I felt like garbage the other day…and I know exactly why. Our daughter, Chloe, had a softball scrimmage about 45 minutes away from the house and didn’t finish until about 8:30 pm. I sat out in freezing weather, (and anyone who knows me know that I DO NOT handle the cold well), and then had Sonic’s for supper around 9:00 pm that night. Is it any wonder that I would wake up feeling poorly? Here’s the thing: Food is Fuel. If you want your body to run effectively, you have to put in good fuel and you have to put it in at the right time. Just like in your vehicle, you shouldn’t let your tank sit on near empty all the time and you shouldn’t necessarily go with the cheapest fuel option. It seems like this is a pretty easy thing for us to see and understand with regard to food, yet, we do a really, (and I mean REALLY) poor job of applying this concept to other aspects of our lives.
It’s pretty simple really; what you put in, you get out. What you feed, grows. You play how you practice. There’s lots of different ways to say it, but the concept is this:
Where you put your time, energy, effort, money, thoughts, feelings…these things direct your behavior, and your behavior determines your results.
We frequently wish for things to be different in our lives; our income, our home, our lifestyle, our health, but often we’re still behaving in the same manner which has brought us to our current situation. (**An interesting side note: I’ve definitely spent time in therapy with people whose circumstances are BETTER than what they once were, but they find that they still can’t enjoy them, and it’s usually because they’re still living under a previous mindset!) Let me say it like this… if you list your priorities, hopes, and dreams and then take a look at your schedule and routine, does your time reflect your values? Is your money going toward building those dreams or just maintaining your current situation? How much energy is spent thinking on those things versus feeling stuck in what is going on right now? You see? We have to ask ourselves, “What are we feeding?”, “Are we living for the life we want or the life that we have?”, and “Are we putting in what is needed to get the results that we want?” Just like when we constantly eat food that is designed only to satisfy a need temporarily, our behaviors often satisfy the immediate feeling or need, but do very little to move us towards our goals. When you look at where you’re spending your resources, is it any wonder you’re dissatisfied with things?
So, now that spring is officially here, isn’t it time to start growing something new in your life?!?! With this new season, what new things do you want to start introducing to your life?!?! Quit sending your time, energy, effort, money, thoughts, and feelings to things that you wish were dead or things that are in fact dead in your life and start pouring into what you want to see grow. Give your life the fuel it needs to get to where you want to go!
Change the music you’re listening to so that it changes your focuses your feelings in the direction that you want
Come up with a new morning or evening routine that will ensure that you complete at least one important task for your day
Become more mindful of what you can do to change your physiology through diet, exercise, meditation, etc so that you can actually FEEL differently
Set at least one goal for yourself in each of the following areas each month: professional, physical, personal, and purposeful. Even if you only achieve ONE it could be a game changer
Just remember to check in with yourself once in a while and remind yourself where to put your resources. When you start to align your resources with your values, your behaviors will shift in a way that will get you closer to your desired results. (And remember…you have to schedule these events in to your day and week…they don’t happen by themselves!)
With that in mind, time to go check out the boat (my happy place so I make time to go there as much as possible), prepare for the race (so we can learn how to sail well enough to cast off the and head south in the near future), and have a healthy snack (so I can feel good physically and emotionally) to round out my day. Wishing you well in finding your way to your goals as well!
Peace and Blessings,
Mindi
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