Why Mornings?56didn’t go off, you had to travel. Something threw you off your
game. You tumbled back to the bottom of the self- discipline
mountain, and as you looked back up to see how far you’d
fallen, you decided you didn’t have what it took to start again.
So you stopped getting up early and started telling yourself
that you’re not a morning person. You labeled yourself.
Or maybe it’s not about mornings. Maybe you’ve labeled
yourself as someone who isn’t organized or who can’t figure
out how to have a quiet time or who simply doesn’t have what
it takes to make healthy choices. Maybe you’ve labeled your-
self as undisciplined or lazy, lacking self- control.
The labels we give ourselves and others are powerful. Just
as we encourage children to choose their words carefully with
the old adage “If you don’t have something nice to stay, don’t
say anything at all,” we should choose the words we use to
describe ourselves carefully.
Self- criticism is the greatest form of self- sabotage. There is
a fine line between honest critique of where we have room to
grow and labeling ourselves in a way that stunts our growth.
The good news is that most of the things we think are nec-
essary to build a morning routine are really not necessary at
all. You don’t have to be a morning person, and you don’t have
to be a model of self- discipline. You don’t have to be organized
or full of willpower.
In fact, you’re going to learn that you don’t need any more
discipline or self- control to have a life- giving morning routine
than you do to tie your shoelaces. You’re going to learn that
our God is the God of the impossible and, when we walk with
Him day by day, those labels fall right off.