Tag Archives: One Word

One Word: Intentional, Physical Fitness

How Intentional is Your Health?

Intentional Health

 

One Word 365 is an alternative to the long list of New Year’s resolutions that North American’s often make on January 1 of each year, and forget or fail at by January 2nd. With One Word you choose to instead focus on one word for the entire year. This provides the core of what you’d like to be the main emphasis and motivation.

One Word_Intentional

For 2015 I chose the word ‘plan’ and then after about a month I realized a better word for my goals and desire would be ‘intentional’.

To be intentional is to have in mind and/or make plans with the purpose of attaining specific end goals. I came to the awareness that my life needed to be intentional. I wanted to know what my real intentions were for engaging in various activities in my life: work, volunteer, religious practices, making purchases, everything. In the beginning it was difficult to stop and ask myself, “Why am I doing this? By doing this, what am I expecting?” Over time these simple, yet deep questions help me to add and remove many things from my life.

In the area of food and fitness I realized my impatience and desire to achieve quick results were the reasons why I wasn’t progressing towards my goals. I was looking into eating plans that would get me the fastest results instead of the healthiest results. I devised physical schedules that I knew would take off the most inches of fat in the shortest amount of weeks. However, by being intentional I was able to stop and honestly evaluate the motivations for my choices.

Throughout this year I’ve been able to prevent myself from making my injuries worse. What made this year different from the past was being able to discipline myself enough to pause and self-evaluate. When you are making healthy changes in your life an important question to ask yourself is, “Why have I made this choice?”, followed by, “What do I think I’ll personally gain from this choice?”, and finally, “Is there a healthier way to achieve the desired result?” You’d be amazed at how these three simple questions coupled with prayer and quiet meditation can reveal so much.

Whether it is a food plan or physical fitness goal, stop and ask yourself serious questions about your true motivation. If your reasons are not good for you, don’t beat yourself up, simply take time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help move you towards a way to achieve your goals without causing physical and emotional hurts to yourself. The answers may not come quickly, but if you want to become or remain healthy, you will accept the fact that anything that is good for you takes time.

I_Am_Intentional

QUESTION:

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Why have I made this choice?
  • What do I think I’ll personally gain from this choice?
  • Is there a healthier way to achieve the desired end choice?

ACTION: Take time to look at some of the activities in your life that you find emotionally or physically taxing. Stop and ask yourself the three questions above or similar self-motivational questions.

 

Additional Resources:

101 Thought Provoking Questions to Ask Before it’s too Late

How Self Motivated are You?

 

Goals, One Word: Intentional

New Year, Same You; and that’s Alright.

We’ve made it to 2015! This is a cause for celebration. We celebrate life with gratitude because there are many who did not make it into this New Year. It’s a new year, but certainly not a new you. For a variety of cultural reasons we have been falsely lead to believe that once the calendar ushers in a new year, we somehow become a new person or we need to become a new person. Who wrote the rules about New Year’s Day transformations?

Time and personal development doesn’t allow us to change instantly based on the ticking of a clock on January 01 at 12:00a.m. so why do we think this will happen, as if somehow people will magically wake up from a hangover or a night of celebration as a new person. I’ll tell you right now, changing one’s life has never happened this instantly. Transformation takes time because intentional, healthy habits take time.

My other concern with the false belief in “New Year, New You”, is that society has convinced a lot of people that they are in need of making life transforming changes by leading others to believe there is something wrong with them.This is unfortunate.

Making changes in one’s life doesn’t need to occur as a result of loss, depression, a life threatening illness or any other major event. Maybe over time you decided you wanted to learn how to play golf, or you finally decided to dust off the old guitar in the garage and take music lessons. Maybe all of your kids are in school now and you have more personal free time to engage in activities that you have always wanted to or had to delay at one point in your life. Change can be a result of making unnecessary, yet positive choices. There is no need to wait until you have a problem in order to desire change or engage in change.

Change doesn’t need to be a bad word.

Last year I chose the biblical word “Bless” for My One Word and One Word 365 and it has been a great experience. I had a rough year filled with many smaller challenges that accumulated into a lot of stress, but thanks to having a word to focus on, I was able to literally stop, utter the word “Bless”, think thoughts of blessings, reflect on blessings, and develop a mindset of blessing God, blessing others, and continually remember my blessings. I was also able to learn more about the definition and meaning of “bless” according to Jewish customs, beliefs, and language. By learning the cultural meaning behind “bless” I gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for verses that contained the word.

I highly encourage you to check out both ‘one word’ websites where you can find out why having a word of focus throughout the year might be more beneficial to your personal and spiritual growth rather than making a list of resolutions which statistically you are likely not to accomplish.

One doesn’t have to forgo new year’s resolutions for having one word,  you can do both, but a word of focus for the year carries much more promise than a wishful-thinking list made in a hurry during the first week of the year.

Feel free to read my weekly blogs that will be inspired by my chosen word throughout 2015!

My word for 2015 is ‘Plan’. I don’t’ know what this word has in store for me over the next 300+ days, but I look forward to learning the lessons God wants to share with me. I made no expectations for what I would learn from my word in 2014, and I intend to stick to that method for 2015.

My verse for 2015 can be found at Jeremiah 29:11, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

Keep Calm God Has A Plan

One Word: Blessing

The Blessing of: Respecting Yourself

Respect figure

http://oneword365.com/

http://myoneword.org/

My one word for 2014: Blessing

Respect is a word often misused in our vocabulary and unfortunately it is commonly demanded from people who are the least deserving of it.

respect give it

Let’s find out what respect really means, at least according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:

Respect: 

“: a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc.

