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How Many Boxes Are You Operating In?

At the Healthy Woman Dinner this past week, we were blessed with wisdom from Dr. Pat Love. One of the things she touched on was how difficult it is for women to find balance in their lives. The culprit: Multi-Tasking.

I was thinking about how unfocused I get because of multi-tasking. I will be here typing out this newsletter and in the middle, the microwave goes off and I hear the squeals of children anxious for their food, go to get the food out and then realize there are dirty dishes in the sink. Start doing the dishes, then the dryer buzzer goes off. Go to take out the laundry, but see the dog needs water. Get water and then the phone rings. The newsletter ends up not getting done because of all the distractions!

The problem with this is we end up doing things halfway, half hearted and without excellence and as a result, things are left incomplete, unfinished and our goals are never met.

So it made me think, what areas am I most successful in and what areas need help? The areas I give 110% and complete focus are the ones I am successful in. It was a wake up call in that I have to do that in everything I do. I must make priorities and tackle things one at a time and not let distractions get into the way. Distractions can not only hurt us mentally and spiritually, but physically too. Think about when you are driving and your cell phone rings, or you reach for something, or try to drink or eat something. Immediately, your focus is gone and you are operating in many boxes and this can get you killed.

Jesus tell us to fix our eyes on Him. The enemy wants to distract us and keep us from our goals. This is why in Tae Bo®, when I have my students punch my mitts, I tell them to look right into my eyes, not at the mitts. The mitts distract you so I can whop you in the head! When we take our eyes off the goal, then the enemy can hurt us.

Dr. Love was talking about how if you examine a male's brain, they have boxes that do not connect. When they are in their work box, they are focused on their work, when they are in their eating box, they are focused on what they are eating, when they are in there.....well...I will let you guess what I was going to say....LOL! They don't get distracted as easily as we do. They also have a "nothing" box which women do not seem to have. They can literally think about nothing. So when we ask them, "what are you thinking about?" and they say, "nothing", they mean it! LOL! Hard for women to comprehend, but because they can do that, they are able to distress, relax and get to sleep easier at night, unlike many women who try to sleep with many things swarming in their heads.

Now, because this is Fit By Faith, let's focus on our get into shape/exercise box. How many of you truly give 110% to this and do not let anything distract you from it? This is easy to answer.

Do you feel like you never get close to your weight loss goal?

Do you not see any positive changes in your fitness goals and in your body?

Do you always seem to put exercise or find excuses not to come?

Do you come to workout, but think about other things while you workout, don't push yourself or quit easily, or avoid going to advanced classes?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you are not in your get into shape/workout box, giving 110%, and staying focused on your goals. You probably get frustrated coming to the gym all the time and not seeing results. You probably leave more stressed than you were coming in. You may also be the type that can never seem to find a gym or workout program that you like or want to stick to.

It all comes down to, "How bad do you want this?" I say that a lot in my classes when I watch people workout. I can read people like a book by watching how they "go through the fire" during hard workouts. How much they give of themselves while working out. I can see when they have zoned out and are not really putting much into it. And what I also find is that how they handle things in their workout, shows how they handle things in other areas of their lives. Do they press on and give with all their heart, or do they skimp by and quit easily when things get tough.

So think about what box you are operating in this week. Dr. Love said to write 3 things to accomplish each day on a post it or notebook. Make your goal to finish those 3 things and not worry about finishing anything else. I do hope one of those 3 things will be getting your exercise done or something related to your health. It should be top priority! I want to see each of you reach your goals, feel better, have more energy, just be happier in general, but you have to do your part!

I am committing to create a "nothing box" (I managed to have one for an entire 15 seconds, progress!) and to stay in one box at a time so I can be excellent in everything I do and I pray you will do the same!