Did you know that being intentional takes work?
No I’m sure if you thought about it you would say of course it does, but all of us often forget that work is a present tense word, which means ongoing action. That means we have to keep doing it and keep focusing on being intentional. Yes eventually it may become a habit, but it may not.
What I have found is that things that are really important to us like our families, our marriages, our careers, self care, etc, rarely become habits that we no longer need to “work” at them. It is a constant thing we must do.
So how do we do that? Maybe it means putting things on a calendar so that they happen, which may be challenging if you are a spontaneous person, or setting a specific time each week to work on it like calling your mom weekly on Sundays, hint hint Jonathan and Elizabeth 😉 Maybe it’s taking the time to find a gym that offers red light therapy because you have learned you struggle with seasonal depression or are not getting any younger like the rest of us and want to rebuild collagen. Whatever it is, we have to first determine it’s worth our time and energy, then 2nd put forth the action or work to make it happen.
Even while being in an RV, I have to do the exact same things. So one of the things I learned early on about myself is that I need to have regular fun in my life or I go nuclear, think of internal combustion and total meltdown. That may mean going hiking in the mountains I love so much, or bigfoot searching because Kurt has decided he isn’t sure he wants to find one but it’s a good excuse for us all to get into the woods. Maybe that’s taking a ferry ride and taking the time to explore a new area, or just getting together with friends for game night. I learned I needed to have quarterly 3 day breakouts with scheduled time away. Mostly from the technology because of my electrical thing, but also from the constant demands of running multiple businesses.
Just like in these pictures, I love teaching and helping others and that energizes me, but it also takes time away from other things. So if I’m struggling with my focus, it’s usually a sign, not to reach for more caffeine, think squirrel on red bull bad combo for me, that I haven’t had some fun in a bit and need to get something on the schedule quickly before total meltdown.
You may not know this but I speak at events and conferences all over the country, even churches. So if you’re interested in having me speak to your group, don’t hesitate to reach out. The answer is always no to the question that is never asked.
Speaking of being intentional, it’s time for me to go take a much needed break, don’t worry, I’ll be back next week 😉 so until the next adventure!
