The 3 Enemies of Becoming Your Best Self

 

What do distractions, discouragement, and entitlement have in common? They are all enemies of becoming your best self. They will do all that they can to keep you from reaching your goals and reaching your fullest potential. They want you to fall. They want you to be miserable. Do not fall victim to their traps and snares.

DISTRACTIONS

Becoming your best self requires work. It requires sacrifice, goal setting, and prioritizing. Distractions come in all shapes and sizes at any and all times. It can come in the form of a great series on Netflix, or procrastination disguised as a cheat day or a break. It can come in the form of holidays, birthdays, "family emergencies", and pretty much any other excuse we can imagine up for ourselves.

There will never come a time that everything is so perfectly in order that there is nothing there to distract us.[Tweet this]

Balance is important when working towards anything, but don't allow your need for balance to outweigh your need to work, stay focused, make decisions, and set priorities. Be diligent in the small and simple things, that if done daily will naturally get you where you want to go. As Joseph Fielding Smith taught, "Habits are easily formed. It is just as easy to form good habits as it is to form evil ones."

DISCOURAGEMENT

Discouragement says things like "You're not good enough" or "You can't do that." However, feelings of discouragement do not mean or make you incapable or unqualified. It causes us to second guess ourselves and start worrying about problems and situations we will most likely never face. If feelings of discouragement start to sneak up on you have the courage to keep moving forward just one step and one day at a time. As you take a step forward in faith, you'll find your footing on new hope. That hope can be enough motivation to once again take another step forward in faith until the very things that once discouraged you become the very things that motivate you instead.

ENTITLEMENT

Feelings of entitlement cause us to think we can get something without working for it. It inflates our egos and justifies our laziness. We should never feel entitled to anything we haven't sweat and struggled for. We cannot reap before we sow. Any farmer who adopted that belief would starve once winter came along. Maynard Webb said, "With sports, there's no entitlement on the field. It's about numbers. It's about results. It's about outcomes."

Everything worth having and worth keeping requires work and effort. [Tweet this]

When we allow ourselves to feel entitled, we don't only miss out on the end result, we also miss out on the person and experiences that will grow us along the way. A willingness to work and a grateful heart is necessary to combat the enemy of entitlement.

Be armed to combat distractions, discouragement, and entitlement by developing good habits, having the courage to move forward one step at a time, and maintaining an attitude of gratitude as you put forth the effort to become your best self. What is your line of defense against these enemies?

 

7 Benefits of Keeping a Journal

 

Journaling is so much more than having a diary to tell all your secrets to. When used porperly it can improve productivity, keep you more organized, and greatly enhance your life. Here are just 7 ways you could benefit from keeping a daily journal.

Journaling is much more than having a diary to tell all your secrets to. [Tweet this]

 

1) IT'S THERAPEUTIC

This is probably the most obvious reason you'd think someone would keep a journal. You've probably heard at least one story of how someone was able to change their life around or overcome an addiction after they followed the advice to start keeping a journal. Whether you are upset or frustrated or just have a lot on your mind, writing it down is a great way to let things out or let things go. It is also an excellent way to get to know yourself.

Journaling is  away to have a relationship with your mind. [Tweet this]

2) MAKES ROOM FOR MORE THOUGHTS

Do you ever have so much on your mind that you get overwhelmed and paralyzed into inaction? When you dump all of your thoughts out onto paper it is amazing how quickly your mind will relax. In that state, the mind is ready to start welcoming new ideas and information.

Journaling makes room for more thoughts. [Tweet this]

3) GOALS AND GOAL SETTING

A journal is the perfect place to write down your goals. Use it to also write down the progress you are making on those goals. Doing this keeps you accountable. It is also  a way to see what's working and what's not. When you find yourself beating yourself up because you aren't seeing results in your goals, your written record may sometimes reveal that you are a lot further along than you are giving yourself credit for.

