What Gets You Up In The Morning?

This question and all the answers came from a general discussion question posed by a member of LinkedIn, the professional network Website. The questioner is a career recruiter who asked just for discussion and received over 115 answers in less than a week. I picked this particular question to discuss, because it addresses a potentially serious situation facing many people: motivation. What about the early retirement workers who soon tire of golf, travel, or bridge games? My own answer to this is I have no plan to ever retire, but not everyone agrees—until they actually get to that point and realize life is meaningless without some purpose or reason to get up in the morning.

The same problem faces young people who have somehow had no dreams to achieve, or maybe they have strayed off course and become mired in the politics of a large company where they remain nameless. Sooner or later these people, though relatively young, will face this question of what gets you up every day. Read some of the thoughts here and perhaps you can maintain a positive attitude, in spite of all the gloom and doom from the media. This could be a source of survival ideas, so read on.


The author of the original question answers it by saying his alarm clock and a hot shower get him up; perhaps he just gave this vague answer to stimulate discussion. Let’s see what interesting ideas others have about getting up. Some frequent answers we won’t discuss further were the clock, noise, cold feet in the back, hungry kids, dogs and cats licking, wanting to miss rush hour, paying bills, wanting to retire to golf and boats, play with children, eat breakfast, or have coffee. Conscience was also an answer meaning, I suppose, sleeping in would cause criticism from family and friends (plus getting one fired if they had a job).

Several answers were, simply, LIFE!!!, or What gets me up in the morning? Life. Search Google for the meaning of life and find many opinions. One of the top results was “Are You Living Your Dreams?” by Deborah Brown-Volkman. The author says among the main reasons people don’t follow their dreams is fear of making a mistake by choosing the wrong goals, failure to succeed if you do live your dream, not having enough time or money to pursue your dreams, and a lot of other misplaced fears. To overcome these fears here are a few things to do:

1. List your dreams.
   
   
2. Surround yourself with people who are not negative naysayers and who will encourage you to pursue your dreams.
   
   
3. Measure your progress in small steps to avoid discouragement.
   
   
4. Stop and enjoy milestones along the way when you reach them.
   
   
5. Find a comfortable way to go through your fears rather than around them.

Always remember life is short with an unknown end; be sure you don’t leave it without finding out why you are here.

An answer from someone who is apparently pursuing their known life purpose answered, “Eagerness to continue this amazing experience called Life.” Another answer along the same lines was, “You can't have a better life if you don't progress and you can't progress if you don't push the edge. Simply, for me anyway, is getting up, opening your eyes, and knowing you have a chance to do something extraordinary, to change your life for the better, to push the edge for your family and friends. Waking up is a new chance at life every day.” The optimism shown in these answers is an inspiration for all to make whatever adjustments they may need to get this kind of exuberant feeling. If you feel like this, you can do whatever you want to do and overcome every obstacle. Negative thinking won’t do this for you, so stay positive.

This answer is from another person who seems to be living their dream, “What gets me up in the morning is my dream that one day I won’t struggle as hard. I think what makes me get up even more is the effect I could have on the future generations’ lives, so that I can be a mentor and make sure they don’t go through the hardships I went through as a child and I go through now...To me...It's all about the dream. Otherwise I think I'd have been a bum or a crack head or sumthin. Shoot...I'd still be asleep now.”

Here is an answer with a great idea everyone can use. It is simple and straightforward. The answer is, “Great question. I think optimism gets me up in the morning. I have this board with my goals and aspirations pinned on it and I think my hope and desire for those things to come to reality keeps me going.” This person has truly found a way to keep everything going and it’s very easy to use. A board like this is going up in my work area as soon as I finish writing.

Even though I advocate everyone to work for themselves in some way, this is not possible for many people for any number of reasons. The following answers show that a lot of people simply love the work they are doing; if you must work at a real job, you can certainly benefit from an attitude like these:

1. “The challenge. I love my job.”
   
   
2. “I love my job, I never know what will happen from day to day.”
   
   
3. “Definitely my job! I love it, and God knows how many problems just appear in a 30 minutes absence!!! LOL.”
   
   
4. “Obviously Job.”
   
   
5. “The fact that I know I have a job to do and no one does it better than me.”
   
   
6. “What is it worth to get up in the morning and having good friends around you, a nice partner, and a lot to do for Business? You have to have a job you love to stay young longer.”

It is encouraging to find that many people want to help others. This is one of the best reasons to get up in the morning, and it is so important that those who need help get it from someone. The givers receive much more than they have to give just from helping others. These are some of the answers like this:

1. “The chance to make a difference.”
   
   
2. “The belief that I can make a bigger difference in the world by getting out of bed vs. staying in it is usually what gets me out of bed.”
   
   
3. “The chance that I will be able to positively impact the lives of others in a profound manner.”
   
