Have you ever wanted something so much, only to find out you’ve had it all along?

What do you want?

Like… what do you really, REALLY want?

How do you think you will feel when you get it?

HOW do you think you will get it?

When do you think you will get it?

Do you even think you will get it?

Is there a possibility that you already have it?

Could you think creatively to find that perhaps you do have it, but in a different way than what you were expecting?

What do you already have?

What do you already have that you would feel lost without?

What do you already have that you’re not fully and consciously appreciating?

What do you already have that you ARE fully and consciously appreciating?

Is it enough?

Is it enough for you to feel happy and content?

If you never received anything else, is what you have enough for you to consider yourself blessed and happy your whole life?

If not, what else do you need to feel happy?

Is feeling happy enough?

Is there more to life than feeling happy?

What else would you like besides happiness?

Are you starting to wonder why I’m just asking you a bunch of questions?

Is it ok with you, if I dedicate one whole post (from title to salutation) to ONLY ask you questions? 

Do you think that it is helpful to be asked thought-provoking questions every now and then, rather than be told the answers?

Do you think I have all the answers anyway?

Does anyone have all the answers?

Who holds the answers that are personal for you?

Does your spirit know everything you need to know?

How can you tap into the truth inside you?

Where does God come into the picture?

Does He know all the answers?

How do you best communicate with Him?  How do you speak to Him?  How do you hear Him?

When have you heard Him speak to you in the past?  What were you doing when you heard Him?  What had you done prior to hearing Him?  Is there a certain setting you could arrange to help you hear Him again?

Do you like to go on a quiet walk in nature to ponder and give yourself an opportunity to hear Him?

Do you like to open your scriptures and flip around, reading whatever verses you feel interested in or drawn to?  Has there ever been a verse that stood out to you that you felt was God speaking to you directly?

Do you like to ponder and/or let your mind wander after (or while) you pray to allow Him to lead your thoughts to the answers He has for you?

Can you share with me some of your favorite ways to hear Him, since I just shared my top 3 with you?

Do you think that God can help you see that you already have everything you want?

Do you think that it’s ok to want more?

Do you think that God would love to shower you with more blessings than you even have room to receive?

Do you believe that God desires to share ALL that He has with you??

What do you want?

Like… what do you really, REALLY want?

What are you going to do today that will help you achieve or maintain your truest desire? 

Will you leave a comment and tell me how you liked this post?  Did anyone even read this post?  Will you let me know you’re here? 

And last of all, do you know how much I love you?

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

Do you know how much God loves you?

Do you need to hear this?

Do you have chores to do, goals to achieve, or responsibilities to fulfill?  Of course you do.  And I’ll bet that sometimes you’re great at keeping the ball rolling, and other times you feel like doing nothing.  Am I right?  Well, here is one little thing you can do when your energy is drained, and you find yourself wanting a break.

Hello my friend!  How are you, and how is this spring treating you?  I have been thoroughly enjoying walks around my neighborhood and sitting outside in the sun.  It does my soul good.

Perhaps it’s taken me a little too far down a “relaxing” path because I have not been wanting to sit down and type.  In fact, I haven’t had anything on my mind that I’ve been wanting to write about.

And that is not normal for me, haha.  Usually, I have thoughts and ideas rolling in my head all week, and it’s a matter of picking just one to write about.

But not lately.

I’ve had other things on my mind recently (a project that I’m working on) and it is exciting me to the point of taking all my thought-energy, not to mention my free time as well.

So as much as I love writing, I am finding myself on a Friday afternoon (my 16th wedding anniversary actually) with nothing to say, and not feeling inspired one bit.  So what do I do with that?

Something.

I tell myself to… Just.  Do.  Something.

If I can get a post written, that will be good enough.  I remind myself that it doesn’t have to be my best work, it just has to be.

And voila… I’ve got something to write about.  Remember my note to the perfectionist?  This is the perfect add-on to that!

When you think the job in front of you is too big for you (whether it’s cleaning a toilet or completing a workout) it is more difficult to start the task.

But instead of looking at the whole picture of what needs to be done, my advice for you today is to just take a baby step.

