The Next Thing

             As I got ready for work this morning I listened to one of my favorite podcasts "What Should I Read Next" by Anne Bogel. In episode 165 she interviewed Jim Mustich, author of the book 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die and one comment really stuck out to me. When Anne asked if there were any tips to make reading that many books easier (let's face it: 1,000 books is a LOT of reading) Jim responded very simply with "Focus on reading the next book."
           
              Read the next book. Do the next thing. I don't know about you but I have a tendency, when I set goals, to try to focus on the big picture constantly which generally results in an over-abundance of stress and depression. When I owned my shop several years ago one thing Abbie would say on days when one of us was feeling overwhelmed was "Do the next thing." Such a simple phrase but a good way to keep things in perspective. You don't have to do it all at once. You can't do it all at once.

              Friday I was talking to my Dad about goal-setting. He reminded me that one part of successfully reaching your goals is to write them down - and then write out a detailed plan of how you're going to get there. I do that to a certain extent but rarely get as detailed as I know I really should. When you focus on the details, the "next thing" in a goal instead of being overwhelmed and frustrated that you're not as close as you wish you were you can mark the progress you're making. Some goals can take years to reach, such as mine of having a plant nursery. That's not something I can just wake up and do. There's so much to learn, so much to do in preparation. It can feel rather overpowering when I think about it... unless I just zoom in and do the next thing.

          It's not even just a matter of large goals like reading 1,000 books or having a thriving greenhouse business. It's the smaller things like creating habits. I hate exercising but I know I need to do it so one of my goals (surprise, surprise!) is to work out regularly. How do I do that? Yes, set a specific goal and know where I want to be in the end but while I'm getting there, just focus on the next thing. I worked out this morning. So all I have to do now is exercise tomorrow. And the same tomorrow.

          Just do the next thing and before you know it you'll have climbed a mountain.

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Motivational Monday #1

         Maybe as the year goes on I'll actually be good at coming up with blog titles but I figure since this is my first Monday post, this will do.

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          It's one week into 2019 and on one hand I feel like I've had a pretty good first week but on the other I can think of so many things that I should've been doing already to reach my goals. I've had seven whole days after all, and what have I done with them? I was going to get up early... this morning I slept through my alarm and didn't wake up till thirty minutes before I was supposed to be at work! I didn't exercise until today when I went on a walk/hike with some of my friends... And there I go again: finding everything wrong with myself and my life.

        Why do we do that to ourselves? I can find good in every one, no matter what: it's something I've tried to practice since I was a kid. But when it comes to me I expect myself to be perfect at everything right off the bat, even if it's something I'd never even heard of before that day. I'm still trying to decide what I think about all of the "self-love" and "self-care" ideas that are so popular right now but I will say this: there is most definitely a need for self-forgiveness. If Jesus is willing to forgive me for a thing then why on earth do I hold on to that thing and hold it up as a sign of my own failures? Wouldn't that be considered lack of faith in the truth of God's promises? So, yes, this week I forgot to do a number of things on my list (forgot or just chose not to do them) but it's only seven days out of three hundred and sixty-five. Life and success takes time: all I have to do is pick up where I am and take the next step.

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2019

              Goals. You know, those things we want to do that we write down on paper the beginning of every year and then forget about by the end of January until the next January when many of the same things are written down once more. It's a vicious cycle that I'm sure were all familiar with to some extent or other. Now, I know that there are some of those wonderfully self-disciplined people who set goals and look back at the end of the year to a vastly improved life while the rest of us spend our days doing the same things over and over again with only small amounts of improvement. At least that's how it has always been for me. Don't get me wrong: I've had a good life so far and looking back I can see some amazing things that happened but I have to ask myself the question: was it actually intentional? How many of my short and long-term goals have I actually made progress towards? Not nearly as many as I should have. So I've made it my goal to change that this year and what better way to start off than by starting a brand new blog (which actually is one of my goals for this year) just about life?

              I've never really had one word that was my word for the year but I think this year the one word that keeps coming up for me lately is "Simple." That's my overall goal this year: to live the simple life. In a world where we have so much going on all around us it's easy to get caught up in the busyness and forget that the most important things in life tend to happen in the quiet moments. But what if we have no quiet moments? It's time to take a step back and re-evaluate life and what direction I'm headed. It won't be easy but I think once new habits and lifestyle are formed it will all be worth it. And so I start this blog to document my journey. I hope you'll enjoy the ride and find it encouraging as you work toward a better life this year as well.

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