Category: Motivation

Don’t Squat in the Rise!

We watched as the mountain of chocolate slowly began to rise. This was going to be the Best. Cake. Ever! Then what to our wondering eyes did happen? Our cake started sinking and was suddenly mishapen!

There are several reasons why cakes squat in the rise. But, why, here on the pages of this health & fitness, overcoming in life blog are we talking about cake?!

Because, I have discovered, there’s an interesting analogy between life and cake. They both are made up of many ingredients and can be quite sweet, but they can also fall flat and be a quite a disappointment.

A quick Google search provides 7 reasons why cakes squat in the rise:

  1. Baking too slowly
  2. Over-mixing or under-mixing the batter
  3. Under-baking
  4. Batter is too moist or too dry
  5. Cake is moved during the baking process
  6. The oven door is opened during the baking process
  7. Too much baking powder or baking soda

We’ll start our analogy with the baking too slowly  proposition.  According to the website Cilantro: The Cook’s Shop if the oven temperature is too low or there has not been the proper pre-heating time, a cake will fall.

Likewise, in life, if we jump into everything that is going without any forethought (pre-heating), our life will begin to fall apart. God never intended for us to try and run in 50 directions at a time.

We stick that thing in the oven and take off! Someone gets something new; we want one too. Someone starts a new diet; we’ll try that one too! (never mind that we didn’t finish the first program we started). Their kid just got a new….; gotta get mine one too!  SQUIRREL!!!

There’s no preheating, thus our life does not cook evenly; it’ll be hard around the edges, sunken in the middle, and full of cracks. When the oven is not pre-heated correctly, the process starts at the wrong temperature and things don’t gel as they should. Our decisions need a pre-heating time, or in the words of the scriptures, we should consider the cost; think about it.

Before you buy that new thing, start that new fad diet, or join this or that, W.A.I.T.  Here’s three helpful things to do to pre-heat your next great idea:

  1. Sleep on it! If it’s a purchase, leave the store or change the channel. Seriously tell yourself that, tomorrow, if the need/desire is still there as strongly as it was, then you’ll reconsider. Most likely, it won’t be.
  2. Ask questions.  If it’s a new “diet” ask yourself some real questions. Why have the other diets failed? More than likely it’s because they are not realistic or sustainable, or worse, totally not good for you. Ask yourself: Is this something I can do forever? A real lifestyle change?  If not, it’s a fad. If, however, it is healthy, not unrealistically restrictive, promise drastic results in a few days, you see others maintaining long term, and you’re ready to commit, go for it.
  3. Talk it through with a trusted friend.  Have them go with you to the store; tell them about your idea. Proverbs 15:22 says plans fail for lack of counsel. If they are for you, they’ll tell you the truth. Naturally, weigh their opinion with prayer.

Ordinarily Speaking…

“When’s it going to happen for me?!”

It’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t happen the way we wanted them to or as fast as we wanted. Social media shows us everyone’s success, their vacations, their friendships, the new…whatever, and often it seems that our ordinary, little life just doesn’t stack up.

I posit that, if you are doing what you do, no matter how ordinary it seemingly is or unnoticed though it may be, if you are doing it with your whole heart as unto the Lord and not unto man, being faithful in the small things, then it IS “happening for you.” See Matthew 25

Check this out from a devotional on YouVersion:  “God isn’t asking you to be famous; God’s asking you to be faithful…BEFORE any great acts, AFTER any great acts, or WITHOUT any great acts… Faithfulness is a marathon not a sprint” (The Blessing of the Ordinary Devotional).

What may seem ordinary to us can become extra-ordinary when we recognize Who it is we are “working” for.  There’s a destination better than Cabo San Lucas, better than Puerto Vallarta, better than _____ fill in the blank.  Be faithful in the little (ordinary) things, and you WILL be ruler over much.

How can you be more faithful today, right where you are in that thing you do called life?

Feel free to comment. Sometimes just putting it out there helps. I will respond.

