“Starting Well” – ACM Safeguarding Lead, Chris East

17 Feb 2021

This post was written more than two years ago. The content or information below may no longer be accurate.

ACM’s Designated Safeguarding Lead

Reasons not to get up in the morning:

  • Heavy night.
  • Mental Health playing you up.
  • Cold outside.
  • Anxious about a specific incident or situation.
  • No reason to get up…

That last reason has plagued many of us at some point in our lives, for some people, this is a regular occurrence, a belief that we have no reason to venture into this new day.

Emilíana Torrini – “To Be Free”:

It shouldn’t hurt me to be free. It’s what I really need

To pull myself together

But if it’s so good being free

Would you mind telling me

Why I don’t know what to do with myself?

Imagine someone giving you £86,400 every single morning. You could spend it however you liked, wherever you liked. Even if you used it all up it wouldn’t matter because your bank balance would be refreshed every morning.

Who wouldn’t love that?!

There are 86,400 seconds in a day, each day you are given the opportunity to spend every second how you would like to.

However, like money, if this time is wasted you won’t have the opportunity to get it back.

As humans, we are great at wasting our time, here are just a few things I found on the internet about how people waste theirs:

  • Complaining. 
  • Gossiping. 
  • Watching TV.
  • Hanging out with negative people. 
  • Procrastinating. 
  • Playing video games.
  • Waiting for something to happen. 
  • Attending unnecessary meetings. 
    • Ahem…
  • Surfing the web endlessly. 
    • Ironically, clearly what I did when writing this blog…
  • Constantly posting on social media. 
  • Solving the same problems again & again & again…

If we’re wasting most of our time instead of doing something productive with it then no wonder we sometimes think what is the point of getting up in the morning.

Pink Floyd – “Time”:

And then one day you find 

Ten years have got behind you 

No one told you when to run 

You missed the starting gun 

Ask yourself a few questions about your current circumstances:

  • How did you end up studying that course?
  • Why do you want that job?
  • What is the reason you have developed certain relationships?

There was a reason for every decision, dream and action you’ve ever taken:

Because you had the ability to do so!

You had and still have the ability to make your own decisions. You still have the ability to reach that goal you always had your heart set on.

What’s changed? 

There are moments in life when plans don’t go quite how we envisioned them, a few things get in the way or we have to press the pause button for one reason or another. 

That doesn’t mean you have to completely stop…

If we look back at our lives we can see that most of our perceived setbacks have actually been accelerations on a path we never knew we needed. By remodelling our thinking regarding the journey we’re set on, we can capture these moments by meditating on what was learnt, then re-envision them not as bumps in the road but as an unplanned stop to stock up on resources, learn new lessons and check the map before continuing on our journey.

If we just stop at every stumbling block or set back, what have we gained? 

It’s at these times like these that we learn our greatest lessons. It takes a sense of purpose to enable us to progress.

Getting up at a suitable time in the morning and starting your day well is so much more than just improving your mental health, it also benefits your productivity, social skills and provides opportunities that you probably didn’t perceive that you would ever be offered.

Planning something for the day gives you purpose, waiting for someone else to do something for you will only delay potential

If you haven’t got anything planned for today, why not?


If you would like support with anything mentioned above please contact studentsupport@acm.ac.uk, alternatively, you can find out more information on our Student Services Canvas page.

If you have a concern for your wellbeing or that of someone else associated with ACM, please contact the safeguarding team:
Email – dsl@acm.ac.uk
Call – 01483 910197