The three of us de-stressing.  Clearly, Rhett is not stressed.  Oh, to have a dog’s life.

Some days I wonder, how do I keep up with everything?  And how will I continue to keep up with everything once we add kids into the mix?  Between our 2 businesses, making time for our marriage, making time for friends and family, making time for church, dr’s appointments trying to combat this adult acne, exercise, remembering to take our dog out to pee, trying to implement our Sanity Guidelines, doing laundry, doing dishes, and this week taking care of a sick husband on top of celebrating both my mom’s and best friend’s birthday in the same week, while still trying to do laundry and do dishes, and oh yeah, all the extra stress of unexpected business things, and unexpected bills and trying to save for retirement, let alone future children, college, weddings…. ::That was my huge big deep breath you didn’t hear when I finished typing that::

Yet… somewhere in the midst of the chaos, there is peace… a peace that surpasses understanding knowing that I don’t have to figure it all out.  Knowing that there is Someone higher than me Who knows all the answers… If I didn’t have the choice to put my faith in Jesus, to put my worries, stress, hopes and dreams in His hands, I would truly have lost it by now trying to juggle it all, and probably fail miserably.

My Tips For De-Stressing:

1.  Make Time For Quiet Time

Just like our bodies need food to start the day, our inner selves need quiet time with the Lord to get the day going.  To start the day reading the Bible or a devotional, to recharge our batteries full of hope and trust and prayer putting our stress in His hands.

2.  Bubble baths

Every now and then, an old fashioned bubble bath with candles and spa music playing on your Pandora station will do wonders.

3.  Yoga

I haven’t done this in years, but I keep saying I want to get back into it.  Taking that hour to simply “be” did wonders for my stress levels.  And if you aren’t a yoga nerd, at least get a good run or workout in to burn off the stress.

4.  Eat Healthy

It’s when I’m eating nothing but crap that I feel my worst and feel the most stressed.

5.  Take Bike Rides.

Ok, in this Florida heat right now, it feels icky, but recently, the hubby and I have found such serenity in stepping away from our desk at the end of each day and opening up our garage to pull out our bikes and ride away from all the stress.  For that half hour, I look at my dog in my basket on my bike and think exactly what he’s thinking: “There’s nothing better than wind in the hair.”

6.  Laugh.

This is such an obvious one.  But I hope you have someone in your life who makes you laugh every single day.  For me, it’s my husband, dog and nightly reruns of Golden Girls as I try to fall asleep.  Whatever it takes, make sure you are feeding your sense of humor.

7.  Clean Your Desk/Kitchen/Bedroom.

Clutter in your surroundings only keeps your mind cluttered.  Clean your most visited areas and get rid of the unnecessary.  I have to frequently mark this as a To Do item on my calendar before the clutter overwhelms me more than it should be.

8.  Set Business Hours.

This has been our biggest lesson we’ve learned lately.  If you own your own business, you have to learn to run your business and not your business run you.

9.  Visit The Water.

For me here in Florida, visiting the beach is so refreshing for my soul.  When looking at how big the ocean is, it always reminds me how small my worries are, and that God has it all in control.  And if you can’t visit a beach, visit a lake.  If you can’t visit a lake, refer to tip #2.

10.  Unplug From Electronics.

As many followers as you might have on social media, it’s ok, they don’t need to know your every move.  They WILL survive without you.  Break up with them… at least for a day… or gulp, even a week. Go ahead, I dare you.  You’ll be surprised how this can help you de-stress, and how much more you can fill your life with than having your nose stuck in a magical brick.

Here’s me accomplishing #5.

Somehow over the years, email has consumed my life, and lately I’ve been taking steps to stop that.  The first step: clicking UNSUBSCRIBE from so much clutter.  I’ve literally been unsubscribing from almost every new email that hits my inbox unless it’s from a client or a personal friend.  Why do I need to see everyday from Bed Bath and Beyond that I have a 20% coupon waiting for me?  Whenever I get around to actually going to BB&B, I’ll look up my coupon then.  Why do I need to see everyday that Express is offering ANOTHER “spend so much, and get so much off” sale?  I try as much as possible to not spend money just to save money.  And if Pinterest sends me one more “Here’s some things you might like” email, when if I wanted to go see things I might like, I would just log in the first place… but I would prefer to keep my hours in the day off Pinterest unless I’m looking for a specific inspiration about something.  And industry related stuff.  I’m just plain tired of being trying to be sold to, so those emails are getting unsubscribed from.

It’s been exciting to see less email hit my inbox.  It’s almost like I can breathe again with all the less clutter to delete and consume my already overloaded congested brain.  Now if I could do the same for my snail mail and all the wasted paper and catalogs that go straight to the recycle bin.

What things in your inbox do you need to start unsubscribing from?  You know you’re long overdue to clear the clutter.

