One Day or Day One: Taking The First Step

Today's episode is inspired by a note I found in my journal I wrote in a few years ago, "one day or day one." This topic discusses taking that first step in reaching your goals. We'll cover  the importance of shifting your mindset to achieve goals, what it looks like to start small, focusing on what matters, and changing attitudes towards work. I also share personal experiences and encourages listeners to take the first step towards their dreams, despite challenges and doubts.

Connect with me as you journey on in your mindset transformation! Now offering life coaching as a service, click the link below to get schedule a call with me.

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I'm excited to connect with you! Remember, you can do hard things!
"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me"- Philippians 4:13

*Affiliated with Painting Miracles, INC & Certified Life Coach through the I-A.M System

Transcript

0:05

Hey friend, welcome to the restored mind podcast, where we are going to be talking about various life topics surrounding mindset transformations. These topics are coming from a faith lens and will propel you into a life of peace and joy. My name is Caroline, wife, mom of three, daughter of the one true king. Host of this podcast and certified light coach through the I am system by Painting Vehicles Incorporations. My hope is that this podcast brings God's light into your life and you break free from the chains that are holding you back. Friend, it is time to shift your mindset into one that will help you flourish. Ready? Let's go.. Hello and welcome to the restored mind podcast. My friend, how are you doing today? I'm excited to have you here. If you are a new listener, welcome to the restored mind family. I don't know how you guide here or what prompt you to click on this episode, but I'm pumped that you're here because my hope is that you find today's episode encouraging and inspiring to you. And not only that, but that. You see, God's light in your life at the restored mind podcast? What we do here is we are working on mindset transformation. That comes from a faith lens. Why? Because I believe that we're all searching for a life that is filled with peace and joy. If you are returning listener. Thank you. My friend, that you are making the choice to come back and just hang out with me, at least for the next couple of minutes. And I missed you. I'm excited that you're here. I am excited that I get to talk to you last week, we talked about procrastination and I shared with you in that episode. My thoughts on why procrastinating might be something you often find yourself doing and the effects of delaying work. And then finally sharing with you ways that you can work on overcoming this. If you find that this is something that is very relatable to you, I would highly recommend that you take a listen to that episode. And I hope that it helps you this week. We are going to talk about. Taking that first step in overcoming your challenges and how we can lead you to be one step closer to your goals. We all have dreams of being successful. Right. I don't know anyone that ever grows up hoping to fail at life. I've never heard anyone say, I hope that I fail at this. Goal that I've set for myself or that I have this ambition and I hope that I fail at reaching it. I don't know anyone that says that. The hope that we have with our ambitions and goals that we've set for ourself. So we're able to reach them with success and that. Could be defined. However you see success. but because we don't ever say that we want to feel that life. What we do face though, are the challenges that becomes mindset barriers. So today I'm going to share my thoughts on why it's easier to dream that, to put in the work ways that you can take that first step. And of course, I always leave you with encouraging words and hope that it inspires you not only to move forward in your journey alone, but invite. God into that space and allow him to transform you from the inside out. And that my friend is where true peace and joy comes from. So I was looking at my notes the other day that I had written down in a journal years ago when I first started my fitness journey and I came across one that says one day or day one, Which inspired this episode. And if you are in my Facebook group, then Monday's post was also inspired by this particular note that I wrote. If you're not in my Facebook group, I don't know what you're doing. Why have you not joined me over there? If you are interested, my friend to have encouragement, on your Facebook feed throughout the week I would highly recommend that you look at the show notes and tap on that link so that you can join in on the Facebook group and that community, the only thing I request of you is that you answer those three questions. but the reason why I ask these questions is so that I can better serve you as a life coach. And also as someone who is just really enjoying. This podcasting world. I am not a professional by any means. I just love what I get to do and, share my love of the Lord with you and hopes that you, my friend Are also inspired to build your relationship with our father. So, yes, I was in my journal and I came across that quote that said one day or day one. Can't remember where I found it, but it was on Instagram as I was scrolling. And that is something that really. Made me realize that it was easier for me to dream up of these things that I wanted to achieve than for me to actually go through them. So yes, that inspired this episode. And during this time, when I came across this particular quote, I was still grieving over so much. The loss of an unborn baby, my marriage was struggling. And I was more lost than ever. And the one thing that kept coming to my thoughts. Where. Me not feeling confident in myself anymore. So I started working out and I thought that if I could change my outward appearance, I would somehow heal the internal struggles that I was going through. I was seeking physical changes and only cared about that. I only cared about the physical changes. Because I was lacking in