Starting with small steps

 

Taking even small steps, consistently, will increase your chances of success. This theory touches on every single area of your life. Let's talk about it.

Having a big picture goal is great, however, it can become overwhelming. Having the ability to go the route of "cold turkey" determination is also admirable, but not something everyone can or will do. So, breaking down those lofty goals becomes necessary. That being said, sometimes, you need to break it all down into small steps to allow yourself a starting location. This is an excellent practice in every area of life - health, diet, housework, addictions, mental health, everything! If you run at your goals like an angry bumble bee, you will eventually get burned out, and stop chasing those goals. So, let's start small, and work at a steady and consistent pace to reach the same goals without the burnout. 

One area that I personally feel has become a major issue is mental health. The stigmas around this are too numerous to mention. Every single one of us can use this subject as an excuse. The reality is while we can, we shouldn't. We are constantly reminded that there are some out there worse off than we are, and while this is 100% accurate...it's demeaning. Yes, we can go directly to worse case scenarios. However, each of us struggles through battles that are challenging to US! The reminders of those worse off, degrades the individual battles as if they don't matter. They ALL matter. It's how you manage those battles that sets you apart for success or failure. While I pray that those that battle extreme mental health issues seek professional help, I am not going to go into the extremes. That is not my area of knowledge. My knowledge comes from personal experiences, which are not to major extremes on the full spectrum, but from the extremes of my experiences. I have not been in combat or trafficked, so I have ZERO knowledge on how to manage that. What I do know is how I have managed what I have dealt with. I believe we all have experienced some "dark moods." Whether you categorize these as depression, just being down in the dumps, or the seasonal moods from long/cold winters. We have become a weak society, and I do not mean for this to be derogatory, but factual. We are a very spoiled society. We haven't experienced true "depression," when there are no jobs, there is little if any food, when a large portion are forced to live on the streets, when there is no running water, no electricity, no cell phones, no internet. You see, we have been blessed with convenience. We are accustom to everything at our fingertips, and being constant consumers. So, we have been programmed to believe we need to be depressed about what we don't have in the modern world. We want the latest, greatest, and have lost sight of what we need...instead of constant wants.

This plays into our mental health, more than many realize. This is when I personally have to put myself in check. I have to remind myself, WHAT DO YOU TRULY NEED? Is a cell phone necessary? By most measures now, it is helpful, but will I die without it...NO! Do I need 400 channels that I don't watch? NO! Do I need a brand new pick up truck? NO! Do I need a $5 coffee or a $10 lunch from a restaurant? NO and NO! Do I need water? YES! You can only survive 3 days without water. Do I need food? YES! Do I need electricity? This one is a split. Yes, I need it to keep my food cold/frozen, however, I do not need it for lights/internet/or even AC. Yes, those are nice...but likely, I will not die without it. Deciding your NEEDs VS. your WANTs, is beyond critical! Once you put perspective on needs vs. wants, it changes things. Would I love a new pair of jeans, shoes, or a new purse...sure. Will I survive without them, yep! Anyway, take the noise box and keeping up with others out of your view. A lot of the mental health issues today, stem from people trying to compare themselves to others. STOP THIS!!!! Each of us was created to perfection, and trying to be something you are not...has fueled this.

So, starting today, take some small steps to become the best "You" you can become. Forget anyone and everyone else. Tell yourself or write yourself a pep talk. Remember, "You are made to perfection. You are made to be exactly who you are in your original design. Respect yourself enough to KNOW you are worthy and valued...even if you can't see it yet." Take some small steps to regain your self-respect and value. Whatever that means for you...holding the door for someone else, smiling at someone, giving a compliment without a need for any type of return, show compassion/empathy. For the love of all things good, show yourself enough respect to dress in a means that will allow others to want to respect you as well! Having your private areas sticking out, or your pants hanging to your knees....is disrespectful to yourself AND others!

