Do you ever feel like you want something in your life to change but it’s not? It can be so frustrating to feel ready for a move and not see anything happening. No movement on the horizon. No forward motion. Zip. Zilch. Nada…
I know better though. There is no time when movement is not happening in our lives. I can get impatient when I want to see something happen! When it doesn’t come right away, I think that it won’t happen. Before a big shift, preparation needs to happen; preparation in my heart, in my home, in my mind. Now, I’m not talking about a crisis – sometimes we can look back and see how we were being prepared, but sometimes we just get knocked off our feet. But when you are moving toward a big life change, thank God we are moved toward readiness.
Lack of movement is an illusion. Something is always happening in us! We are always growing and changing if we allow it. There are often lots of distractions that come when we’d like to focus on our goal or desire. We get caught up in our families’ needs, or the urgency of events at work, or unscheduled things come up and we decide, “See? This is why I’m not moving ahead!” Actually though, the distractions aren’t preventing us from moving. I’ve decided that the distractions just keep me from focusing and paying attention to the important changes that are going on. When I’m crazy busy, it’s really hard to just get done all the things that are needed. So I’m a lot less likely to slow down and pay attention, to meditate and listen to the voice inside telling me what to do next. When I don’t pay attention, I’m not moving in a particular direction – I’m just responding to whatever calls for my attention the loudest.
“Mommy! Where are you?”
So what do I do? Those times when I feel directionless, like I’m racing through the motions of my daily life, those are the times I need the stillness even more. I have to get up early and meditate, or go to bed early so my brain can get the rest it needs to be creative. If I’m living in survival mode, very little good comes out of me. I just scrape by. And I don’t like that feeling of just getting by!
Sometimes, the busyness isn’t the problem. I’m stuck in a rut and can’t get out. Ever feel that way? Like you’re living the same day/week/month over and over? I call it living in default mode. You know what that is, right? It’s plopping down in front of the TV after dinner and losing two hours and not knowing why you were even sitting there. It’s ordering pizza because that’s what we do on Friday nights. It’s buying the same groceries every week because that’s what’s on the list and that’s what I buy, isn’t it? Fire and creativity and change don’t come when I’m just doing the same old, same old. So how do I switch it up? There are a few things I do that you might want to try to shake yourself into a new place. You just may get some momentum going!
What do you do?
I mean, what’s your routine? I can take it for granted that the way I do things is how everyone does it. But if I really look at my schedule and think about it, some of the things I think are unmoveable, aren’t. Maybe the youngest can sacrifice her nap so we can go to an event as a family. Maybe that TV watching in the evening isn’t needed. You need down time? Maybe there’s a better way to get it, like a meditation or walk around the block. Or if you get one thing done on your list instead of 30 minutes of TV, you’ll be a little more ahead tomorrow. Change up your routine and see if your perspective changes!
What do you wear?
Stay with me… I’m NOT telling you to go out and buy a new wardrobe. But are you wearing the same things over and over? The same colors? What would happen if you started wearing more pink to channel your feminine side? What about green for renewal and change? I hadn’t worn any pink for ages, but when I did, I had so much fun with it! The inner me really enjoyed doing the girly thing. Try powerful colors like red and royal blue if you’ve been wearing pastels. Wear any colors if you’ve been doing mostly black. If you have the time and the money, buy something in a different style than you usually wear (take a friend and make sure it looks good. Changing style can be tricky!). But really, just changing the colors you wear can be moving.
Selections from “pink week”…
What are you eating?
Ever feel like you eat the same rotation of foods over and over? We can get so used to what we buy or cook that we forget there’s a whole world of different foods and ways of eating out there! Sometimes, our food rut is why we aren’t losing weight. This week I’ve been intermittently fasting, doing liquids only for most of the day and having a soup or a salad for dinner. I’ve dropped a bunch of water I’ve been retaining, but I did it to open up the space in my day to not worry about food and mealtimes. It’s amazing how our days are centered around mealtimes, and how the cadence changes when those times are gone. You may try eating vegetarian or vegan, or no refined sugar for a week (ok, that’s a hard one). But you can do anything for a week! Try it and see if this changes your outlook…
Carrot pineapple orange juice (mostly carrot!). Delicious!
Are you feeling stuck in a rut or caught up in your routine? What are you going to do to shake things up? Please share in the comments below!