Don’t believe anything you think after 5:00pm

I did my Ancestry DNA a few years ago and they give you a little teaser of the extra things you can learn about yourself. One of those was if you are a morning person or a night person. I found out that I am 80% more of a morning person than the general population. Boy did they get that right! I’ve always been a morning person. I love a sunrise over a sunset. I like when it feels like the rest of the world is quiet and I’m the only one awake. I love that first sip of morning coffee. My brain is it’s clearest in the morning ready to make the most thoughtful decisions.

A lot of us get that afternoon slump. Somewhere around 3:00pm we start to feel like we need our second wind. A cup of coffee or tea and a sweet treat might be the fix. I can hit that wall too but what I’ve started to notice more recently is that after 5:00pm, my thoughts become increasingly negative. I have about enough steam left in me to make dinner, eat and clean up. Then it’s off to watch a show and go to bed. If I dare try to do anything productive or try and work on anything mentally important, I just start going down the rabbit hole of negativity. I’ll replay conversations in my head. I think about what I have on my schedule the following day and begin feeling overwhelmed. This is not doing me any favors.

I’ve started comparing my thoughts after five to my thoughts on the same topics when I first wake up and there is a huge difference. With all of this in mind, I started saying to myself - “Don’t believe anything you think after 5:00pm”. It’s been so helpful. Maybe you’re a night person and you need to say to yourself “Don’t believe anything you think at 6:00am”. Pay attention to when you may become more negative and then revisit it at your best time of day to see if there is a difference. You’ll probably find that there is.