It’s Not Me, It’s You.
January is nearing its end & the amount of thoughts racing through my brain has reached maxed capacity. Wow. Has this break been nice. What I took out of the year of 2018 is that it was a busy year of getting no where. Exactly why I am so on fire for 2019.
Instagram, Blog, Social Media, it wasn’t me. It was you. You took too much of my time & attention. You brought the jealous out of me & made me want to change. I needed this time for myself. Friends, let me tell you what I have learned about myself & my dreams for this account during this one short month.
Let’s begin with my mindset. It was January one & the start of a new year. As I mentioned before I love the fresh start a new year brings. I took this one deeper than I have in the past. This year wasn’t just lose weight or read more. Although those are fantastic goals, & frankly both on my list as well, this year my goal became more about learning my purpose. My why. Letting the fuel my accomplishments for this year. To do this I needed to fuel my mind with with inspiration & thoughts that matched. There are three things that I incorporated into my daily habits this month that have. Changed. My. Life.
No. One : Listening to Podcasts. This is something that I am way behind the train on. Never really knew what they were, but they ended up being exactly what I needed. I mentioned that last year was busy. It always is, isn’t it? But even so, shouldn’t it be busy with things that get you a little bit closer to where you want to be? That is where I had to break down my days. Hour by hour. What could I change to make each day intentional. One of my biggest negative spaces in my day is my commute. Much like many of you, I spend lots of my time in the car. I would crank up the radio, stop at my local Starbucks, talk on the phone to my family that live far away, do things that are very normal & not bad things to do! Right? Well, how would those things get me further in my day. Here are my thoughts. I regularly listen to Shine.FM, our local Christian station. How about before turning that on, I spend my first 10 minutes in prayer. That way I actually end up praying through out my day instead of cramming one session in right before my mind shuts down for sleep. Next was CUT OUT THE STARBUCKS. This is something I would love to add back to my regimen, however, the money & time I am saving by skipping this step has been, sadly, impressive. Lastly, after a quick catch up with the fam bam, to get me the rest of the way to my final destination, is a good, motivational Podcast. These I listen to all day during work, when my work load permits. If you are looking for something to pick you up or make your mind sharp, I highly recommend finding some good Podcasts, rather than just jamming out to some pop songs. I will have to narrow down my favorites & update you all on my go to list some day! In the mean time, send me over your favorites! I have found that they not only inspire me & push me to really work hard to be intentional every day, but they build such a community! I have joined Facebook groups for them & the ladies ask amazing questions & are quick to help you with whatever you need.
No. Two : Food, Drink, Move Goals. Who doesn’t have some sort of health goal for the year? Yeah, everyone does. Mine would be lose a certain amount of weight, but that was my goal for last year & the year before, etc. I needed a daily push. A daily goal to accomplish & have pride in. So I took the three main things. I set a calorie goal for the day (I also did a carb goal to help with PCOS, but if calories are much simpler, that is plenty to do!) In addition, I made a goal to drink 8 cups of water a day. Because who actually does that? Lastly, I plugged in my Fit Bit (which I never used) & am working hard to do my 7,000 steps. I chose to do 7,000 a day for the winter months because I need to be realistic. I cannot walk outside & I have a desk job. For those who are like me, do not feel bad about not doing the so encouraged 10,000. Pacing around my kitchen table for 4 hours a night did not seem like a plausible activity to do at night when I have a house to clean & books I want to try & read. Key word : Try. So friends, 7,000 in the winter is perfect. When it warms up, I plan on raising that & getting outside for a walk in the morning or with my husband at night. Those three simple goals a day are so easy & natural to cross off, that can you imagine a month of doing so, results can start to surface. You are also setting yourself up with three very attainable things to cross off your list every day. & That is what is important.
No. Three : Spend Actual Time with God. A big thing for me this year was using what I have. That goes with using my Fit Bit. That also goes with using my many dust collected devotionals, my Bible, my journals, all of that. Never have I been a reader, but this year that needs to change. Mornings get crazy, but why isn’t sitting down for five minutes with God enough of a priority to be one of the many events you cram in before you leave for work? This is a big change for me, but a needed one. I have been reading this one in the mornings that are only a page long, but they leave you challenged to live that day feeling encouraged. On my commute to work, spending some time in prayer has been so nice. I find myself just having a casual conversation with God as if he was one of my friends, which He is. This is when I end up talking to Him about specific needs for my friends & family & those needing prayer. I always seem to tell people that I will pray for them. I am more than happy to have the ability to do so & am so grateful to be able to pray to a God for comfort to be passed on & that others feel can feel that comfort. If I need to be known for something. I would love to be known for being the girl that talks to God. A prayer warrior. The day goes by & I do my best to incorporate the Lord in all my thoughts & actions, but my next & last time separated for my walk with Jesus is bed time. Right now I am reading through a devotional captivated by Infertility. Something that fills my day with so much sadness. Then I go over to my bedside & get down on my knees. I pray to God like they do in the story books. Being in that physical position is something so incredible. You physically feels as though you are giving Him your all. Something we are always told to do, but it is just so so hard. This is something that I dream of my little babies seeing. For them to grow up watching their mama pray to God & be so vulnerable with Him is something that would help them learn to grown & do themselves.
2018 Aby spent lots of time watching TV, listening to music glorifying a life I did not want to live, & filling my time with scrolls of others lives that I wanted so badly to be mine. I needed to check myself. Remember why I started this all & bring it back to what I had intended it to be. This year is about being intentional. This year is about building me up & finding my purpose. 2018 Aby had one purpose in mind & that wasn’t granted. It was a hard year. I forbid myself to have the mindset the same & be blind to the purpose that was really intended for me.
So this is me, it is nice to meet you! This is me living each day with intention, using the most of my time to better me so I can better my community. This is me doing my best to live the life God has for me for His glory alone. I would love to hear how you all are spending your days living out your goals. How are you getting your life accomplished?