Let's move on to health. Even though every area I'm going to talk about, is interchangable, I want to attempt to touch on each individually too.  Americans, especially, are in horrible health. We eat too much, eat crappy food, drink too much soda, and not enough water. Now, before I get backlash about this...I am not talking about becoming a "salad shooter" as my husband refers to it. I am talking about moderation and healthier foods. I know the convenience of fast food. The Lord knows, I enjoy nights when I don't have to cook. However, when we cut out the majority of processed foods from our diets, our health improved 10 fold! We went 10 years without a flu bug, without anything more than a few colds and sinus issues AND I was able to cut twice a day allergy medications COMPLETELY!! So, this part is from experience too. I learned to garden. I learned to read labels, I learned to cook from scratch, I learned to make easy meals without them coming from a box. I bought organic foods when I could, but the money saved on medical bills was MORE than what was spent to do so. I quit drinking soda and didn't buy anything with certain food colorings. Yes, it was a major change and a LOT of work initially to learn all this. However, the effects of doing this was beyond remarkable. Now, a disclaimer here....I have gotten lazy, as has all in my household, about doing these things the past 7 years and difference in our health has reared its ugly head. We have battled illnesses continually for the majority of 5 years, and I am back to twice a day allergy meds. I am following these small steps, MYSELF, to get back to where we should be. You see, the experiences I've had has proven to me that our diet defines our health.

We, as Americans, have lost sight of moderation. We have so many blessings and so much available to us that we over indulge. So many, live to eat. Constantly worrying what restaurant they are going to next, what food they will eat. When you look back through history, instead of living to eat...people ate to live. They would sit down to eat, eat a small portion of whatever food was available, clear their plate from the table, and that was it. Now, we eat several meals a day. We fill or even mound our plates, and eat until we feel bloated. Did you know, you should only eat until you start to feel full or need a drink? Our current processed foods, are loaded with chemicals. These are chemicals that cause addiction aspects. Any white foods(rice, flour, sugar) are highly processed. Food colorings such as yellow, red or caramel are inflammatory for multiple illnesses and are highly addictive. Many additives in foods for a long shelf life...inflame allergies, sinus issues, thyroid issues, cancer, heart disease, ADHD, psoriasis, and so much more. Did you know that? 

So much of our health deterioration comes in from a lack of movement too. I am not saying go out and start some rigorous cardio program. Seriously, I am NOT going to be doing that. Start with small steps. Leg lifts while you are washing dishes or watching the noise box. When you get out of your chair, use your arms to lift you then get up. Stretch your muscles while gaming with lunges instead of just camping out. Start with very small steps to build up your body. Your body can not function with no movement. There are zero excuses for not trying to help yourself. The more sedentary you are, the faster your body will decay. With all the information at our fingertips today, do a google search for "couch potato exercises," and you will find hundreds you can do while you are sitting - this will allow you build your strength enough to take the next steps of better health. 

Even with all these larger areas...there is still one area that is a personal headache for me. My household. Again, I am going off of personal experience here. I make lists constantly. My lists are literally, pages long! Those lists are just general things like: clean living, wash walls, wash windows, clean out mud room, mow yard, garden, etc. I do not have them broken down into manageable tasks. So, when I look at those lists, they become so overwhelming, I don't even know where to start! I've had to learn the small steps, myself. So, an example:  Clean kitchen - do dishes, wash countertops, wipe down cabinet fronts, wash window, wash walls, dust, organize shelves, empty trash, sweep, mop/scrub floor. Learning to focus on a single room, broke down like this, while seeing everything else that needs done...is a challenge for me. Things such as, walls needing to be repaired and repainted, items that are cluttering the room that need to be removed or gotten rid of, or even things that I want to change...tend to leave me reeling. BUT I have to focus on the task at hand....actually getting the room cleaned. I seriously love being able to cross the smaller tasks off my list. One more thing that I am finding as a challenge...making certain that everyone in your home is doing their part, to make their home a comfortable place to live. Everyone in my home is old enough to take care of our home, like they live here, but most do not. I have to "ask for help." Well, it should not be that way. They live here just as I do, they should want a clean and comfortable environment in which to live. The stigma of the bygone years, of women's work...doesn't cut it. 