When you have a huge pile of laundry to tackle, how many times do you walk past it thinking “I’ll come back to that later”?  I know I’m guilty of that!

When instead, if you tell yourself to just fold 3 shirts, you won’t feel so overwhelmed by feeling like you must spend the next 45 minutes folding laundry.

Give yourself permission to just do one bite-sized job:

• Wipe down just the toilet seat.
• Open the book and simply read one paragraph.
• Only do 10 jumping jacks.
• And my favorite -open the cupboard and serve cereal for dinner (instead of resorting to calling in pizza).

The idea is to just do something.

If you can do one little thing, it may not feel like you’re “keeping the ball rolling”, but I assure you, it will keep it from stopping.

My average blog post has been about 1500 words!  And I felt like I set the bar high for myself, thinking that each post has to be at least that long.  So when I have moments of not knowing what to say, I feel like I have a huge job in front of me –needing to come up with 1500 words seems impossible!

But when I allow myself to just write “something”… anything….  Even one paragraph… all the pressure fades away and I feel free to take a simple baby step.  And before I know it, I’m experiencing the “flow”.  (That’s what I call it when my fingers can barely keep up with the words in my brain.)

This is not the first time I’ve had this experience.

I have often started a household chore telling myself that I’m just going to organize one drawer, and the next thing I know, I’ve got the whole desk cleaned!  Getting started is half the battle, so starting with one small task can easily lead to doing more.

But it doesn’t always lead to more!  I have also told myself that I’m just going to sweep a little, and that’s all I do… I have a lot to sweep around my house and it seems like I’m always just sweeping small areas at different times rather than sweeping everything at once, haha!

And that’s ok!  Whether this trick helps you get more done than you planned, or just the bare minimum, use it and feel good about knowing that you at least did something.  Even doing the smallest amount of work continually, over time you will eventually complete the job!

What is it that you want to do or need to get done?  The next time you feel overwhelmed with a task, I encourage you to give this little trick a try.

Just.  Do.  Something.

I love you!

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

When you try to start a new habit, does it usually stick?  Or does the train run off the track at some point down the road?  Does it feel daunting to think of doing that new thing FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?!  Stay with me because I have a little trick for you!

I recently put together some “schedules” (a.k.a. “job charts”) for me and my kids.  Since you know how much I want to have a clean house, I’m trying once again to put some routines in place so that we can enjoy a clean living space.

My weekly chores are simple enough, yet annoyingly tedious that I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of doing them regularly –for the REST of my LIFE!!!

Can’t we all handle doing hard or annoying things for a little while?  I think so.

But can we continue to do them FOREVER??  Forever can sometimes seem like a bit much, don’t ya think?

Once I caught myself feeling this way about my new household job schedule, I reframed my thinking into something that feels much lighter!

Instead of saying that I’m going to “do these things for the rest of my life”, I thought “they’re just something that I do”.  Meaning, clearing off the kitchen counters before I go to bed is just something that I do each night.  It’s not a task that needs to haunt me or feel heavy.  It’s just a simple little thing that I do.

By thinking about it that way, it takes the pressure off and allows it to be part of my life without taking over my life.  

And it can do the same for you.

Think of all the things you do regularly.  How do you spend your time?  I’m sure you always take time to eat each day –it’s just something that you do.

Do you usually get dressed and ready for the day?  I have many friends who do their hair and makeup every day no matter what –it’s just something that they do.  (I personally don’t wear makeup every day.)

Or how about your evening ritual?  Do you wind down with a book or a show?

My husband listens to the news each night while he does the dishes; it’s just something that he does (and he’s doing that right now as I type!)

My friend goes grocery shopping every Tuesday, and another friend does laundry every Wednesday.  It’s just something that they do.

So, think of all the things you do, and notice how simple it is to do them.  You don’t have to think too much about them because they’re just part of your life.  And you can ADD anything you’d like into your life using this easy frame of mind.

