For Me Not You - A Little Light No. 19
It has been a while.
The past few weeks have been busy for me. I traveled back-to-back weekends and enjoyed both connecting with friends and family. How are you?
If we are honestly speaking, I’m okay. I am currently feeling neither good nor bad, just somewhere in the middle. I’m sure there is a word for this emotion, but all I can find is mediocre or indifferent. After waking up and watching service this morning, there was nothing that I truly ~wanted~ to do. I mustered up the energy to get dressed and change my location in hopes that I’d feel more motivated. There was a little voice in the back of my head that said keep moving.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I remember writing about getting out of a funk. The whole month of April dashed by and I could not remember anything that I did. I woke up, finished work, ate sometime in between, and ended up back asleep. I’m sure many felt the same way as we were getting used to staying at home. I encouraged myself to create a schedule with routines like morning walks and devotion and separating the end of the workday with an activity.
I am currently listening to the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I'm sure he would have suggested making a similar change. He argues that success occurs with constant small actions or habits. Most successful people don’t become successful overnight, instead they make small changes that became ingrained into who they are. The success is a result of their constant work, even if their breakthrough seems sudden. In the book, he gives several steps on how to disrupt bad habits and create positive ones. Some suggestions include creating consequences and rewards, setting up accountability partners, and associating with a community of like-minded people.
There are several habits that I want to create and strengthen and others that I’d like to completely get rid of. One that I’d like to strengthen, is a practice of writing, journaling, and reflecting. The simple act of putting the convoluted thoughts in my mind on paper. Another habit I want to improve is constantly reading. It’s something I enjoy doing, but I never seemed to make the same for it. At some point, I’m reminded, if I spent 15 minutes less on TikTok or Instagram, that's a few pages in a book or an article I could have read. I can also set aside 30 minutes to do a quick workout video, or grab some fresh air with a walk or run. There’s time in the day, just where is it all going?
This week and next, in hopes of creating a new routine and enforcing good habits. I will take note of how I’m spending my days and the feelings associated with them. A good start to the writing and reflection habit, right? This was a habit I completed every week, through a weekly review template on my notion. Like many things, I did my weekly review for several weeks straight, then I forgot one week and dropped the habit. But, it’s the beginning of a new week and I can try again.
Take this with you:
Make a commitment to yourself. Do something for you and not the approval of others. Small or large. What will it be?
Finishing this newsletter today was more for me than it was for you.
P.S. Here's the link to that weekly review template using notion. It was a free template created by Asia Jackson.
As always,
With love and light.
Comment below if you have any thoughts or any answers to the questions I've asked. Please share with a friend! If you aren’t already subscribed to receive this message in your email, you can do so using this link!