productive habits. After a single missed day, your engine hasn’t stopped yet but after two or more unsuccessful days, it’s as if you had stopped the engine. Therefore, you’ll need to restart it and surpass the inertia of recommencing.

Forming habits are similar to a train passin inertia