“What’s the ONE thing you can do, that by doing it, everything will get easier or unnecessary?” (Gary Keller)
Hello Friend… Did you read that? ….Did you actually read it??
This quote lives on my fridge and sometimes I need to read it several times a day, so here it is again:
“What’s the ONE thing you can do, that by doing it, everything will get easier or unnecessary?”
In this quote, Gary Keller is actually talking about business goals, but if Mom-life is one of the most important jobs on the planet, why can’t this be asked about our homes & lives?
Why not use this to challenge the challenging and fix the broken systems we have accepted as normal?
Most moms I know wear survival mode like an old pair of jeans.
It feels normal, you *think* it stretches in all the right places, but the truth is, you actually hate that pair of jeans and you only wear it because it’s in your closet and it’s too exhausting to shop for another.
*Please* tell me I’m not the only one who has suffered from “I actually hate this, but I’m keeping it in my closet anyways” syndrome.
How much of life can be the same?
How many things do we just accept as normal, but if ONE thing about them were changed, everything else would be easier or unnecessary?
For Example:
What if ONE meal planning/food prep day per week, made suppers easier or daily cooking unnecessary?
What if ONE 20 minute tidy-up at the end of the day, made you breathe easier the next morning?
What if ONE day a week you bribe someone with pie to come over and help you organize your basement (I did this last Friday and had a BLAST with a friend of mine.)
What if ONE walk per day made you feel more calm, collected, and healthier?
Ok - - Blog lady. You just gave me 4 ONE things. That makes 4 things, and 4 things are hard, and now I feel overwhelmed and I have to go eat chocolate in my closet. Give me back my survival mode please and thank you.
Just hang on.
I’m also reading a book about mindset from Craig Groschel. His challenge is making my brain turn somersaults. In the first chapter, he asks:
“What false truths are you believing?”
I bucked this question pretty hard at first - congratulating myself on being a level-headed mom… and then I realized. I believe false truths ALL. THE. TIME.
A false truth can be as tiny as feeling stuck and seeing no way out.
How about thoughts like this:
I don’t have time for…
I will never have enough money to..
I can’t change my environment because…
My spouse will always…
My kids are always…
My family is always…
I can’t eat healthy because…
I can’t exercise because...
You know what each of those are?
False Truths.
They are only as true as you ALLOW them to be.
I, for one, don’t want to be controlled by a false truth.
What does this have to do with my coat closet and making my kids cry?
Basically everything
My kids like board games, and I like that they have them.
You know what I DON’T like? STORING them! Last time I checked, the closet real estate in my house was more valuable than that.
@Thebusytoddler shared a game storage idea months ago and I’ve been arguing with this false truth every since:
“But what about the box!” You can’t throw away the box! We NEED the box!
I know - it’s silly, but I’m telling you. I was hard-core believing that this storage solution wouldn’t work for me because I just loved those boxes.
Here’s the trouble: I don’t actually like them!!!
I was ARGUING for their existence, all the while not loving them.
I don’t actually love boxes… but I was believing the false truth that I had to have them.
And then we started crying...
In a different book I’m reading, it says that your children are more like us than unlike us.
The book was referring to their need for God’s grace, just like I need His grace, but sometimes I think they are more like us than unlike us in other ways too.
It was hilariously awful to see their reaction to this project. I didn’t give them weeks notice to mourn the loss of the boxes like I had. I just told them we were going for it.
I never expected my secret inward emotions of the past two weeks to be so blatantly displayed. There were tears, Anna started kissing the boxes, Chloe was holding and comforting one like a baby, Anna was an emotional mess, having to excuse herself to the other room to sprawl her broken heart on the recliner. Suddenly, every box was a precious gem.
We even had to save some boxes because it was *that* traumatic. I figured a few was better than all, so I let them pick some favorites (and some games need the box to hold the game board up)
Throughout the whole roller coaster, I was pretty annoyed, but they were simply acting the way that I felt for the past few weeks.
Because that's what false truths will do to you.
They distort your perspective on life.
They seem like the most important thing, but they will never serve you.
They will always take from you.
Will we like this game storage idea? Time will tell.
But you know what I will like? Getting rid of that pile of packaging AND
Not being ruled by a false truth.
So what false-truths are ruling you?
If it’s a game box addiction, here’s what I did:
Find yourself some see-through pouches- I got mine on Amazon. Before I ordered them, I took some quick measurements to see what sizes our games would require. I wanted to make sure I bought something that would serve me well.
Cut the top off of the box, (I used my rotary fabric cutter and it worked amazingly!)
Put the game contents in your pouch
Claim your closet real estate back like the warrior you are
Thank @thebusytoddler because it was her idea in the first place
Ask yourself what other false truths you are believing
Then ask:
“What’s the (next) ONE thing you can do, that by doing it, everything will get easier or unnecessary?”
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