Time to get up already??

Beeeep - Beeeep - Beeeep rings the alarm clock and I quickly reach over to hit Snooze.
Ten minutes later Beeep - Beeep - Beeep it goes again.

Do I get up?

Nope. Instead I hit snooze and lay there debating whether or not I really want to get out of bed.

Me: Is it that time already?
Voice: Yep, but you've got time?
Me: But I should get up, that way I won't be rushed.
Voice: Ten minutes won't hurt you.
Me: But that means I won't have time to dry my hair...
Voice: Seriously, you don't dry your hair most days
Me: I really should get up...
Voice: but you've already wasted 10 minutes...you should just stay home.

So why do I do this? (besides a bad case of neuroses) That is a good question. I am, and always have been, a morning person. Once I actually drag my behind out of bed and get my shower in, I'm quite peppy and ready to go. My day's have started early for many years, long before I had kids (I was the college kid who chose 8am classes) so why do I feel the need to debate with myself if I should get out of bed now or 15 minutes from now?

Last week at SemiCharmedWife she issued a positivity challenge and I've been working on my own end to be aware and 'correct' my ego (my inner voice) since reading A New Earth. I think the morning conversations I have with myself fall into this realm of thought. Do I really need to try and talk myself out of getting up for a mere 10 more minutes of sleep? In this months Self magazine there is an article about self expression entitled Talking Myself Up. The author (Deanna Kizis) writes about how her inner voice(named Stan) is always there being negative and overly self critical.

...after I finished a long phone chat with a friend he said, "your boring her to death. Every word you speak is one less breath your friend will ever take."

She writes about some of the negativity that comes from Stan but then she goes on to say that she "vowed to talk back to Stan everyday" to shut him up. It seems her practice of talking to Stan could be classified as Cognitive Therapy.

"Cognitive Therapists ask people to pay attention to any negative thoughts, evaluate their validity and, if the thoughts aren't accurate, swap in more realistic beliefs."

Well what does this have to do with me and my 'snooze button' compulsion?

Each day I do the same routine - hear the alarm, hit the snooze button and try to squeeze 10, maybe 15 more minutes of sleep time before I get up. Truth is that from the time the alarm rings I'm awake...my brain is going 90 to nothing and even though my eyes aren't open I'm already beating myself up. That's a helluva way to start the day, don't you think?

I never realized before just how detrimental to my self image I can be. I've been practicing this technique (verbalize to myself "I'm a strong, fit, runner" and "I will run the marathon, I will complete it") as part of my marathon training, but not as part of my everyday life. It has been working really well in that area so I am issuing a personal challenge to myself to see if I can change this habit.
Be aware of my habit in the morning and replace it with much more positive statements like "It's going to be a great day."

Is your inner voice talking you down? How do you shut it up?