Living Life to the Fullest: Part Three

Review: A full life is a grateful life. Start each day by being grateful on purpose, and also make sure you take care of you. If we go full steam without refueling, we will fizzle out, and we won’t be able to do the next step…

Step 3: Do something for someone else

(Your Kingdom come; your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)

Again, you may wonder where that is in the Lord’s Prayer. After I pray God’s will to be done in my life, I then begin praying for his will to be done in others’ lives – for him to fix my people, help with needs, turn things around for them. This is the place where I pray for everyone in my life; I pray for the country and leaders etc…

Hence, the step – doing something for others.

  • People often think it’s “how can I make my life better.” While we do, indeed, strive to better ourselves, one of the greatest ways to live life to the fullest is to give of yourself to others. People need to know they are appreciated, that they matter, and you can be the one that does that for someone. By doing this, you also begin to feel better. It can be as simple as calling someone that you haven’t talked to in a while. People do still call, I believe, right? If they have a smart phone, text or video message them. Don’t forget, our elderly friends and family may still need a phone call. Simply ask how they are doing, then let them talk, and truly listen.

 

  • Stop and help a person get their stuff into their trunk at the grocery if they are struggling. Smile and look the person in the eye that you meet in the aisle or on the sidewalk. It amazes me how people can walk, looking straight ahead as you pass right by them. I always try to catch the eye of the person I’m passing and simply, smile. If you look for something to give or do for another, opportunity will avail itself; you’ll bless someone, and you will feel fuller, yet lighter.

ACTION:  Look around you right now. What do you see that you can do for someone in your immediate family?  Take a moment and think about the people in your circle; who has been having a hard time financially, physically, mentally? Write down at least 3 people that you know you could brighten their day or lighten their load, and write down what you will do.

Person I can do something for.                                  What I will do.

 

Living Life to the Fullest: Step Two

Step Two: Take Care of You

(Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)

Where is “taking care of you” in the Lord’s Prayer, you may ask. When praying for God’s will to be done – the next part of the prayer – we should first pray for his will to be done in our own lives. Isn’t that kind of selfish, you may ask again?

Consider this: if our own lives are out of whack, how then can we help others?  For 30 years I have followed the Lord’s Prayer in my prayer time, first taking time to thank him and recognize his goodness in my life. Then, I pray for his will to be done in my life – to fix me – to forgive me – because, if I have something wrong in my life, whether it be with another person or between me and God, we are directed in scripture to first make that right, then He will hear us and we can proceed with confidence.

Therefore, give yourself permission to take care of you daily on your journey to living life to the fullest. For instance, every day take time for you in two areas in particular: your mind/spirit and body.

  • Every day we need to be doing some sort of personal development: reading books (or listening to them) on a topic in which you need improvement. Start with Darren Hardy’s Compound Effect. Don’t be thrown by the title; it’s not a financial book. It examines the compound effect of the little things we do in life daily and their “compound effect” over time. This is my all-time favorite. My next favorite is Punch Fear in the Face by Jon Acuff. If these books don’t stir you, you spoon has fallen out of your bowl.
  • Every day do something for your physical body. Stretch, walk, swim, workout. A friend of mine was battling an arthritis flare that lasted 3 months and she could barely walk. She joined one of my online challenge groups in which I sent one exercise per day via our Facebook private group. She could not get out of bed or off the couch at times, but she moved her arms in the manner of the video, or she would move her legs in repetition, and she would bend forward at her waist. When I lived in Texas, it would be so hot there was no way I was going to go run outside. Instead, I set the timer for 10 minutes and trotted all around my house doing a figure 8 as I jogged to the front of the house, into the office, back out and around the bar in the kitchen. Sometimes I’d jog up the stairs and in and out of the rooms! (this was before I discovered 10 Minute Trainer) Do what you can, where you are, but do something for your body. My mentor, Darren Hardy says:
  • Your body is a business. Take care of it or it will go out of business.
  • Today, remove one unhealthy thing from your kitchen. Throw it away and decide what one healthy thing you can replace it with. For instance, Oreo cookies. Yes, give yourself permission to toss them! It’s the best 3 bucks you have ever wasted, and don’t give them to the grandkids; remember, you’re taking care of you so you can take care of others – set the example. Replace them with a bag of dark chocolate morsels, and when the urge for chocolate occurs, grab a few of these instead. Do this once a week for a month, tossing a different unhealthy thing each week. For more healthy alternatives, go to my website: vickielperez.com and click on Fitness Coach.