Think of something that you want to start doing.  Something big or small.  What is a habit you’ve been wanting to establish and have had a hard time doing so?  Instead of pinning yourself down to do that thing for the rest of your life, try thinking of it in this new way: It’s just something that you do.

I used to floss my teeth a handful of times a year until I married a man who I saw floss his teeth religiously.  After a year or so of witnessing such dedication, it started to rub off on me and I started flossing each night.  I realized it wasn’t so bad, and it only added a minute to my nighttime routine.

I never told myself “I’m going to floss my teeth every night for the rest of my life!”  It just became something I do, and after several years have passed, I still floss each night. 

Have there been times when I’ve skipped it?  Yup!

I actually dropped the habit for a few months last summer (can’t remember why), but now I’m back at it, and am pretty regular for the most part. 

It’s just something that I do.  

When I started going to the gym a few months ago, I didn’t go with a goal in mind.  I didn’t have any expectations for specific results I wanted to see in a certain amount of time.  I went with the mindset of “I’m the type of person who works out –this is just something that I do now”.

(For the record, I am hoping for the specific result of getting rid of some sciatic pain, but that’s more of a benefit I hope to see, not the whole reason for going to the gym.  If it was my reason for going to the gym, then when the pain is gone, I would be likely to quit going.  Or, if after so long, the pain is still there, I might give up and say “it’s not working” and quit going.)

So instead, “going to the gym” is just “something that I do”, no matter what results I’m seeing or not seeing.  I know that it’s going to be slow growth, and keeping my body strong as I age is going to benefit me, so I’m not concerning myself with checking for “results”.  The same way I’m not going to the dentist every few days of flossing my teeth to make sure there are no new cavities –I just floss and know that it’s helping.

So I just go to the gym and know that it’s helping.

I’m not going to say that using this trick is the only thing you need to change your life, but depending on your situation, it may be the missing magic touch.

I am planning to (slowly) add more activities into my life using this method.  I don’t want to do too much too soon, and I would advise you to also move slow.  Wait for one new habit to feel natural and easy before stacking on another, otherwise you risk burnout.

Tell me if you think this lighter perspective will help you form new habits or not!

I love you and wish you the best,

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

If you’re looking for more help on how to achieve your goals, click here, here, or here!

And did you know that visualization can help you as well??

What kind of goals do you like to set for yourself?  Do you tend to play it safe, or reach for the sky?  Is there a little voice inside your head telling you what you can and can’t strive for?

Even if you’ve already set your goals for the New Year (which I’m sure you have), it’s still January, so you’re entitled to alter them or add new ones if you want.  (Let’s be honest, you can change your goals ANY time of the year because goals do not revolve around the New Year!)

So today, I’d like to offer you an unconventional idea that may invite you to consider adjusting your goals.

First, let me tell you some beliefs that I used to have and see if you can relate to any of them.

1- I live a certain type of life, in which I must stay.

2- There are certain bridges that I’m not to cross.

3- I can’t do anything too big because I’m supposed to stay small.

4- I’m not the type of person who can (insert thing you want to do).

These were not conscious beliefs that I acknowledged, but rather a subtle thought in the back of my mind governing all my choices.

And don’t you think it’s interesting that I would even have thoughts telling me that I can’t have this or do that?

When I was 14 years old, I told myself that I’d never build a house, and I nodded in resignment.

Now, what 14 year old needs to make that kind of a life decision in the first place?!  The fact that I was thinking about it back then, tells me that very early on, I knew I WANTED to build a house someday.  But the limiting beliefs I had held me back and told me I couldn’t.

I did this again in college.  I started telling myself that I could never be a public speaker.  Even before I said I wanted to be one, I was telling myself I couldn’t.

And I when I told myself that I’m not the type of person who can be a public speaker, it almost felt like I was protecting myself.  Like I was doing myself a favor so that I wouldn’t make a fool of myself.

Does this sound familiar?

Do you have a similar voice inside your head telling you all sorts of things that you can’t do?  And is the message all wrapped up in the beautiful packaging of “this is for your own good”, or “this will save your reputation”?

Well, you know what I say?

Hahaha!

I don’t care if people call me crazy.

