Hello friends! In today’s episode, I’m going to share a handful of direct quotes and stories from our ARISErs. These are LearnDoBecome community members who are also part of our ARISE membership.
A couple of months ago, we asked this question: “What did you do this month to align your energy with your core values?” We wanted to help one another understand what it actually looks like when we make true progress towards the things that matter most.
If you’re new to LearnDoBecome, you might notice that we often speak about getting organized and creating systems for our lives, and yes, we love those kinds of things.
However, the purpose of getting organized isn’t just so we can “get more done.” We care about who we are becoming.
We hope that these words of inspiration from your fellow LearnDoBecome community members will lift your spirits today and help you to see that the simple, steady improvements you are making in your life can lead (and IS leading) to amazing progress!
Moment-by-Moment Alignment with Core Values:
I’ve been seeing things differently by just taking each moment and asking myself, “Does this align with my core values?” It’s amazing how much success and progress I’ve made toward living my authentic life in just this short time. Instead of all the big overwhelming projects or planning out a big lifestyle change or resolution, I’ve just been taking one day at a time and one moment at a time and deciding what I really, really, really, really want to do (what aligns with my core values and not what I think I “should” do or what society’s standards tell me I should want to do) I’ve found myself working less, spending more time with my family and being more present during that time. I’ve prioritized things that are truly important to me, and found myself letting go of things that are taking up time and distracting me from what I really care most about: my family.
The next 4 are about Weekly Reviews, because that was the topic during the month we asked for these responses. If you’d like to become an ARISEr, you can access this training inside the members’ area, but I hope you’ll also be able to get some simple tips you can implement right away by listening to these members’ stories!
Simplifying the Weekly Review
While listening to the ARISE Weekly Review playback a couple days ago, a lightbulb went on for me that where I keep getting stuck is on the processing part of the Weekly Review. I’m still finding this part hard to keep up with, especially with the digital incoming and all the incoming that I might want or don’t quite know what to do with – the excessive decision-making energy required is pretty overwhelming.
So instead of just trying to ‘force’ myself to try harder or getting upset that I can’t seem to ‘get’ this and giving up, I instead took a deep breath and recognized what parts of the weekly review I AM comfortable with (all the planning steps OTHER THAN the processing incoming part). So my new weekly review plan is to do the planning steps, plus I’ll do a quick 5 min check through emails/texts/in-basket/capture tool just to make sure I haven’t missed anything urgent that needs to go onto my Next Actions List or calendar. Everything else will now wait until my separate processing time which I have now created as a new routine.
This change IMMEDIATELY helped my shoulders feel lighter and I got that ‘lift’ thinking about doing my Weekly Review. My brain gets sidetracked easily, so now with less to think about in my Weekly Review, I know this will help me to stay more focused on my key goals/routines/to-dos for the week, and not get lost and feeling overwhelmed with ALL of the incoming [things] I need to process (which most are not urgent anyway) and the exhaustive amount of decision making energy I would need to process them AND do my planning.
I’ve felt stuck for a while, and I am honestly so excited and proud of this small but empowering change! …With the help of the ARISE call playback, I finally worked through and completed my very first Weekly Review start to finish WITHOUT GETTING SIDETRACKED!
Making Time for Things You Enjoy
Two of my core values are “order” and “personal growth and development.’ I try to engage with a project or theme related to something that I enjoy, or a personal project, each day; however, I usually put all my other to-dos first before I allow myself to do something enjoyable related to my theme for the day. As a result, I often don’t get to it, and I feel discouraged on top of that for not completing what I’d planned and looked forward to that day.
Yesterday, before I started working on the tasks that I needed to get done for someone or something else, I listened to the ARISE call recording on the Weekly Review. I can’t quite explain the difference this has made in my mental outlook. It gave me a whole new perspective on priorities. It also showed me that much (most) of what I think I have to get done can actually wait, and it’s not the end of the world if I’m not taking care of something I “have to” do before doing something I want to do. I realize acutely how fortunate I am to have all my basic needs met and am able to do this, but what I’m learning is that even if there are things that absolutely must get done, you can always make a little time to do something just for you, something that you can choose and have total control over to bring you joy. It’s hard to believe I’m just coming to learn this in a real way now…. It’s like a heavy weight has been lifted off, and like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz…I’ve had the ability to do it the whole time.
