Starting Fresh

Do you know what I love about mornings? What motivates me to get out of bed at 5:15 every Tuesday and Thursday morning? The chance to start over.

Last night, I lay in bed fretting about all that has to be done over the next week and month, worrying that I might not be able to do it all. Here's a brief rundown for you, just in case I drop out of the blog universe for a while:

This week (today and tomorrow):

homework assignment due Saturday morning, Statistics homework due tomorrow, study for GRE, oil change, dinner with friends tonight, go to classes, Dallas for a wedding (Thursday through Sunday)

Next week:

Monday - classes and statistics test

Tuesday - the dreaded GRE (which I hope to goodness I will be prepared for!)

Wednesday - following Wednesday - write 16 page paper, finish 1 grad school application, prepare resume, prepare for upcoming BIG TIME conference, with Thanksgiving thrown in there somewhere

Following week: Thursday - Sunday - American Anthropological Association conference in Philadelphia, where I plan/hope to meet lots of people from the PhD programs I'm applying to

Week(s) after that: Statistics final exam, Human Growth & Development take home final (THANK GOODNESS!), grade 180+ papers (at least they're short!)

Then... Christmas break!!! aka heavy drinking and lots of sleep OR aka time to finish all other PhD applications (probably the second one).

Phew! That's A LOT! So... That explains why I was tossing and turning last night...

This morning, I rolled out of bed, drug myself into yoga class, and once I was seated on the mat, I realized what's so great about mornings -- especially yoga mornings. Luckily, usually, I wake up with very little recollection of what feelings or thoughts I was experiencing the night before. Yoga offers me a chance to jump into a brand new day; a chance to start fresh, with the attitude that I choose. I can erase all of the negativity I felt the night before, or I can embrace any happy thoughts or experiences and build on those. This morning, I chose to ERASE! My challenge for the rest of the week is to start each morning with the mindset that I choose, whether I go to yoga or not, and my intention for the day is: POSITIVITY!

Another great thing about mornings??? Banana nut oatmeal. It's calling my name.

Happy Tuesday!