I woke up to a sliver of bright light peeking through the blinds. I knew instantly that it was going to be a sunny morning. A day filled with sunshine would be perfect for some cycling, time with my horse, and any other outdoor activities I would pursue over the weekend.

Immediately following that thought, I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, thinking now would be the perfect time to get up. I could get an early start on this blog post before the rest of my day begins. As one thought rolled into the next, I fell back asleep. Apparently, I needed the rest.

During the pandemic shut down, I, like many people worldwide, found myself sleeping in instead of getting up early. Rising early isn't so hard during the spring and summer months, but those cold and dreary pandemic winter mornings sure made it hard for me to bounce out of a warm bed, and with no gyms open, it was even tougher.

Then the gyms opened back up, and all excuses aside, I took a serious look at how I would reset my health post-cancer and then a pandemic. While in the planning stages, I remembered the story, 'Touch the White Fence,' and completing the mission.

The story of completing the mission follows the rule of thought that despite what you might find out on the trail of life, alligator crossings, snakes, and wild boar, you go around the obstacles. If you come across a wild boar, you stand your ground—something I found harder to do during the winter months of the pandemic. I made attempts. Sometimes with full gusto and other times half-heartedly losing sight of my mission. I won't even go into the junk food binges I sometimes found myself indulging in.

The first part of planning my new mission was to get up early each morning and head straight to the gym. I started by setting my alarm 15 minutes earlier each morning until I eventually got up at 5 am. I found it easier for me to achieve my early morning wakeup a little at a time versus the alarm blaring at me during an ungodly hour with lack of sleep. Trust me; it wouldn't do me or anyone else any good to be sleep-deprived.

For me, getting up earlier works for a variety of reasons. The first being, as someone who can easily spend a couple of hours in the gym, accomplishing my workouts first thing in the morning sets my day up. It stops me from making excuses later in the day, thus going around the alligators and snakes (obstacles) and standing up to the wild boar (excuses). I'm sure some of you can relate. You get caught up in the day's activities, and next thing you know, it is already dinner time, the family is hungry, there is homework, kids to bathe, and you're exhausted.

The modern-day family!

I remember being a young mom and raising two little kids primarily by myself. I was fortunate that teaching fitness was my career, so I had to show up no matter what. That made it a lot easier. However, we were talking a long time ago. There was no childcare in health clubs, so I hired a babysitter.

The reality is, life has its struggles, and with some planning, you get to be in charge of your day.

In this article, written by Brandi Tarvin, he says, "If we want to accomplish our goals, we need to train in advance for the distractions that will steal our energy and leave us drifting around without purpose. It's like the fire drills we go through at our jobs. Training allows us to deal with the complication and get back to our real purpose. So, remember: Complete the mission. Touch the white fence. Give yourself permission to succeed because you can if you believe that you can."

Having an early morning routine does help me touch the white fence, and the training helps me respond to any storm (obstacles) that comes my way.

If you'd like some tips on how you can touch the white fence, head on over to my blog post 9-Simple-Steps to Eliminating Roadblocks.

As always, I'm here if you'd like to connect. I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and any inspirational tips you might want to share.

In love and health,

Vonie