Waking Up On Purpose
Author: W. Bradford Swift

One of the most common comments I hear from people who are considering Life
Purpose Coaching is that they have a desire to have something in their life
that will get them out of bed in the morning. They’re looking for something
that will have them leap out of bed -- something other than just the blaring
alarm clock or needing to go pee. They’d rather be pulled out of bed, not
out of the fear of survival, of needing to get up and go to work so they can
pay their bills, but from a sense of excitement and enthusiasm for what’s
before them in their day.

Many people are looking for something that will pull them naturally out of
bed --that will inspire them into action. This is what I call waking up on
purpose. It is one of the most powerful benefits of clearly knowing and
living your life purpose. And yet being clear of your purpose is not
always enough to wake up on purpose. It’s also important to bring some on
purposefulness to your early morning hours. Here are some strategies that I
have found to be beneficial.

Start by getting enough sleep. Oftentimes, as people begin to redesign
their life to be on purpose, they need to start by eliminating the sense of
striving. Many of us have become acclimated to living from fear and
survival rather than from an inspiring purpose. A common part of this is
that they may short change the amount of rest they allow themselves. There
is no one right amount of sleep for all of us, but it is important to
determine what is the right amount for you. There is quite a bit of
evidence that sleep deprivation is a common problem with many people today.
Yet most of us can eliminate several hours of non-productive time such as t
v viewing, or web surfing and invest it more productively by resting our
body, mind and spirit.

Throw away the alarm clock. Now I know for many people this seems
impossible. How would you ever get up in the morning if it weren’t for you
alarm clock? But have you ever stopped to wonder what it is about your life
that requires you to shock yourself awake? If you need some assistance in
waking up by a particular time, once you are sure you’re getting enough
sleep, try waking up to music, or to a more subtle method like a Zen Clock
which gives a soft tone of increasing frequency, which will slowly and
gently wake you up.

You might also try setting your internal wake up system. As you start to
drift off to sleep, set the intention to naturally and easily awaken at a
specific time, a little bit before you’ve set your mechanical device. With
a little practice it won’t be long before you can wean yourself from the
mechanical device.

Count Your Blessings. One of my favorite ways of awakening in the morning
is by doing some gratitude work when I first become conscious. As soon as I
realize I’m awake, I push myself up in bed, propping up with 2 or 3 pillows.
I lie there listening to the birds, and to my daughter as she sings to
herself as she prepares for school. In that quiet space between sleep and
wakefulness I give thanks for my life. I thank God for my family, for my
work, for my pets, for a good nights sleep, for knowing what my purpose is,
and in this way I bring myself into the day.

Read inspiring material. Once I’m fully awake I usually take a few minutes
to read something positive, inspiring, and often spiritual. One of my
favorite books for this is Alan Cohen’s, A Deep Death of Life. Each page
contains a daily, inspirational quote, a short article, a prayer and an
affirmation all related to the subject of that day. Pick what works for
you. It might be the Bible, or any other book that you feel will inspire
you – even this one.

Go to sleep on purpose. Remember our days and our night are really cyclical
in nature. How we start our day is often determined how we ended our night.
Which is why I never bother to watch the 11 o’clock news. I don’t want to
end my day with a report on all the murders, abuses and crimes that have
happened during the past 24-hours. Before bed is another great time for
some gratitude work. You can also take a few minutes to review your day to
see where you were on purpose, as well as acknowledging and letting go of
where you were off purpose through some forgiveness work. You’ll then be
ready to begin the next day on purpose as well.






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W. Bradford Swift founded Life On Purpose Institute so people could have more fulfilling and satisfying lives through clarifying their life purpose. As an expression of his life purpose, Brad offers a new FR*EE GIFT each month as his way of "adding value to life for the joy of it." Simply go to: http://www.lifeonpurpose.com

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