I was in a massive rut recently for a few months but then especially a few days in a row and I decided it was time to change the channel. Here's some things I started doing and am still working on that have saved my bacon and pulled me out:
1. Get More Sleep - Bedtime before 12.
Going to sleep before 12 has been a great new discipline for me. It’s made me wake up early and get more done too, which has been so nice!
2. Get Ready.
The way you dress affects the way you feel about yourself and impacts your self image. Zig Ziglar says we live our life out of our self image, or the way we see ourself. If you look pretty sometimes you’ll act prettier too.
3. Clean Your House.
Your surrounding can really affect you and make you feel stuck. Start small if you need to but keep organizing and cleaning your house until it’s somewhere that represents your style and becomes a place you don’t want to leave.
2 Habits that changed my life:
#2: I put my kitchen to bed every night (clean the kitchen - it makes it so nice to wake up the next day to a fresh and clean kitchen. What a way to start the day!)
4. Workout & Drink More Water.
WORKOUT:
You must find a way to enjoy working out. The biggest way to get in and stay in shape is your diet so work on that the most. If you don’t change your diet, you are spending too much time in the gym for not the best results in general. Get the fake foods out of your diet. No more soda, bleached white sugar, bleached flour etc. I will post another “clean eating guide” blog soon for you to reference. Basically just find a way to get active - go on a 40 minute walk. Jog some, walk some. Do some strength training exercises, some hand stands, find some circuit training routines on Pinterest. I have a great circuit training picture on my blog on my at home workouts. Go run a hill and walk down and run up again a few times. Start biking or swimming or doing pilates. Just move period. Do some push ups. The best way to get motivated is to listen to some audio at the same time. I generally listen to motivational audio while I work out instead of music but whatever gets you going. You can do it! One of my friends/YouTube subscribers watched one of my videos and has now lost like almost 50 pounds I believe because he just started focusing on it! So cool!!
DRINK MORE WATER:
I’m a big fan of “Kangen” Alkaline ionized water. It’s basically the only water I’ve drank for around 15 years. It’s amazing - alkaline, more hydrating & anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. It’s like a counter top fountain of youth. I can technically sell them if you want one but they are expensive. Most people can’t get that, but just don’t do bottled water if you can avoid it. They have plastic poisoning, they re generally acidic, if they are alkaline they are not ionized (negative charged/anti-oxidant) & they are alkaline by basically baking soda so you are paying more for the name alkaline. If you can get well water do that. Or some sort of home filtration system. I don’t do bottled waters ever.. I bring my stainless steel or glass jugs and water bottles with me everywhere. Anyhow, just get more hydrated because every percentage you’re dehydrated it’s a good amount of energy you’re going down. Hydration = more energy and more better everything.
5. Don’t Isolate Yourself.
Get some encouraging people around you and let them into your struggles. Do not suffer alone. Some people you would least expect have been through hard battles, lived in sin, thought of committing suicide, have been addicted to things that made them feel bad and pull away from the crowd.
Also, find a way to give out. This last year I volunteered at my youth group and it brought me a lot of joy and community. I moved to a new town and it turned into such a blessing to have a whole group of friends around me and be able to impact people's lives. It was sometimes a sacrifice, but it was a way bigger blessing.
6. Listen to Motivational Audio & Sermons.
I recommend getting audible for a few of these books. Not sponsored. I get the really long ones like 12 hours long and listen to them. You get a more complete feel of their message that way when the do like “complete” series.
My favorite speakers & preachers:
- Zig Ziglar - “The Ultimate Zig Ziglar Library” on Audible. He’s also on Spotify & YouTube
- Terri Savelle Foy - YouTube
- Jim Rohn - The Complete Jim Rohn
- Andrew Wommack - YouTube
- Joyce Meyer - YouTube
- John Maxwell - The Complete 101 Library on audible
7. Speak to Yourself.
When I get down if I’m smart I speak to myself and get out of it quickly.
