How to know you're on the right track

I couldn't believe how simple it was

I went from being wretched with worry for most of my life to calmly confident after two recent epiphanies. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t connected the dots sooner. I’ll share them here so you don’t have to waste thirty years like me.

How to know you’re on the right track comes down to two questions:

1. Would a baby be jealous of how well I sleep?

2. Do I spring out of bed in the morning with childlike enthusiasm?

Photo by Minnie Zhou on Unsplash

When we can truthfully answer “hell yeah” to both, we’re set.

Q1

It’s easy to tell when we got a good night’s sleep. We just feel different.

And we don’t need an Oura ring, WHOOP, or Fitbit (if you’re stuck in 2013) to prove it. We’ve been duped into thinking these gadgets are helpful. They aren’t. Don’t deny it.

In fact, I think the more attention we devote to tracking our sleep the worse it becomes. But that’s another story.

Q2

Never pressing snooze on our alarm is the next best indicator that we’re on the right track. It’s simple.

If we feel inclined to throw the covers off and hop out of bed the instant our alarm beeps, we’re golden. But if we press snooze seven times and struggle to pry our eyes open, something’s wrong.

Our energy level in the morning should be (naturally) high. Without the crutch of caffeine.

Now you might think a good night’s sleep is a requirement for this to be possible. Not always. If there’s a project that has captured our full attention then we’ll be amazed at how little sleep we need. Counterintuitive but true.

There’s countless examples of entrepreneurs and artists who barely slept for months on end because they got completely absorbed by what they were doing. But once the sprint was complete, then off to bed they went. Imagine how deeply they slept with the sweet taste of accomplishment in their mouths.

Now what?

Think back over your last week. Did you wake up excited to face each day? Be honest. It’s ok if you didn’t. That’s a helpful sign that you’ve veered off the track.

Our body is smarter than our mind. It knows if we are living how we’re meant to. Let’s get out of our head and into our body.

Learn what keeps you up at night. And discover what that invisible force is that keeps you under the warm covers when the alarm goes off.

That’s it. You just learned the two most important indicators. If a baby would give you the stamp of approval on your sleep quality + if you naturally spring out of bed without pressing snooze, you’re on the right track.

If not, you need to switch it up. You’re welcome.

PS - And for the record, I don’t consider myself a great sleeper. I have nightmares. I toss and turn on my squeaky mattress. I even pee a few times. But at least I know that means something in my life needs to change. What about you?

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