The time is now.

Starting tomorrow is a myth and not a promise. It is a way of pushing off the present. It is procrastination at it’s finest or worst. When is the right time? There will never be a right time or even a semi-ideal time. I can 100% guarantee that you will fail at 100% of the things you never start.

Additionally, I don’t believe in waiting for a New Year to start making changes to better your life. If later sounds good, then today sounds even better.

If something is holding you back, I think the best approach is to figure out how to deal with it.

Also, if someone is doing something you want to do, ask them how they do it. I know I get up to run in the morning because it makes me feel energized. I feel like I have already accomplished something. Additionally, I am not a morning person (hence the name of my brand), and I feel like I get a jump start on the day to get my act together before my family wakes up. Let’s be honest, I need all the help I can get to function appropriately in the morning. I know why I wake up and run. Every single day I do it, I feel good about myself.

Trust me, it isn’t easy. I wrestled with how to figure out my own self care for quite awhile. I also don’t feel bad about it. I am taking care of me and setting a good example for my boys.

Did I ever think I could manage waking up and running before 6am? Ummm, no. I decided one day to stop making excuses. I decided that even though I am “Not a Morning Mom”, this wasn’t going to be my reason for not taking care of me. I am not perfect. I don’t get up every morning to run. Sometimes I stumble, but I always dust myself off and get back to running again. The key is getting back up repeatedly. Starting over is not a bad thing; giving up is though.

The next time you say, well Allison can wake up before 6am but I could never do that because of xyz realize that I have said the same things. They literally got me no where. There were all sorts of stories I told myself why I couldn’t run in the morning but in the end, this was the best time for me to get a workout in consistently. If running isn’t your jam, figure out what you want to do to get yourself moving.

After you figure out what you want to do, stop thinking about it and just start doing it. It might not feel good in the beginning. It might actually feel really crappy. The hard part is knowing that it will feel crappy. You just need to push past this part. If you can do this, it will be smooth sailing after that. I repeat, it won’t be easy. You’ll more than likely want to quit several times.

If you really know why you are doing it, you will stick with it. When I run in the mornings now, it feels good. I wake up ready to tackle the day. I still don’t want to talk much when I wake up, but I am achieving my goal of getting myself going in the morning before my family wakes up. I am accomplishing something first thing in the morning to help me be the best person I can be both physically and mentally.

Finally, if you are worried you aren’t going to do it right, do it all wrong. It is perfectly fine and normal to be terrible in the beginning. I have been a runner all of my life. I used to run way faster than I do right now. I could really get down on myself if I wanted to but what value would that add to my life? None whatsoever. That’s right, make all of the mistakes you possibly can. Ask all of the questions you need to ask. Give yourself credit for getting started and refusing to let yourself down. The time is now.