We have SOOOO many distractions today and so many commitments that we take on as we feel obligated to in order to achieve success. Living this way creates a constant state of excitement that doesn’t allow for downtime without guilt. Staying busy all the time creates mental burnout. 

The habits we keep…or toss.

The habits we create impact every aspect of our life from eating habits, exercise, sleep, money, and success. Creating habits intentionally can be hard but when you see the benefits or reach a big goal, it’s all worth it. How do you create intentional habits? I’m so glad you asked! Decide on a goal that you want to achieve, list the things that would make that happen, then schedule it. I caution you to be realistic about it so you set yourself up for success. Something like going from working out 0 times a month to every day will take some time to build up to, not starting tomorrow working out every day for the rest of your life. 

If finding a way to relax and unwind every day, I would encourage you to make a list of things that help you get your mind off things. This could be meditating, going for a walk, chopping veggies for dinner with your favorite music playing in the background, or picking up a paintbrush and changing the way that blank canvas looks!

Most habits are created unintentionally which leads to less than desirable results. An example of this is eating habits. If your day is so packed that you don’t have time to have a healthy dinner, you are stuck in the drive-thru line while rushing from one task to another shoveling in unhealthy food. This fast eating on the go impacts digestion and satisfaction with the meal. We all know what happens when you feel less than satisfied with what you ate…finding something that makes you feel more satisfied (now we are overeating….). 

The story of “lack” impacts us more than we could imagine. The areas I am focusing on are time and money but it also impacts our lifestyle (my house isn’t as big as so and so’s house, it must be nice to have that kind of vacation, must be nice to live like that,....). I think these are the two key areas that impact our overall mindset about life and what we are able to accomplish. 

Another one of the ways we cause ourselves to be in a state of mental burnout is how we talk about the time we have. If we are always telling ourselves that we don’t have time to…, we can’t find the time to…, would never have the time for…, then we won’t. We need to change how we talk about time to change how we think about it. If there is something you REALLY want to do I bet you find the time for it, right? 

In the book “The Big Leap,” Gay Hendricks introduces a very interesting outlook on time. I will not do the concept justice so I encourage you to pick up a copy and change your life in many ways! In a nutshell, if we live in Einsteinian time, we create the time we need to do what we want/need to do. Most of us live in a Newtonian time paradigm where we assume a scarcity of time and are always rushing to make our tasks fit in the time we have.

Now if you think about your relationship with money...Holy Moly! It makes so much sense now why I’ve spent my entire life feeling broke. If I had a nickel for every time I said “I’m broke,” “I could never afford that,” “I’ll never make that much money with my current education level,” I would likely be in that house I thought I couldn’t afford- PAID IN FULL! Building on this story of “lack”...we hinder ourselves from obtaining what we want before we even give ourselves a chance to reach for it. 

One simple change I would encourage you to make is to stop saying “I can’t afford that” and replace it with “I chose not to spend my money on that.” Even if you didn’t have the $15 in the bank for the lunch you turned down, it puts you in the mindset that helps you focus on how you want to spend your money and doesn’t keep the negativity running full speed ahead in your life. 

Making these simple shifts in thinking can get you out of a stressed-out, burnt-out place in your head. 

• Create habits that support the life you want

• See how lifestyle and commitments impact habits

• Have the time of your mindset!

• Money, Money, Mindset

Peace and love,

Teresea

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