confidence in my idea of confidence was that if I could look. Gorgeous on the outside, then I would feel better on the inside. It was also during this season that I noticed how my confidence relied on other people's approval of me and. If you want an in depth conversation on confidence, I have a couple episodes already published. The most recent one is titled embracing confidence. The power of assurance, where I shift the perspective of not putting confidence in yourself, but in God. And that is where you draw confidence from another one is called the confidence you want. It is an older episode, but it is still a good one because I share with you in that episode, the difference in worldly and faith, confidence and how that can change your life. I do highly recommend taking a listen to one or the other, or even both. They're really good, but I am really biased when I say that. So if you take a listen to it, let me know what you think. Take the conversation beyond the podcast. Reach out to me on my Instagram or all my Facebook page. All of that information to contact me on my social media is listed in the show notes below. So. Connect with me. I would love to come alongside you and see how these mindset barriers that you break are going to change the way that you are a spouse or that you mother or whatever it is that you're. On the journey of doing. So, yes, I came across this note one day or day one. And thought that it would make an interesting topic of discussion today.'cause how many of us stay stuck on a dream and feel like we could quote never, you can't see me, but I'm doing these air quotations. Like Joey does. If you are a friends fan, then you know, that reference. But yes. How many of us feel like we could never do something like that? And when I say the word that that is to represent whatever goal or ambition that you have, whatever dream you have. And a lot of us think to ourselves that we can't do this thing or that we see the bigger picture, we see the end results. And yet we still think that we are going to fail at this And so we don't typically know at this time, if we can even reach the goal right., No matter what ambition you have a dream of going after, we let our lack of knowledge. Or lack of skills or supplies and finances, stop us from reaching that goal. We think that we have to have everything all at once in order to prepare ourselves to reach this goal when it's so easy to just start. Think about a dream that you've had and how you were once excited. To start working towards this particular goal because the end results would be so satisfying to get to. The work you imagine putting yourself in my front is typically not the kind of work. You have to go through in real life. Think about it. When you are in this one day phase as I call it right, you're dreaming up. Of this dream and you see the end goal. And you know that there's going to be some challenges along the way. But what you think up inside your head is not nearly as hard as what you're going to go through in real life. Why. Because in our head, we make things up. It's not going to be as bad as what we think it's going to be like. But in reality, we're actually confronted with the challenges that lie ahead of us. And it's harder to work through reality than it is to dream up of a situation. and that's why I say that the work that you imagine. Putting in is typically not the kind of work that you have to go through in real life. And so you don't take into account the actual hard things that you're going to go through. But as I always say, you can do hard things So, what do you do in this situation? You often think of the best possible scenarios with the least amount of resistance when you are in the one day phase. The best possible scenarios usually comes to mind. We might weigh the risk reward and decide that this is worth pursuing, but we're not going to sit and soak on the worst possible scenarios because you're. Dreaming up of this dream, right. You're excited to get to this goal and to have the success that you want for yourself. So how can you. Move from just one day, two day one taking the first step. Well, there's a couple of things you can do, but I would highly recommend to start small. Yes. The dream is big. But sometimes when we make big movements with a big dream, it can be calm, a chore for us. Y. Because if you are not already living in that lifestyle, adding things that are already not a habit. It takes time to adjust to James clear talks about this in his book called atomic habits. If you have not read that book yet, I highly recommend you reading that book. I love how he breaks down. The habit stacking idea that he has. and he has a couple of, researches in the book that he includes the kind of backs, this idea up. But it makes sense. It totally makes sense. Especially if you want to build a sustainable lifestyle to achieve that dream. This is also where you can audit your habits and make decisions on what habits you want to improve on. So instead of changing everything all at once, we'll take fitness, for example, because it's one. That I often resort to in the examples that I give throughout my episodes, but I think it's one that a lot of us can relate to when we are talking about wellness as a whole. So if you are on a fitness journey or on a wellness journey and you want to have a better eating habit. When you go and audit your behavior and everything that's involving there. Right? So the things that you're drinking, the things that you're eating. And it's not something that you typically reach for. It's not going to last as long. It's not sustainable because then you don't find enjoyment in the process. So break it down into smaller manageable pieces. if you are trying to eat healthier, you are probably thinking that you need to have this fat free, low carb diet. And you know, you're starting to cut out all of the sweets and all of the things that you like. To eat. Right. All the things that you enjoy. But if you haven't built up the tolerance to go without sweets or to be on the healthier eating habits, in a sense of like swapping foods out. For something that would be alternatively