   
4. “The ability to work in a job utilizing my best skill sets, for an organization that saves lives every minute of the day... sandwiched between a great life with people I truly love... Waking up to days like that is simply WORTH IT!” (This is from a Red Cross worker).
   
   
5. “The chance that I will be able to positively impact the lives of others in a profound manner.”
   
   
6. “For the last almost-four years, it's been the kind of work that I do. I love my career because I know that every hour I spend on the job makes a difference in the life of a foster child.”
   
   
7. “The news is what wakes me up, but what drives me to actually get up and out of bed is my job. I love what I do, working with people to find them great opportunities, and doing the same with clients in finding them stellar candidates. I enjoy the challenge in the hunt to find the ideal person to fit the role; it's gratifying to know that you are helping people. I also very much enjoy being a mentor to more junior recruiters, I genuinely enjoy helping people and doing everything that I can to maximize someone's potential.”
   
   
8. “Really, what gets me up is the opportunity to have people experience newfound power, freedom, productivity and creativity. When someone says ‘I wouldn’t have believed I could do this,’ my day is worthwhile. It is all about altering people's view of themselves, others, and the world.”
   
   
9. “Knowing that it's a brand new day that I have never seen and wanting to create a better life for people and their families as well as my own!”
   
   
10. “Hunger to learn something new and challenge some old knowledge. To prove that it could be done despite the nay-sayers. To not be passed by unnoticed. To help struggling game artists to be creative using tools designed for them not for programmers.”
    
    
11. “The fact that each day I begin a new life so to speak. I have a chance to try again and learn something new.”

Some people seem to value the challenge of a new day. This is a valid reason for getting up because it stimulates thinking and encourages productivity and accomplishment. Here’s what they said:

1. “I guess the feeling that I'd really be ‘missing something’ if I didn't get out there! As Woody Allen is quoted, ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up’. So yeah, I get up to show up!”
   
   
2. “Curiosity... I lay there for a bit, looking out the window and watch the squirrels running around the huge camphor tree in my yard. I reflect on life, think about the possibilities and then I am pulled out of bed by curiosity...I want to experience what is next in this life.”
   
   
3. “A never-ending sense that's there's more to be done. More swimming, more biking, more eating, more ideas to foster, more love to give.”
   
   
4. “The bare fact that yesterday is gone and today is all together a beginning of a new world which has lots of promises stored in itself.”
   
   
5. “What gets me up in the morning is the new day and the promise of new challenges it brings. Who knows who I could meet, what I could get to do, or where I could find myself going? I don't want to miss a minute of it!”
   
   
6. “What gets me up is that a new day means a new opportunity.”
   
   
7. “Wake up excited thinking about a fresh opportunity aka a new day, to know what's up in the world around, to see where am I in it, and then to explore what best I can do/enjoy.”
   
   
8. “Can't wait to see what's next!”
   
   
9. “Most importantly the excitement of another wonderful day to live , feel, experience , to do , to be part of the action , to give to receive , to share.”
   
   
10. 1“Hmmmmm, I don't think I ever really even go to bed. HA... Too many ideas.”

Next I want to share someone’s answer that seems to be a very good idea for controlling negative thoughts that cause worry and doubt. If following the Bible does not appeal to you, consider that it is really just using your sub-conscious. I use all of this stuff, every unconventional alternative there is, because I need all the help I can get. You may need it, too. Regardless of the names we give them, these ideas are really the same thing, because all of this takes place within the confines of your mind. Here is the answer we’re talking about:

The Bible says that God has plans for what’s good for us. Before going to bed I am praying and asking God to take away all my worries, fusses, and asking Him to fill me with His presence. If I do so I can get up in the morning refreshed and expecting that the new day is bringing something good for me.

Regardless of how you do this—prayer, meditation, sub-conscious, or other means—controlling your thoughts will work to relieve all kinds of stress. There’s no need to worry about anything—either take action to solve the problem, or cast it out of your mind and pursue some other ideas.
It was good to see some answers from people wishing to build their own business and take control of their destiny, rather than leave it to others. Here are their answers about why they get up in the morning:

1. “With a bit of luck and a lot of skill, I hope one day to play golf and boat when I want and take pictures in between, for a living.”
   
   
2. “The drive to go and find a way to make my idea into a business of my own.”
   
   
3. “I now work from home so I choose to get up when I want to. At present I get up early to get a head start on the day because I know that come 2 PM I will be falling asleep. That happens whatever time I get up, so now I go with the flow and get up early to compensate. Enjoying my work and my lifestyle means that I no longer hide in bed until the last minute. Giving up commuting was the best thing I ever did!”

Here is an answer we have all been hearing about as a way to improve health and productivity:

A good night's sleep (Sleeping until I am finished sleeping!).

Last, but certainly not least, is this answer:

Needing to pee. Also, fun freelance gigs.

‘Nough said.