“I’ll start my diet Monday!”
“I’ll do my homework later!”
“I’ll work out when it’s cooler!”
“I’ll clean out my closets soon!”
Have you ever said any of these statements? I have said them all! Life gets so busy sometimes and we put off things - it happens! We have great intentions! I don’t know how many times I have said to myself that I would start my NEW HEALTHY LIFESTYLE! That is a big deal! What does that even mean?
I think we get so overwhelmed sometimes we don’t see what all is involved in the plans we make. For example, a NEW HEALTHY LIFESTYLE is a bunch of work. It is eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep, drinking water and so much more! I have found that the times I have started this goal - I fail by noon the day I start because I try to do it all immediately. The times I have done well with this goal was when I took each of these steps and added to it. Baby step #1 start drinking more water. Do that for a week. Baby step #2 workout AND drink water. Do that for a week. Baby Step #3 watch what I eat and don’t eat after 7 PM, work out AND drink water! And so on…. It helps when you can focus on one thing for a while and when you get used to it, add the next thing. Make sense?
How about this - have you ever had a garage sale? Whew! Now that is work! I talked about having a garage sale with my neighbors for about a year. We really needed to simplify our worlds and get rid of a bunch of things! Finally, we set a date (Note to self… check the weather forecast, a garage sale in 100+ degrees is BRUTAL). The next step was to go through drawers, cabinets, closets, garages, etc… . I realized we had more stuff than we had tables or clothes racks, so borrowing tables and assembling the racks was another thing I added to the “to do list” to prepare for the sale. Moving all the stuff to the driveway/garage, pricing it all, having random bags, having change for when people gave me money were ALL items on my list - not to mention SIGNS! Don’t forget to put out signs (I recommend the day before to advertise, plus there are always early shoppers you need to prepare for)! So much to do in so little time! I think I put the garage sale off for so long because I knew it was a huge undertaking. Overall though, as hard as it was, it was a huge success!
Much like lifestyle changes and garage sales, there are many projects, ideas and things that we don’t do simply because we are afraid of them! THEY ARE HARD! It might make us change our lives a little bit and that would be uncomfortable. We love the idea of the results, but it is hard to start because we know how much work it all is. As I was reading a devotional this week, the author Lysa Terkeurst said, “Simply start - start simply!” Wow- that got me thinking about all this! As much as we procrastinate with things, we need to realize that if we don’t start, we can never reach our full potential. So don’t be scared to begin because things are hard. Take baby steps and get going! Ready, set… GO!
What are some things in your life that you have put off doing? Why have you procrastinated? How can you get going? Make a list of the baby steps that you need to take and check them off as you get them done. Ask for help if you need it! Have an accountability partner if you need it! You've got this - wait.... WE'VE got this! Now, let's get going!