A recent viral video depicted a young girl affirming herself that life is wonderful while wearing her pajamas in front of a bathroom mirror. Even I, with a heart of stone, can attest to the overall cuteness of this video.
So, below I’ve listed the five things that get me out of bed in the morning. These have changed somewhat over the years from cartoons to work, but are important nonetheless.
(Not necessarily in order of importance.)
1. Horton has to go to the bathroom.
He isn’t an enormous dog and an entire night can be particularly taxing on his bladder. I don’t let him sleep in the bed with me, so when he has to “go” he places the tip of his snout an inch from the tip of mine and unleashes a just barely audible sigh. I prefer my carpet unsoiled and if anyone can give you a good reason to be happy with your life and get out of bed, it’s a dog.
2. I’ve got to go to work.
I enjoy my job at Identity Marketing & Public Relations. I don’t get beat up. I don’t have to hire or fire anyone. I get to wear what I want to work. Also, I know it leads to other things. Experience at this job helps other endeavors, like effectively marketing this blog, gaining professional workplace experience or forcing my organizational ability to improve. It helps my diet, since I won’t just lay around eating garbage all day. It forces me to interact with new people who haven’t heard all of my jokes yet and may still think some of what I say is partially funny. Plus, if I don’t get up and get moving, I’ll have to spend more time in traffic. I. hate. traffic.
3. I have an idea.
Most of the time, just as I’m falling asleep, I get an idea for something. Anything from a blog post, iPhone app, solution to global problem or new scheme to meet a girl. Of course, the sooner I get out of bed, the sooner I can implement the first steps of my plan. Most of them don’t come to fruition on the 24-hour timeline, but having an idea and starting to go after it, even if only a little, is a good thing to get up for.
4. Â Coffee.
It’s really delicious.
5. Friends and family
I understand there is a high level of cliché to this, but we’re a pretty fun group, as evidenced by this fun photo… of our group. See, most of us could probably go for a day, maybe even two, without someone texting, calling, Facebooking, Tweeting, knocking or throwing tiny stones at the window of our bedroom. That is, of course, unless there is someone there next to you of a similar level of lethargy.
Then it’s a competition to see who can get the other out of bed first. (Mom, I assure you, this never happens. I never share my bed with anyone. Conversation over.) But that’s a good reason to get out of bed. Someone else wants you to. Not to promote succumbing to peer pressure, but go for it.
So, get up! It’s time! There’s something to do, someone to see, work to start and finish and a dog with a desperate need for affection. And if there isn’t, there is coffee.