ACTION:  1. Decide on a personal development book you will start today. Google it or browse on your favorite E-reader to find one. Start with the ones listed above if you are unsure. Write the title here (if you are already reading one, list it here as well) ____________________________________________________  (Comment to me what it is!)

  1. Decide right now what you will do for your body. Will you “trot around your house?” Will you sit on your couch and move your arms and legs if that is all you are able to do? Will you start a workout program? Write what you will do here:

___________________________________________________________________ (Need help deciding what to do? Let me know!)

  1. Get up, yes now, and go look in your cabinet and find one thing that is bad for you and toss it! Write what you tossed here ______________________________________ and what you will replace it with here ________________________________.

Living Life to the Fullest: Step One

You only go around once! Right?

Well, sort of: once on planet Earth, but…(that’s a different discussion).  Let’s focus on this go-around. This life. Your allotted 120-something years plus or minus ever how many.  I found the key to truly living life to the fullest in the Lord’s Prayer example.  Here is the first of seven steps that – I hesitate to say…use – live is a better word. If you’d ike the whole EBook, use the form on this page and I’ll email it to you for free.

Step One: Be Grateful

(Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name)

First, we need to be stop and take a moment to be thankful. From this day forward, start each day this way, before your feet hit the ground (or as soon thereafter as possible). “But, Vickie, there’s not a lot to be thankful for at the moment; I’m broke, I’m sick, and life really sucks at the moment.” I know it can get pretty rough at times, but here are a few things we can always pause and give thanks for:

  • We live in the United States of America. While it seems like the country may be coming apart at the seams, it hasn’t. This is still the land of opportunity, and as long as you are here, you can find and make a way out of the worst of situations. Be thankful that you live in America.
  • You have access to clean air and water, and there is someone or some agency who will help you with food. These same places will also provide temporary shelter. Be thankful that you have water, and it’s probably in a really cool Yeti or Rtic container that you are proud to carry around!
  • You have your mind (I can’t help myself here), and it is a terrible thing to waste! It may be cliché, but it is, perhaps, your greatest asset. If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. It is a muscle you can build into whatever you can imagine. Be thankful for your ability to think and choose. Choose to be thankful!

I didn’t mean to go down the road of worst case scenarios of being left with nothing but air and water of which to be thankful, but it proves the point. I mean to help us realize, there is always something we can find to be thankful for. There is something about pushing aside the negatives, the not-so-goods, the hurts from a friend or a loved one, the physical pain – and simply pausing and being thankful for what we do have, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. It gives your mind and your spirit a place to go that is good.

ACTION: Stop right now and list at least 5 things you can be thankful for, and smile as you think of them. You may find that way more than 5 come to mind.

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Dang It, Darren Hardy

Dang it, Darren Hardy. Yes. I meant that. Every day (or most days) I listen to DarrenDaily, a daily motivational clip by Darren himself. It gets me motivated and sets a positive tone – and often lights a fire under my b###.

Yet, sometimes I find myself still missing the mark in my fitness business, in my missions work – shucks let’s be honest – sometimes in simple walking-around-day-to-day things. You know, it’s so cold; who can do anything in this weather (we just had a week of frigid temps)…or my house is a mess; I can’t do anything until I get it cleaned…or fill in the blank with your favorite excuse…

Guess what? Today, my friend and mentor (I’ve never met him, but I feel like I know him), Mr. Darren Hardy asked, “Why aren’t you better? Why aren’t you living your dream…hitting your goals. What keeps getting in the way?”

I sat eagerly waiting for his wisdom. Then he said, “You!” “You are the only one who can take 100% accountability for your life.” Then he said, “You’ve failed.”

What! How dare he!

