🍁 It’s FINALLY Fall Y’all 🍁

Four principles for deeper fulfillment this fall

Just take a minute to look outside or be outside and think about how much beauty is in this world. Wherever you are just take stock of how much natural beauty is all around us and how good it is for us to be outside and in nature.

I don’t know your personal preference but, I feel the most connected and at peace when I am in a place with beautiful scenery. Specifically the mountains but, I know there are plenty of you that prefer the beach. Sand - Eww 🙄… Just Kidding! On a serious note, it seems to me that most of us work day in and day out to go home and “just get the chance to do nothing”. Have you said this to yourself? I know I have. As it turns out, I never feel any better after “just doing nothing” on a day off. When I binge shows, doom scroll, overeat, and sleep all day (essentially doing nothing) I never feel as fulfilled. But, after I exercise at the start of the day, spend time praying and reading, and spend intentional time engaged with my family, when I lay my head down that night I feel accomplished and fulfilled. The point is YOU can have this fulfillment too!

We can reach this fulfillment together if we start to shift our vision of “time off” and how we can change it to “purposeful rest”.

First, let me say, there is a time for just sitting down and being still. That is very useful and healthy but, we will talk about that at a later date.

What I think is unhealthy is dreading our everyday situation and trudging through our days and weeks just to escape at a later date. What if you could enjoy every day and be fulfilled by our daily achievements?

I believe this is everyday joy and fulfillment is attainable. I am currently working on it, aren’t we all? I have seen the positive impact this shift from “time off” to “purposeful rest” has on my life versus when I am trudging through the motions and longing for a long day of nothingness. Here are 4 principles to live by while making this perspective shift.

1. Vision: This is your anchor. When you aren’t sure what to do in a situation, ask “will this help me achieve my vision?” If not, don’t do it. This is simple but, not easy. We have to focus on our desired outcomes and vision for our life. To do this you have to set a vision for your life, sort of like a trajectory, and then work backward from the life you envision. Once you have a clear vision, you can start down the path of achieving it. Creating a vision can look different for everyone. One way I have found helpful is to close my eyes and just see what I want to be when I am older. Maybe this is 40 years from now, maybe this is 40 days from now. It is always subject to change. But, I have decided on what the ideal version of life looks like, for me at least. So take some time and establish a vision for yourself in whatever way works best for you. But invest in creating it because, without it, you have nowhere to go and work towards it.

2. Mindset: To reach the vision you have for yourself, you must set your mind and focus on achieving it. Now, this process is the journey or the path. That imagery is important because just like on a hiking trail, you set out on a journey/path to the top. That is where you struggle and huff and puff, that is where you take breaks and replenish nutrients. That is where your muscles grow stronger. That is where you fortify your mind and do not give up so that you can make it to the top. You remind yourself that you planned this and you have made it so far already and even though you’re weary and exhausted, you will not give up or give in. The journey is where all the memories are made. The mind is the final weapon, the defense, and the judge. The decisions you make along the way will impact your journey and dictate if you make it to the proverbial top.

3. Consistency Turns Into Habit: In order to fuse the vision and mindset together, you have to create daily, habitual practices. Small, consistent adjustments over time yield the strongest outcomes. Think of them as “daily non-negotiables”. Set a schedule for yourself and stick to it. Think of them as tiny promises that you keep to yourself. To build the life you want - you have to build one brick at a time. So these habits become promises in your mind and if you can’t keep the tiny promises to yourself, then how could you possibly expect anyone else to trust you with other promises? I have heard it said, “however you do one thing is how you do everything”. With this in mind, own every moment of your life. You can succeed in whatever you put your mind to but, you must do it consistently or you will never be able to reach your vision to its fullest.

4. Discipline: This is the number one factor that changed my life forever. I used to think that discipline only meant punishment. Has anyone else grown up with that definition? This is not the only part of the definition of the word though! Discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.” Let’s focus on the first half of the definition. Who’s rules and code of behavior are we obeying? If you have not set your own clear expectations and standards then how can you possibly be “disciplined”? This is why we must have that vision we spoke about. We set ourselves up for success when we can do little things with the most rigorous discipline. Even when we don’t feel like doing whatever it is - we do it anyway, we do it well, and with the same intensity as if we wanted to do it or we were passionate about it. The only way to the top of the mountain is one step at a time(besides helicopters and ski lifts). But, there are no shortcuts when it comes to our discipline.

Use these 4 principles going into fall and see how much you grow and how much more fulfillment you have by the end of the year. Don’t wait for the new year, get after it now. As always we develop ourselves for the service of others. Show yourself that you’re capable of more fulfillment using the 4 principles above and share it with someone. Tell them how to access this and have a conversation about it. We trick ourselves every day by insisting we have done enough, and need to sit down and just do nothing. We will have more energy, joy, and fulfillment through practicing these 4 principles every day instead of lazing around and wasting away on our devices. So get up and get after it! Thanks for sticking around this long and I hope this has added value to you in some way. If it has please share it with the people in your life!

Grace and Peace,

Clay