Hello my lovely friends,
We're swiftly approaching the month of March!
So tell me, how is your February going? Prayerfully it is all you planned it to be.
Did you catch that? I didn't say I hope it is all you wanted it to be, or wished it to be. The key word here is "planned."
I must admit that I haven't always been a planner, but after spending year after year wondering why I wasn't making much progress, I realized that I wasn't planning for my success. I was waking up every day going to a job that wasn't so bad, although it wasn't exactly my dream job, then coming home; following the same routine day after day, month after month, and year after year. Determined to do things differently , I broke this cycle by taking control of two important areas of my life. And I'm willing to bet these same two areas of your life may need a bit of tweaking as well. If you are going to be intentional about achieving your goals this year and beyond, you must learn to manage two very important areas of your life: your emotions and your time.
Managing Your Emotions
Friends, you will NEVER achieve any amount of success in anything if you don't learn to manage your emotions. If your emotions are unstable, and you base your day on what you feel like doing, your life will resemble that same instability. Our emotions can change at any given moment. The key is to manage them before they manage you. One way to do this is to eliminate options. Decide what you will do beforehand by creating a plan; then choose to stick to that plan, regardless of how you feel. Too often we give ourselves options, and as a result we easily abandon our plan at any sign of resistance that creates negative emotions. Practice placing constraints on allowing your feelings to influence major aspects of your life, and notice the incredible changes you experience as a result.
For example, you are committed to eating healthier and staying on top of your fitness goals. You have your dinner already prepared at home, and your gym clothes in the car for when you get off of work. However, you have a horrible day at work. Your boss is so harsh and unfair and you have just about had it with him and that job. If you have options, you may choose to allow your emotions to take over, skip the gym, and instead of sticking to your dinner selection, go to the buffet and eat all of the buttered rolls you can handle; all in the name of "having a bad day." However, if you have decided beforehand to eliminate any other options, other than the one you've already committed to, then you will go to the gym, take your frustrations out on the treadmill, and enjoy the healthy meal waiting for you at home. Believe me, in that moment of passion the buffet may make you feel better, but the next day you will regret letting your emotions manage and control you; not to mention your waistline and your wallet. Can you see how our emotions can hinder us from making any progress?
Managing Your Time
I want you to use the phrase "I don't have time" as much as possible this year.
"I don't have time" really means "it's not my priority," and contrary to popular belief, it's completely okay to not have time to waste. In fact, if you are not prioritizing what is important from what is not, you will get to the end of yet another year thinking "Where did the time go?" However, if you have a schedule and calendar that you keep throughout the year, it will be easy to look back and see what you did with your time. Starting now, make a schedule and fulfill the duties on your schedule. Go ahead and say "No" or "I don't have time" to something that is not a part of your plan. This is being a good steward of your time – your most precious commodity.
Learning to manage your emotions and time will dramatically change how you approach your day. Get these two areas under control, and there is nothing you can't do. Commit to taking charge of your days. It may not happen overnight, but as you begin to apply these principles, you will gradually see positive change and growth. It won't be easy, but you weren't designed for easy. You were designed to withstand pressure and overcome. You can do this, my friends.
You can. :)
Until next time,
Tiffany