This also plays into building your food/pantry. I'm sure none of you are surprised to see this brought up again. Small steps, done consistently, will create success. Taking the approach of a few cans of food, every week, will build you a responsible food reserve. I am not a fan of shelf life food, but I am a fan of eating. So, having some things tucked away for later needs is necessary. I personally have a few cans of vegetables and fruit, however, I also preserve a lot of my foods - fruit, vegetables, soups, and meat. This keeps rotating as we cook, and keeps items from going bad. 

Your finances. Yet, another area that needs small steps. Start getting your debts paid! Stop purchasing items you do not NEED. That $25 you spend on fast food/coffee each week...put it as extra on your payment to your vehicle, home, credit cards. Make your lunch/coffee at home. Take a weekend mini vacation, save yourself hundreds and put it towards paying off a debt. Think outside the box. Anything extra you can, needs to be put towards paying down/off debts and stocking your pantry. 

Remember, we have reached a time that we need to become fiscally responsible, mentally responsible, health responsible, all around RESPONSIBLE for ourselves. We have plenty we can blame on others, but we all have free choice. It is our responsibility to break the cycles. To take charge of our own lives. To decide we are no longer going to be held in slavery or bondage - due to outstanding debt, poor health care, mental health or crap food. We are responsible for US!!

Official Summer Coffee Chat

 

Official Summer Coffee Chat

Where has the time gone?! Half way through the year, the official start of Summer, and 6 months until Christmas. Yikes!!! I'm not ready for that yet!! Seriously, I LOVE Christmas, but I am not ready! I'm loving my garden time, my time outdoors, not have to wear 40 layers of clothes to leave my house, bare foot walks(before everything got crunchy), and fresh veggies! So, I'm later in the day to start writing, I spent my morning researching and gathering some information I needed. I need to get busy this afternoon on some projects, but I'm moving a little slower after a tumble the other morning left me with a twisted and sore ankle. 

So, where to begin is always a challenge for me since my mind moves at a million miles a minute! I'm constantly going through thoughts, plans, information and projects. Let's start on farm happenings. In my immediate area, we are in a major drought. It's been over a month of no rainfall, high temps and pasture/hay is burning clear up. In this instance, what hay we can and have gotten has a serious depletion of nutrients. The lack of rain, is hampering so much. One of our local livestock markets has been flooded with the sell off of livestock, due to the lack of hay and the cost of hay/feed currently. I know those in Southwest, will understand that, all too well. We are hearing several "old timers" talking that they expect this drought to turn around here shortly. I am sure hopeful!! With decreased rainfall, that means not only has hay/pasture become premium in price, but the crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat will also. What does that mean? Well, anything that uses those crops, will become high priced too. For example: flour, corn meal, many cereals, breads, etc. will increase in price as more crops die off from the lack of rainfall. This also means that feeds for livestock - cows, pigs, chickens...will continue to rise, raising the prices of eggs and meat. It's one of those snowball effects. It could ultimately lead to many shortages on the grocery shelves, as well. I will just throw in another reminder to be getting your pantry stocked up!!

Gardening, for me, is not only an essential part of my family's preparations, but also a form of relaxation and sometimes stress! It's a mixed basket. I love time in my garden. It's quiet. It's my time to think, pray, and just "be." It's revitalizing to know that I have worked for what I get. I learn something new, nearly everyday. I spend my winter time, learning as much as I can to better my garden every year. From new techniques of planting, maximizing smaller spaces, garden additives, plant regeneration, pest control, trellising, and so much more! I take great "pride" in putting all that I learn into practice. Each year, I learn new techniques that help improve my odds of getting the most out of my harvests. I learn new recipes, new ways of preservation, and ways that didn't work so well too. There are so many ways that work, some work better for others, but finding what works for me. Learning my soil type, my growing days, the frost dates, how to grow from seed and plants, learning how to grow in a greenhouse - which is a beast in and of itself, and so much more!!! It's rewarding! The frustrations that happen from elements out of my control, namely Mother Nature. Late/early frosts, drought, excessive rain, or any number of other variables out-of-my-control, is a challenge. I do get frustrated by them, but I ultimately learn from them too. Learning to preserve foods has been a rewarding challenge. Having to learn this as an adult, was equivalent to "teaching an old dog new tricks." I didn't grow up knowing how to do this. I learned as an adult! Since then though, I have worked hard to get it down pat! I still make mistakes, I still find things that does not work. However, I have found a lot of things that do work. I have the successes in my pantry, every year. Depending on the year, 500-1000 jars of my own fresh food to feed my family. It's not easy!!! Battling Mother Nature, insects, neighbors dogs, racoons, or any other variable can knock out a garden in no time. I've had years that the weed population exceeded my vegetables by about 1000:1. It's work to keep a garden viable, productive and honestly...alive! It's not something, you put in and leave until July/August and voila, you have food. Gardening is a year round project. From planning, gathering, seeds, plants, planting, mainenance, water, weed removal, harvest, preservation, to putting your garden to rest for the winter - cleaning out, cleaning up; it takes work and effort. I personally love seeing the fruits of my effort, and hard work. 