A goal isn't a goal until it's written down. [Tweet this]

4) HELPS YOU THINK THINGS THROUGH

Believe it or not, writing down thoughts or ideas allows you to see a more detailed picture. Writing it down makes it more real, and once something is real it can be more readily looked at from different angles. Problems, ideas, solutions, and insights start popping up the moment you start writing your thoughts down.

Journaling helps you think things through. [Tweet this]

 

 

5) PAPER NEVER FORGETS

No matter how good your memory is, you probably won't remember everything. Write down your story while it's fresh. Journaling preserves the feelings you had while going through the mundane and most significant times of your life. It's amazing the treasures that are found in going back to read past entries.

No matter how good your memory is, you probably won't remember everything. [Tweet this]

6) INCREASED GRATITUDE

Journaling can keep you grateful. A great habit when writing is to ask yourself. "What experiences have I had today that I am grateful for?" When you take the time to reflect it is hard not to see the blessings in your life.

Journaling can keep you grateful. [Tweet this]

7) A FAMILY LEGACY

A journal is a record that can be passed on to generations. It is sad when a person dies and with them so many memories and life lessons. Leaving behind a personal record or journal allows families and future generations to come to know where they came from and continue to learn from you for generations to come.

Leave a legacy, keep a journal. [Tweet this]

 How would journaling benefit your life?

3 Ways Trials Strengthen Us

Life is not meant to be perfect. It is a time for experience and a time for progression.At times, it is necessary for us to go through sorrow so that we can delight in the joys that the fullness of life has to offer. Pain teaches and protects us. Just as we must push our muscles to their breaking points to strengthen them, so must we also endure trials and set backs that seem to break us in order to be strengthened as individuals.

Had I not faced and endured the trials in my life, I would not have realized the strength I continue to discover I have within me. Here are 3 ways my trials have strengthened me. More importantly, here are 3 ways you can find strength in whatever trials you may be currently facing.

1) THE ABILITY TO OVERCOME FEARS

When our backs are up against a wall it's incredible what we are able to overcome and achieve. Suddenly the very things we thought we were too afraid to do become necessary. We find ourselves doing things we feared because we have to and the illusion of fear disappears.

"There is no illusion greater than fear."-Lao Tzu

2) EXPERIENCING A PARADIGM SHIFT

A paradigm shift occurs when there is a fundamental change in the way we see and approach things. It makes perfect sense that a person would describe the onset of adversity as having their world turned upside down.

Trials force us to see things differently and from a different perspective. [Tweet this]

Our empathy for those going through similar situations increase and we find unlikely friendships with them.

When one of my brothers was diagnosed with a special needs my family had to learn whatever was necessary to best care for him. We had to research for the best organizations to help him learn and develop, know how to protect and prepare him for looks and questions and sometimes teasing from those who wouldn't understand. We learned what kinds of resources were lacking and the unique monetary costs that would be faced through out his life. We found support groups and made new life long friends. We experienced a major paradigm shift. These paradigm shifts we experience in trials strengthen us by broadening our perspective of the world around us.

3) INCREASED CAPACITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Because  of the paradigm shift that happens as we face and endure the adversity in our trials we can more easily recognize the pain and set backs of those going through similar trials. Our love for them increases. And because we've been there before under similar circumstances we have a better idea of how to offer comfort and support. In my church, the Relief Society, a women's organization, sign up to make meals for families for at least the first week after a new baby is born to help ease the burden of adjusting to life with a new infant. These women do this because many of them know preparing meals during those busy and sleepless beginnings is not always a priority but still a necessity.

Our increased capacity to recognize service opportunities and actually having an idea of how to offer comfort, to me, is the greatest badge of honor we can forever wear and utilize because we face trials.

There may be battle scars, but knowing we can bless others as a result of enduring hard things makes it all worth it.  [Tweet this]

In the wise words of Sai Baba, "No joy can equal the joy of serving others."

In what ways are you stronger because of your trials? How are you more capable to serve because of your past trials?