The curse of the 're'

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus-Philippians 3:14

Hi everyone, 

Welcome to the month of March. Usually, there are little sightings of blossoms by this time. However, in the UK where I currently reside we are recovering from our recent battle with the snow. 

I'm sure some of you read this and felt I may be speaking about emails. Well not necessarily. Any of these words sound familiar to you-REenergise, REvive, REstore, REdo, REpeat, REawaken? If they do, keep reading. 

Last month, there was a week I didn't go to the gym as regularly as I do. I was scheduled to do a session for an hour that particular day but I was tired. I hadn't slept properly in two days and I felt justified in my decision. 

I got home and I felt I'd be pleased going home and resting but I hated it. In fact, I had been so used to working past my tiredness that sliding back didn't feel good (but I felt that I deserved a break). 

The month of January was an easy month to stay motivated and on top of things. I mean, it was a new month and a new year. However, once I made it past January, it was easy to slack and fall back to old habits. 

This is what got me thinking about what I call, ‘the curse of the re’. I only felt it was necessary to reenergise, start again, build momentum in January but for some reason it was hard to maintain for other months, or so I imagined. 

The prefix ‘re’  used at the beginning of these word simply means ‘again’. I agree that often times we need to redo or rebuild certain areas of our lives but what happens when this becomes a pattern? 

For example, we say we will commit to an activity but end up starting all over again every month. We may have good intentions but if this pattern becomes consistent, it means progress will be stifled.

The commitment I set for myself from the start of the year was to continue pushing past the pain and discomfort to ensure I reach my goals. I started and got into a routine but as I mentioned earlier I almost relaxed. 

In my opinion, pain is good. It can either inform you that something is wrong or confirm you’re doing the right thing (think about exercising at the gym).

So, my advice this month is:

Don't live in the 're’

Certainly, by no means give up on your goals 

and finally

Stick to your commitments and watch your growth, in whatever sphere of life, increase and blossom to its full potential.

With love,

Rubo 

There are no rules

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses (Joshua 1:3)

As I welcome the month of February, this is what keeps ringing in my head. 

See, I am a goodie-too-shoes. I do everything by the books. I rarely step out of line and whenever I have, the consequences that follow have been weighty. So I easily stick by the rules.

Yet I can’t seem to shake this sentence from my mind-‘there are no rules.’

I am familiar with this phrase, all thanks to social media, however it rings a sharp bell for me today.

My understanding of this phrase is: to remove limits and boundaries created by society or traditional laws. Truly I understood this phrase. However, I did not grasp the effect this phrase offered me personally.

About a week ago, my friend blurted this phrase out to me mid argument. We are currently working on a personal project of mine and I wanted to change something. No actually, I was asking if the suggested change could work. He had been polite with me up until this point but I think he had enough. With his eyes wide open, hands in my face (literally), he said ‘Ruth, there are no rules.’ I was stunned to say the least.

I know. I’ve said this phrase a few times in this post already but I want to drum it into your mind because truly there are no rules.

If there is one thing I learnt last year through my journey, it was that I am in control of whatever path I pursue. It is literally up to me to take the first step and the step after that and so on.

Therefore, as we slowly, but oh so surely progress into the year, remember-there are no rules. Create your own path. 

With love

Rubo