Summer is officially here! We are a little over halfway through 2021. I still can’t get over how fast time goes by. I remember starting this year thinking, “Man, I hope 2021 comes in like it’s got some sense…” Now here we are in June.
In the last episode (Episode 142: You Have More Power Than You Think), I spoke about how we have more power than we think. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, you may want to listen to that first before diving into this episode.
I created that episode because honestly, I needed to remind myself that the only way to experience victory in life is to live on offense. Life is full of fights. The degree to how much happiness you’re going to experience correlates to how willing you are to follow God’s guidance and instructions in how to use the talents He’s given you so you can discover and execute the plans He has for your life.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that we live in a very messed up world. There’s so much injustice and chaos happening in this world so it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling worn out and defeated. Honestly, the past couple of weeks has been somewhat stressful for me. I’ve got a couple of situations that I’m currently dealing with that quite frankly are out of my control. I know that God is going to cause everything to work out in my favor. I can see what He’s doing and when it’s time for the pieces to fall into place, I feel like I have a good idea of where He’s going to put them, but it’s just going to take time.
I’m accustomed to adversity. I use adversity as a stepping stone to help me get to the next level.
With that said, even though I know everything I just shared it’s still easier said than done. I’m crazy impatient when it comes to achieving my goals. I was allowing my circumstances to make me feel powerless.
I noticed over the past few weeks that I was sleeping in more which isn’t like me because I’m totally a morning person, I wasn’t exercising as much, I was having difficulty concentrating, I was snacking at night, watching more TV than usual, not as interested in my side hustle projects, the bottom line is…I wasn’t feeling like myself. Does any of that sound familiar to you? If so, then you’re in the right place!
At some point in our lives, we will feel powerless or restless. I’m one of those people that will keep going and attack my work and personal to-do list like the Energizer Bunny on steroids because it will distract me from addressing the negative emotions I’m feeling at that point in time in my life. However, if you don’t put those negative emotions in check, you’re headed for disaster.
I’ve been down this road before, I saw the sign. Aww man, now I have that Ace of Base song in my head, if you grew up in the 90’s you know what I’m talking about, anyway, I knew that I needed to hit the “pause” button.
I’ve always viewed June as my unofficial goal check-in, but it’s also a fantastic month to hit the pause button. Due to how I was feeling, I wasn’t even going to post any episodes this month, but I figured this might be able to help out some other people. So here are 10 things that you can incorporate into your life this month in order to ensure that you cross the 2021 finish line in style.
- Regardless of whether you are a morning person, start your day with God’s Word. I must start my day by reading the Bible or some other Christian devotional in order to get in the right frame of mind. It really does set the tone for my day.
- Adapt a healthy lifestyle. Notice I said the word lifestyle, not a diet. God said that our bodies are a temple, so we need to be intentional with what we put into our bodies. Get rid of the cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, and whatever else eating that will stop you from living your best life. Eating healthy is going to position you to be able to increase your stamina for exercise. I cannot stress how important it is to exercise. You have got to move. Not only will it clear your mind but it will also help you stay in shape.
Due to the pandemic, many of us are working from home. I’ve been working from home for several years, so I’m used to working from home. However, there will be a point in time when you will want to put on hard pants aka jeans. Save yourself that awkward moment of feeling like a contortionist just so you can get into your jeans. My Fitbit keeps me honest. It tells me when I need to move, which brings me to my next point.
- Take a break! I noticed whenever I started to feel irritable, it was because I ignored my Fitbit telling me to move. There have been numerous times where I spent hours looking at my computer screen. I can get really engulfed in my work. I spend a good chunk of my data analyzing and in meetings, so sometimes it can be difficult to find a good stopping point. I remember one time, my mom had been gone for several hours. She came back and literally asked me, “Have you moved? It looks like you’ve been in the same spot.” Sadly, I had not. Check out this article to learn more about how the Pomodoro technique.
I would tell myself, let me get to this spot and then I will stop, but then I’d keep going. It took me a minute, but I finally realized. There will always be one more thing that will make you think you can’t stop so guess what just stop. That thing will be there when you get back. Heck it may even bring some problematic cousins with it so just take a break. Go for a walk, run, bike, whatever it is that will get you away from the computer and outside.
- Limit your time watching TV and being on social media. If you find yourself spending hours on end watching and/or scrolling through someone else’s life, you’re robbing yourself of the ability to be happy with your own life. We often compare the beginning of our journey to someone else who has already reached their destination. You don’t see all the blood sweat and tears it may have taken for that person to get to where they are. You just see the finished product. If all you see is what you see, then you’re not seeing all there is to be seen. Everything that glitters isn’t gold.
- When you decrease your time on social media, you’re going to have more time to create and/or revisit your goals. I think the pandemic has really forced us all to do some really deep soul searching. Life is short. Many of us don’t truly realize how short it is until we’re faced with the death of a loved one, our own sickness, or our peace of mind. When you’re faced with what I just mentioned, you quickly come to realize that quality of life trumps quantity of life.
It’s one of the main reasons why we see so many people quit and/or are contemplating quitting their jobs. The pandemic has forced people to see their worth and assess their values. There’s an awakening that they are in the driver’s seat, not the employer. Regardless of what an employer or other people may say, we are not all in this together.
The only one who has a vested interest in your success is you. You literally have companies that are so naive that they think employees are just going to go back to their old lives and forget about the freedom working from home brought them during the pandemic. It’s one thing if you enjoy going to the office, then you do you boo, but you can’t expect others to share that same zeal.
By the way, I will never buy into the lie that you need to be in an office in order to be creative, collaborate or be productive. The folks who typically believe this lie are usually lonely people who don’t have lives and the office is their only chance to “escape” from their own lives and wish to project their loneliness onto others.
As someone who has worked from home for several years, I know you can effectively work from home. In fact, I’m more productive at home because I have the opportunity to have a work/life balance. Take time to figure out what success looks like to you as well as where you’re at when you work to achieve it.
- When you notice that the goals you have developed don’t currently align with your life, take a vacation. Use that time to rest and create a plan for your second act aka a blueprint you’ll use to create a life that will bring you joy.
- Get in the habit of journaling so you can track your success. Speaking from experience, it’s been amazing to look back on those tough times and see how I made it through them. It really does give me that extra push I need to keep going.
If you find yourself feeling down or restless, I cannot stress enough how important it is to hit the “pause” button. Take time out to figure out what God wants for your life so you can press play with confidence.
Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. If you enjoy listening to Hustle in Faith and would like to support the show, please consider sharing it with your friends, leaving a review, donating, or making a purchase at StarenguCrew, our new fitness apparel shop.
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