As for me, I have never been one to give up pursuing lofty goals. So I have set a new resolution to be getting out of bed no later than 5:30 a.m., come what may.
During my primary and secondary school years, I often rose early. But in 2008 when I was an engineering student at JKUAT, I started staying in bed till late in the morning. Since then, I have struggled to be an early riser.
Several years ago, I noted that I had trouble rising early if I went to bed in a bad mood the previous day. I therefore made a resolution in 2017 to ignore my feelings and get out of bed before dawn every morning.
Although I succeeded in following that resolution, I eventually gave up several months later due to a sickness I felt in the head for four or five days. It was a strange sickness that caused me to feel lethargic.
After the sickness made me revert to my bad habit of staying in bed till late in the morning, I discovered that the habit was the cause of the guilt that had sometimes plagued my soul since my JKUAT days. The guilt would occasionally become so intense that no amount of positive self-talk could wipe it out from my soul.
That discovery is what has led me to set a new year resolution of rising no later than 5:30 a.m. every day. Today, I effortlessly sprang out of bed as per my new resolution. And that's a great way to start the year.
But in the course of 2019, I expect to face depressing challenges that will tempt me stay in between the sheets after 5:30 a.m. It is then that my willpower will be tested because, as someone said, character is the discipline to follow through with resolutions long after the excitement in which they were made has passed.
Already, I have asked God to strengthen me should I be tempted to stay in bed after 5:30 a.m. In addition to praying, I have sung to Him the following verse from a favorite hymn of mine:
Break temptation's fatal power,As I set my new year resolution to be rising before dawn, I have my father as my role model. He has always been an early riser. No challenge has ever made him overstay in bed, a trait I desire to also possess and pass on to my children if I ever get lucky to have some.
Shielding [me] with guardian care,
Safe in every careless hour,
Safe from sloth and sensual snare;
Thou my Saviour,
Still my failing strength repair.
If I successfully get out of bed before 5:30 a.m. for the next 21 days, I will develop the virtuous habit of rising early. (Don't they say it takes 21 days to develop a habit?) And when I turn 81, God willing, I will look back and proudly say, as Thomas Jefferson once did, that the Sun has not found me in bed for the past 50 years. So help me God.
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on my new year resolution, you might also enjoy another one on "Bliss. Strength. Love. Peace." which I wrote some time back. Just click on that link in blue to dive into the story.