Honestly, I’d have to agree with them!  I have some pretty CRAZY ideas…

I mean, how crazy is it for me to dream of becoming not just a public speaker someday, but a sought after speaker who gets paid 4 or 5 figures to speak?!

Now….. that’s just CRAZY!

Seriously!  Wouldn’t that be crazy?????!!!!

Just go listen to the song “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman, and you might come to terms with the word “crazy” too.

Whether I put forth the effort to take my dream that far or not, it’s just really fun to know that I COULD if I wanted to.  It’s exhilarating and FREEING to burst through your own mental glass ceiling and truly believe that you can do anything you want to!

Anything!

What do you want to do?

What are you telling yourself that you can’t do?  If you’re saying you can’t do it, I’d take it to mean that you want it.

I mean, I’ve never told myself that I can’t be a famous singer.  I don’t want to be a famous singer.  But everything that I’ve said I can’t have or do are the things I actually want!

So…

When you look at the goals you set for this year, do you see yourself playing small?  Or did you dare to dream big?

And I’m not just talking about “becoming rich and famous”, haha.

If there is anything that you’ve always wanted to do, I invite you to do it this year!  Do you want to travel somewhere?  Learn a new skill?  Have an adventure like skydiving or repelling?  Start taking the steps toward it, even if it seems scary.

Preparing to execute a dream will bring your soul to life!

I’ll also admit that it doesn’t always look attractive in the beginning… I can tell you that from personal experience!

I gave my first public speech last July (to my family while we were camping), and I was the biggest hottest mess you ever saw, hahaha!  I care so deeply about my message and was so emotional that I was blubbering all over the place, and I’m not sure I made much sense.

I did two more private presentations after that, each one improving upon the other, and I still have a long way to go.

Then I reached out to my library to see if they would host me sometime, and they said yes!  This will be my first public presentation, and I am so excited!  It’s coming up at the end of January –I’ll let you know how it goes!

See, this is how it looks when you’re just getting started.  You have to reach out and make things happen.  There’s mistakes, uncertainty, and it can be quite messy. 

Somehow I find it inspiring to see people at the awkward beginning stages, more so than seeing them when they “have it made”, and merely hearing their journey of all their struggles.

It’s like remodeling a house.  When someone with a shiny new kitchen tells you how awful it was to live through all the dust to get there, all you can see are the beautiful new cabinets and countertops! 

It makes you want to have that end result, but you don’t fully understand just how hard it’s going to be.

But if you walk into a house that’s currently under construction, you can see how messy and unattractive it is, and you can relate better when you start your project.

Now, unlike remodeling (where once you begin, you’re pretty much locked in until you finish), reaching for a dream is different.

When it gets too hard and you feel like you want to just quit and be done…

…you can.

You can just pull the reins, shut off the engine, and walk away.

And guess what?

That’s ok.

And there’s one thing I want to engrain in your mind and that is this:

No matter what you ever do or don’t do, know that it’s all up to you!  You CAN keep going, even when it’s hard.  You CAN achieve your dream no matter what it is!  You CAN fly higher than you ever imagined possible!

You CAN, but you don’t have to.

You don’t have to WANT to go after your dreams.  You’re not a failure if you don’t WANT to keep at it.  I just want you to believe in yourself and know that you CAN do anything you WANT to.

Anything is possible for you, and as I said earlier, sometimes it’s just fun to dream!

Even if you have no intention of putting in the work to sing and dance on Broadway, how fun would that be to know you COULD if you wanted to, and then just imagine yourself achieving it?

This year, I dare you to think bigger.

Whether in your actual plans, or just in your mind.

Let your soul out of the cage and become FREE.

What is the dream of your heart?  Tell me in the comments!

I support you and love you!

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

If you missed it earlier, click here now to read my sister post to this!

In everything you do (or don’t do), remember to love and accept yourself!

How many times have you set a goal, only to abandon it a short while later?  Fear not my friend, I have been right there with ya!  Why is it so hard to create new habits or follow through with what we say?  Because we’re human.  And I have some thoughts to help you!

