It all depends on what you’re waking up for.

“Tomorrow morning starts at 4 am. But it’s optional. You can choose you or you can choose sleep.”

I didn’t even need an alarm clock. It’s been called the Summer Camp Effect: kids actually wake up early, get dressed, clean their room, eat breakfast and are ready to go before they’re supposed to be. (Note to non parents: this is practically unheard of for kids of a certain age). But when they want to wake up, when they can’t wait to get started on the day, then they need no prodding, begging or threatening.

Disclaimer: I’m an admitted morning person, so I actually like waking up early. But if you’re waking up for something you really, really want to do, you’ll be a morning person … at least that morning.

Quoted at 3:30 am walking under the full moon (see photo) to a workshop, “It all depends on what you’re waking up for.” Adwynna looked at me and paused and thought and looked and started to speak. “Multiple that by 16,000 levels.” In other words, it’s applicable for this morning, but it’s also applicable for every morning.

So forget the crazy hour for a moment, that’s only what triggered this post because no one at the workshop was complaining about the time. In fact, most were there early. The instructor said that doors would close at 4 AM and if you weren’t in, you weren’t getting in.

Overheard: “Yeah, he’s at a conference, I’m not sure if he’ll answer his phone.” “Oh, really? Wow, conferences are when I get most of my email and phone calls done. Huh, it must be a really good conference.”

So that’s a conference, a short-term event. What about longer events? Projects? Jobs? Schools? What about life in general? Are you excited to get up in the morning? What’s your routine? What’s the first thing you do? Is it something you look forward to? Is it something that possibly determines the rest of your day?

Sure, you could argue, if I had to wake up to collect my lottery winnings from the bank every morning, I’d get out of bed with a spring in my step. But what if it’s the job you don’t like? What if it’s even the job you do like? Are you tired in the morning? Does it take a long time to wake up? Maybe you’re the type who just needs lots of sleep, no matter what they’re doing.

Morning person, night person, it doesn’t matter. What matter is … what matters to you. Are you doing what matters to you? It doesn’t necessarily need to matter to the masses–or anyone else–as long as it matters to you.

Whew. We got up at 3 am. It’s now nearly midnight. It also doesn’t matter what you did all day if you don’t get some sleep … then you won’t even be asleep to want to wake up from.

• Possible: wake up because you have to
• Impossible: wake up because you’d like to
• Repossible: wake up because you can’t wait