Pray over yourself, speak the Word of God over yourself, and give yourself a motivational speech and tell yourself what you’re not going to do as well. It takes grit to live in this world. We are often our own worst enemy because we get spiritually and emotionally lazy and don’t fight back when the devil attacks us. We become an easy target for him to just knock around. We have to get a backbone and when we do, we will realize that we don’t have to get knocked down near as often as we do. Many battles could have been fought in a few minutes or an hour in prayer but we give in too easily and start agreeing with the devil. Our words are one of our most powerful tools we have. They direct our lives and minds and actions. Use them to shape your life and you will start to have victory and increase and take ground.
8. Take Action.
Go toward your fear instead of hiding out.
Do small tasks that you’ve been putting off. It will give you some confidence and momentum.
9. Reduced Your Caffeine.
It will give you more energy. We are on adrenal overload as a culture. On top of that I don’t trust caffeine that isn’t from tea or coffee sources. Energy drinks and soda pop have synthetic caffeine in them which is banned in the EU as far as I’ve heard. It can’t be good for you.
10. Write Out Your Goals Like It’s the New Year.
I just did this recently and it become like the map to your own life. I heard recently that you mind goes to complete the picture you give it, so add pictures to your goals and print them & review them daily or at least weekly. Put them as many places as you want so you will actually see them and read them. You don’t want to make goals and only see them once a year because you won’t do most of them that way. Some people review their goals 3x a day. I should do that. Just get clear on what you really want out of life. It’s okay if you don’t do all your goals this year. Sometimes as you go you find out some goals aren’t your true goals anyhow and you can replace them as you go if need be. Pray over them and ask the Lord what He wants for your life. This morning I prayed and asked the Lord what He would want me to do with my time. Right after that I was reminded that I want to start recording music at home, so I set up my home studio and after I post the video and finish this blog and I’m going to face another fear and actually start my home recording journey! (Since I’m not perfect enough out of a real studio, I have shied away from it when my sister would record alllll the time in our closet before she was married. She wanted me to record more with her. Sorry Haley.)
Categories of Goals:
1. Faith
2. Family
3. Fitness
4. Finances
5. Friends
6. Fun
Habits to work on: Timeliness, Cleanliness (house & car), Courtesy, Thankfulness, & being a Giver instead of a taker.
11. Start reading 20 minutes a Day.
Zig Ziglar ways read 20 minutes a day or 10 pages a day and by the end of the year you will have read 20 200 page books. That puts you way ahead of most people around you who will maybe read 1 book a year. A music manager told me years ago that when his artists are depressed on the road he asks them if they are reading and he said in all cases they weren’t. Reading helps fight depression. It gives you new and fresh ideas that will inspire you to dream and do things differently and live for more.
12. Don’t Beat Yourself Up for “UnderAchieving”.
Sometimes you are just not hitting on all cylinders. That’s okay. You’re only human. :) Relax. Sometimes you actually just need to rest or to unplug or take a vacation, or just take a sabbath, not try to do more this second. When you get rested up you will have the inspiration and energy to do more. Sometimes you’re in the wrong job or living in the wrong place that is stressing you out. Ask the Lord if there’s something you can change to get into a more inspiring environment. You have one life to live so don’t get stuck living a dull life you don’t like. If you don’t like something, a lot of time you can change it!
13. Fast and Pray.
There’s nothing that can replace the power of putting time aside to fast and pray and seek the Lord for answers or a breakthrough.
I recommend fasting one day a week to seek the Lord. I fast on Thursdays if you want to join me.
14. Develop a Winning Morning Routine.
Come up with 3-5 things you do every morning - this can be a good way to combine some of your habits.
John Maxwell says “The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.”
5 Habits of Terri Savelle Foy that I try to do sometimes:
- Read the Bible - 5 chapters for me
- Review your goals
- Workout / Stretch
- Listen to motivational or Christian audio
- Read 20 minutes a day
There’s my list! If nothing else, start by making your morning routine of spending time with the Lord and going through the Bible in a year. That's the one thing I did first and it changed my life. Over time you have more capacity to add more disciplines to your life. Give yourself time and grace to grow. Look at some of it as things you will add over the next year or two. You can do it and I really do believe in you.
God bless you!
Camille
Here's my YouTube video that accompanies this blog: https://youtu.be/IIs7ZYEM1Xg
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