Day 317- Being Prepared
📖Daily Reading
2 Timothy 4
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
2 Timothy 4: 2
“Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”
Be prepared whether the time is favorable or not. There are things that are out of our control. When we are focused on being prepared, we likely have the ideal conditions in our mind of when preparation brings about an idea of a ‘perfect’ outcome. But there are many things that are out of our control. So waiting for perfect or ideal conditions can limit us. Preparation should include willingness to perform even when conditions are not ideal.
This is a really important distinction. Some of use spend immense amount of energy in getting prepared, but only for and if conditions are ideal. This I think misses the practicality of being prepared. When it is go time, it is time to go! You are ready, you have to trust yourself and your preparation. Many of us don’t and we miss amazing opportunities along the way waiting for the right conditions.
The other thing that occurred to me is that when being prepared effectively you have to know what your values and priorities are. Otherwise you try to be prepared for lots of things, which really is being prepared for nothing. We let others and life set our priorities which can be all over the place. Living from fear and other peoples values and priorities creates chaos and exhaustion. I know, been there done that, have the t-shirt!
This way of living has you developing coping strategies - preparation in reverse. Trying to prepared for the unexpected, living with lots of unknowns and surprises, trying to manage the chaos in the moment and then needing relief from this pressure. The interesting thing about this as I reflect back, was that I thought I had priorities and values, but because I picked a moving unpredictable targets to value and prioritize, I put myself behind the proverbial 8 ball. A lose lose, no way to win and therefor no way to prepare position.
When you live by uncontrollable, unpredictable standards and values, how can you be prepared. I was trying to prepare for everything, and ended up prepared for nothing. Scattered, defeated and yet simultaneously trying so very hard. Subconsciously I had a lot of limiting beliefs. I was passed on a lot of dysfunction from my family of origin, this is not meant to cast any aspersions on them, they were great people doing the best they could. They were also passed down lots of dysfunction and misguided beliefs and values. That is often how it works.
I also had a lot of chaos as a kid and I had to learn ways to survive and adopt beliefs to get my needs met. We all do this. Maslows hierarchy of needs shows us that if some of our basic needs don’t get met we can stay stuck and end up right where I was. What I thought were values were actually fears. I was trying to perform and get love and belonging and even some of my safety needs met through making sure I didn’t displease anyone. I learned as a kid that this was the way to get my needs met. Just lay low and keep and make everyone happy. I was the classic peacemaker and cheerleader in my family. I often even had to council and calm my parents down and step in and help raise my sisters at a very young age.
But you don’t know what you don’t know. I didn’t know there was anything abnormal about this, because it was completely normal to me. It was also behavior I watched many women in my family do, they suppressed their own needs, wants and desires for others. Many women are praised and encouraged with this type of behavior and rewarded with people being pleased and compliments about how nice, kind and sweet we are. But at what cost? When your identity is wrapped up in only being pleasing to others and people are often unpredictable and they are affected by others and their own circumstances,… How in the world can you ever be prepared for such a task? You can’t, and yet you keep trying… phrases like: hamster wheel, ground hogs day, chasing your own tail come to mind.
This is hell on earth, it is not loving, but because it is praised it feels like a pretty good counterfeit. It is our ego’s way of getting it’s needs met. But our true self and true heart longs for more. This is why the main message of the Bible is to detach from other humans in unhealthy ways and live only for your creator for love. Paradoxically, the more detached we can be from living for others approval the more attached we can be and the more we can actually love others well.
God is love, you were created in love, by love for love. This awareness and acceptance of this fact now has me reevaluating things. Setting new priorities and values based on what I was created for instead of only finding my meaning in value in other peoples opinions. Other peoples opinions are about as reliable as a cat’s mood.
People were made to judge, it is what we do, even if someone does all the things ‘right’, they will be still be judged. So lets stop the madness. Bring all of that scattered energy back to ourselves, look to our creator and what he has called us to do and work on being prepared for that! Take the pressure off of yourself to be anything to anyone and instead be all you can be for God and yourself and the rest will take care of itself. You will find your right people this way, you will feel aligned internally and you will be ready when opportunity knocks.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
What are you spending your energy being prepared for. Does this align with your values and priorities? Do you know what your values and priorities are? Are they really yours?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Titus 1-3
Coaching Opportunity
My inaugural OWN IT! For Good! group & 1:1 coaching is well underway and it is amazing. The participants are absolutely loving it and experiencing major aha's, break throughs and life changing mindset shifts. Please let me know if you are interested in experiencing this as well, I am considering kicking off another group in January of 2023. Let's make 2023 the year of YOU by laying a solid foundational mind set! The world needs what only you have to offer! Give yourself the best gift ever, the best version of you is ready to rise & shine!
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If you have stuck with me this far, then you are not reading this by accident, I believe God has a plan for you and is calling you forward!😉🤩
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