Find What Works: The Simple Way to Make Changes Stick

We Christians need to get serious about using our time wisely and find what works for THIS stage of our life.

Until then, I believe God sometimes, figuratively speaking, allows us to be slapped in the face with our own shortcomings.

Afterward, He lovingly prods us to find what works with our personality and lifestyle to make the changes we need to make.

The date was January 19, 2024, and I was cleaning my desk.

I always have a stack of notes written on everything from sticky notes, to note pad pages, to restaurant utensil holders, to index cards.

Even napkins.

These can be a quote I want to save, a song I want to look up, or a child’s action or comment I want to remember.

At some point I get around to digitally filing these notes into an appropriate document.

Then the pile starts accumulating again.

Anyway, back to the problem.

The offending scrap of paper had my weight and the date, which was 3 years–to the very day–prior.

Yep!

On January 19, 2021, I had recorded my weight on this scrap of paper.

Following that, I had shuffled that paper around FOR A FULL 3 YEARS!

Before I go any further, I want to stress that I would NEVER body shame you.

If you are happy with your weight, then I am happy for you.

You do you.

On the other hand, I will do me, and I don’t want to weigh the number on that paper.

What worked for me in the past

For most of my life my normal clothing size ranged from size 4 to size 7.

While I’ve admittedly not seen those sizes in a while, I know I can by walking and going to the gym.

Those are two things I have found that works well for me.

I simply have to free up the time available to do those things.

Engaging in those activities also help my sleep problems which I explain in a little more detail below.

Another thing I found that works wonderfully is to plan the day in advance and include those things.

Why did I find what works and then not do it?

Building this ministry has taken so much time and effort (a labor of love, truly).

However, in the past few years, anything for ME tended to get pushed to the back burner day after day after day.

In all honesty, I just haven’t prioritized myself like I did when I was in college.

You know, like what I teach YOU to do.

Sometimes LIFE happens

In addition to building the ministry, a lot has happened in the past 3 years.

Here’s just a sampling:

• That day (1/19/21) was 2 days after my Mom was promoted to Heaven and 2 days before her funeral. I was in a pretty deep depression for about the next 6 months. We had finally begun developing a good relationship in the last 7 years of her life. I wasn’t ready for her to go.
• 3 months prior to my Mom’s passing, I–at the age of 53–took in my 2-year-old great-niece. And I will raise this child to adulthood.
• 11 months earlier I had come off Phenobarbital to control Grand Mal seizures. I had been on that depressant for over 30 years, and it made me sleep like a BABY. I have literally slept through tornado-like storms. However, since coming off of it, I had not had a decent night’s sleep. And it took me another 3 years to find what works. In other words, I recently began sleeping decently. I have a FitBit which proves my theories about the sleep/no sleep and quality of that sleep.
• I came off the seizure med onto a CBD which was so thick and concentrated it resembled used motor oil (tasted like it too). Unfortunately, after a year on it the price was getting outrageous ($400/6 week supply). So I decided to do Medical Marijuana which works well for me. I stay away from the stuff that gets you stoned and only take the tinctures with high CBD which, unfortunately, leaves me with a lack of energy.
• I had several health problems which made exercise, even walking, out of the question.
• And let’s don’t forget Covid-19.

Things I needed to overcome as I find what works currently

So, here I am, 3 years to the day, and I looked at this weight.

With great consternation I realize that, in 3 long years, I’ve lost a measly 1.4 lbs.

This is RIDICULOUS!

My heart did a little dive as realization flooded into my mind.

I mean, let’s look at this honestly.

In 3-years time, I could have become a body builder, not STILL be 80 lbs overweight.

It’s understandable to a degree.

If you take the obvious hurdles of:

• a depression that lasted many months
• the added responsibility of a young one needing LOTS of time and attention (she was a pretty damaged child)
• lack of sleep/proper rest
• a severe lack of energy
• a myriad of health problems

I’ve always prided myself on identifying hurdles and creating strategies to overcome them.

I’ll find what works at every stage of my life

True to form, since that day in January, I’ve identified some obvious problems and am in the process of eliminating them as I find what works.

For instance:

• While I still miss my Mom, the depression has lifted. It helps that I know, without a doubt, where she is, that she’s more than fine, and that I’ll see her again.
• The 2-year-old is now 6 and is a big help around the house. I can tell her I need to mop, and she moves things out of the kitchen and sweeps for me. She also empties the dishwasher. And she takes care of her bedroom and helps with her laundry. This morning, she proudly showed me that she made her bed by herself and without being asked. It wasn’t even 6 am.
• I’ve realized that when I take something to help me sleep it backfires. I can take a Medical Marijuana product “designed for sleep” and I’ll have much worse sleep than if I don’t. Also, every popular OTC sleep product leaves me tossing and turning. I’ve come to realize that anything like that interferes with my natural sleep process kicking in. In the past week at night, I’ve been taking the exact same product (Calm) I had been taking during the day. It’s a 12.5:1 product (12.5 parts CBD to 1 part THC). It produces no psychedelic effects at all. And I’ve been sleeping better. FINALLY!
• During the day, instead of taking that product I’m now taking at night, I’ve switched to a 5:1 product called Serene for my daytime med. (That’s 5 parts CBD to 1 part THC.) This has resulted in much more energy during the day.
• I’m much more consistent with taking my vitamins/minerals/herbal products. This very much helps with energy.

Find what works for you?

What about you?

What kind of changes do you as a Christian nontraditional student need to make?

Have you been on a quest to find what works for you to finally make those changes more than a vague dream?

Let me know in the comments.

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You’ve got this…

Mary Alice Hogue BS; MSW
Home Time Management Expert, Coach, and Speaker
Helping Christian Nontraditional Students Survive, Thrive, and Grow