Small Steps, Big Change

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Motherhood and life can be overwhelming.

We are all doing our best, figuring out how we can improve every day, in every area of our life. Sometimes after thinking about it, we are left feeling inadequate and exhausted. This has been me the past few days. I started the year strong, but as life just keeps going on, the overwhelmed feeling creeps in. It is nothing new, it’s happened before. However, there are times when it is harder to shake off the funk and keep on going.

Yesterday I read a post about how everyone (teachers, psychologists, therapists, pediatricians, marriage counselors, etc.) suggests that moms do or not do certain things, in order for their families to thrive and their homes to run smoothly. It is a juggling act that would leave the most experienced performer tired and wanting to just give up! 

I have been experiencing these feelings of being inadequate for a while now. It’s been a funk that I have allowed to last for far too long. I am ready to shake it off! I am sharing this, not as a complaint, but as an honest, raw truth, in hopes it will help you, if even in a small way.

I’ve been in this place where I see ALL the things I want to improve. ALL the things I want and need to do, the person I want to be, the life I want to build. It just looks like a giant that is going to eat me alive.

It seems so impossible to conquer it all at the same time that I just want to crawl back in bed.

As I’ve been in the middle of this mess that my husband shared with me a simple (not easy) nugget of truth that changed the way I want to take on life from now on:

It is not about making one big change in the direction you want to go, it is the small decisions that you make every day that will add up to big change over time.

It is that simple! I went “duh!” This is something I know. Yet it has taken me time to come to a place where I can finally take action. 

So here it is. I am putting it out there so there’s no excuse. Four small decisions that I will make every day (no excuses) to elicit big change over time.

  1. One intentional act of service (his love language) for my husband: I do many things around the house but this one I want him to know and feel that it is just for him, to communicate how much I love him.change[pinterest count=”horizontal”]
  2. One hour of undivided connection time with my boys every day: I will put my phone down and give them my undivided attention to play, read, color, or whatever their little hearts desire.   
  3. 30 mins.of exercise five times a week: I will not go to bed at night if I haven’t worked out for 30 minutes, five times a week. change
  4. 10 minutes each night, I will write down what I accomplished: Instead of focusing on all the things I didn’t accomplish on a certain day, I will focus on what I did accomplish. This will build my sense of purpose and stop me from feeling guilty for not doing it ALL.

There are many other areas that I want to improve, that need work and attention. For now I will focus on these four and incorporate more as I go.

What are three or four small decisions that if you make every day will add up to big changes you want to see in you life over time?

It is time to stop just letting life happen to us and start taking charge to build the life we want. Who is with me?

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Paulina
Paulina was born and raised in Mexico City. She married her husband, Bruce, in 2009 down in Mexico and at the begining of 2010 they moved to the States. Together they have 4 boys: Evan in Heaven, Ethan 6, Jason 5, and Jackson 3. They moved to the Coastal Bend 2.5 years ago to open Snowie Bus of Corpus Christi. They homeschool the kids and live a very laid back life. They dream of full-time traveling sometime in the not too distant future. Paulina has recently discovered a love of woodworking and kind of accidentally started Coy Woodworks. She also LOVES Netflix, sleeping, slow mornings, unbusy schedules, coffee, Audible, and being indoors! She is an introvert at heart and can spend days at a time at home with no need to go anywhere. The boys not much so she is always on the look out for fun activities and adventures!