Dang it. I kept listening. He said, “We’d like to blame some outside source for our failure, but cut the bull.”

Yes, he said it like that! I kept listening. “All you have in life is created by 1) what you should have done, 2) what you could have done but chose not to.” Then he said, in answer to the question, “But what if you’re hit by a bus, or there is a tsunami? Are you responsible for that?”

Uh huh. I waited with bated breath on this one. I mean, really. Tsunami. That’s a biggie. Then he said, “Of course not.”

Ah ha!

“But, you are responsible for how you react or respond to what happens to you.”

Dang it.

He said, “Take back your power. Take 100% responsibility for every condition in your life.”

This, he says, will separate us from everyone else. We will be the one who transforms problems into opportunities. No excuses. We can be free from self-imposed shackles of excuses that is keeping us from being all we were meant to be.

Challenge: Stop and take a moment and evaluate your life here in this New Year. What are the “situations” that seem to be keeping you from progressing? Determine right now what you will do about it. Remember, you (with God’s help of course) are the only one who can do you.

I’d love to here your thoughts on this. Feel free to comment here. I will respond.

Indecision Is Paralyzing

Often, Lola will start to go up the stairs, but then she stops midway. Fear? (she’s fallen before) Confusion? (can’t make up her mind if she wants to go upstairs where Daddy is or downstairs where Mommy is) Weakness? (poms are known for weak legs and knees) Doubt? (not knowing if it is worth the effort – she’s been disappointed before)

Sometimes she will whimper, turn precariously around on the step, then simply sit down on the step as seen in this photo. She won’t go up or down. If it happens during the night, she will cry until I come and get her.

Watching her this morning, the thought of indecision and how it can paralyze came to mind. Even the scripture says, “why halt ye between two opinions (decisions)? If God is God, serve him.”

When there’s not a plan, time is frittered away.
When there’s no vision, life is stagnated.

Lola finally came back down the stairs this time. Likewise, indecision will never take us higher. It will only bring us down.

Over the next few days we’ll look at four things that make us indecisive and paralyze our progress.

Decide. Begin. Believe.

Success in the Psalms: Part 2 – Succeeding in the Midst of Chaos

Psalm 2 – Success in the Midst of Chaos

Earthquakes in Italy, floods in Louisiana, wildfires in California: it seems every way we turn there is something going on that is unfathomable. From terrorists driving their cars into crowds of innocent people to mosquito bites killing people. In our families there is turmoil: from the church to the kitchen table, things seem to be upside down. How do we handle it? How can we keep our hearts from exploding and our minds from breaking down? How can we have success in the midst of so much chaos?

In Psalm 2, King David was wondering the same thing as he experienced nations all around him in an uproar and people everywhere going nuts (vs 1-3). If you’ve read about the life of David at all, you know he experienced lots of battles, heartbreak, failures, and successes, and through it all he was referred to as a man after God’s own heart. Here, in this Psalm, in this chaotic time in his life, he reveals his secret to success and staying on track when everything around him seems to be off the track.

Again, it’s a simple thing. Verse 12 says he “took refuge in Him!” When I first moved away from my home in Kentucky all the way to the Big D, Dallas, Texas – and mind you, I’d never been off Tucker Ridge – I always knew in my heart that if something went wrong or the end of the world happened (I really thought this!), I could run back home and “take refuge” at my mom’s house. Really. I felt this way. It made me fearless because I knew there was somewhere I could go where there was someone who loved me and would never turn me away.

I realize how blessed I am having grown up with such unconditional love, and I also realize that many never get to experience this; however, if you’ve never experienced this kind of love and security – even if you are near the end of your life – you still can! Just like David, you can know the love of a Father in whom you can take refuge at any time. So, before we go any further, if you’ve never had this security – or perhaps you have, but it’s been so long ago you’ve forgotten what it’s like – stop right now and run into this strong tower of the love of God. He’ll never turn you away. Ever. You can take refuge in Him right now and forever by saying, “Save me, God! Do it.

