Mark Bidewell’s Book Recommendation:
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
Are you a snoozer? It’s fair to say that the first action many of us take each morning is to reach for the snooze button. As long as I can remember, hitting ‘snooze’ has been something I’ve been guilty of from time to time, or that’s to say it was until I read The Miracle Morning.
It’s not an exaggeration to say this book has been a eureka moment for me. My days now begin at 5:00 am sharp, instead of snoozing, I’m up, face washed, teeth brushed and ready to take on the day by 5.03 am.
It all began for me earlier this year when, for the first time in over fifteen years, I came down with a chronic case of man flu and had to take a couple of days off sick. Now, usually, I’m known as someone who can’t sit still and is always looking for the next mountain to climb, and that makes me a terrible patient. So, it wasn’t long before I was perusing my bookshelf and the dozens of Amazon impulse buys I’ve made over the years. The Miracle Morning caught my eye and so my morning revolution began.
I absolutely devoured this book… usually it takes me a couple of months to make it to the final page, but I read this one religiously in under two weeks.
The Miracle Morning’s central idea is that the first hour we’re awake is the rudder of the day, setting us on the right course. By getting up an hour earlier and devoting time to ourselves we get a holiday every day. I now start my day happy and on a high. This me-time is structured around SAVERS:
Miracles do happen
I found that by setting off my day in the right direction it takes a lot to knock it off course. The end result is I can never have a bad day. Bad things might happen, but my first hour has been amazing, fulfilling and productive. Even just reading for 20 minutes every day without fail, when generally I don’t have the time, has transformed the shape of my days. It’s why I can now read a book in two weeks!
Breaking the sleep deprivation myth
I now believe that there’s no such thing as sleep deprivation, but I didn’t always feel that way: I used to think losing out on sleep was my greatest pain – that I’d rather run a marathon with a broken leg than have a lack of sleep.
The Miracle Morning challenged me to think again, arguing that no one suffers more from sleep deprivation than children, and trust me I know – Harry my two-year-old is one grumpy chap if he’s not had a good night’s sleep! – but what happens on Christmas Eve? Children stay up late to see Father Christmas and then rise early, just a few hours later, full of energy and excitement.
I realised that if I decided a lack of sleep was going to ruin my next day, then that’s exactly what would happen. I just needed to create a way to look forward to getting up – to make every morning exciting, like Christmas Day!
Since this game-changer I have woken up between 4:00 am and 5.30 am every day full of energy without fail, even on as little as two hours sleep! I have also broken my personal best time for running 5km, and I’ve gone from being unable to swim to being in the pool five times a week, at 6 am. I’m now generally in bed asleep between four and six hours a night.
Since reading The Miracle Morning, I have recommended it to a few people who have given great feedback about how it has helped their mentality and energy levels in the morning, setting them up to have a great, fulfilling day!
How to have your own miracle morning
So in summary, if you are looking for a great book recommendation – The Miracle Morning is mine! Handy Amazon link here!
Warmly,
Mark
p.s. Check out Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Sleep Faster’ video on YouTube (the speech that broke the internet).
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