Most of the time I spend when I get up in the morning is trying

In the words of Madeleine Albright, “Most of the time I spend when I get up in the morning is trying to figure out what is going to happen.” These words, though spoken with the simplicity of routine, conceal within them the weight of leadership, diplomacy, and foresight. For Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. Secretary of State, the morning was not a gentle unfolding of hours, but the dawning of decisions that could alter the course of nations. Her task each day was not merely to greet the sun but to gaze into the horizon of the unknown, to prepare for storms, and to ready herself for battles unseen.

The essence of this quote is the recognition of uncertainty. To wake each day and ask, “What will happen?” is to confess that the future lies forever hidden, and yet it demands to be faced. For ordinary souls, this may mean the uncertainty of work, family, or health. For Albright, it meant the shifting tides of war and peace, the movements of armies, the trembling balances of diplomacy. Her morning thoughts were not idle wanderings but acts of vigilance, the mental armor she donned before stepping into the day’s struggles.

The ancients knew this state well. The generals of Rome, rising before dawn, would consult the augurs, not to control the future, but to prepare their minds for it. Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, began his days with meditations, steadying himself for the trials of empire. Albright, too, practiced a modern augury, scanning reports, weighing possibilities, and searching for the hidden patterns that might reveal the day’s destiny. In this way, she embodies the timeless truth: that wisdom is not in controlling the future, but in bracing oneself to meet it.

Consider also the story of Winston Churchill in the dark days of the Second World War. Each morning, he would rise, not knowing what the next hours would bring—bombings, betrayals, or desperate pleas from allies. Yet he disciplined his mind to face uncertainty with courage, crafting words and strategies that would steel his people. Like Albright, he lived with the daily weight of “what is going to happen,” but instead of despairing, he transformed uncertainty into readiness. It was this readiness that sustained nations through chaos.

The emotional power of Albright’s words lies in their humility. She does not claim mastery over events. She admits that each day begins with questions, with struggle, with the search for clarity. This honesty is itself a lesson: even the most powerful must wrestle with uncertainty, must begin each day as learners, not as gods. In this, she invites all of us to see that vigilance and preparation are not signs of weakness, but of wisdom.

From her words, we also learn the value of morning reflection. To begin the day not with haste, nor with distraction, but with thought—this is the way of those who walk with purpose. The dawn is a sacred time, when the mind is unclouded and the spirit is most able to prepare for the trials ahead. Those who waste the morning stumble unprepared into chaos; those who use it wisely move through the day with clarity, even when the unexpected comes.

So, O listener, take this teaching into your own life: greet the morning not as a mere habit, but as a sacred preparation. Before the noise of the world seizes you, pause to ask, “What may happen? How will I meet it?” Gather patience, gather courage, gather foresight, and then step forth. You may not foresee every trial, but you will walk with the strength of one who has made themselves ready.

Therefore, the lesson is clear: life is uncertainty, but wisdom prepares. Like Madeleine Albright, let your mornings be more than beginnings; let them be the forge where you shape the armor of the day. In doing so, you will not merely endure what happens—you will rise to meet it with dignity, resilience, and grace.