The last few years our family has faced our fair share of death, tragedy and everything in between. During these hard seasons of life, it’s really easy to get sidetracked because the only thing we have time for is putting out the next fire. Trust me, I know.
But enough time spent only putting out fires can leave us drained to the point of not being effective in anything. It’s not that we need more things to do when life is already giving us a swift kick, It’s that we need to keep good habits so we can ride out the storm.
Tweet ThisEat Right
Eating right is so easy to give up on when life starts swirling the drain. Skip a meal here, eat fast food there, and pretty soon you feel worse than you did to start with. It takes more time and effort to eat well, especially considering the payoff isn’t going to be obvious. But it will be obvious when you’ve made poor choices in this area over a long period of time.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleeping well is also a tough one when life is giving you sucker punch after sucker punch. Anxious thoughts swirl in your head as you try to rest and you can’t quite make your mind shut up. However, if you can get to the point of true rest, your mind will be clear and your body will be fresh, and you’ll have a better perspective from which to tackle the day.
Exercise
I’ll be honest—when I’m in the middle of random chaos, this is the first thing to go because I can skip this and no one will be inconvenienced. But it’s stupid to stop exercising! The endorphin rush and a little extra blood and oxygen to the brain is key to clearer thinking and problem solving. Not only that, it just helps you not feel quite so helpless, even when life is giving you a black eye.
Inspirational Reading
It’s not only important to take care of your body, but you have to nourish your soul. Period. For me, inspirational reading consists of digging through the Bible, particularly Psalms. Think about what inspires you and the kind of messages you need to hear, and fill up your tank!
Prayer
I understand if prayer isn’t your thing, but I need to make that connection when I’m being tackled by life. The inner peace that follows can’t be replaced by anything else, just knowing our lives are in bigger hands.
Those are the habits I strive to keep, especially when life is careening out of control. Of course, when our days even out and become more ordinary, there are a heap of other healthy habits I try to add in to supercharge myself. But sometimes, it’s all about hanging on and doing the next right thing.
What habits do you keep to help you through life’s challenging seasons?
Sleep is number one for me. When I don’t get enough rest I’m useless.
Good sleep accomplishes so much, Karissa!