Whatever you are not changing - you are choosing

How often do we let life just "happen" to us?  Each day looks just like the last.

We have the opportunity to enjoy each day.  To find joy in our moments.  Does this sound like something attainable for others but not for you?

That is how I felt.  I would hear other women talking excitedly about their lives, while I was feeling worn down, tired and frumpy.  I would scroll through social media, wondering how it could be possible to live like what I saw portrayed in the photos.  Mentally, I knew that the pictures were staged, but in my heart, there was still a longing for something different than what I currently have.

I did not know what that something different was.  It just felt like something needed to be changed.

"Nothing changes if nothing changes."

How often I would sit and scroll through Pinterest, saving hundreds of pins of home ideas, how I would like my personal style to be, recipes for my family and secret ideas that I would like to see happen "someday."

​Then Pinterest showed me a quote that I needed to see: "Nothing changes if nothing changes."  Think on that for a moment.

How is "something" supposed to change if nothing changes?  Why have I been waiting around for "something" to happen?  I know this, why am I circling in this holding pattern?

I needed to make a change. Here are a few things that I am working on in my new journey:

1. Putting my phone down.  Our phones are a constant distraction and are adding input into our already overwhelmed thought processes.  Now I am scheduling time with my phone.  Difficult but very important.

2. Spending time being quiet.  I spend a lot of time trying to block out my thoughts because they are generally negative.  If I keep my mind busy with overthinking everything, then I will not hear the negative.  With that choice, I am now stressed out and anxious, which does not help anything.  Now I take a few moments each day to pause and take a few good breaths.  I have been using an app called Oak to help keep me accountable.  It is going well so far; I didn't need all that extra negativity overwhelming my thoughts.

3. Having a wellness plan.  This includes eating, exercise, water consumption and sleep routines.  I have been using the tools that are in my Fitbit to help my daily choices to move toward where I need to be in my health journey.

4. Holding books.  For a long time, I have been reading eBooks and listening to audiobooks.  Which is good - I was still learning.  But there is something different with holding a paper copy, and highlighting and writing notes as I am learning.

5. Writing down my thoughts.  Working through the My Journey journal has been so beneficial.  I also have a bullet journal that I have been writing lots of notes in from what I have been learning from all the books that I am reading.  I also use a daily planner, which has been helping me keep focused and plan my workload.  All my lists and appointments are laid out where I can see them and make a plan to get them all done.  This has increased my productivity incredibly.  

It has been encouraging to see that as I work through all these different aspects, I am seeing how they are all coming together.  By reading a book, it keeps my hands busy so I am not picking up my phone.  I created a little reading nook in my room, and it is a place where I can be quiet.  As I am learning, I am writing down my thoughts in my bullet journal.

Then, at the end of the week, I can spend time working through the questions in the My Journey journal, and I can see how my wellness journey is unfolding.  

I still have a long way to go, but I am thankful for this journey.  I feel like it is my journey - not one that I am trying to emulate from what I see on social media or my Pinterest boards.

Each of us has so much to offer to the world around us.  I feel like I have been caught up in a spiral of selfishness. I am ready to move forward to a place where I can be a benefit to those around me.  Thanks for sharing this journey with me.