“Do you wake up and fall asleep with a smile?” – I was asked about a decade ago.

I was startled by the question, and my answer was, “Ehhh… nope.”

At the time, I was often waking up and falling asleep with anxiety, despair, and alike.

I didn’t get a recipe on how to do it with a smile, but I was curious to find my own answer.

Nowadays, I wake up and fall asleep with a smile more often than not.

My answer has been made of a variety of things.

I decided to commit to an exercise of appreciating your pillow, continuing with other things you appreciate in your life when you go to sleep and first thing when you wake up.

I had just bought a silk pillowcase, and whenever I’d feel my cheek touching it, I’d be reminded of the appreciation practice.

I’d start with the pillow, then my blanket, sheets, hot shower, the roof above my head, coffee in the morning… and other things, people, experiences.

Even on my worst day, laying my head on a pillow is something I can easily find appreciation for.

It became a habit to redirect my thoughts from the habitual worrisome, insomnia-causing ones towards more positive ones. 

And starting my day in appreciation even if just for a brief moment.

I also kept looking for ways to feel better overall. 

I’d experiment with different concepts, exercises that I’d find in books, podcasts, courses, etc.

For me, the key to feeling better was growing my awareness, learning to manage my mind and emotions better, processing my feelings rather than numbing them as well as applying other tools I learned through coaching.

Acknowledging that I didn’t need to feel bad about feeling bad, and add an unnecessary layer of suffering on top of suffering.

Embracing the 50/50 of life – because both positive and negative emotions are part of a human life experience. 

And there are definitely things in the world I don’t want to feel happy about.

And there is so much beauty in life that is worth noticing.

☑️ How would you like to fall asleep and wake up more often?  What helps you do that? What’s one easy thing you could experiment with daily for the next 30 days?