healthier. Then starting out with changing everything. It's not going to be sustainable for you. the question that would be most helpful in this situation is to ask, how long is this going to last? Is this. A one or two week thing, or do I want to make this into a lifestyle? And as you answer that question, my hope is that it would guide and move you in a way that would help you build. Better habits, smaller habits that create bigger wins so that you can move forward and creating this new lifestyle for you. It would also make sense to incorporate these newer habits. Into your daily routine, as you began to process fading out the old habits and yes, it's not going to be perfect. It's going to be hard. You're probably going to find that you revert back to your old habits because. Old habits are hard to break. New habits are hard to implement. Finding that compromise is going to be the most sustainable way for you to make this habit change, become a lifestyle. This is helpful when you are taking a step towards a dream that you have. Remember, we're talking about starting small here. So not only are you working on habits. But you're also working on breaking down your dreams into smaller, more manageable goals. So what are you doing in your life today? That is going to get you one step closer to reaching that goal. If it is taking the first step. And sitting down and drafting up a name for your business, my friend, let it be that and focus on that everything else is going to fall into place. As you begin to take the first step. Another thing that you can do and taking the first step is to focus on what matters. Right? Stop fixating on the things that you don't have and start asking yourself forward, moving thoughts, provoking questions. So if you are wanting to work out right, you want to lift weights, but you don't necessarily have free weights at the house. And you don't necessarily have the finances to go and join a gym What can you do at the house that can help you until you have these things set up for yourself? So, one thing that comes to mind would probably be body weight workouts using your body weight These things are going to get your blood flowing, your heart pumping, and it's still going to give you a good workout. Until you are ready to go and invest in weights or go into the gym. Ask yourself. Forward moving thoughts, provoking questions. How can I then fill in the blank? What can I do to, and then fill in the blank. These are questions that I love to ask myself personally. Because they are the questions that are the hardest to answer. But also the most. Fulfilling once to answer because it doesn't require me to just sit and think about it, but to also be hands-on with this as well. And the thing is you may not have all the things that you need at the moment, but what do you already have that. Can be helpful in the meantime, When you focus on what matters, so you don't have to know everything all at once. You just simply don't, but you do have to be willing to go through hard things and learn along the way so that you can adapt. To whatever the situation is without losing sight of what this dream is. And. Sometimes. We can't stop ourselves because we lacked knowledge or skills in something we're not qualified to pursue this goal or have this type of success that we want. But I truly believe that we can't know everything. And the best way to actually learn is on the job. I don't know about you, but I am a hands on learner. I visually see things and I have to learn by tinkering with it, so to speak so that I can know how this thing functions or how this thing works. Right. And so when I started this podcast, my friend, I had no idea what I was doing. I am so grateful for a friend who helped me along the way, but as far as like setting up and things like. Workflow. I didn't know how to do any of that. And it was just through trial and error. Where everything started to make sense. So please do not be discouraged on whatever ambition you have, whatever goal you have. Do not be discouraged because you lack knowledge in something. When it came to my fitness journey, I had no idea what I was doing. I was looking at YouTube videos to help me understand form and movement for a particular exercise that I didn't really know how to do. I was. Reaching out to coaches who could help me in the nutrition department, because I want to do heal my journey with food. I didn't want to be afraid. To enjoy a meal. Because what is life without food? Right. We need food to nourish our flesh body. Just like, we need the word of God to nourish our spiritual self. And so it is something that. You have to be willing to admit that you don't know what you're doing and be willing to learn. The one thing that I often ask myself is. Am I teachable and coachable. If I am teachable, then I'm open to being corrected. If I'm coachable, then I'm open. To making changes in my life that is going to better me for the goal that I have. And so I propose the same question to you. My friend in this season, are you coachable? And are you teachable? so, yes, you don't have to know everything and you can learn along the way. There is nothing wrong with that. We're going to make mistakes. Anyway, as someone who might be an expert in our field, even an expert does not know everything. And so I would say that you are an expert in your own personal life. And as you look at your life, you're going to see that you've made mistakes along the way, but guess what? You've overcome already. And you're going to overcome the challenges that you face when it comes to reaching your dreams and your goals.. Another thing that you can do to take that first step to go from one day to day one is to shift the idea that work has to be dreadful. Yes, it's hard, but it does not have to be miserable. It does not have to be dreadful. From the beginning of man's creation. Man has been put to work. What was Adam's task. A lot of us probably would answer that question with he named the animals. Right. My kids. They always bring that up. Adam named all the animals and yes, he did. But in Genesis scripture tells us that