We’re completing one week of our 40-Day Journey to the New Year.  How are you feeling? Energized? Overwhelmed? Or somewhere in between?

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

It’s not easy to suddenly make a daily practice of reflection if that hasn’t been happening prior to now. Give yourself permission to do what you can. Some action is better than inaction. In fact, Isaac Newton determined the first law of motion as 

“an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, with the same direction and speed. Motion (or lack of motion) cannot change without an unbalanced force acting. If nothing is happening to you, and nothing does happen, you will never go anywhere. If you’re going in a specific direction, unless something happens to you, you will always go in that direction. Forever. “

You making an intentional choice to slow down, take time to consider your inner life and write down your thoughts represent that force acting upon you to change your direction. Look at the power you have over your life!

I believe we are given opportunities to change direction, to stay still, or to keep moving in the same direction as we have been, all by the hand of the Creator. The laws of physics exist within the parameters of His Creation. We get to choose how we interact with them.  These choices are gifts of agency or free will that allow us to grow, be equipped and thrive in the life we’ve been given.

Applying what we know is how change happens. Otherwise we have inertia. Nothing changes. 

I imagine the reason you chose to join me on this 40-day journey is you were already recognizing some ‘unbalanced force acting’ on you. You are somewhat aware of the need to let the old go and make room for new. 

Sometimes those “forces” come out of the blue. Being caught off guard can result in complete disorientation. I know. I’ve been there. 

Twelve years ago I turned 50. We had one son in college and the other in middle school. Menopause hit like a tidal wave, we lost our dog of 14 years, my Mom passed away after a two week illness, and then my Dad took his own life nine months after her death. 

Complete disorientation.

But God. 

To move from not knowing which way was up into being able to make one intentional choice at a time took a daily reorientation of my ‘head knowledge’ faith to an abiding deep trust that grew one application at a time. So when I share these three ways to thrive I want you to know they come with twelve years of application. 

1. Give yourself permission to think your thoughts; pushing them away for another time isn’t helpful long term. Moving to thriving is a long view proposition accomplished in baby steps.

2. Record your thoughts for later reflection. List them, narrate them, pray them. Whatever works for you; just capture them for later. You’ll be glad you did.

3. Incorporate a creative activity or a physical activity as you think your thoughts. We’ll talk more about this in the coming days but for now, just know that even coloring with colored pencils in a coloring book is a great way to engage your head, heart and body as you think.

Three simple ways to move to our goal to thrive. We’ll keep unpacking what we’ve carried thus far and make room for new actions as we go along this 40-Day journey. Remember each step is an invitation that you have the power to accept or reject. I invite you to choose wisely.

Action step: choose one of the three steps listed and commit to doing it at least three days in a row.