Books

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode 1

[amazon_image id=”1400206464″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life[/amazon_image]

 

I received a digital preview copy of the book to read to help build excitement for the book launch.  This book will be available on January 21st.  I have actually met Crystal and she is a sweetheart.  I have also read and really enjoyed her other books: 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life and The Money Saving Mom’s Budget.  I originally signed up so that I could get a copy and get it quick!  However, after I started to read it, I was thinking about how it would probably be normal for someone who just had their fifth child to feel like they were in survival mode, however, I haven’t.  Are there days that are hard, yes, absolutely.  However, Crystal has those days too, they’re just a part of life!  😉  So, I thought it might be a good idea to take each chapter and blog about how I have implemented her strategies that she suggests in the book.  Now, my life won’t work the same way for you as it does for me, but it never hurts to get some ideas and inspiration!  So here goes!

 

Her first chapter is called;

Stop Trying To Do It All

We did this quite a while ago, however, I do still remember what it was like.  With my personality, I like things structured.  I have always been a routine person, however, I used to try and cram 32 hours worth of “stuff” into just 24 hours.  I’m not very good at math, but even I know that it doesn’t add up!  🙂

I sat down and took the advise from Amy Lynn Andrew’s book (which Crystal pointed me to),

, and decided that something had to give!  At the time my husband started school, both the older boys were in sports, the older kids were in swimming lessons and my oldest was in Cub Scouts.  I simply could not do it all, I was running ragged.  I was worn out from all the car rides.  The kids could feel my stress and thus, started becoming big discipline problems.

I sat down and prioritized.  To us swimming was a non-negotiable.  My eldest also LOVED Cub Scouts.  That’s what we decided to stick with.  So I know this is counter-cultural, but right now, my boys are not in any team sports, but we’re not a huge sports family, so to us, it’s not a huge sacrifice.  Right now, the four older kids are in swimming lessons 9-10 months out of the year, my daughter is in dance and Little Flowers and the older boys are in Cub Scouts.  For us right now, that’s more than enough; emotionally and financially.

I also had to give up on having the “perfectly clean and organized house.”  No matter how hard I try, this is just not my strong suit.  My husband and I have discussed what is acceptable to the both of us and that is what I shoot for, so if you decide to drop by without much notice, you will tell that our house is very much “lived in.”

There is so much that I don’t do: I don’t make homemade cakes for the kids’ birthdays, I usually buy the invitations as well.  We don’t make beds, I’m not good at decorating …

So, I have defiantly learned to not try and do it all.  I’ve seen the aftermath of what that does to someone’s body and I don’t want to end up like that if I can help it, it’s just not worth it.  I like to say that I don’t care about what others think, and I’m getting better as I get older, but that does still stress me out.  However, I’ve learned to look at it in a different perspective.  I know God is teaching me lessons every day, and if someone is appalled by my house or activities my children are or are not involved in, I see it as a possibility that God is using us to help teach them a lesson too.  If it’s not going to matter in 25 years (or if I’ll even remember in 25 years), then I try not to stress about it.

 

Quotes

Some of my favorite quotes from this chapter are:

• “Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.”
• “Stress is a powerful force and it takes no prisoners.”
• “I stopped believing the lies that I could do it all, be it all, and have it all.”
• “I’d rather do a few things well, have my priorities in order and enjoy life than to try and do two hundred things poorly and have a stressed out, exhausted, passionless existence.”
• “Many times busyness is mistakenly equated with productivity.”

 

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