What's the wise thing to do?

For me, there is much more to health and wellness than just working out and eating well. It's regular quality time with my family, it's taking time to volunteer and give back, and it's making time to refill my tank each week. I get that's kind of an odd phrase, so what exactly does it mean? For me, it's my personal development time. Time that I focus on improving other areas of my life, developing skills or gaining knowledge. Most days that time is my Bible study. I mean y'all there is nothing better than a cup of coffee and some quiet time with my Bible. Ok, let's be honest here, I gave up coffee (for this "recovering" coffee addict, that may come as a shock to some) and switched to my Shakeology, but it's just as good!

That quiet time helps me set my focus for the day. It helps me start on the right foot and helps me grow my relationship with my heavenly Father. I love that time and generally I wouldn't trade it for a self-help book or listening to a motivational speaker. But yesterday, I stumbled across a series of podcasts by Andy Stanley, a preacher I've learned so much from over the last year and a half. The series, "Ask The Question," is 6-parts and as I got ready for church, I figured listening to it might be the perfect place to get my mind and my heart in the right place before heading into my Sunday school class. And y'all, that's exactly what it was. 

In part one of the series, Andy focuses on the question, "What's the wise thing to do?" Now this might seem like a simple question and right now, you're not seeing at all how this relates to anything I normally post about, but bear with me and I promise it will come full circle. 

So over the last few weeks, I've been pushing hard with some tough love and lots of encouragement to get people to join my August Challenge Group...that's not what this post is about. I want you to hang on to all that tough love about taking a leap and how much I believe in you and keep that in the back of your head. Now, take a second to think about your goals. Maybe you want to lose weight, maybe you want to be healthier for your kids, or to help your family eat better meals. Whatever you're goal is, ask yourself, "what am I doing today to reach that goal?" If your answer is nothing, then this post is for you!! 

Now, I want you to ask yourself Andy Stanley's full question, "In light of your CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES, what is the wise thing to do?" Maybe you have four kids and hardly have two minutes to use the bathroom alone. In light of those circumstances, what is the wise thing to do...to help you reach your goal? Maybe you need to find quick meal recipes and need tips on how to prep meals throughout the week to save you time and make a little extra time in your day for a short workout. Maybe your gym doesn't offer childcare and you have a little one at home. Consider some home workout options. Hard circumstances don't mean we give up on what we want. We simply need to find the wise solution. 

Now, I think it's important to note that Andy Stanley's original purpose of this podcast wasn't to direct your fitness life, but I completely agree with him that this question can be applied to any aspect of your life...finances, relationships, jobs, and even fitness!

Alright, so you've looked at your current circumstances. You've identified what you're working with and what you need to overcome today. The last question I want you to ask yourself is, "In light of your future hopes & dreams, what's the wise thing to do?" If you dream of being able to run a 5k, is the wise thing to do to spend 2 hours at night sitting on the couch binge-watching "Friends" on Netflix? I mean, "Friends" is awesome, but probably not. 

What can you do today, in light of your current circumstances, to achieve your future hopes and dreams? Don't give in to what you want right now, in this moment, if it doesn't bring you closer to that goal you want so badly to reach. So many things bring temporary pleasure that is quickly forgotten. I seriously just got an image of a Krispy Kreme donut in my mind and y'all that sounds pretty delicious right now. But since I've already used my lifestyle meal this week, is it wise to run down the street to Krispy Kreme and grab a hot, fresh donut? Probably not, and I doubt that would be a decision that I would feel good about. 

For me, I see this question as something I can apply to every circumstance and every decision I need to make. For you, maybe it's not so mind-blowing, but today I hope you'll at least take a moment to ask yourself...and it just might reveal something about you that you didn't already know.