Do not practice what you do not want to become.
Deep seated habits are hard to break. Think of all those connections going on in your brain. It's kind of like a million dirt roads intersecting in your brain. Even though it's a dirt road, you know where to drive by looking at the deep grooves left by other vehicles that have been down the same road.
Your brain is the same. We create these deep grooves by the actions we practice--our habits. Habits like brushing our teeth every morning or making coffee are second nature. We don't think about it; we just do it. Bad or good habits it doesn't matter. It's an automatic behavior, so engrained we don't think about it.
Practice Makes Progress.
Let's get busy practicing the right choices that become habits leading to wellness. Many of us are busy practicing the wrong habits, then we wonder why every year looks like the last. Now is a great time to start thinking about your daily choices.
I can't tell you how many times I hear...."I'm too busy for that!" Is your busy-ness leading to effectiveness? Effectiveness is concerned with doing the right things that will lead you toward healthy living instead of spinning your wheels.
We are so busy in life with work, deadlines, projects, co-workers, mandatory "fun", only to come home to our second shift--laundry, cooking, cleaning, parenting, and organizing. Nothing is so worthless as working hard on the wrong things! Yet, all those I've listed must get done. What we never take into consideration is...what lights me up? What's my heart's desires?
Some of us spend our entire lives climbing the ladder of success by going to the right schools, getting the right degree, finding the right company, putting our head down and working late hours, proving our worth; only to realize we don't like the view from up here. Not only is it lonely, we've created a life that needs to be maintained with so much effort, energy, and time away from those things that light us up. How we spend our time is how we spend our lives.
Do not practice what you do not want to become.
You are in control of how you want to show up every single day. Is there going to be sacrifice? Absolutely! It's only in getting crystal clear that we know how to distribute the minutes and hours of our day.
Priorities will change.
Over time, our lives change, we get married, we have children, we retire. How will you contribute to your sphere of influence as your life changes? How will you shape your day based on what's most important to you in the stage of life that you're in right now? Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Know exactly where you are right now.
2. Ask your self: Am I happy here? Am I living into what's important to me?
3. Explore where you need to tweak your schedule.
4. Determine how you need to get there. Who can you ask for help?
Repeated actions are amplified over time. One healthy habit practiced over time, leads to two, then three and so on. You'll be fitting into those skinny jeans, passing up the extra helping, and ordering salads with ease and a desire to do it. Yes--it takes time and practice, but it can be done!
Get into community.
Once you know exactly what's important to you and you've determined how you'll reach your goal get into community. Community is often the missing link to motivation. How many times do you find yourself in the start/stop pattern? We do well for awhile, then we fall off of the wagon. Lack of accountability and lack of motivation will derail those healthy habits every single time.
Need a community? Join the Forum for Professional Women's Facebook Group. This is a safe place to talk about how we do life with our professional and personal lives. It's a juggling act for sure! Knowing that you have a place to be supported, encouraged, and nurtured in all those healthy habits that we practice daily, is priceless!
Know that what we repeat will be amplified over time. How do you want your life to look in ten years? Don't wait till new years to start evaluating where you are and where you want to be. Now is the time to let this soak in, decide on your next move and know that I'm here for you every step of the way.