Now, how did David make it in chaotic times? He knew God was in control to the point that he said, these evil people causing all this chaos think they are in control – ISIS thinks they will infiltrate America and bring terror to all of us; the government thinks they can infiltrate every area of our lives, taxing us into submission, destroying our constitution, co-workers think they can intimidate us into denying our faith and being silent – David said, because he knew his God, “The one who created you and this universe is sitting on his throne laughing at you (not alarmed at the chaos) because He knows the end of the matter (vs 4-6).

David knew that, no matter what went on or how bad it looked, God had a plan. Often, though, we get outside of God’s plan for us – and yes, he does have a plan specifically for you – and we fall prey to the chaos and start to think, “I’ll never make it” whether it is financially, physically, mentally, or relationally. We get caught up in the day to day grind and fear grips us. I know. I’ve been there, recently!

First secret to succeeding in the midst of chaos is found in verses 10-12. Simply worship the Lord with reverence! When was the last time you let yourself truly worship the Lord? I’m not talking about turning to page 15 in the Hymnal (although that is definitely a way to worship corporately). I’m talking about, when was the last time you let yourself be still? Worship is not just singing. Google defines it as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

You can worship God by getting quiet in your favorite spot (mine is my patio – I’m writing this blog right now in my quiet place) and just express yourself to God. Simply tell him how you feel. Open up to God. He knows anyway, but he receives it as worship when you express yourself to him. Go ahead. Right now. Open your mouth and say something to God. David sometimes said to God, “Answer me when I call, O God…!” Being real with God is true worship.

Here, on my patio in my quiet time, I worship God. Sometimes I open my mouth and talk out loud; other times, I write my worship in my journal. If you’re not comfortable yet with talking out loud to God, I challenge you to write to God. He will read it.

The second thing to do to succeed in the midst of chaos is to “take refuge in Him!” (verse 12) For a while this chaos is going to run rampant in the world. God does not want us to dig a hole or run to the hills. He wants us to keep moving toward our goals, keep living life abundantly, and keep letting our light shine.

Well, now you are contradicting yourself, Vickie, you may say. Which is it? Keep moving or take refuge which sounds like running to the hills to me! Here is the key. Running to the strong tower of the Lord is the ONLY way we are able to keep moving, keep living, and keep shining. Back to my moving to the Big D analogy. This hillbilly was able to approach the big city, scared, away from everything familiar because I had taken refuge in knowing I was loved and couldn’t fail in the eyes of my Mom and Dad. How much more-so can we be fearless when we know the God of the universe gives me a refuge even greater than this!

Right now, where you are, you can be hidden the shadow of his wings EVEN THOUGH you are walking through the chaos. You can get up and go to your job. You can get up and look for a job if you don’t have one. You can make that presentation. You can go to the grocery and clean your house. You can meet someone on the street and acknowledge them. You can do all these things right in the midst of this chaotic world – and do it with peace and joy in your heart because you take refuge in Him which means you’ll not “perish in the way” (verse 12).

ACTION STEP

  1. Right now, determine where your quiet place will be where you can worship Him. You’ve already determined a time each day in which you will give at least 15 minutes (part 1) to the word, right? Now, designate a place and either before or after you read the Scriptures, worship Him. You don’t have to sing (although you can). You don’t have to talk out loud (although you can). But, you DO have to express yourself to God. As a minimum, write out your worship/adoration/thoughts about/to Him.
  2. Take refuge right now. Perhaps you’ve been walking around unprotected. Do not do that any longer. Say, “Protect me in this Chaos and help me succeed/function each day!” When fear jumps up in your heart, remember and say, “I have a refuge!”
  3. Now go out and succeed with your life.

As always, I love hearing from you. Share with me your victories, your failures, your plan. I will respond.

Feeding the Trolls

Your vision is clear. But, there are the trolls…waiting by the bridge of success, shaking their heads at you, wagging their knobby finger back and forth saying

“Really? You? I know where you’re from. You don’t have what it takes. Who do you think you are?”

Are You Feeding the Trolls?

