Dear Friends,

I have been pondering what happens to all of us when our spirit is dampen and deflated. We are such creative people and when our creativity is stifled we begin to fade. This lack of joy in our lives permeates throughout our being and our homes.

This morning I received two emails from friends who were suffering this kind of dis-ease in their lives. One of them feels stuck in his job and the other one has chosen to fling her job. It has taken her months to come to this decision. It is never easy to throw in the towel. We are such perfectionist and we don’t like to admit that something may not be right for us.

I have told them that it doesn’t matter if the job is lucrative. If you are not happy doing it then the price is too high. We have to start valuing ourselves in this equation. For when you find something you love doing it is not like work at all.

So the big question is how do we find what it is that will renew our spirit. There is no magic pill, but there are babysteps we can take to get us on the right path. One of the first things we have to do is quit whining.

I heard of a company once that introduced a NO WHINING rule for their employees. All whining does is spread  negativity. That negativity is contagious to all the employees. I have felt that whining is such a self-pitiful way of not dealing with a problem. It is akin to gossip for spreading discontent. Stop the whining and start dealing with the problem head-on and with a smile on your face.

Rita Davenport taught me to fake it till you make it. Part of this formula is to put a smile on your face and go through the motions. Wow “go through the motions” is nothing more than practice. This old saying has a new meaning. Sometimes you just have to write something down to get the feel of it. I love it when an epiphany happens in my fingertips. This is what we do with our routines every day.

We have been practicing one habit a month. The result of this one habit has been to develop a daily routine to help you operate on automatic pilot. One babystep at a time is all it takes. If we try to do too much too fast we will not learn the one habit we are trying to incorporate into our lives.

In our perfectionism we think if one habit will make life easier then a big long list is going to get me there faster. All this does is make us feel overwhelmed and this crushes our spirit and we feel defeated before we ever start. This is why I am continually telling you that you are not behind and to take babysteps.

Routines are built one habit at a time. This is no different from trying to learn a dance step, golf swing, bowling approach or a song on the piano. Once we learn one part and have that down pat; we can add another part.

Our routines give us the strength to face our day. They are not strait jackets but a framework on which to build ourselves up. Enjoy the process and allow your routines to renew your spirit on a continual basis.

I want to share with you the God Breeze that sparked this morning musing.

Are you ready to FLY with your routines blessing you each step of the way?

FlyLady

Hey FlyLady & Crew,

I just found a wonderful quote about routines that I’d love to pass along! I don’t know if you’ve heard it before, but I certainly haven’t. I have to admit I found it serendipitously (on my box of tea!) and not by countless hours of research of literary quotes about routines, but it’s more fun that way, isn’t it?

“What is it about my daily rituals? Why such pleasure in repetition? Well, it occurs to me that I might just be practicing… being me. Those cherished creaks in the old floorboards. The precise angle of the winter sun cheering my kitchen. Assembling ingredients for a dish I’ve made hundreds of times. A novel position my cats have adopted, lost in their midday dreams. Each nuance resonates with a kind of timeless wisdom, and I realize that it is these humble putterings— nothing fancier— that have allowed me, finally, to know myself.” —David Jacoby

Thank you for the peace you’ve shown I can bring to my home and my family when I practice routines and therefore get to know and love myself better every day.

Sincerely,

FlyBaby in Terre Haute, IN