Using the Weekly Review to Ease the Pressure of a Deadline
After April taught us about doing a “Core” Weekly Review, I’ve been focusing on consistently doing just that much, and I’m thrilled with the results!!!! The biggest thing that happened was that the night before I was leaving on a trip, I actually was able to go to bed at a normal time!! This was HUGE for me because typically in the past, on the night before a trip, I have to stay up most of the night packing and finishing preparations. However, this time, because of doing a Weekly Review at the beginning of the week, I had identified what needed to be done for the trip and then listed each thing as a date-specific task to be done 2-3 days ahead of time. Then on the night before the trip, I was able to calmly go to bed instead of staying up all night frantically trying to get ready. It was wonderful to start the trip well rested instead of being exhausted!!
Celebrating Ourselves to Build Momentum
I’ve incorporated a boost to my Weekly Review! I write down 3 WINs as I reflect upon my prior week! Big or small, these are my WINs and they provide me with the encouragement I need to feel good about what I did and the momentum to keep going.
Using Our Energy to Bless Our Own Lives
I’ve put at the top of my Context-Based Next Actions List, “STEP! ARISE!” to remind me to look for new ways to use my time to bless my life. 🙂
Taking Important Next Steps
I looked at what I needed most, and I realized I need to work on myself so I can live more intentionally and provide to others from a more centered place, so I scheduled an appointment for therapy for myself that I’ve put off for 2 years and kept the appointment.
Assigning a Specific Time for “Hard Tasks”
I have a call I need to return that I am really dreading, but we want to wait until we get a little more information before making the call. These kinds of things stress me out, and I tend to ruminate on them over and over, which keeps me from being present. This time I decided to add it to my calendar for a week from now to make sure I have what I need and make the call. It was an amazing feeling to have this written down for another day, and didn’t make me feel like I needed to play it in my head over and over again. I honestly didn’t think such a simple thing would help but it totally did! I know I won’t like making the call, but now it doesn’t have to soak into my brain and life before it’s necessary.
Prioritizing Family with Deliberate Choices and Healthy Boundaries
Instead of working on more tasks from my Next Actions list after dinner (my normal temptation) I sat down with three of my kids and played a game.
I (also) set a boundary around my time. A friend was going to meet up with me in the morning but had to adjust her plans because another appointment materialized. I responded that I could meet up to a certain point in the early afternoon but wasn’t available after that. This is big for me because I usually do all kinds of creative scheduling gymnastics to accommodate other people even if it means inconveniencing myself or my family.
Adjusting Family Activities to Build More Connection
Had s’mores by the firepit with family instead of watching a movie last night. (We’ve fallen into the routine of summer nights watching movies, but I’ve wanted to do more game nights, puzzles, fireside chats etc…)
Prioritizing the Contentment that Comes with Self-Care
After last month’s ARISE discussion about self-care routines, I decided that at least once a week at the end of the day before going to bed, I’d allow myself to read a couple chapters in a novel (something I used to enjoy doing a lot when I was young, but rarely have done as a busy wife, mother, and homemaker). The night that I finished reading my first novel since starting this new routine, I felt a different kind of contentment when I went to bed than I’ve felt in a long time. (It was different from going to bed feeling content that I had accomplished my to-do list for the day.) It was a REALLY nice feeling!
Nurturing the Root of a Core Value
I am getting the dishwasher emptied before bed each night, so we can have a cleaner kitchen, so the family doesn’t have obstacles to healthy eating and meal prep. (Core value, taking care of our bodies and our health, and spending time together at mealtimes.)
And another ARISEr shared this:
Due to careful planning, I didn’t buy food the last couple days before vacation, and instead used up items from the fridge and freezer! Now I know that I won’t be returning to a fridge with anything moldy in it. (Core Values: Financial health, and a non-moldy fridge!)
Realizing the Power of the Microburst
I realized I was scrolling on my phone without purpose one evening (which can be a habit for me) and I intentionally decided to stop and instead spent 30 minutes decluttering a junk drawer. I’ve never been one to spend smaller pieces of time on tasks like this but usually wait until I have hours at one time to devote to it. This means it usually doesn’t get done. I’m so excited to make more consistent progress in smaller chunks of time!
