A Few Of My 30 Things to STOP Doing

Have you seen this going around on Facebook?  It's called 30 Things To Stop Doing to Yourself.  They are all really good - and so many apply to me!  And so many apply to business!  Here are a few that I found meaningful.

#7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing.  Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success.  You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.

This is true.  I let FEAR creep in a lot.  I spend a lot of time worrying about what if I do this and it doesn't work out.  And then I've spent so much time being afraid and listing all the reasons I might fail that I don't have as much time to spend on actually making it work!

#8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us.  We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past.  But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.  Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

I especially like the last line in this one - everything has prepared you for a moment yet to come.  This is SO true.  I often find myself in a quiet moment, usually when I'm stressed about other things and feeling unsure of myself, thinking back to bad choices I've made or bad times in my life.  But then, when I bring myself out of that and look at the big picture, I can see where those bad times either caused me to learn something, or grow stronger or appreciate something that I have now more than I ever would have before.  For example, I had a string of jobs when I was younger that were extremely toxic working environments.  The people, the situations, everything...bad, stressful...just, well, toxic.  Fast forward to now - I have several jobs at the moment which can be tough at times.  But what I've come to notice is that I have learned to surround myself with good, positive people who make the jobs so much better. No matter what else is going on around me, I don't have the drama that used to push me over the edge.  This means so much to me and I don't think I would truly appreciate it otherwise. And I have a much better radar for those toxic people and situations now so that I can steer clear of them.

 #28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy.  One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?”  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

 I'm really bad about letting worry rob my peace and joy.  I cling often to Matthew 6:34

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own".  

I once heard a coworker say, "Don't borrow trouble".  I love that!  There is enough in just living...why come up with problems that aren't even there.  There was a time recently where my husband's job was on pretty rocky grounds.  Every time he would text me, I would wonder if this was the time I would read, "I'm on my way home".  A couple of times I was tempted to let my mind wander to that land of "WHAT IF".  A couple of times, I did let it go there - but very few (especially compared to how I would have reacted say about 10 years ago!).  I quickly brought myself out of those thoughts and remembered that verse from Matthew. I reminded myself that worrying about the what if's would not stop them from coming.  And also that they may not come at all so what was the point?  Sure enough, they didn't come.  All of the issues were resolved and my husband is now in a better situation and actually may be able to make more money in his new position!  I'm so glad for the time I did NOT waste wondering WHAT IF!!

#30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

 As you can probably tell, I lean towards the negative.  It's a constant internal battle for me to be positive.  I fight it each day!  I wish I was one of those people who was just normally positive and optimistic - my dad is that way.  We call him Pollyana!  LOL.  One of my biggest struggles is to be happy with my life as it is - not wishing it was another way or thinking it would be better if this or if that would happen.  Recently though, two lovely ladies have really helped me in my struggle.  They don't know it - but they have.  Both of these ladies have lost husbands in the past several months.  Very different circumstances - they don't know each other.  I don't even know one of them very well at all.  But both have touched me greatly with their strength, positive attitudes, and perseverance for their children.  Both are great reminders to me to be grateful for what I DO have...each day.  No matter how much my husband might get on my nerves at times...he's here.  At the end of each day, he's coming home to have dinner, play with the kids, fight with the kids...heck, fight with me sometimes!  But he's here. They would give anything to have that back.  And it's not fair that they have to go through it, but they are such a blessing to me because they bring me back to what is MOST important of all. 

I'd love to hear back if any of the 30 things spoke to you!  We all struggle - it's good to know that others are there with you!  We can help empower each other!!

Make it a wonderful day!!

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