The Morning Person

I’ve been struggling with the idea that I can’t control everything.  Sure, if you asked me, “Can you control everything?”  I would immediately respond with a resounding “no.”  It’s common sense.  But, then why do I have such a problem reacting to things in a negative way when they don’t go as planned or the way I would prefer them to go?  In many ways I still act like a child.  And, as much as I would like to immediately change that… I’m finding it really difficult. 

I read that it could be a good idea to write down a personal set of policies and procedures (aka: principles and processes) for responding to situations more maturely.  I certainly don’t think this is an absolute fix for acting immaturely, but I figure it’s a place to start. 

I decided to tackle something that plagues me daily: The Morning Person.

These people are everywhere.  They’re on the train in the morning, their in my office, and I find them to be so annoyingly perky.  The morning is a time for soft light, soft noises, and mostly just… quiet. 

It’s been my experience, that if I just change my perspective of a situation, my whole outlook changes, and most of the time it’s no longer even an issue.  What I learned as I was examining this seemingly terrible issue in my life is that I sort of am a morning person.  It’s just that I look at the morning as being my quiet time away from all the noises, demands and distractions of the day.  In fact, by arriving at work earlier, I find I tend to get more done before 8:30 because there is no one distracting me.  So, when the woman at work walks in with a perky voice at 7:15 going, “Good morning!  How was your night?  What did you do?  Who did you see?  What do you know?  ” I now recognize now, that I really just see her infringing on my quiet time.   

So, here are some ways that I plan to not only change my perspective, but act differently:

1.      Recognize that not everyone shares my love of quiet.  There are some people who have to talk and fill the void of silence.

2.      My quiet morning mentality needs to end as I leave the house.  I can’t expect everyone to think like I do.  Perhaps those people need the loud noises to wake up so they can be productive. 

3.      Find ways to be more understanding and tolerant of other people.

4.      Maybe those chatty morning people don’t have anyone at home to chat with them, so I need to give them a compassionate ear.

5.      Maybe these people are so genuinely happy, they want to talk to others about the things that make them happy.  I know that if I’m excited about something I want to tell people about it.