First off, I must tell you HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Doesn’t it feel great?  I love the fresh feeling of the first week of January.  All my Christmas decorations are put away and my house is looking pretty empty -just the way I love it!  I actually over-decorate for Christmas on purpose, so that I will see a drastic difference and get that fresh clean feeling when I take it all down, haha!

And I hope you were able to tell a bunch of New Year jokes!  Those are something that I have not grown out of, haha!  When the clock strikes midnight (or if I go to bed early, then when I wake up the next morning) the first thing I love to say is “Oh man, I’m so hungry!  I haven’t eaten ALL YEAR!”  It just never gets old!  Lol!

Being the start of a new year, it only seemed natural to talk about goals, or New Year’s resolutions.  And being an avid goal-setter myself (and an equally consistent goal-dropper), I thought I would share some insight on what I learned the previous year and how it’s going to help me stick to my goals this year!

Last January, I made a goal to make my bed… every… single… day.  For one entire year!

I made the goal because 1- I love walking into my room when my bed is made.  And 2- I wondered if it would actually help me be more productive in other areas of my life.  (There’s a philosophy out there that says it will).

While it’s hard for me to say whether or not making my bed gave me a boost in other areas, I have a word to say about JUST MAKING my BED!

First off, I am both pleased and surprised to announce that I did not skip ONE DAY!  I (or my husband) made the bed every single day for the past year!  Even when I was sick.  Even when I was sick on Christmas!  Even when I was sick of making the bed!

This is so significant to me because I have never -and I mean NEVER- followed through with a new goal so diligently.  There were different reasons for my success, which you can read about here, but what I want to talk about today is the mental process that I went through.

See, there were three VERY noticeable phases that I experienced when creating this new habit.

The first phase was fun and exciting!  We’ll call it the Motivated Phase.

I had made a new goal, and I was feeling very… well, motivated!  Haha.  It was easy for me to make my bed each morning, and I was feeling very successful.

It’s like those first couple weeks of starting a new exercise routine, clean eating, or budget!  It’s new and exciting, so therefore it’s fun and easy to do.  I’m sure you can relate.

Then came the all-too-familiar second stage: the Resistance Phase.

Right when I thought this new habit was going to come easy, it started to become a very painful thing to do.

So much so, that I can tell you with a surety that if I did not have a “higher” reason for making this habit, I would absolutely have quit on myself.  I know I would have because that’s what I’ve done every other time in my life, and it’s what I WANTED to do again.

Not only had the motivation worn off, but there was some un-motivation happening.  Each morning, I had thoughts like “I’ll just skip it today”, or “I changed my mind, I don’t really care to make my bed each day”.

Perhaps you know what I’m talking about, eh?  We’ve all experienced the Resistance Phase!  It’s when we start to trail off on our New Year’s resolutions and forget about them entirely.

I cannot explain how difficult it was to push through this 30 second task, but I literally had to just force myself to go through the motions.

I’m not sure exactly how long this phase lasted… (WAY too long, is all I know for sure!)  But it was probably around a couple weeks.

And then something magical happened.

The rain stopped, the clouds parted, and as the heavens opened, a ray of sparkling light shone down on me each morning. 

The resistance was gone.

I had made a breakthrough!

For the first time in my life, I had entered the Comfortable Phase.

A natural feeling was in the air as I completed the simple task each morning.

A new habit was born.

It is so fascinating to look back and observe my thoughts throughout this last phase.

You might think that from here on out, “no effort” was required because the word “habit” sounds like something so automatic that you don’t have to think about doing it.

Well, let me tell you, I did still have to think about it.

Here’s how it went:

For the first several weeks of being in the Comfortable Phase, everything was great!  It once again became easy enough for me to make my bed each morning.  And then…

Then…

It became such a simple task in my mind that I realized it would be just as easy to make my bed as it would be to not make my bed.  That doesn’t really make much sense, but I remember thinking that, haha!

There was no “resistance” anymore, so it wasn’t a difficult thing to accomplish, but there was a little nag in my mind every now and then telling me that since the habit was established, I could afford to skip it every once in a while.

