Do the Thing

I knew 2015 was going to be a year of growth for me, and so far I have not been wrong.  At the beginning of the year, we moved across the country.  I've often heard that changing one's everyday setting is a great way to change your habits.  Changing your everyday habits can (ok, WILL) lead to big change.  I'd also been going through a faith crisis and season of doubt.  Although I'd waded through tons of books, had some intense conversations, and decided to be open about all of this, I felt like I was sitting in it.  I may have even been wallowing in it.  Although faith journeys aren't exactly linear, I had a feeling that this year was going to be the year that I moved through it.

I also had these things I wanted to do that I just couldn't shake anymore:

• I wanted to write/blog
• I wanted to grow a photography business
• I wanted to be a better weightlifter
• I wanted to truly explore my life's purpose 
• I wanted to enjoy being a mom rather than survive being a mom

So the theme, "Do the Thing" seemed to pop up everywhere.  I have a pretty eclectic circle of friends.  Some are competitive athletes, pastors, ministers, entrepreneurs, and super-moms.  These folks are always focused on being better than yesterday.  Although they are pretty mixed group, they preach a similar mantra.

I used to think this just meant being consistent.  That's certainly part of it, but now I realize that (for me) it's so much more.  Here's what it means to me.




Be Yourself

I've heard this all my life, but until a few years ago I never really dug into this concept.  I came across Gretchen Rubin's blog.  She says one of the keys to happiness is to "Be Gretchen."  It just means to be yourself.  But why is this so hard?  She proposes that it's because you can choose what you do, but you can't really choose what you like to do.  I tend to agree.  I often get caught in the trap of liking the  idea of myself doing or accomplishing something, but when I'm honest with myself, I don't like doing it at all.  I could provide an embarrassingly long list of things I've put myself through that I didn't like.

I'll spare you the list, but I'll give you a couple of examples.  Last year, I went through a period where I decided I was going to be a competitive Crossfit athlete.  I knew I wasn't going to the games or anything, but I decided that darn it, I was going to train like I was.  Well, for the first time since starting Crossfit, I didn't enjoy it anymore. I had been struggling with motivation so I thought this was the cure.  I love the idea of myself competing, having an amazing body, and generally kicking ass, but finally I realized that wasn't me.  I still love Crossfit, but now that I don't think of myself as a competitive athlete (it sounds so silly now looking at the words!) I feel like there's more room in me to achieve the things I really want to do.  I like Crossfit again and I'm setting goals for myself.

I also decided I was going to learn to be an expert knitter.  I'd bought a couple of starter kits, watched youtube videos, and had great aspirations.  But I wanted to claw my eyes out every time I sat down to try.  I didn't enjoy it at all.  When I finally gave up, it was such a relief!

I could go on about things I've started and stopped, but hopefully you get the point.  I'm not saying you shouldn't do things that are difficult.  That's where growth happens.  Sometime you have to try something only to realize you hate it.  Most things that make you a better person aren't easy all the time.  I'm just saying life's a lot more fun and that I can probably accomplish a lot more doing something I enjoy rather than something I think I should enjoy.

You don't have to be an expert

This one was crippling for me.  I read a blog post by Jen Hatmaker the other day that dealt with writing and how she became a writer.  She said no one told her she should write.  She just had something to say and decided to say it.  That resonated with me.  I have never EVER though of myself as a writer, but all the time I feel like I have all these things to say, and I don't feel better until I get them out.  My husband is the writer.  Really, you should see some of the stuff he writes.  Insane, beautiful, (in my opinion) publish-worthy stuff.  I have no idea what I'm doing, but the thing is I will probably always feel like I don't know what I'm doing ; we are our own worst critics after all. So I just decided I wasn't going to let that mean voice hold me back anymore.

I can definitely apply the same concept to photography.   I had been dabbling in photography for 5 years, and never even though about offering it as a service because I thought I wasn't an expert, I wasn't good enough, or that I didn't go to school to be a photographer.  5 years!!!  But then I started realizing that a ton of photographers didn't receive "proper" training.  The only difference between them and me was that they were braver.  So I did it.  And a really funny thing happened.  Once I took a leap and started a photography business, I started learning so much.  Each session is better than the last.  It's crazy; I can look a photos I took during that 5 year period, and I can't see a ton of growth in my work.  However, when I look at my work as of late from one session to the next, the growth is exponential.

Just do it

Sometimes you gotta just do it.  Moving across the country was so scary!  We looked at it from every angle.  Then we just decided, you know what?  This may never make total sense on paper.  There is always going to be a reason why we should stay and reasons why we should go.  There's going to be a load of things we should do before we go. At some point, you've just got to move forward or else you'll be stuck, getting the same result, but wanting something different.

Be Consistent

Although I know this to be true, it's oh so hard.  I've heard America referred to as a "microwave" culture. We live in a world of 21-day-fix diets.  We want results in 30 days or we quit.  We don't have time to cook dinner.  We don't even have the patience for grocery shopping anymore (thank you Walmart to go!).  So though we know this, it's hard to be patient.  For me anyway.  I tend to think it's easier to "just do it" than to be consistent. I give up easily.  But I think once we've realized we've found that thing we have to do everyday, it's important to keep doing it.