Today I read a chapter in my Personal Development titled, Don’t Feed the Trolls. (Michael Hyatt) You know, those wart-nosed, green colored, wild-haired little creatures waiting under the bridge to eat you up when you cross?

That’s the vision that came to mind when I saw that title. The analogy, to me, is this: you’re on your way to the best version of you; you feel it. Your vision is clear. But, there are the trolls…waiting by the bridge of success, shaking their heads at you, wagging their knobby finger back and forth saying

“Really? You? I know where you’re from. You don’t have what it takes. Who do you think you are?”

You shrink back a little, maybe even turn around thinking he may be right. His rotted teeth appear as he smiles and slinks back beneath the bridge, feeling superior, satisfied that he’s put you in your place.

You’ve just fed the troll: the troll of fear. The troll of mediocrity. The troll of negativity.

If we will step on that bridge in spite of these trolls, while it may be scary and even difficult sometimes, we will find that these ugly trolls get weaker and can be overpowered completely when we starve them by believing in our dream and the one who created us to overcome and refusing to entertain their negativity.

Is there a troll trying to block your progress and eat away at your confidence? Call him by name and remember, his teeth are rotted and he can’t stop you from crossing that bridge unless you feed him.

You Should Curse God and Die

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”!!!!! I love it.

Poor Job. He was in a state of bother, scraping the scabs off his skin with a piece of a broken clay pot; his world had crumbled around him – bankrupt; his children were dead – well, you know the story. Then, his ever-loving wife tells him he might as well give it up.

But, he didn’t. He is an example of one who embodies the cliche “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” There’s a lesson here:

Some try and try and try then quit, listening to the voice of Job’s wife that says “what made you think you could do that anyway?” Thus, they end up with a mediocre life, always thinking… if only…

Some try and try and try, then try something else, then try something else, then something else, going after every “new venture” that is presented to them, ending up with a frustrated life and a laundry list of unfinished projects, always thinking… if only…

Some never try and just…settle. No commentary needed.

Then, there are those who try, try again ad infinitum. The definition for that phrase “ad infinitum” says again and again in the same way; forever. There’s a slight difference in those who try, try again ad infinitum and succeed, though. They will not keep doing it the same way when one way doesn’t work. I think that’s defined as insanity! – doing something over and over the same way expecting different results, right? Ha.

Take that and consider Google’s list of synonyms, and the real meaning comes out:

for ever and ever, evermore, always, for all time, until the end of time, in perpetuity, until hell freezes over;

In particularly, that last one. There are those who keep working toward their goal, and no matter what obstacle comes their way, they get right back up and move forward, doing whatever it takes, however long it takes. Those are the ones who make it. For instance,

  • Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He was cheated and nearly penniless. The legend goes that Walt, working in a beleaguered office tamed one of the many mice that scurried around, kept him in a desk drawer, and fed him from his own small rations – thus Mickey Mouse was born (first known as Mortimer Mouse). -Google Books.
  • Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts several times before winning numerous Emmy awards for numerous films
  • R.H. Macy had many retail flops before the retail giant, Macy’s -my favorite store, became a success
  • Soichiro Honda was hated by his Japanese business community because he dared to be different.Vroom, vroom, anyone?
  • Colonel Harland David Sanders, my own home state of Kentucky icon, was fired over and over No one wanted his chicken recipe! Losers…
  • The list goes on and on… Sir Isaac Newton, Vera Wang, Thomas Newton…. You should go read the list

What if they had settled? What if they’d said… if only…. What if they’d quit!

Even Scripture tells us we should keep “trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:10.  Some just take the philosophy of eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die, thinking…I can’t ever be good enough anyway.  Well, join the club. Yet, we are told that we are not to give up! We never stop seeking what God wants. We never settle! Keep reading, keep praying, keep trying…all the while, resting in the confidence that He knows your frame, that you are but dust. He knows your failures and faults, but he loves and died for us anyway!

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”!!!!! I love it.

How many times have you failed? Good! Now, change your perspective, your methods perhaps, and try again!

Challenge:  write down your goal, your desire… then plan how you will go after it…again. Leave a comment of what you are going to do.