the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. This is in Genesis chapter two, verse 15, and I'm reading from the English standard version. So, what does that mean? Right. We know what it means to work. It means to put in effort to do something towards a task. But what does it mean to keep. What I have found in my reflection of this is that. When you are keeping something, you are responsible for it, you are to preserve it. So Adam's job was to put forth effort into. Maintaining the garden. And also preserving the garden and being responsible for it. So all in all your dream or the goals that you have needs work, but. You're also responsible for preserving it. Preserving that dream. Knowing your why remembering your, why? The work that you do can feel so mundane day after day, trust me, I don't always feel like going into my garage to work out, especially now that. It is getting warmer. I am from the south living in North Carolina currently. And the humidity out here can get really humid. Okay. It can feel thick and heavy some days. And I don't have to exert myself a lot for my body to start sweating and becoming uncomfortable. And yes, I work out in my garage, so I don't have a fan and there's not an AC unit in there. So whatever breeze the good Lord decides to blow. And to the garage is the praise that I'm getting for that moment. It can become very discouraging to step out in the hot garage and work out and it can become very mundane thinking, oh my gosh, I have to do this again. And you don't want to because we like excitement. We are distracted by excitement. That's why certain videos on YouTube or entertaining to us. That's why certain. Dramas, if you are into Korean dramas, or if you're into certain TV shows, those are interesting to us because it serves as a distraction. It's entertaining to us. We don't typically like to do the same things over and over and over again. Or even eat the same things over and over and over again. Right. But these are the things that are going to help preserve your goal is to remember your why so that when you're showing up day after day to do what seems like the same work, you're not dreading it. You don't have a negative mindset towards it. So the work that you do does not have to be dreadful. Your attitude is going to determine. Terman your outlook, which in terms is going to affect your mindset. The words that you say to yourself about the work ahead of you is going to matter. I used to dread Mondays, especially as a college student. And I. Did not like Monday. So I just assumed that all Mondays would just be bad Mondays from here on out, because that meant there was a start of a new week. I have to get back into a routine And that was how I perceived it. So my mindset towards Monday, my attitude. Towards the Monday was already negative to begin with a lot of us. Walk through life. Despising Mondays all because we have to show up for work that feels mundane. So if that's you, if you are someone, my friend who has a negative outlook on Mondays, you despise it. You dread it. My friend, I would encourage you to shift that perspective. Shift that perspective into something positive, You're showing up to work on a Monday, just like you would Tuesday through Friday. Generally speaking. I know that there are jobs out there where you're not typically working a, what would be considered normal work week or hours. But generally speaking, There are certain things that you do in a routine, and that can become one data. You can dread it. But the outlook that you have shifting that perspective of dreading that one thing is going to change your attitude. And that's not to say that you have to go into work, skipping and hopping at. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying, if you can find something to be grateful for. On the day that you disliked the most. We're using Monday as an example here, if you can find something to be grateful for in that day. It's going to dramatically increase the way that you look at that particular situation, that particular day. And so, yes, your work does not have to be dreadful. Your attitude will determine your outlook. Which is going to determine your mindset, which is also going to determine the way that you move. Your mindset plays a big role when you are frustrated or facing challenges. Life outside of your goals will impact you. And it's going to. Probably cause more of a struggle than what you anticipated. Like we talked about earlier in this episode. It's how you proceed though. My friend, during this time, that's going to make the biggest difference in your journey. So, yes, taking that first step is hard because. Maybe doubt, fear. The. Lack of knowledge, skills, whatever it is is what's stopping you from moving forward. Maybe you think that you don't deserve this for whatever reason is what's stopping you from taking that first step. You'd have to ask yourself, are you going to be in that one day phase where you're just talking about it. It's so much easier to dream up these things. Say these things, set your goals, write them down. And get stuck in that phase of just dreaming and talking about it, or are you going to move past one day? And pick day one. No matter what you choose. My friend, you are going to have challenges that come your way. And yes, these challenges are different. And they're hard. But my friend. You get to choose your hard. And yes, I know it's hard, no matter what decision you make, but my friend, you can do hard things. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen in on this episode. I meant what I said. You can do hard things, so don't let the daily challenges stop you from reaching your greatest potential. If you are ready to take the next step in your journey and are finding that you are in need of help and would like someone to keep you accountable, call I would love to offer you my life coaching services. Click on the link in the show notes to get started there. You will also find links to my social media pages where you're able to connect with me as well. My friends, I look forward to speaking with you again next week here on the restored mind podcast. Go in peace.