Welcome to Day 9 in our 31 Day series on A Mom’s Guide to Getting it All Done. In case you missed yesterday’s post you may want to go and read it first. Or just jump in right here with us today.
I gained 10 pounds in just a few months earlier this year. It was as if my metabolism just up a quit on me. Well, If I’m really honest, it was 1 part my metabolism and 2 parts just being so very tired of eating a very restricted diet due to health issues and just eating whatever I wanted to for a time. It was incredibly frustrating. So, naturally it was something I was asking God about a lot. The thing He kept speaking to my heart was to “pay attention to when and why you eat.” In other words – learn about yourself.
This helped me do a few things. It helped me to identify weak times in my day when I turned to food for energy or comfort. It helped me to identify my strengths and weaknesses and I became aware of specific ways to pray and even how I needed to repent for using food to do something that I should have only been letting God do. When I knew myself in these ways I could plan and prepare to set myself up for success instead of the same old habits that kept me in a frustrating cycle of defeat.
I tell you that story to make a point. Knowing ourselves is a good thing. Knowing our strengths and weaknesses helps us to like ourselves, to grow in our strengths and to lean on God in our weaknesses. If we are wanting to “get it all done” with “it” being the things we are called to in this life then knowing ourselves will go a long way on the path of successful living.
Knowing yourself is a lifelong adventure. Just like making and building friendship, it is important to spend time getting to know yourself. Learn your likes and dislikes, your gifts and talents, your dreams and desires…
One of my favorite tools for learning about myself is Strengths Finders. It will help you to identify your top 5 strengths so that you can focus on the things you are best at. The idea is that we will grow in and accomplish more in our strengths than we could ever do to change our weaknesses. So, focus on your strengths and let God’s strength be made perfect in your weaknesses.
You can purchase the test on your strengths here for $15. Be prepared to spend a bit of time answering the questions so it’s probably best to do it when you have some time to devote to it. If you want to read the book first you can find it on Amazon here and it will have a code in it for you to take the test without paying anything extra. The book isn’t necessary but it is full of amazing information on why knowing our strengths is important and I do recommend reading it at some point.
Spend some time today getting to know yourself. Whether that means taking the Strengths Finders test, going over your strengths if you’ve already taken it, or simply thinking about who God has made you to be and how He has gifted you, don’t neglect this step. You are amazing and made just the way you are so that you will accomplish all that He has called you to.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, I’ve been losing the weight, exercising regularly and feeling so much better about myself. I really believe that stopping to learn about myself in this area has made all the difference.
I hope you are enjoying this series! I would love to hear from you if you have any questions or want me to cover something specific in the rest of the series. Either leave me a comment or send me an email and let me know. Thanks!
See you back here tomorrow for Day 10 in our A Mom’s Guide to Getting it All Done series. If you’d like to get the posts straight to your email inbox click here to sign up.
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