71 Days...

There are only 71 more days left in 2018.  

In those 71 days you will have the opportunity to participate in some or all of the following activities and celebrations: 🎃Halloween, 🍂Fall Festivals, Family outings, 🦃Thanksgiving, 🎁Christmas shopping, family time (good or bad), 🎄Christmas parties, 🍪cookie swaps, Christmas cooking, Christmas Extravaganzas, Christmas performances, church services, 🎆New Year’s celebrations, and finally ringing in 2019.  All of that in 71 days. 

No wonder we can start to feel overwhelmed before we even start.  BUT there are still 71 days left in 2018 so…what are YOU going to do with your 71 days? 

Is there something you wanted to accomplish in 2018 that you haven’t yet accomplished?  Good news, you have 71 days to refocus, reset, readjust, and tackle that thing.  Do you have a goal that you set but you haven’t quite obtained? Keep going…You have 71 days to reach it.  Have you accomplished something awesome in 2018?  Have you put in the work, the time, the effort, the sweat and you’ve seen results?  If so, enjoy it, embrace it, and keep pressing into it – don’t stop now with only 71 days to go.  The old saying is true – if you don’t use it, you will lose it!  Don’t lose what you’ve gained by stopping now. Finish 2018 strong and better than you started…that is possible!  Even if today is your Day 1 - get started!

Isn’t it easy to look ahead into the holidays and think one or two or ALL of the following and get derailed?  The holidays are always hard for me to stay on track with anything! Housekeeping, exercise, time management.  The holidays are exhausting and so busy.  I always gain weight at the end of the year so since that’s what I “always” do - I’ll just plan to do that again.  I’m just so tired…I’ll do (whatever that thing is that I don't want to do) tomorrow.  I know that all the holiday food is going to trip me up so I’m just going to indulge and I will get back on track in January. You can’t have (fill in whatever event happens for you here in the next 3 months) without eating (your favorite thing that makes that holiday that holiday).  Everything gets so busy during the holidays…so there is no way that I can get in a workout or a little bit of “me” time.  I’m just going to take a break and I’ll get back at it in 2019. 

It can be easy to decide with the busyness on the horizon to go ahead and write off the next 71 days as DONE or just push PAUSE.  

We decide to put on hold, to pause, or push off any goals, dreams, or plans into the new year because there’s only 71 more days and January is a good time for a “fresh” start.  But by doing this we rob ourselves of 71 FULL days.  71 days is almost 20% of a year – or 1/5 – or 1 of the digits on your hand 🖐🏼 (I know we have 4 fingers and a thumb – that’s why I didn’t say fingers, but I’m trying to make a point) Look at your thumb 👍🏼…if you just decided not to use it because you’ve been using your other 4 fingers and you can just use it later that would be so dumb!  Yet, this often happens with our habits, dreams, and goals these last 71 days of the year.  We know that days can pass quickly when we aren’t intentional about what we want to do or accomplish in them.  Here’s the challenge with some of the thoughts above – notice the words – always, can’t, no way – those are some powerful, definitive words…AND 71 days is a LOT of days! 

Can we get tripped up?  Yes!  Will we get tripped up?  Maybe.  Is it the end of the world if we do?  Nope.  Can we find “me” time without guilt? Yes.  If we are intentional about it.   Since we do know some of what the next 71 days will hold we need to set some goals, make some reasonable plans, and give ourselves some grace...it is going to be busy, we will be tired, days will be full, there will be temptations, there will be some set backs BUT there will also be some successes.

We have 71 FULL days left in 2018 to take control of and to use for GOOD – for us, for our families, and for others.  

So what are you going to do with your 71 days?  You get to choose. We all do!