This is where the danger comes is.

Have you ever stopped doing something because it was such a simple thing to do, and you thought you could easily start doing it at any time, only to find that when you wanted to do it again, the neuropathway had been weakened?

(I haven’t, because I’ve never made it to the Comfortable Phase in the first place, haha!)

Again, if I had not been determined to NOT MISS ONE DAY, I believe I may have fallen into this trap!!

So I am here to warn you!  Beware!

First off, let’s back up and talk about the Resistance Phase a little more.

When –not if, but WHEN you enter this stage with your New Year’s Resolutions, just be ready for it!

If you EXPECT that it will come, you can be prepared to power through!  And power through you must, because I’m telling you, there is sunlight on the other side!

When you start to feel like you want to quit, tell yourself that you’re just going to do it for 3 more days!

And after those 3 days, if it’s still hard, tell yourself that you can do it just one more time!

And if you’re still struggling after that, tell yourself that if you can get through 2 more days that you’ll give yourself a reward!  Choose any reward you like!

Basically, just do whatever you need to do to GET THROUGH the Resistance Phase.  And know that it will not last forever! 

Imagine yourself pressing through a big burst of dusty wind that’s coming right at you.  And just keep going.   Then envision yourself making it out on the other side!  Know that you’ll get there, and just force yourself to go through the motions until it becomes simple again.

I believe that knowing this, and expecting it, will help me to stick to my goals this year!  And I think it can help you too!!

And when you reach the Comfortable Phase, remember not to get TOO comfortable, as it might be tempting to “just take a little break for no good reason”.

Something else I learned last year is that I do better at mastering one habit at a time.  How about you?  Making my bed was the only habit I was super focused on last year, but I did have some other things I was aware of and sort of worked on like drinking more water.  But I didn’t worry too much about making sure I did the other things perfect every day.

I usually pile up the New Year’s resolutions and end up overwhelming myself with 5 or 6 new goals.  And when the Resistance Phase hits, I’m just a gonner.  (However, that was also before I knew the secret of plowing through, so maybe things could be different.)

Still, I only set one major goal this year that I want to achieve, and that is to live by my planner.  I want the entire contents of my brain on paper so that I can free up my thinking space!  And if I write something down, I want to follow through and make it happen! 

I’m currently so excited about it (Motivated Phase)!  And I am on guard and ready to take on the Resistance Phase whenever it shall come!

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much to think about, but I need to just add one more little snippet while we’re on the topic.

See, making my bed took 30 seconds, which means I could find the energy and time no matter the day or situation.  When I was sick, I probably did a sloppy job of it, but I did it nonetheless.

If your goal is something that takes more time or energy, like working out for an hour, there may be days where you physically can’t complete it.  When you’re sick or on vacation, goals can easily be dropped.

To this, I say you can either give yourself grace or abide by the 2-minute rule.

Let’s start with grace…

I will have more to say on this later, but basically, forgive yourself when you mess up.  You are not a horrible person or a failure if you slack on your goals for ANY reason.  You are, however, human.  So forgive your human mistakes and try again.

Now “what’s the 2-minute rule?” you ask…

In James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, he says that when you start a new habit, it should not take you longer than 2 minutes to complete.  There is always room to improve your habit in the future, once it’s established, but in the beginning, it should not take you more than 2 minutes.

So if your goal is to go running or lift weights, I imagine that you’re going to want to do it for more than a mere 2 minutes!  This means that you need to find a “gateway habit”.  Meaning, something that leads up to the “bigger habit”.

If you made a habit of putting on your gym clothes and tennis shoes at a certain time each day, that could be considered a gateway habit, because the actions that follow (going to the gym) come more naturally but are not part of the habit itself.

And if there is a day that you feel sick, you can still change your clothes or put on your running shoes.  You may just discover that once you complete that small little habit, you’ll find yourself doing something more -even if it’s just walking around the block!  

Here are some examples of gateway habits listed in Atomic Habits, to get you thinking:

There are 2 reasons for finding a gateway habit.

1-To make it easier for yourself (James talks about the science of our brains wanting to take the path of least resistance.)

