Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
~Denis Waitley
Do you ever feel like you are SpInNiNg pLaTeS and it won’t be long until they all come crashing down? I can’t tell you how many times I have found myself in that predicament. My personality type has tendencies to over-commit. I impulsively say “Yes” to something and then realize shortly thereafter, “Oops. I should have never agreed to this!”
In the last few years I have taken some time to learn more about myself. After all, one of the principles of Peace with Food is KnOw YoUrSeLf. In this process I have come to understand HoW I Am WiReD and the strengths and weaknesses inherent with that wiring. And I have also had a lot of failures.
But these failures have served a HiGhEr PuRpOsE. They have helped me peel the onion so to speak – getting me more StReAm-LiNeD aNd SmArTeR as to what works and what doesn’t.
When I started this journey I began with a huge gap between where I was regarding Peace With Food and where I wanted to be. With each “failure” {a.k.a mess up, throw in the towel, slip up} I close that gap a little bit more by CrEaTiNg A sYsTeM that eliminates the little foxes that tripped me up. (I talked about little foxes – those little things that seem so insignificant, but that make the biggest difference – in my last post.)
This is what stream lining is all about. It is removing those little things that cause the biggest problems and instead creating what my mentor, John C. Maxwell, calls systems. Here is his definition of a system:
A process for predictably achieving a goal based on specific, orderly, repeatable principles and practices.
{From The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth page 109}
One example of a system that you no doubt will be able to relate to is our system of traffic lights in the US. When you approach an intersection, you don’t have to think about what you need to do. You just AuToMaTiCaLLy go if the light is green and stop if it is red. No indecisiveness. No hesitancy. Instead you know exactly what to do.
How would you like to have systems in place that take away the second guessing and indecisiveness? Systems that are intentional and purposeful, ultimately helping you AcHiEvE YoRr GoaLs and honor your priorities?
Life just runs smoother with systems.
Stay tuned to my next post. I will share with you some of my systems to help give you ideas for creating your own systems. But in the meantime, ask yourself:
What systems do I have in place?
System for BrEaFfAsT?
System for snacking?
System for getting my kids up and OuT tHe DoOr to school in the morning and doing it in P E A C E!
System for dealing with temptation?
System for going to the grocery store?
Do you have systems? Are they EfFeCtiVe?
P.S. For the previous post in this series click HERE.
For the next post in this series click HERE.
Peace with Food 