The blog got a makeover. Did you notice? (there’s a giveaway at the bottom of this post celebrating it!) It’s been a few years since I’ve made any aesthetic changes to my little home on the web, so I’m pretty excited about it. But this makeover was about more than aesthetics. The improved functionality should make it so much nicer for you as a reader, as well as me as a blogger.
I can make things look pretty all day long, but if it’s not functioning well, all the pretty stuff really doesn’t matter.
Isn’t that just like life?
We often spend a lot of time dressing things up, covering up flaws, creating life hacks so that things are easier. At least for awhile. I’ve been the queen of this movement for a very long time. In blogging and in life.
But for the past few years, I’ve been on a journey of sorts to rid myself of the easy, and fill my life (mind, body, and spirit) with the stuff that matters and makes a difference. I’ve come so far.
I have a long way to go still. (baby steps)
There’s plenty of evidence of my desire to be more faithful, healthier, a better mom, a stronger teacher, and a more caring servant of Jesus here on the blog. I’ve discussed my quest to heal my body of autoimmune diseases (namely Lupus and Fibromyalgia). I’ve shared about our homeschool successes and failures. I’ve written about my flaws in parenting, and the challenges of ADHD. Articles about juicing, essential oils, Bible study, parenting, and homeschooling are filled with my heart’s desires for things to be different, better, more productive. And while I certainly don’t consider myself finished with these endeavors, or an expert at any of it, I have learned a few things. It’s likely you are on a similar journey or need to makeover your life in at least one area, so today I want to share a few things I’ve learned along the way. I hope you are blessed and encouraged.
Evaluate Your Life
The first step to changing anything is to evaluate where you are. Evaluating everything important to you can be a daunting task, but if you really want to makeover your life, this is the first place to start. Begin by looking at what is important to you — your mind, body, and soul. You might have a list similar to this:
- relationships (especially marital and parental)
- spiritual health
- physical health
- education
- work
- hobbies
Now think about the roles you play daily. Mine look like this:
- wife
- mom
- homeschool teacher
- neighbor (I use the word neighbor to denote anyone outside of my home)
- professional blogger
Now take an honest look at all of these areas and decide which ones need a makeover. It may be all of them. Or perhaps just a couple:
- You may be doing great in your walk with Jesus, but your physical health is suffering.
- Or maybe you are a stellar mom, but you’re ignoring the problems in your marriage.
- You might be an extremely successful blogger, but your homeschool is suffering for it.
Prioritize It All
Now that you know which areas of your life need a makeover, begin to prioritize them. How you prioritize is up to you. You may start with what is most important to you. Or you may begin with what seems easier and a quicker fix (there is value to having immediate success). Or you might want to begin with the area that is suffering the most (ie: fix your marriage before worrying about losing that 20lbs).
Choose One Thing at a Time
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
It’s hard to be patient when you’ve decided to makeover your life. You’ve evaluated every area and recognized the changes that need to be made. You’ve got your list of priorities and many of them seem equal in importance, so now you want to change them all and you want to do it NOW.
This just isn’t a wise way to begin. Biting off more elephant than you can chew will lead to disappointment and failure.
Trust me on this.
Start with the first thing on your list, whatever that may be. You don’t have to be 100% successful before you begin the next thing, but do give yourself time to see some improvement before adding anything more.
Set Attainable and Measurable Goals
Goal-setting is not my forte. It never has been. But in the past few months I have come to realize that not setting goals has been my downfall in many areas. I’m not sure why I refused to do this for most of my life. Fear of failure? Fear of accountability? Not understanding how it all worked. Maybe the belief that goals are set in stone. Whatever it is or was, I’m over it. The year 2016 has become my year of setting goals. I cannot even begin to tell you what a difference it has made for me.
So now that you have made your makeover your life list, prioritized it, and know where you want to begin, it’s times time to break that down.
The steps are pretty simple:
- Choose your long-term goal
- Write it down
- Share it with someone else for accountability
- Break the long-term goal down into smaller short-term goals (write them down and tell someone, too) and make sure they are measurable
- Plan your first step, and then the next one, and then the one after that
- Evaluate regularly (I evaluate my goals monthly, quarterly, and yearly)
- Make changes as necessary
- Celebrate your victories
- Pray without ceasing and ask others to pray for you, too
Be Diligent
I speak from experience when I say that oftentimes a life makeover is like taking 2 steps forward and one step back. It is not always going to be easy, and you will get distracted, discouraged, and disappointed (usually in yourself). Diligence is the key to getting you through those times.
When you want to quit, remember why you started.
When you bite off more than you can chew, spit something out.
When you tell yourself you can’t, remember He can.
Are you on a journey to makeover your life? What area of your life needs a makeover first? Let’s chat about it in the comments!