I get it. Not everyone likes to write. But, there’s no arguing that the more actively involved you are in any process of change, the more likely you are to be successful. Reading each post and completing the short term goals I’ve laid out very tangibly engages you in this 30 Day Challenge. But writing immerses you in your own unique journey. It will help you absorb more of what you experience here!
In the short term, hashing out your successes and your struggles on paper makes you more mindful. And mindfulness makes living well in the moment far more natural and satisfying. In the long term, keeping written records provides you with a history of learning about yourself, confirmation of what works for you and builds lasting character attributes necessary to maintain the change.
So, grab your pretty little journal and just the perfect pen (that’s how I like to do it) or simply pop open a Word document and prepare to WRITE!
While you can scribble your thoughts, ideas and inspirations as often as you like, I'll occasionally give you a writing topic to encourage you to remain focused on what this is really all about: Surrendering your personal wellness over to the One who created you as you give God all the glory for your already beautiful body. It’s easy to get lost in the dos and don’ts. But, what makes this challenge so different is our purposefully spiritual perspective.
You may also want to celebrate your successes by recording them! Record what you’ve learned tangibly works for you when it comes to eating clean. The more ACTIVE you are in this process, the more you’ll get out of it. And, remember, writing is one way to really remain MINDFUL and actively aware of your choices.
As you go, you’ll be able to look back at where you came from. I’ll let you in on a little secret: When we’re all done with the 30 days, your journal will become very useful to you! Yep, there will be follow-up. I wouldn’t want to leave a girlfriend hanging, you know!
Okay, here’s your first Writing Assignment: My wellness weakness and where my strength comes from.
We ALL have wellness weaknesses. It’s essential that we get in touch with our weaknesses, admit and ACCEPT them and regularly open ourselves up to asking God for help with them. After all, we are imperfect people with weaknesses and those weaknesses allow us the opportunity to look to HIM for help! So, yes, I am saying that your wellness weaknesses are unique opportunities to surrender to Him as you humbly asking Him to give you strength. God uses anything He can to bring you closer to Him, even a weakness in our flesh having to do with personal wellness.
To help you get started, I’ll name two of mine as examples of what I might write about:
- My own little spiral of self-sabotage: I love sweets…I experience a letdown of stress at the end of the day once my girls are asleep….but I still have some work to do….sweets offer an escape (you know, a way to avoid the work)….I am tired and vulnerable….I mindlessly eat sweets (occasionally in abundance!) You get where I’m going with this? Yep: emotional eating but only when it’s dark out! I don’t care if I am reaching for spinach (which I don’t because remember, I love sweets) because I am eating for all the wrong reasons.
- Instead of glorifying God, at times, I’ve made wellness my god. UGH. That’s the worst, most convicting thing to confess. It makes my stomach turn even entertaining this truth. But, because I love food and fitness, I have a tendency to want to think about it a lot and spend a lot of time in those areas of my life. For a long time, I tied them up in a neat little box, gave them a lot of care and attention (aka: obsession) and kept them from Christ. How horrible of me! He is the one that placed this passion in me and never intended for me to keep His gifts at an arm’s length from Him. In fact, we are to use our gifts and blessings to glorify His name and do His kingdom work! When I finally invited Him in, I was rewarded with contentment about my body, the ability to embrace my health and a different kind of professional perspective. Food and fitness finally felt right. I use my teaching of others and even my own training as opportunities to share His love. And that's precisely where the concept behind Happily Whole was born: out of my personal surrender and the professional passion He put in me.
Write these Bible verses at the top of your page: 2 Corinthians 12: 9-11
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Now, GO! Start scribbling about your own wellness weaknesses! Don’t hold back. He already knows them anyways. So, write them out loud and begin owning what you’ve been withholding.
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