More and more lately it has become relevant how much mastering the fundamentals helps in achieving our goals.
How does your family stay consistent in the fundamentals of life?
Think about the athlete who trains for the Olympics or even for the opportunity to play Major League Baseball. They practice fundamentals of the game consistently. The sprinter practices coming out of the box over and over. The shortstop takes ground balls constantly all the way up to the time of game. Minutes before the first pitch and you can see guys who have been playing ball for years, still working on the fundamentals of the game.
I think the habits we see from professional athletes can be carried over into so many different parts of our lives: parenting, our health, and certainly our wealth.
Kids demand consistency!
Think about it! Have you ever tried to get an extra errand done with a kid that is on a schedule! Whoa! Big mistake! We as parents have so many things on our plate and trying to force a kid off of their schedule even for a day will have major ripple effects in the way the house will be managed for the next 24-48 hours. Children need us to be consistent in the fundamentals of their scheduling, nap times, food times, etc.
I’m notorious around our household for trying to push one more thing in that could possible push the kids over the edge. Our children need me to be more focused on the fundamentals of their time schedules and helping them grow to be stronger.
What happens when your lifestyle loses focus on the fundamentals?
You know being healthy doesn’t have to be difficult. It becomes hard when stress and emotions take over our brains and we lose focus on the basics of what we need to do. It truly is a math game and what you consume you need to burn. Luckily, our bodies burn the fuel all day long and if we find a way to get some extra exercise in then we have increased our burn.
The mathematical aspect of weight loss really has helped me deal with the emotions of something so daunting as losing 100 plus pounds. A pound of fat is the equivalent to 3500 calories. So, if you want to lose a pound of week then burn 500 more calories each day than what you consume.
As long as we stay focused on the fundamentals of being healthy everything else is gravy, no pun intended. Yes, there are “smarter” calories than others, for instance, what is in Shakeology, is power packed with nutrients. But, really it is a math game especially for those of us with a lot of weight to lose.
Be consistent with your financial plan!
Basic fundamentals here include setting a budget, balancing your checkbook, and reviewing it frequently to determine if it is working! From a bankers standpoint, many of these things don’t happen in most houses on a regular basis. The people who can do these fundamentals things on a consistent basis will be very successful in achieving their dreams!
I don’t write these things to preach, but more as a reminder for me. I struggle on a daily basis with all three aspects. I know that consistently and dominating the fundamentals will lead to major successes. Yet, sometimes I find that emotions and stress get in the way.
How do you eliminate emotions and stress from your life to help you achieve your goals?
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I think it is a daily battle to reduce stress and emotional involvement in order to reach long-term goals. Otherwise, the short-term, more menial tasks get in the way and block our view of the true goals. I guess I have been learning to lean on my faith more. To trust God is in control and will ultimately help me do what my life mission is meant for sincerely helps. I’ll share a Bible verse that I just memorized last week for my small group study: Ephesians 6:10-11+ Build up your strength in union with the Lord by means of his mighty power. Put on all of the armor that God gives you so that you can stand against the Devil’s evil tricks. Put on truth as a belt and righteousness as a breastplate and as shoes, the readiness to share the Good News. Put on faith as a shield and salvation as a helmet and for a sword, the word of God, which the spirit gives you.
God gives us the tools- we just have to remember to look for them and use them.
I love that verse Rebecca! You are right! The tools are there, but we just have to remember to look for them and use them. Much like help is there in many regards: weight loss, addictions, debt problems…the tools are there, but we just have to use them. More often than not, if we had asked for God’s counsel we would find us in the problems that we have now. Thanks!