What if I decided to skip my morning coffee?
This year, I set an intention that I wanted to see major breakthroughs in my life. Now, for some entrepreneurs that might mean hustling, taking massive action and making big moves. But for me, I knew that this had to be something different.
After all, I’ve tried all that before and the typical leadership tricks just weren’t cutting it. While I saw some results with that strategy, I also saw a lot of sacrifice and exhaustion and no freedom in my business.
For me, this year was all about letting go in order to break free. So, I set the commitment of fasting from one thing every single month that I was holding on to more tightly than I wanted to.
To be clear, this was never about depriving myself, my body or my life of things that enriched or nourished it. This was not a punishment but rather, an experiment to see what would happen when I released my grip and turned my eyes to what was coming ahead of me rather than forcing what I thought should happen.
The Coffee Fast
Coffee lovers, you’ll get me when I say that I was nervous about letting go of my first cup of coffee every single morning. But in the name of breakthrough, I knew what was once a morning ritual had now become a crutch and I needed a break.
I have tried a complete sacrifice of coffee in the past where I didn’t drink it at all for a few days in a row and if you’ve tried that before you know it can be difficult. I saw some side effects in the form of headaches that come with the release as caffeine leaves your body. Been there, done that and never going back!
This month’s fast was an intentional shift of my morning routine. Here’s what happened.
It didn’t have to be all or nothing.
Often when I approached resetting habits, I resisted because it felt like the only way to see a change was to eradicate the habit forever.
It is important to be gentle with yourself and I realized that first cup of coffee that I longed for, could wait. I could recommit my morning routine to something that really made a significant impact on my mental health and still have that yummy cup that filled me up.
I took back my morning.
I knew that while coffee in the morning was not something unique to me, nor something I had to go without entirely, I wanted to recommit the beginning moments of my day to something that would lift me up and set my day with more intention.
I have a practice of journaling that I know is the best way for me to start my day. It helps me get out of myself and allows me to have the perspective I need to tackle the day from a place of gratitude. It is also the space where I can record celebrations and get rid of any doubt, fear or lies rolling around in my mind so they don’t frame my day.
I realized that by focusing on journaling and praying and going through my morning routine, I was able to set intentions for my day. Rather than my day just coming at me I was able to get on top of things. I was in a position to really enjoy and see the fruits that were coming throughout the day.
I felt more awake throughout the day.
By not having my coffee the second I woke up, my body was able to wake up on its own.
Unbeknownst to me, I had been pushing down my body’s natural response to waking up in the morning and all the while I had been trying to speed it up. I found I was more present with my kids and clients and, as time went on, I found myself skipping coffee altogether.
I felt less anxious.
Maybe you’re like me and have a very busy morning schedule. I have two daughters who wake up ON and we have much to do before school starts.
Then, there is a moment when everything kind of dies down after that first flurry in the morning. While I should be settling into work, I noticed my heart racing as if I had just ran a marathon.
I was nervous to let go of that brain fuel, but I realized my body needed a break. I’d been hustling hard and pushing it far beyond its normal pace.
By letting go of the morning coffee, my body was able to reset and I wasn’t running through my day feeling amped up or burned out.
Years of brain fog lifted.
Over time, I started to realize a fog had lifted and I was thinking clearer than I had in a long time.
For years, I’d struggled with brain fog (you know, that feeling where you’re a walking zombie and can’t always finish a thought) but was typically dismissed when I brought it up because I have two small children.
I knew I was way more tired than the average parent yet I didn’t know why. I would crash in bed as soon as I put my kids to sleep and wake up tired and running for the coffee pot and so the cycle continued.
Until I skipped the coffee.
By switching up my coffee routine, I realized I was able to really wake up in the morning and have a full conversation. I was able to have thoughts and get creative. I was able to stay up later. This newfound energy was noticeable and helped reveal some other health notes I needed to pay attention to – talk about a breakthrough!
This cup that I thought was bringing me life and filling up my cup (pun intended) – but really it was weighing me down. Again, I am not a coffee hater. I am a coffee lover. I have since continued to drink coffee.
But by removing this layer, I was able to see something that was mismanaged in my life.
I was able to reshift and move it to a time where it really could be something that lifted me up rather than pulling me down and making me anxious, setting my day up in a way that wasn’t meaningful.
Have you ever given up coffee for any length of time? If you’re nervous, let me encourage you that it’ll be ok!
Remember, it doesn’t have to be forever and you can always change your mind.
What is one area you’d also like to see breakthrough?
Read this next: Coffee Alternatives To Avoid An Afternoon Crash