Do you ever feel stuck? Like really stuck? You know, like that you are just going through the mundane things in life and you go through the motions everyday, just to feel safe? Go the same places, see the same people, eat the same food, drink the same drinks, etc?
I'm reading a book by Jordan Lee Dooley called Own Your Everyday and it has been really encouraging about being comfortable in your own skin while being comfortable enough to change your mindset, in turn helping create an even better you.
I'm towards the end now and she mentions a quote that says "Old ways won't open new doors."
She then compares this quote saying "...if we don't let unhealthy habits go, the growth we hope to experience won't come."
That really spoke to me.
It's so true!
After reading this I was driving down a really beautiful dirt road in the mountains that we have to use to get home, and I started thinking, "Man I sure hope my car doesn't get super muddy before I get back." I had just gotten it washed and was not in the mood to see it so gross from mud and rocks again.
I HOPED my car wouldn't get muddy.
Well gees isn't that something. <eye roll>
Like what is hoping going to do?? In ANY situation... what does just hoping your car doesn't get dirty, or that you don't get fat, or that your baby won't tumble over when she pulls up onto the coffee table...
Some things you have to do more than just hope. You have to go after them. You have to do the dirty work and the not so fun work, to get the results that you know you can get by doing that.
We have a beautiful garden that we have been working on for months, and you know what... we didn't hope that the garden would turn out. We put the work in, watering, planting, transplanting, fertilizing, and even keeping *positive vibes* around the plants. (We also name some of them... but don't judge.) Doing all of this working was KNOWING that the garden was going to turn out.
Watching the fruits of that labor has been super rewarding. AND THAT'S JUST A GARDEN...
What about your life?
Like what if you decided to make decisions that helped give you a new confidence in the things that were to come? You work hard for everything that you have, so why not treat it like you worked hard for it? Take new adventures. You are not going to grow by doing the same things that you've been doing... so why would you continue doing them?
Yes you've got to eat and sleep and blah blah blah... but why not fuel yourself with better food so that you can have a better energy output, and possibly live longer, and experience more of the awesome that we have in this world? Why not put new information in your head from people that are smarter and more experienced than you? Why not grow yourself, mind, body and spirit?
It really isn't hard. People just don't want to try. Lazy, I guess? Scared? Don't let that be you.
Over the past year, growth has been something I have focused on for myself. I have done a great job with it, as a matter of fact. I have had to grow in a lot of ways. It's not just me that I am looking out for anymore, so I truly want to be the best that I can be so that Anthony and Aspen can have the best version of me. In doing this, my prayer is that they can become the best versions of themselves and that I am not a hindrance in that, but a helper in their growth.
I have started reading more. I am reading all kinds of books about being better, becoming better and growing myself, as well as a business.
Let me just tell you, I have never liked reading. But these days, I THOROUGHLY enjoy it. I love it because I am always choosing books that are moving me forward and challenging me mentally, and sometimes even physically. (Let me know if you need book suggestions!)
I started listening to podcasts that do the same. That's been great too. I never really thought many people actually listened to podcasts, until I started finding some that actually interested me and that I felt made me better. There are soooo many podcasts.
A few that I like are:
- Christy Wright's Business Boutique
- The Jennifer Alwood Show
- Elevation Church
- Online Marketing Made Easy
- Rachel Hollis' Rise Podcast
- A Well Designed Business
- The Influencer Podcast
What you put into your mind TRULY, TRULY, can make or break you.
Another reason that it is so critical who you spend your time with.... The one thing you can never get back, why spend it with people that do not encourage you to be the best that you can be?
Our move to Colorado has been one of the reasons I've grown so much. So much in our lives changed, that it would have been pretty odd if I hadn't grown, or changed with it. I have learned to care almost zero about what other people think, and have focused more on what my family thinks and if I am being what they need. Sometimes that is hard because I have to slow down and just let Aspen play and figure things out herself, while I watch her. Other times I am moving a mile a minute it seems. I wouldn't change it for a second though.
Do you guys have any ways that you have grown, or changed your way of thinking? I'd love to hear and help share with everyone reading.
Talk to you guys soon!
-xoxo
emily
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