Below, Rhett definitely gets a little tired of me being so consumed in email, that’s for sure.

One thing I struggle with a lot is doubting myself.  Such as starting this new blog this week, the nervous part of my gut told me, “Oh gosh, does anyone still care about what I write, am I just wasting my time?”  At the same time, I’ve always considered myself a risk taker, yet those risks don’t come without their fair share of doubts.  With each new crazy idea I’ve tried to carry out, or get the guts to believe it just might succeed, I am instantly attacked by the all the “what ifs” attached.  What if I fail?  What if my prayer doesn’t get answered? What if I try and end up looking like a fool?  What if I’m not making the right decision?  What if?  What if?  What if?

Are you in that place where you are feeling in the depths of your heart that God is calling you to try something so extraordinary that you know it could only be Him calling you to do it?  Are you stopping yourself from moving forward because of the doubts that cloud your head?  Are you just darn afraid to take that risk?  That next step?  That challenge to spill your heart into the fear of the great unknown?

Here’s a few life lessons I’ve learned along the way that I hope can encourage you to move forward with doing the extraordinary.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. God calls the ordinary.  If all you are hearing in your ear is “Who am I to do something like that?”, then that is not God’s truth.  God says “You can” (Phil 4:13).  God says “I have called you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)  God says  “I have equipped you.” (Exodus 4:13-13-17)   God says “You are my child”. (3 John 1:4) God says “Be strong.”  (Joshua 1:9)
2. Sure you might fail, but you just might succeed.  One of the greatest gifts my dad left me before he left this earth, was the gift to overcome fears of failure.  I love to share the story of when I went to him with a crazy business idea, and explained to him all my fears of failure surrounding it.  And in his fatherly wisdom way, he simply responded “Sure… you might fail…. but you just might succeed.”  In that moment I suddenly realized I was actually more afraid of succeeding, not failure, because if I wanted to succeed so much, what was stopping me from moving toward that?
3. Get yourself a cheer squad.  I would not be the person I was today if it weren’t for my mom always reminding me to dream big, and that anything was possible.  I also wouldn’t have the confidence I have today without my husband constantly reminding me to look at the glass half full instead of the emptiness I naturally see and fight against everyday.  And I certainly wouldn’t be as strong in my faith, not only in God, but also in myself, to go after great risks without loving friends who surround me in prayer and a big YOU CAN DO IT turned to a celebration of WOO HOO when it actually happens.  I need my cheer squad.  I need to be able to lean on their faith in me when I am lacking faith in myself.  You need it too.  Who are 5 people you can reach out to to ask them to stand in the gap of your faith?
4. Replace the negative with positive.  So often the enemy (usually in the form of critics here on earth) tries to fill my head with negativity that have nothing to do with the path that God has me on.  Yet, the enemy is passionate about trying to steer me off that path… and he knows how to do it by attacking my thoughts first.  I once read a book by Joyce Meyer called “Battle of the Mind” that I highly recommend, and that’s the bottom line.  Our mind is a battlefield where spiritual warfare happens.  If Satan can get us to doubt in our thoughts, to dwell on negative lies, to stop reading God’s truth… then he WINS.  We must must must stay ingrained in God’s word so that we can counterbalance the negative thoughts that repeat in our head.
5. Live a life of “I did that!” instead of “What If?”  Though it might seem like a long time from now, picture your end days.  When you look back on your life, do you want to say “Wow, I had a fulfilling life,” or “Man, I regret not doing more of the things I always wanted to do.”  Choose to live a life that has more to list of things you experienced or accomplished rather than a regret list of things you wanted to do.  One thing I started recently was composing a list in my iPhone notes called “TO DO/DONE”.  In the TO DO section, I have a list of things I would still like to try.  It’s not always business related, it’s mostly personal.  It’s practical things to aim for like “Watch a drive-in movie” all the way to crazy big ideas like “Own a kangaroo.”  Then, I got started on my DONE list, and as I really thought more and more about all the cool things I have done in life, that list far exceeded my TO DO list.  On days I feel like my life is so boring, or I’m feeling down and not content or consumed with doubt, I like to look at my DONE list and realize, “I’m so glad I did that!” instead of always wondering “What if?”  I never imagined I would see the Sydney Opera House, or scuba dive, or stand on the top of the tallest mountain in Switzerland, or swam in a waterfall, or write a book, or hold a blue butterfly.  But I did.  They all started as a “what if” that I’m so glad I didn’t let doubt keep it as that.  What things need to be on your DONE list that you are letting “What if?” hold you back from accomplishing?

If you haven’t seen it yet, I have a page here on the blog dedicated to providing you inspirational quotes I love that I’ve designed to make it easy to grab and share and Pin!  Here’s an example one, with many more by clicking here!  I thought this one below goes along with today’s post perfectly!  Enjoy!