Consistency in Showing Up For Yourself
You show up each day that you have breath and wake, but what you’re choosing will design your life and your days.
I see people quite often wanting to make changes in their life. It could be anything from physical wellness to mindset mastery. Whatever it is, let’s assume that it’s been a problem area or pain point for that person for a while.
They arrive at the point of deciding to make some changes. They do a little research (or a lot), create a plan and go for it.
They continue the adjustments during the honeymoon phase of the change (about 2 days or so), but then something happens and they stop following the plan they made. **cue sad trombone**
The new way hasn’t been given enough of a chance to find its place in their life and they give up. Can you relate?
What happens is we get really excited, eager and committed in one mood and then BAM! Life. We put so much pressure on ourselves and expect miracles (in this way too quick of a fix-me-now world we live in), but the reality is that we have to remember that consistency and repetition are key when making changes.
We have to make it easy to choose the healthy and helpful option and harder to default to the unhelpful option.
When we want to make changes in our life, it doesn’t happen in the length of a 30 minute sitcom (22 minutes if you take out credits and commercials). Wouldn’t THAT be magical? The show starts with a problem and by the end of it, everything is resolved.
Unfortunately that isn’t how it works. Just like your problem area or pain point: it may not have been an issue on day 1 or day 30 but over time, the area of concern compounded due to repeated choosing of a particular behaviour or action. Consistency doesn’t discriminate; it works for healthy and unhealthy.
I’m always exploring what will set me up to feel my best. I have done some sort of personal development for at least two decades.
For the last handful of months, I’ve committed to being more intentional around taking care of my mindset and my physical body. Yes I know: Mindset Mastery Mentor over here is still trying to figure it out. It’s really because we are always upgrading or ’leveling up‘ as I like to say, so there is never a ’done‘ button.
What this looks like body-wise:
-Regular sleep schedule. 830pm to 430am. EVERY day. I have maintained a consistent sleep schedule from as far back as I can remember. Give or take a half an hour on either side of this, I’m good. Anything beyond that, I’m a hot mess. It’s not pretty. It’s bad. Real. Bad. I’m talking headaches, stomach upset, energy depletion, mental fog, nightmare-Heather-mode.[DC1] Not exaggerating.
-Physical Activity. Treadmill or walking around the block is a must. Movement and fresh air are so important. Our bodies love to and need to move. Of course, being aware of air quality, depending on where you live, is important too. Also? Garbage day in the summer is probably the worst day to go for a walk around the neighbourhood. This is the one acceptable excuse to keep it indoors.
-Nutrition and Hydration. Meals and snacks must be planned, especially for the entrepreneur or the person who is at home all day. It’s easy to lose track of time, miss a snack or meal and become a Nutrition-Lacking Zombie. Be prepared and set an alarm on your phone if you have to.
Now, let’s shift to mindset:
-20 minutes of reading, minimum. A timer is set; I read; timer goes off. Depending on how I feel, I may keep reading or stop, but nothing less than 20 minutes. One of my favourite things to do is book a morning off and spend time with my nose in a book. It is so soul-filling for me.
-Gratitude practice. I write down about a half a page of things I’m grateful for before I pick up my phone. Before I turn on my computer. Before I have breakfast. Before I check email. Before everything, except maybe 2 sips of coffee and kissing my love before he heads out to work in the morning.
-Future Telling. I write down about a half a page of things I’m calling into my life, by practicing gratitude around them as if they have already arrived. (Conscious Creation and Manifesting 101 — a course of mine you can take if you want to learn more 😉 shameless plug, thank you kindly)
-Thought check. As often as possible throughout my day, I’ll check in with my thoughts and see what I’m thinking about myself. Some days I’m like ‘wow, unstoppable super Goddess!’ Some days I’m like ‘whoa, check yourself girl.’
-Visualizing. Every night when I close my eyes, I visualize something I am calling into my life and I see myself in the scene.
I have done all of these practices on and off for years. I’ve tried them all in a variety of different ways and I finally feel like I have a system that works and I know how much time to spend in each of the areas.
Whatever you do consistently in your life is where you’ll see results, but the question becomes: what results are you desiring?
I find the following questions to be a helpful way of checking in:
Is this action, thought or focus supporting my goals, intentions or healthy habits?
What am I focused on right now?
Where am I spending energy?
Then I review my intentions & goals and I get a really quick reality check on what I need to adjust.
It is a regular reminder to check in with myself so that I know if I am nurturing or killing all the seeds that have been planted to grow something. We need to be clear about the something we are growing.
I want those somethings to be the ongoing positive shifts, a full and magical life and a life designed by me.
How about you? What ways do you consistently show up for yourself? Is there anything you’ve been consistently doing that you know you need to shift to be healthier or more helpful?
