Bleary-eyed, I groped towards the glow on my bedside table. A dear friend had just brought home a new baby and I was signed up to bring her and her family a meal. My iPhone was flashing a Meal Train notification, reminding me that today I was on deck.

It had totally slipped my mind. And after a busy weekend of birthday parties and teaching, I felt completely spent. A little voice whispered, “Just go to Central Market and get them a prepared meal. Surely prepared meals were created for such a time as this!”

But as soon as the words “prepared meal” crossed my mind, a second, bossier voice stepped in and demanded, “Are you joking?! She’s a new Mom – she deserves a beautiful, scrumptious, home-cooked meal! And besides, all your other friends will be cooking for her. You don’t want to look like an incompetent, lazy friend, do you?”

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“The choices you make today will impact your circumstances tomorrow”  (Lysa Terkeurst, The Best Yes).  I wholeheartedly believe every person contains a God-sized destiny woven within the blueprint of our identities.  But not everyone pursues this destiny.

Are you surprised when you keep making the same harmful decision – you know this choice isn’t helpful but yet you keep doing it?  What is even more shocking and disheartening is when this pattern is fixed on repeat. 

Frustration, exhaustion, and doubt become life’s companion thwarting the pursuit of our dreams.

I’d like to share you 5 ways to break out of patterns of frustration and exhaustion empowering you to grab ahold of your destiny.

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As a parent, I get the opportunity to watch a lot of cartoons, so many of my analogies and thought processes are inspired by Disney and Nick Jr. For example, during the movie Frozen, Princess Anna and the trolls confidently declare “people really don’t change.” 

This song shares a sentiment embraced by many clients in the counseling process. I’ve often heard them say, “I can’t change, so why bother.” I can understand where they are coming from. Many have read books, created New Year’s resolutions and gone up for prayer. But the problem remains, leaving them feeling exhausted, desperate, and in many cases, hopeless.

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What goals are you stuck in or have stopped pursuing?

Is it because you don’t feel smart enough, good enough, or something along those lines? Good news - You don’t have to be the smartest in the room.  But, you do have to show up and keep showing up.

Even when things seem hard, even when they feel impossible.  Keep going.  Don't Stop. You don't have to take a giant step, one little step at a time gets you closer and closer. Paul says it like this, “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and hope.”

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Chances are, you’ve heard the phrase “practice makes perfect.” From sports to music, this mantra is continually being used as a means of motivation. Recently, I started poking around at the phrase questioning its power of inspiration.

What if practice doesn’t make perfect?  Think about, what is perfect? NO SLIP UPS. How is this even possible? 

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Today’s society prides individuals for their independence.  "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" is a mantra for many.  Like Frank Sinatra they belt out, “I did it my way.”  But is independence a quality to seek out and celebrate?

One of the first things God said to Adam is that it's not good for man to be alone.  Humankind was designed to be in relationship with others. We are truly better when we are together. 

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The neocortex essentially covers your brain. Like many other parts of your highly interconnected brain, it holds a variety of jobs. For instance, the neocortex assists with the priming process.

Priming refers to your brain’s sensitivity to your environment as a result of having experienced prior events. In other words, your brain is subconsciously primed by what happens all around you, every day. Just as what you believe and how you believe conditions your brain, how you start your day impacts every event that follows.

Priming trains your brain to focus on what matters.

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If you’re like most individuals, you grapple with how to shoo away daily distractions in order to get your stuff done. In fact, according to Psychology Today, “20 percent of people chronically avoid difficult tasks and deliberately look for distractions.”This means one-fifth of people struggle to get their stuff done.

What about you? What’s your daily task you put off? Is it a big report, preparing for a presentation, or even small, necessary things like getting to the grocery store?

 

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Every year Americans spend billions of dollars buying organic produce and foods.  The promise of the manufactures is a product free from pesticides, hormones, and toxins.  We pay a premium to eat “clean” foods.

By definition, organic means naturally occurring, derived from living matter. Organic food is treated differently than non-organic food. Not only is it free of toxins but it also does not contain anything man-made…it's natural.

We eat organically because who wants to eat pesticides and cancer-giving toxins?  Not me.

Every year Americans spend billions of dollars buying organic produce and foods.  The promise of the manufactures is a product free from pesticides, hormones, and toxins.  We pay a premium to eat “clean” foods.

 

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