Night owls or early birds, which are you?
Image source https://unsplash.com/photos/4JNVKCuPikc
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
I remember how we use to sing this rhyme back then in kindergarten/primary school. I realize we don't know the true meaning of the song.
I’m a morning person, and you should be too. I’m not talking about getting up at 4AM, but rather waking up at 6AM. Waking up at 6AM is a habit that I have practiced over the past couple of years after I made a conscious effort to improve my sleep schedule.
I hated waking up early in the morning because I used to be one of those **late-night owls.**
I thought waking up by six every morning was a waste of time. I thought waking up by six would ruin my nightlife. But guess what happened?
I started getting more done. My time management improved dramatically. I found myself being more productive from day one until the end of my day.
I found myself with more free time to do the things I love: spending time with loved ones, exercising, and reading interesting articles online.
The first thing I do upon waking up is drink a glass of water and exercise. Once I am done with my workout, I shower and rehydrate in the shower with cold water. Once I’m out of the shower, I eat breakfast. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Throughout the day, I drink at least two liters of water and use a natural energy enhancer called **predator**
The main reason why I wake up early is to get ahead of my day. When you are in control of your morning, you are in control of your day.
I am an early riser. so early, in fact, that my friends sometimes call me “**captain sunshine**” in jest. while i am an early riser by nature, i believe that there is much value in waking up early. Even on the days when i am not feeling energized, i push myself to wake up early so that i can establish a routine and make the most of my day.
**Early to bed, early to rise**. Aside from the fact that it makes us prepare well for the following day, it also make us healthy every day. We have probably heard this over and over again and not just in our childhood days.
When we are sleeping, our body is actively renewing itself. There are 8 cycles of sleep, each lasting between 60 and 90 minutes and each have a particular function.
Throughout the day we encounter stress, the release of hormones that prepares us for action and we accumulate waste in the cells. During sleep all of these are addressed, cells are renewed and cleaned. No wonder it makes us feel refreshed when we wake up. At the same time our immune system gets strengthened and we can fight off infections quickly. Now you know why you shouldn’t miss sleep.
Thanks to my sponsor
**Thanks for reading 🙏❤️**
The rejected stone
**The rejected stone.**
This phrase comes from a Bible verse in **Psalm 118:22.** It talks about how the rejected stone became the cornerstone of the building. The builders rejected it, but God made it the most important part of the building.
In the Old Testament, God chose Jacob over Esau. Being rejected by your older brother must have hurt beyond measure. Jacob should have been the rejected one. He was younger, he was the last to be born, and as a baby he was nearly left to die.
Although Jacob should have been rejected, Esau was chosen. Why? Because God chose Jacob and "he that had the twins was the stronger." (Genesis 25:25).
God had a purpose for Jacob and wanted him to become a nation and be in charge of the family the Lord would eventually establish (Genesis 27:1).
Esau's life didn't turn out so well, but that is okay. God had a plan for Jacob even though Jacob seemed like the less likely choice at the time.
In the Bible, Jesus speaks out against the Pharisees and other religious leaders, telling them that they've built their faith on the wrong foundation: the law. They believe that they are right with God because they follow all of the laws.
But Jesus says that they're building on sand and that someday they'll be destroyed. Not because they haven't done anything good, but because they don't have a foundation by which to build upon.
What I'm trying to point out here is that, if a stone is rejected. Only God can decide if it will still become a cornerstone. I.e if one is rejected by many people, such person can still become accepted by the same people that rejected him.
The story of a throwaway girl
I watched a movie, in the movie there was a "throwaway" girl. She have been left out, overlooked, rejected and forgotten by everyone that she have encountered.
She have felt like trash and frustration to everyone who she have encountered in her life. She have been looked at as garbage and not worthy of a place on this earth. Every time she would try to be someone great or someone valuable, she would be looked at as if I was something nobody wanted or even unwanted.
Depression took over her life, and she felt like there was no way out. No one seemed to care about her; but in reality, God cared about her, he cared about her every need even though hee people didn't want to see it.
At the end, the rejected stone became the corner stone. She was lived by lot of people and she became a holy nation.
**In summary**;
When you're feeling down, rejected, and like you don't matter, remember that you are the most important part of God's plan. He has a purpose for you, no matter how rejected you feel. You may not be the most popular or the most successful, but you're still valuable. You have a place in this world, and you're worth fighting for.
Perseverance
**Lead image source** https://unsplash.com/photos/7kEpUPB8vNk
Perseverance is strength of mind that gives one power to continue on when everyone else around you has quit. There will be times when you’ll have to fight against the odds and circumstances just to taste success.
Many people think perseverance means sticking to something until it turns out as planned. But, in reality, perseverance is never about the final outcome. It’s about how you react when the initial plan does not work out.
