Keeping Your Commitments
As we prepare for this new year, there are plenty of us who love to make New Year resolutions. Most of us have every intention of keeping them. We start out strong January 1st. I'm going to lose 20 lbs, I'm going to stop eating out, I'll start saving money or join a fitness class/gym, but over the course of a couple weeks into the New Year, that determination dwindles away.
Why is that? There are truly levels to this commitment thing, so keep reading as I explain.
First- CHANGING YOUR MINDSET
If you're anything like me, then you know that whenever you set a goal, your mind automatically begins to work against you. You decided your going to have a budget (found this great app called Daily Budget in the Apple App Store). Now, after adding my income and expenses, this app told me I had $14 a day to spend. Wow, you say, that seems like a lot and I thought that too, but that person who hangs out in my head thoughts it was the worst thing ever and the inner monologue began. "What are we going to eat for $14 a day? OMG, we will starve! Breakfast, lunch and dinner on $14? What about snacks or our afternoon Starbucks run? We need at least another $20." All these thoughts begin flooding my mind, and by no means am I clinical, but I was reasoning with this voice in my head. That was my mistake.If you are going to change your life, you have to first change your thinking. The Bible talks about "renewing your mind" this is thinking how God thinks about us and our situations, but this is not just a biblical principle. You have to clear the clutter that will fill your thoughts when you decide to commit to something. $14 a day was quite enough, and I had to keep reminding myself of this daily. When the "can'ts" raise up in your mind, replace them with cans. Write your cans on a sticky note and repeat them every morning. The more your flood your mind with positivity, the more you drown out the negativity. Which brings me to my next point.
Second-WRITE IT DOWN, MAKE IT PLAIN
I tend to wake up with a million things/ideas swirling around in my head on a daily bases. New topics to explore, places to go, things to see and do. It can be exhausting, but by the time my feet hit the floor, I prepare for my day and my 9 year old for school, one-fourth of the great ideas would be lost. I drove to work through traffic, stopping to spend part of the $14 at Starbucks, and opps, another half are gone. I would work a full day, but by lunchtime, the last one-fourth are gone, and I don't remember a thing that I thought of that morning.
A lot of the time, our best ideas are born and breed in the morning when your mind is clear, but can be lost with the chaos of the day. My morning routine has become Wake, Pray and Slay the Day. Always begin your day with prayer. It doesn't have to be long, but ask God for His help to stay protected, guide your steps throughout the day and keep your thoughts in line with His will for your life. Have a journal or the notes app ready on your phone, and before your sit up in bed, write your ideas down! This will help you to organize your thoughts. Don't just keep them in the journal though, you have to set a time aside to go back and look at them. Categorize things that can be done today, next week or month. This is especially important if you are a business owner or want to be someday. A co-worker told me one day that she will never work harder for another person's dream then she does her own, and that stuck with me. If your working for a company, but have dreams of owning your own business, take time to work on that dream daily. Small steps can get you to the same goal as giant leaps.
Third-TAKE ACTION
Slaying the Day is not just an millennial colloquialism. By definition, "Slay" means to kill violently, (note to my readers I am not advocating violence in any way), but when starting out your day, be determined to kill it. In your dress, your attitude, your confidence, kill it. Take action in the direction where you want to go. Your clothes don't have to have labels, but you can rock it out and look well put together. You don't have to drive a Benz, your Toyota is awesome and you keep it clean. Start where you are, but prepare for where you want to go. Again, we must take steps towards being what we want in life. If your goal is to lose 20 lbs, park further from the building and get a few more steps in every day. If your a writer, start writing a couple sentences or paragraphs. If you want to save money, take lunch and cook dinner at home. The last idea has a two-fold benefit because if you have children (old enough to help) you can create memories in the kitchen.
I said all this to say that we all have to start somewhere. John Paul Mitchell was in foster care as a kid, came up with a hair care line, and sold it door to door while living in his car. The founder of Forever 21, Do Won Chang, was a janitor and gas station attendant before opening his first store in 1984. Even though I just started using WhatsApp, the co-founder Jan Koum lived in government assistance housing at age 16 and swept floors at a local store. If those three stories don't inspire you to get up and take action then there are a million others that might. The point is that no one is going to give you anything, and is it really worth it if you don't work for it? Take goals for your life seriously this year, press toward the mark daily and stay committed until your dream is your reality.
Stay Positively Pretty