As I reflect on how 2022, I am led to go into the nitty gritty of the everyday. The mundane routine of waking up, working, eating, and going to bed, gets to my head and brings me down. The struggle to get anything accomplished becomes inflated and being in bed is all I yearn for. Yet, there is more to life than rest. I should be enjoying more of today throughout the day, every day. Not everything will be fun, and that is actually not a problem; finding the good in the little things is an art I am willing to delve into.
At least in this, I am an optimist that believes that in general, in our daily endeavors we should find pleasure. It might not be the task itself, but the people who help you get it done, or the place you do it in, or the music you play while you do it. The pleasure might come after you accomplish the task from the grin on others faces while they enjoy the fruit of your labor. Our days shouldn't just be characterized by toil but by enjoyment.
However, time and time again, I am faced with a four letter word that makes me cringe: PLAN. A good life is not going to fall unto your lap. You will have to put some elbow grease into it. Even if you are in relationship with great people, employed in an amazing job, and living in a model community, you still need to work to maintain it. You might stumble upon a beautiful plant but without water, sun, and weeding, it won't thrive.
My life needs some more water, sun, and weeding. I can plan every minute of my day and set goals for every month of the year, but if I don't make the time to execute, it will all be in vain. In the last couple of years, I have been successful in sticking to my goals. In 2021, I made reading a daily activity, and in 2022, I made myself plan a few things to do for the next day and write something that impacted me throughout the day. I still aimed to do more with my day, knew what to do, but did not stick to it or set myself up for success. Not enough of my daily list got scratched out. Unfortunately, many books are still unread. I keep going down the couch potato spiral out of exhaustion and no gas. Not in 2023.
This year, I will wake up early. Earlier than what I need to get ready for work and earlier than my children.
You see, I realized that I have the time to accomplish so much more. I acknowledge that I am not a robot and value rest, but I also value productivity and serving. If I am not fueled, I can't give. I realized that my routine was dragging me down further and further into someone who was lost in distraction, trying to gasp for fresh air. The cycle was vicious, for I would go to bed late looking for what would counteract the stress of the day, not wake up early enough to feed my soul, and work all day in a zombie state. Where is the fun in that? What will I remember my youth for? Voluntary subjected slavery? No sir.
My thoughts are that if I wake up early, I need to go to bed early. If I need to go to bed early, I will not be glued to a screen shopping the shops and watching the endless slew of videos and movies and series. I will be done early with my chores and responsibilities because some can be done early in the morning. I will have time to invest in my personal growth, this amazing blog, and in setting up my family for the day. I will be able to routinely exercise and batch cook. I will water myself so I can be better for those I love and serve.
This year, I am hopeful that one small change, little by little, will help me be more of the person I believe I can be.
My goal is to be up by 6 AM, but in all honesty I hope that I can move it to sometime around 5 AM. I will be cutting myself some slack when I've had a rough night with baby and potentially not have an alarm for Saturdays. I plan to use the time to pray, exercise, do chores, and/or cook. I want to revisit three months in and make any necessary changes. I am excited for the future improvements this one change will make room for.
I wish you a happy new year and hope that you also take one step forward towards a better life.
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