Summer time at my home. Boy, does that get messy sometimes. I've said many times, when you live on a farm, you spend 6 months getting ready for the following 6 months. This is beyond true. Typically, from May until until November, we are in preparation mode, for November through April. That means having enough hay for each group of animals. Having enough straw for animal bedding for each group of animals. Beginning the ramp up of having 2-4 weeks of extra feeds on hand, in the event winter weather won't allow for deliveries. It means making sure the human foods are stocked for a minimum of 6 months. Getting any major repairs done around the farm, that must be done before cold weather sets in. This year, our major repair is replacing our water lines that keep springing leaks. There's been enough repairs for the problem areas, they must be replaced completely, before we have a much bigger, and costlier problem. I have to get fencing moved, and my coop repaired enough to get through another winter. Building or buying a new coop right now, is not possible. Once we get some rain, getting some new gardens worked up, is necessary! Moving some compost to my orchard and grape vines is necessary. None of this covers the events already scheduled on the farm...8th grade promotion, a wedding, the veteran deer hunt, and the Christmas Open House. Keeping up with the inside of the house during summer...is a challenge. I hate being stuck indoors. I honestly, do bare minimum. I slack pretty bad when the weather is nice enough to be outside. Usually, I wait for rainy days to worry about the inside much, but this year...so far, my house would be 6 foot deep if I did that. Not to mention, the past couple of years....any injury or illness I've gotten, has knocked me down, pretty bad. It has taken many months to get past illnesses, and even some injuries have taken as long or longer. I find myself frustrated by not being able to physically do some of the things I have always done, or having to ask for help and wait until someone actually helps. 

It's also the time that I start planning our school year, our holidays, and typically by this point...I am Christmas shopping. Not this year though. I have not even started! I'm more concerned with food for us and the animals, at this moment. I am a list maker, a planner. I don't do chaos or disorganization well. It makes my mind feel cluttered, and then I lose my shit. When stuff doesn't have at least a basic plan, it makes me edgy, angry, and full of attitude....worse than normal. I spent a lot time, battling stress and that is not good for me. I don't handle stress well, it causes me to lose weight, quick. I also do not gain weight back easy. So, that becomes a double edged sword. It messes with my immune system, it messes with my ability for thinking rational, it causes me to find every possible area of issue and then the negativity starts setting in. There isn't much I can't handle, but without outlets, it does get the better of me. So, planning and organizing, helps me to keep it all in check. I'm also someone that likes to talk out issues...not just sweep them under rug in hopes they will fix themselves. Communication seems necessary for me. Which seems to be something seriously lacking today. So, that tends to play in too, when so many just want to have surface conversations. 

For today, I am planning, and organizing my thoughts. I'm prioritizing projects and thoughts. I'm looking at ways to pinch pennies. I'm digging for more recipes and food preservation ideas. I'm doing things that will help my family in the big picture...not just right now. I'm looking beyond the current struggles to get a grasp on future plans. I'm learning to accept that I have the 24 hours in a day, that everyone else has....and understanding that at some point taking a few breaks isn't going to cause the world to crash around me. It's not easy but necessary. 

So, a short coffee chat to start off Summer. It's hot, it's dry but we will survive, somehow! It's a beautiful life with a few temporary hardships!