The true measure of perseverance is not your ability to hold on until you get what you want. It’s your ability to hold on until you get what you want and be happy with it.
The internet won’t let you succeed. The internet has been full of negative thoughts and opinions about your work. But never forget this, your work is your own. Stay away from negativity and fake news/ fake friends. This is a time to persevere and create your own goals.
My mom always told me, “if you are going to do something, do it until the end because, who knows, maybe someone is waiting for you to finish and will reward you.”
Ever since I can remember, I have been a person who has been trying to achieve my goals.
If you are determined to achieve the desired success, it is worthy to note that one day you will reap the fruits of your labor.
There is a lot of research and statistics on how success can be built with perseverance. But there is too little emphasis on the nature of perseverance itself: the specific elements of mindset, behavior and work habits that enable us to persevere.
Perseverance is sometimes represented as a trait possessed by most people who are successful.
**Reward for perseverance**
The bible said in Matthew 24 vs 13 ; ***But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.***
Someone who endures till the end will enjoy the following benefits:
***1.*** *The ability to make a living from their passion*
***2.*** *Physical and emotional wellness*
***3.*** *A sense of fulfillment, lifestyle satisfaction and happiness*
***4.*** *Self-respect and self-respect*
***5.*** *Legacy, i.e leave a mark on the world.*
***6.*** *A sense of belonging (belonging) to something bigger than yourself*
***7.*** *A sense of purpose and meaning in life through a role in improving your community.*
We all have moments in life when we think about giving up. We are too afraid to try something new. We worry that we won’t achieve what we want, so we decide to give up.
But you have to persevere. I don’t mean that you should take every setback as a learning opportunity, or that you should never give up on your goals. I mean that, in the face of adversity, you must find the strength and resilience to go harder, keep going, and strive to find success.
This is a time to keep going with your passion, ideas, and dreams.
This is a time to put out your best work forward.
This is a time to be determined to achieve what you want.
This is a time for you to be yourself and create your own truths.
**Thanks for reading ❤️🙏**
My first time on a plane
The first time I got into a plane was during an excursion.
I was in high school and got the opportunity to travel with my school's environmental club, who had a chance to participate in a inter-school picnic.
At that time, we were all excited that we will be visiting an airport. We pressurized our parents to pay our excursion fee. I can't recollect how much my parent paid for the excursion, but I know it was a little bit expensive.
I particularly didn't let my parent rest. Because I had never been on a plane before. And I've always wanted to be on it one day.
Over 80% of the students in the school paid, including me. You know when it comes to excursion, students always turn up than when it comes to activities in the classroom.
The night before the excursion day, I washed my school uniform, dried it and pressed it till I was satisfied. The gators on my trouser was sharp that it could cut someone's hand (😄 just exaggerating). But I made sure I pack my clothes up in order to look good the following day.
**The excursion day**
On that faithful day, we got to the airport. The school long bus took us there. The airport was a very big one. We were first shown around by some workers ay the airport.
Right from the moment we got to the airport, I already started enjoying the excursion. Though it wasn't new to some students as they had been on a plane before that excursion.
But to me, it was like I was visiting heaven. I cherish the way I see it in movies that People travel in the air. The closest I've seen a plane was whenever it's flying around in the air. So seeing it in reality was a dream come through.
All my thoughts was that we would travel abroad in the plane. I never knew the excursion was just to show us the nook and crannies of a plane and the airport as a whole.
An air hostess took us around the plane. Showed us every part of the plane. The economic ride and the first class ride, TVs, toilet, kitchen and lot more...
I never knew airplane was that big. Though like the saying goes **"no knowledge is a waste"** i.e even though the excursion didn't go as I expected (traveling to America 😄), I still learnt a lot of things.
When we came back from that trip, and I told all my friends in the street about my visit to the airport. You know as children, we always like sugarcoating things. **We travelled to America** "I added" as I told them about the excursion😆.
I spent more than 30 minutes bragging about being on a plane. My friends were so serious listening to me. Being on a plane before them made them treat me like a superstar.
The excursion changed my career profession interest
I have always wanted to be a doctor, but the plane tour we had made me change my mind . And I decided I will become a pilot. This time Im talking about, I still had two more years to spend in hight school.
I started reading books and searching online about pilots online. Then I stumbled on a YouTube video where I saw a plane crash. In the video, lot of people were injured, and the pilot and co-pilot lost their lives trying to land the plane in a better position to keep the passengers safe.
Before I graduated from school, the pilot profession went out of my interest. That was most most probably because of the incidents I heard about plane crash that particular year.
Thank you @EhmDee for the sponsorship. You are wonderful.
**Let's interact;**
Have you ever been on a aeroplane before?,
If you have, how was the experience?
I would like to see your comments on this 🙏
**Thanks for reading ❤️🙏**
@Haikyuu