: a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way

: a particular way of thinking about or looking at something”

“: high or special regard:  (esteem)

b : the quality or state of being esteemed”

I have worked in my share of low-paying, toxic, and unethical places of employment where supervisors and managers have demanded “respect” from employees. I have also seen a few pastoral staff and Christian leaders in the community demand respect from people. Respect is important, but as I like to say, ‘If you have to demand respect, you don’t deserve respect.’ The conclusion I’ve made is that people often confuse respect for subordination. What they really should be saying is, ‘You are not being subordinate to me’ or ‘you are being insubordinate’.

Subordination (noun):

“a bending to the authority or control of another”

Subordinate (adjective):

“: in a position of less power or authority than someone else

: less important than someone or something else”

This discussion about subordination and respect has had to take place between myself and several staff in the workplace. These were supervisors and managers who had placed me in a situation where my safety was at risk; it was also a workplace that had numerous complaints made about bullying and harassment at the hands of those we were subordinate to. Eventually almost all of these managers were fired. In the end it didn’t make a difference in my life because I am still struggling with a work related injury that resulted from my managers’ bullying, harassment and violation of labour laws.

no disrespect but

We need to respect the work that we do, we need to respectful towards the customers and clients that we serve, but when management starts demanding respect, I automatically question why these managers need to demand respect instead of having been freely given it by their staff. In the workplace I will be polite, kind, cooperative, a team player, and all the other adjectives and characteristics that make for a healthy workplace, but I can honestly say that I won’t freely admire and look up to a manager. I certainly wouldn’t recommend sharing these values with a manager; that would be a ridiculous thing to do and could likely lead to bad manager-employee relations and at worst, the loss of your job.

I would caution people in using the word respect without fully knowing the meaning of the word and whether or not you are actually deserving of the act of being respected. If you demand that people respect you, you are more likely not to be respected by them.

respect character

Instead of demanding and trying to force people to respect you, let us remember this:

Romans 12: 3-20 (From BibleGateway)

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

respect accornym

 

One Word: Blessing

The Blessing of: Introvert Faith

Thank You!
Thank You!

One Word 365

MyOneWord.org

My One Word for 2014: Blessing

Yeah, for Introverts!

In dealing with the Evangelical Christian community, I’ve had to let people know that I am an introvert and I don’t need to change. If the church can’t find a way to include those of us who have introvert personalities then I don’t feel the need to change who I am in order to fit into Christian church culture. Jesus, as described in the Gospels, is an introvert. If he didn’t feel the need to change, then I take that as a sign that being an introvert is alright with God.

Being an introvert isn’t a sin or a character flaw. Instead of pressuring those who need to have alone time in order to refuel; respect them enough to let them be who they are and literally, leave them alone when they want to be away from the noise and the crowds.

Yes... we exist :)
Yes… we exist 🙂

Here are a few ways to let Introverts be at peace Introverting:

-Don’t force them to pray out loud. A silent prayer is equally as effective as a spoken one.

-In small groups they might not always answer right away. There are times when they prefer to ponder questions and answers internally.

-If you ask, “How are you?” and they answer “Fine.”, it’s alright. If they choose not to tell a group of people how they are doing, don’t take it personally, forcing a lengthier answer only makes an Introvert uncomfortable.

-For some introverts, stranger evangelism is extremely uncomfortable. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to share the “good news”; what it means is that they are more authentic and relational doing so with people that they connect with. For introverts, evangelism often requires a more personal method.

-Journaling is a form of quiet time that a lot of introverts engage in. Pen and paper is a style of meditation where their deepest thoughts and reflections are written. Part of the joy in journaling is that anywhere you are becomes sacred space as you shut out the world and spend time with God.

-Don’t expect Introverts to have a definite answer to some of the most pressing questions of faith. Because introverts tend to be deep thinkers, they don’t always like to have answers to spiritual questions. It isn’t their goal to have the mysteries of the faith answered. They find solace in not having to know the answer to every question humankind has posed to God.

introvert recharge

Whether extrovert or introvert, it’s important to remember that God has made us all with different personality types. One type is not better or worse than the other, they are all simply different. Our relationship with God is going to look different for each of us because our personality types influence how we view, worship, and communicate with God. We worship one who has enough love to accept us and see the good in each personality type. God doesn’t want us to develop the negative aspects of our temperament, so therefore His Spirit is with us to help develop the healthy personality traits which lead to a more Christ-like character.

QUESTIONS: 

  • Are you an extrovert or an introvert? (This means you lean more towards one side of the extrovert-introvert scale than the other.)
  • How do you react towards introverting introverts? (Do you take it personally when they turn down your invites? Do you expect them to always share what’s on their mind? Do you try to force them to be more extroverted?)
  • Have you been able to recognize the spiritual gifts, talents and contributions that Introverts contribute to the Christian community?

APPLICATION:

  • If you have a difficult time understanding Introverts, ask God to help you be more aware of the traits of other personality types. Not for the purpose of changing them or judging them, but instead, for the purpose of loving them as they are and seeing their value.
  • If you struggle with accepting your personality type, ask God to help you be at peace with the temperament you were born with. If the negative traits of your personality type are causing trouble in your walk of faith and in relationships with others; ask God to help you be aware of the issues and make changes that will develop the positive aspects of your temperament.

 

There's a spectrum
There’s a spectrum