Making the Time to Specify and Organize Next Actions
For the first time, I actually took tasks from my Current Projects and put them in my Context-Based Next Actions List! For the past couple of years, I just had too many things going on in my life to ever complete a project. Now I’ve cleared my calendar a bit, and I have space to breathe. My life is calm, and I’m excited to get some of these projects done!
Taking a Brave Step!
Applied for my dream job! The window they gave for the application was very short, so I spent a few hours on a Saturday redoing my resume–the format and page reduction. I sent it in with a cover letter and got asked to come in for an interview on Monday.
Another ARISER shared this:
I sat my husband down and we talked about our financial goals and how to achieve them. We had a long overdue discussion about our budget (or lack thereof) and we even tallied up our expenses of eating out and streaming services. We listed our top 4 projects for vacation/house and put years and budgets for each of them. This helps me focus on my spending and controlling what is in my control. It also helped my relationship with my husband.
Clearing Excess Items that Are Draining
I accepted that I will never read or reread many of the books I’ve been keeping. I value learning and growing so at first getting rid of these good books seemed wrong. I realized that seeing them every day was draining as they made me feel as though I was “failing” at reading and learning (even though I know I’m not). I’m donating a lot of them with hopes of getting rid of a 7′ tall bookcase.
Working Collaboratively with a Family Member
I value my family and making my home a place we like to be. We have so much stuff in our garage and basement. I have been working clearing it on my own but not progressing very much. After listening to April’s recent podcast saying she is very intentional about involving family in the work around the house, I decided to ask my husband to spend one hour with me working on a table in the garage. He did, and I learned a lot about what he keeps and why. He works hard to maintain our home and cars and keeps mostly what is needed to fix them. We put the extra auto parts in a box together. When we were done, trash/recycling was taken care of, and I was able to take the donations to a charity I like on my trip to get my groceries. In the past, donation boxes have sat around for a long time.
Congratulating Ourselves!
My sweet husband said, “Do you have an issue with declaring victory?” “Maybe…”
He said, “You have done so much! Gotten the rolltop desk out — cleared the room and closet, built two bookcases, reset the whole room for our house-guests — stop and say to yourself, ‘Good Job!’”
So here I am, doing that! I did a great job! Not all perfect and not all done, but heck yeah, GREAT JOB!
Protecting Personal Time
I am leaving work on time, instead of staying late, because I did a mind sweep and then the weekly review. I can end today, knowing that I have my priorities set for tomorrow and the next week. Hallelujah!
Establishing Healthy Habits
I have added exercise to my morning routine. I am in the least busy season of my job, so I wanted to see if I could add it. It is so much easier to get up and get it done. For the first time ever, I laid out my workout clothes the night before! I have always read this was a good idea, but I have never done it. Today was the second time! I am building a new habit that fits well with my value of taking care of my body. (And it has actually been fun!)
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A huge thank you to all of our ARISErs who shared their wins and gave us a peek into their lives. I can’t tell you how happy I feel when I read about our community members making real changes that will help them wake up excited and go to bed content.
Being part of a community who values this kind of success is a game changer, in my opinion. When the people around you only care about “visible success” – things that could be flaunted on social media, for example, it leaves us feeling depleted and frustrated when we don’t compare. But when we have a community around us that values true contentment, happy relationships, calming environments, and celebrating our successes around the things that WE uniquely care about the most, every day can be a “win.”
We love you all and appreciate the chance to be with you here at LearnDoBecome!
Related Links:
Our ARISE membership – an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 7-day trial here.
Want to learn about our STEP program and build your Command Central? Get started at LearnDoBecome.com/STEP
This episode was what I needed this morning (late January) where I can feel my big, new-year-motivated plans turning into a weight that I’m afraid I won’t be able to carry. So much encouragement here, but the one idea I’ve just put into place is “list 3 wins from my past week.” I absolutely don’t notice progress, and could use that encouragement regularly.
I just wrote that on a post-it where I will see it during my weekly review. I can do this as I take out my used calendar pages and can put the list on a post-it where I can see it during the upcoming week. I’m already excited!
So wise of you, Natalie! Noticing progress isn’t natural for me, either, but you’re so right–it makes a big difference! And I understand the new-year-motivated plans not turning out as expected. We’ve had one thing after the other around here, and I’ve barely started on my bigger goals, but I’m learning it’s okay! Goals are great to have–as something to look forward to and work toward, but if we need to make adjustments for our health/family/challenges that come up, that’s totally all right. Keep up the great work!