I'm up before most people. 4 AM usually. Sometimes earlier. And in that quiet before the work starts, my brain likes to have conversations with me. Not helpful ones.
Did you send that email? You should check. What if they didn't get it. What if they got it and thought it was stupid. What if the whole business idea is stupid. What if you're wasting years on something that's never going to work.
Thanks brain. Real fucking helpful at 3:47 AM.
The doubts hit different when the house is dark and nobody else is awake. No distractions. Just you and whatever bullshit your mind wants to throw at you.
Some mornings it's the business. Is anyone actually going to pay for this? Some mornings it's the doctorate. Why the hell are you still in school at your age? Some mornings it's just general existential garbage. What's the point of any of this?
I don't have a magic trick for shutting it up. I've tried, but the voice does what it wants.
What I've learned is that 4 AM thoughts are not to be trusted. They feel true and urgent. They feel like important revelations about your life and choices, but they're not. They're just a tired brain running unsupervised.
The move is to notice it and not engage. Oh we're doing this again. Cool. Let me make some coffee and get to work anyway. Sometimes the thoughts fade once I start moving. Sometimes they hang around all damn morning like a drunk guest who won't leave. Either way I don't let them make decisions. 3 AM brain doesn't get a vote. The work is still there when the sun comes up. The doubts don't change that. I might as well get started.
Anyone else have these conversations? What does your 4 AM brain like to torture you with?
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
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-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.