2-To help you “keep the chain going”.  There is power in “not missing one day”, and the longer your chain of success gets, the more you’ll want to keep it going!

So even though it might seem silly to put on your running shoes when you plan to take them off right afterward, you can do it just so you can say that you completed the task… every… single… day!

So, my question for you is, what are you going to achieve this year?  Please share in the comments!

All my love, hope, and well wishes for your success!

Empowering you to embrace your agency and liberate yourself through conscious choice!

Remember to take time for yourself this year!  Read 27 Simple Ways to Rejuvenate Yourself for some fun ideas!

If you need help plowing through the Resistance Phase, read my post on Showing Up for Yourself.

“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”.  -John F. Kennedy

You made it all the way to the end with me!  Thank you so much for coming along on this 7 Habits series!  (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can find the introduction here.)

Habit 7 is “Sharpen the Saw”.  As said earlier, it is the habit that holds the first 6 habits together.  Sean begins with a little scenario:

Imagine that you’re walking along and see someone cutting down a tree.  You ask them how long they’ve been working on getting the tree down and they say several hours.  You can see that the saw is quite dull and you suggest they take a break and sharpen the saw.

They say “No way!  I don’t have time, I really need to get this done as fast as possible.”

But you can easily see that if they would only stop for 15 minutes to sharpen the saw, they could save themselves hours of work.

This is the importance of self-care.

You might think you don’t have time for it, but in reality, you don’t have time to not do it.

If you are too busy driving and never stop for gas, you’re going to find yourself stuck who knows where.

Likewise, if you are so busy running around in life that you don’t have time to take care of yourself, you will eventually become depleted to the point of being sick in bed.  (Your body knows it needs to rest, and it will find a way to get a time-out one way or another.)

“Habit 7 is all about keeping your personal self sharp so that you can better deal with life.  It means regularly renewing and strengthening the four key dimensions of your life:

• Body: The Physical Dimension (Exercise, eat healthy, sleep well, relax)
• Brain: The Mental Dimension (Read, educate, write, learn new skills)
• Heart: The Emotional Dimension (Build relationships -RBA & PBA, give service, laugh)
• Soul: The Spiritual Dimension (Meditate, keep a journal, pray, take in quality media)

While nothing will ever be in perfect balance, it is important to be aware of each category so you can have “moderation in all things” as much as possible.

I’m keeping this post short, in hopes that you can use your time reading some of my favorite posts I’ve already written on the matter.  I will list them after the baby steps!

Baby Steps:

Body:

• Eat breakfast
• Start an exercise program today and do it faithfully for 30 days. Choose something you really like:  Walking, running, biking, rollerblading, lifting weights, etc.
• Give up a bad habit for a week. Go without soda, fried foods, donuts, chocolate, alcohol, or whatever else may be hurting your body.  After the week, see how you feel.

Mind:

• Play an instrument you know every day for 1 week. Or learn a new one.
• The next time you go on a date, visit a museum or eat at an ethnic restaurant you’ve never been to before. Expand your horizons.
• Do a crossword puzzle or sudoku.

Heart:

• Go on a one-on-one outing with a family member. Catch a ball game, see a movie, go shopping, or get an ice cream.
• Begin today to build your humor collection. Cut out your favorite cartoons, buy hilarious movies, or start your own collection of great jokes.  In no time, you’ll have something to go to when you’re feeling stressed.

Soul:

• Watch the sunset tonight or get up early to watch the sunrise.
• If you haven’t already done it, start keeping a journal today.
• Take time each day to meditate, reflect upon your life, or pray. Do what works for you.

27 Simple Ways To Rejuvenate Yourself

5 Tips to Help Maintain Balance

3 Essentials for Your Emotional Toolkit

7 Things the Church Says We Should Do

5 Essential Steps to Show Up for Yourself

If you missed any of those when they were first published, I highly recommend you read them now.

I love you, and wish you a very happy New Year!!

Kayleen

SDG

You might also like some fun ideas for self-care, check out 27 Simple Ways to Rejuvenate Yourself.

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