Why is it that we keep on making the same mistakes?
In the General Conference Book Club we are reading Elder Bednar’s talk “More Diligent and Concerned at Home”. A theme that was repeated in his talk was that: “what we know is not always reflected in what we do.” When he mentioned this he talked about “Expressing Love – and Show it”, “Bear Testimony – and Live it”, and “Be Consistent”. I found that it applied in so many other aspects of my life.
The idea of “what we know is not always reflected in what we do”, came up a couple of times today. I was getting the house “guest ready”, and was cleaning the bathroom. I thought to myself, I KNOW there is an easy way to keep the bathroom clean. Swish and Swipe! (a flylady term, that basically means that you wipe down your vanity and toilet every day, which takes a few minutes, and means it is always guest ready!) I KNOW this, but I do not DO IT!
The other time I thought about “what we know is not always reflected in what we do”, was when I was remembering back to an essay I wrote about planning. I had come up with a great system that suited me, yet I stopped using it for a while. I KNOW how to keep a planner, but I do not DO IT!
Why do we sabotage ourselves? Why do we regress? Why do we revert to doing things the “wrong” way when we KNOW there is a better way to DO IT.
I guess we are not super women, we have our weaknesses and we have our good days and bad days. How can we keep on top of things, so that we can most consistently be our best self?
I thought the following ideas may be useful:
Decide what areas you want to improve on and then prioritise the areas that need the urgent attention. Hey! You can’t change it all in one week. Although it is frustrating to not have everything the way you want it straight away, it isn’t realistic darling!
Take the time to make a plan, and share it with someone. Once again be realistic! No use making your goal so huge that you are setting yourself up for failure! Think small and achievable - trust me!
Review each night how you went. Celebrate the victories and take note of ways you can improve the next day. We do not take time to really take stock of the good things that happen during the day. We are quick to remember what went wrong, and won’t allow ourselves to focus on the good. We wouldn’t let our friends get away with that, why should we do it to ourselves?
Stick it out! We often slide out of the good habits, thinking it won’t make any difference. Then we eventually have to pay the price for those choices that we make.
Accept that it will take effort. Push through the hard times, with the thought that every good decision you make, will make it a bit easier in the long run. The habits that require sacrifice and effort are the hardest to establish, so help yourself out by putting up a visual reminder of what your goal or goals are.
Get your “self talk” on your side. Banish those negative thoughts that come into your head, by replacing it with something positive and encouraging. “You can do this!” “Just set the timer for 5 mins, and do it!” “You know you will feel better after you do it” “It will be so worth it” etc etc
Share your achievements. It’s great to share your journey with someone. You can have someone to be accountable to AND you have someone to cheer you on, encourage you and share you achievements with!
Do you have a good way to keep on track with goals? Do you want to share an area that you are working on, so we can be your support crew?
Photo taken with my cellphone: One of our keynote speakers Gary Stager (http://www.stager.org/bio.html). Excellent talk!
