Bad start, bad day …

As silly as it may sound, the refusal of many to exercise just a modicum of self-discipline often results in these people being their own “trigger” to a bad day.

That’s right, their lack of self-discipline triggers a chain reaction that starts their day off bad, which only generates a bad day.

It all begins the night before …

By refusing to have enough discipline to get to bed in time for a reasonable night’s sleep, these people feed a habit of indulging in TV, gaming, being online, or such activity that keeps them up late. That’s the primer …

… so when the alarm goes off, they curse the noise and repeatedly hit the snooze button until the very last minute. That results in their getting up too late to gather their thoughts, or pray, or have time in the Word; it often means they miss breakfast and will have to try to rush through the morning rush hour to get to work on time.

Lacking sleep, lacking gathering themselves, lacking time with the Lord, lacking breakfast, and being harried from rush hour traffic, these folks aren’t very pleasant by the time they arrive at work.

It doesn’t improve much as the day drags on. Attempts to fuel themselves with multiple cups of coffee and a fast food lunch sets them up for an afternoon “crash” when they start counting the minutes to clock out for the day …

… only to be greeted by the evening rush hour.

Just as they weren’t very pleasant when they arrived at work, they won’t be very pleasant when they arrive at home.

Yet none of this will be credited to their lack of discipline and poor choices. They’ll often blame traffic, the boss, their workload, unreliable coworkers or demanding customers. To soothe themselves, they’ll finish their evening with a late night Netflix marathon or hours on the computer.

And start the cycle all over in the morning.

They are their own trigger to a bad day.

Bad start, bad day.

It’s easily changed.

There’s nothing painful about being an adult regarding going to bed in time to get the sleep their bodies need. That will allow them to wake in time to have a slower start to their day; to gather their thoughts, and spend some time in prayer and in the Word before having breakfast (time with a spouse or family if they have them), and head out for their day with a much better mindset.

It just takes a little self-discipline, something which God enables us with (2 Tim. 1:7).

All kinds of excuses can be made, but if you want to improve your days you’ll have to do what it takes to start them well. There’s no guarantee that you won’t have troubles if you get a good start to your day, but you’ll be better prepared mentally, emotionally, and hopefully spiritually to face what comes.

How are you starting your day? How are you ending your nights? How are your guiding your character and attitude for each day?

Scotty