PERSONAL GROWTH SHORTS: Cultivating Spiritual Strength

30 DAY SPIRITUAL FITNESS CHALLENGE

Track the following 3 habits for 30 days

WHY: Spiritual Fitness just like physical fitness is something that must be cultivated. It doesn't happen by accident or overnight. Resiliency is built through the practice of targeted habits that over time build spiritual strength.

1. Conduct a personal AAR

Evaluate yourself daily. You can't improve or identify things that need to change unless you keep track of what you are doing. This doesn't need to be long, you can do this in the shower. Simply ask yourself the following questions.

What have I done well today? What should I sustain/keep doing?

Identify 1 thing that helped you have a good day or that made you successful. Whether it's setting to alarm clocks so you don't miss formation or hydrating the night before a hike you need to be intentional in identifying what makes successful.


People are their own worst critic, forcing you to identify what you do well helps you to counteract negative patterns of thinking.

What can I improve/change today?

Be specific. If you've never used S.M.A.R.T. goals this is the time to research and implement the S.M.A.R.T tool. Asking this question helps create a growth mindset. If you can't ever think of anything you can improve you are either out of touch with reality, stagnated, or haven't broken down your goals into specific enough bite size chunks to observe measurable progress.

2. 1 Win A day(Priorities/Goals)

If you could only accomplish one thing today what is the most important thing you can do to make your day successful in the three areas below.

Personal Life-Self Care: Whether its doing your laundry, treating yourself to dinner, or taking a nap maintaining yourself and being fully charged is essential to make sure you're prepared to face the challenges of the day.


Work Life- Purpose/Fulfillment: A lot of life satisfaction is derived from whether or not we perceive we've accomplished anything of value in our work. There will always be urgent or important things but what is the greater yes or most important thing you can do that makes the biggest impact in your work.


Relationships- Support Structures: We are social creatures built for relationship. Phones and social media are great but identifying local people that can relate to the challenges you face and that can physically help you is a necessary skill. Relationships only improve if you're intentional in putting the effort into it.

3. Gratitude Log

List a minimum of 10 things you can be thankful for today. Can't repeat what you've written down from previous days.

Forcing yourself to identify things you are thankful for helps you to become resilient by learning to see options and resources. When you identify resources, you open yourself to possibilities and begin contemplating the future.


When all you can see is what you think you're entitled to or what you don't have you train your mind to not see possibilities and get stuck in the past.

TOOL 1: H.A.L.T.

To continue being effective we need to take time to identify and address our personal needs(physical, emotional, mental/spiritual). If we continue to operate without performing basic maintenance on ourselves then we experience diminishing returns and become less effective.

This is like when you run a car without doing changing oil or tires. The vehicle doesn’t just become less effective. It also becomes dangerous to both the operator and everyone else around them.

The same is true for ourselves. When we go to long without performing basic personal maintenance we not only become less effective but a danger to ourselves and others.


When you feel off, frustrated, angry or depressed HALT(Stop) apply this simple acronym.


H-ungry

Sit down and eat a meal. Ask yourself when was the last time that you ate a meal. Not a snicker bar or snack but a full meal. Food especially a hot meal can have powerful effects for morale and our mental well-being. Additionally, we need food to fuel the activities that we do. Our brain is the largest consumer of calories and if we are low on blood sugar it can affect our mood and degrade both physical and cognitive capability. Take the time to eat.

A-ngry/A-nxious

Stop and identify the what and why of your anger/anxiety. Is it an event/person/circumstance? Have I done everything in my ability to change/affect my situation?

L-onely

Connect. Reach out and have meaningful connection with friends and family. Cultivating relationships for your support structures is important. The person you connect with doesn’t need to have answers, they just need to listen. Being heard or feeling understood is a basic human need.

T-ired

Sleep/ Take time for self. Sleep is an essential human need. When we lack sleep our cognitive and physical capabilities degrade. Just losing one night of sleep can increase irritability, ability to focus and fine motor skills. Create a sleep routine if you are having difficulty sleeping. These habits help to prime your body to rest and your mind to relax. Look up sleep hygiene to see what habits you can implement to help you maximize your sleep.



Sometimes our tiredness stems from mental or emotional exhaustion and rather than sleeping what we need is the time to process and reflect. Set aside time to think. For some journaling or drawing helps process. For others going on a run or driving is the quiet space and time. Find what works for you and be intentional in creating the habit of solitude.


H: When have I last eaten?

A: What am I angry/anxious about? What is in my ability to control? What do I need to let go?

L: When was the last time I felt heard? When did I last make meaningful relational connection?

T: When was the last time