surviving to thriving

 

I’m writing for 31 days about my journey to get it together. Simply put, to stop surviving and start thriving.

Have you ever watched a duck glide seamlessly across the top of a lake? There appears to be little effort, they glide with ease and speed. But, if you were to take a look just below the surface, you would see just how much work they are doing to simply maneuver from point A to point B.

I often feel that way, like I have it all together on the surface, but inside I am a real mess. Spread so thin, that I’m not able to give anything of real substance to anyone in my life. Just enough to show up, be there, go through the motions, but not enough to invest, not enough to dig deeper.

Here’s the difference between myself and the ducks. They’re going somewhere. They know that little effort won’t get them anywhere, but big effort yields great reward. They point themselves in the direction they are headed and go. For too long, I’ve felt like I run in circles all day, only to end the day in the same exact place.

But, what if I changed all of that? What would that look like for my life? For my children? For my home? For my marriage? For my friendships?

What would it be like if I decided to stop simply surviving, and start thriving? That was the question I kept asking myself over and over.

I read book after book. Seriously, there is a stack a mile high. It’s easy to keep a steady stream of information flowing into our minds, but the problem with this fast paced world is, we don’t really think about or apply what we are learning. We just nod in agreement and move on to the next thing.

For me, I was always eager to create this life with a ton of structure, fingerprint-free windows, and plenty of margin for things I love, and I wanted to create it overnight. I would often get the itch to clean the entire house on Sunday evening, wash all of the clothes, pack all of the bags, plan all of the meals, but by the middle of the week, it was if I couldn’t keep it all in my grasp, and things would go right back to the way they started.

Or I’d finally have enough of that disorganized hall closet, pull everything out during naptime and place it all back inside with perfect order. Only to open the same door a week or month down the road and find it a wreck, once again.

It was my own version of organized chaos. It looked organized to everyone else, but it was all surface. If you dug a little deeper, opened that closet door, looked under the couch, peeked inside our morning routine, it would be pure chaos. Purchasing gifts on the way to a party, constantly late, it was like a constant cycle of frustration.

And the toughest part about just surviving, was the stark contrast it had to the way I pictured things in my head. I wanted so much more than this mess, so much more than half-way playing with my kids while I tried to fold a load of laundry.

I read this book  and it really put things into motion for me (more on that later), and I created a series of worksheets in an effort to put my thoughts on paper, to hold myself more accountable, to break down barriers.

I changed it all. From the way I plan, to the way I cook dinner. From my closet, to the cabinet under the kitchen sink. From the way I schedule my days, to the way I play with my children.

It’s still a work in progress, but it’s a forward progression as I figure out things that don’t work and establish order within our life.

Over the next 31 days, this series is going to dig deep, and I’m going to do something I don’t love, be vulnerable. Believe me, I wouldn’t put it all out there if I didn’t think it could work for someone else.

Grab a pencil, and come back tomorrow. We’re talking about everyones favorite thing… excuses.