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Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast
Iawoke this morning to the dragon’s hot breath on my face. I was disoriented, not quite knowing where I was. I struggled to open one eye. Then another.
And there he was. A dragon. A very big dragon. With three heads. Sitting in my bedroom, like so many mornings before, he was waiting. His heads swerved back and forth, dancing in the dim light. Each head alternately belching fire and hissing smoke.
I groaned. Here we go again, I thought. If only I could shut my eyes and will him away. No such luck. His presence only grew more menacing.
I knew that I had to act. I leapt from the bed and ran straight at him. I have learned by experience that my only chance at victory is to slay the dragon while it is still dark. Before the first rays of sunshine strengthen his already substantial advantage. Fortunately, once again I prevailed. But my victory is short-lived. I will face him again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Although this sounds like a fairy tale, it’s not. It’s my reality, day after day.
I face a dragon named Lethargy every morning. It has three heads: Pneuma (spiritual), Soma (physical), and Nous (intellectual). If I don’t slay this dragon before breakfast, he usually gets the best of me. After breakfast—when the days activities are crowding into my life—my chances of doing battle and winning drop dramatically. Sometimes I can emerge victorious. But rarely. My chances are better if I complete in my basic disciplines before I get assaulted with the demands of the workday.
So, before breakfast, I try to complete the following:
Engage in exercise. I use this weapon to cut off the dragon’s left head: physical lethargy. Sometimes, I think this is even more important than the middle head. Why? Because if I am not exercising regularly, it negatively impacts every other area of my life. It becomes more difficult to manage stress. I find that I just don’t have the energy to fight the other beasts I encounter. Currently, I am running four mornings a week for one hour and doing strength training two days a week. Weather permitting, I run outside. Otherwise, I am in the gym. I use a trainer to hold me accountable. (This is probably the best investment I have ever made.)
Listen to books. I use this weapon to cut off the dragon’s right head: intellectual lethargy. I learned a long time ago that “leaders read and readers lead.†By definition a leader (as opposed to a mere manager) stays out in front of his people. To lead, you have to set the pace. You have to be a thought leader. The problem I have is that it is difficult for me to sit still. I have a hard time finding a long enough strentch in the day to sit down and really read. I keep getting interrupted—or distracted. However, by downloading books from Audible.com onto my iPod, I can listen to books while I’m running. Honestly, there are days when I hate to stop running because I am so engrossed in my book. It makes the time fly by.
Though I don’t do it before breakfast, I have one other discipline that I try to practice daily: prayer. I find that the best time for me to pray is on my commute into the office. This usually takes 30–40 minutes, so I have plenty of time. It’s quiet, and I don’t have many distractions. It’s like being in a protected bubble. And, I can even pray out loud. People think I’m just talking on my handsfree phone!
So what are your biggest dragons? What is your strategy for defeating them before breakfast?
Technorati Tags: daily, davidallen, disciplines, exercise, goalsetting, gtd, prayer, todo
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Marshall says:
That is so true. If I don't get my prayer, devotions, and planning completed before the work day starts it is almost impossible to get them done.
I used to think that it would get easier as the habits take hold - you know - 30 days, or 37 days, or whatever the flavor of the month is for making new habits stick, but it is still a fight most every day.
Somehow it is comforting to know that I am not the only one.
Thanks for sharing and have an awesome day!
MH
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 07:10 AM
Jim says:
I was going to respond to this posr this morning but I ran out of time, again. Dragon 1 me 0. Great post, tomorrow I plan on (will) beat the dragon.
Jim
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 08:22 AM
Scott Winter says:
Mike -
This is something I have heard often, and am convicted everytime I hear it. I imagine your evenings are quite different with this kind of schedule. What do you sacrifice in order to accomplish this? Do you go to bed earlier? I assume TV is all but out of the question?
I'd also be curious as to how/if you did this while your daughters were younger and still at home.
Thanks...
Scott
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 09:44 AM
Michael Sampson says:
How many cups of coffee do you drink a day?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 01:57 PM
Michael Hyatt says:
Michael,
Just three cups of coffee!
Mike
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 03:41 PM
Michael Hyatt says:
Scott,
I feel your pain. It is tougher when your kids are younger. No question about that. I do occasionally watch TV, but usually I am working on the computer when doing so. I get to bed by 10:00. Up at 4:30. I would like to get to bed by 9:00, but I rarely make it. Usually 6-1/2 hours of sleep is enough. I catch up on Saturday.
One size definitely doesn't fit all. You have to find what works for you!
Mike
Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Joel says:
Michael,
My dragon is nice. He hit my snooze this morning and brought me another donut!
Joel S.
Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 05:12 AM
Michael Hyatt says:
Joel,
You're supposed to slay the dragon not pet him!
Mike
Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 06:01 AM
Brandon Satterfield says:
I'm winning the battle with 2 out of the 3 you mentioned. I have been exercising some but I want to run more and have been contemplating your offer for the half marathon. It's hard for me to run in the morning because of my mostly one-headed sleep dragon.
I am also loving the audio resources that are available. When i'm in the car I listen to Greg Koukl mp3's from his radio station or his "Tactics in Defending the Faith". You should check out Stand To Reason at http://www.str.org. Awesome stuff to combat the intellectual dragon!
Thanks,
Brandon
Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 02:56 PM
Julia says:
This was a great post, really speaking to my personal battle w/ the dragons. Thank you!
Thursday, January 11, 2007 at 03:36 PM
Daniel says:
My biggest dragon is just getting out of bed. I know, lame. I'm home from school on Christmas break and so my body says SLEEP! If I decide to just get out of bed and get rolling the day is much better. Thanks for sharing your 3 dragons with us, its an encouragement for me to fight my own morning dragons.
Friday, January 19, 2007 at 02:18 PM
Mattrix says:
Michael,
What a great post. Interesting timing too. I was late to work this morning because of lethargy. :^/
I use the excuse that to wake up early I'd have to be up at 3:30am to do those things because I have a 1-hr+ commute and I need to be in the office by 7am. However, I've been inspired to rethink my mornings. Thanks for that.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008 at 10:24 AM
Vicki says:
This was great! Thank you so much. I used to think I was the only one who battled that early morning lethargy. Sounds like we've all got a little slaying to do. I find that God renews my strength through reading the Scriptures - so very needed above all.
God bless you!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 02:38 PM
Cyrienne says:
Thank you for this post. My dragons have nearly defeated me, I am on performance management at work, have not been to church in over 2 weeks and am now at the overweight / obese margin. I have a 9 month old and fear things will not improve. Please pray for me.
Saturday, October 04, 2008 at 05:00 AM
Brandon Merhout says:
That pesky "stay in bed, put it off til tomorrow" dragon is oh, so seductive. :/
Nice strategy. ;]
Monday, November 17, 2008 at 06:46 PM