i recently read somewhere that jennifer lopez goes to bed at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. in the morning. can you believe it? she is clearly committed to her health and well-being, is an enormous success by any definition of the word, has earned every moment of her good fortune. and she goes to bed at 5:00 a.m.
my head exploded when i read this.
i cannot sleep before 2:00 a.m. am often up well after that. it has not served me at 7:00 a.m. but my body simply won’t go to sleep. all my life, i have been surrounded by morning people giving me morning-people advice.
“if you go to bed earlier, you’ll wake up earlier.”
“if you get up early consistently, your body will get used to it.”
i have functioned as a student and working adult for half a decade and have never gotten used to it. ever. café bustelo has saved many a soul who engaged me in conversation before 10:00 a.m.
i’ve been trying to fix this glitch in my sleep-system forever. but this news about jennifer lopez, the POWERHOUSE, shifts my thinking.
a couple of nights (or mornings) ago, at a little after 4:00 a.m., i shuffled over to my kitchen window and watched the snow fall in my building’s courtyard. i am incredibly fortunate. the scene was shakespearean. as i took it in, the lampposts and branches, the brick face and handrails, all covered in that perfect, peaceful blanket, i thought, “this insomnia thing is a gift sometimes.” i took a 10-second video and posted it to social media with exactly those words.
several hours later, someone messaged me with a solution for insomnia.
thanks. and i will use it. but. suddenly, i don’t necessarily see my “glitch” as a problem. in fact…
what if the baker’s superpower isn’t his perfect recipe, but his sweet tooth? a dancer’s not her practiced precision, but her restlessness? a doctor’s not his intellect, but his endless curiosity? a leader’s not her ease, but her discomfort?
what if my sleepless nights are my superpower?
and i’m curious to know, what are you trying to fix, but is actually your superpower?
Light of Day Coaching LLC 