Your Foundation
If you want to build a house, you start with the foundation. It starts with selecting a good plot. Then you establish the layout and mark the corner points. You set the string guidelines and double check your angles for perfect squareness. Next you mark your footing locations, excavate the footings, install reinforcement and then, mix and pour the concrete. Of course you have many additional factors like drainage, electrical, and insulation. All of this goes into the part of the house that no one sees so why does is it so important? The foundation of a house keeps it standing through wind and rain, floods, ice, droughts, and time… Once the house is built, we forget it’s even there and focus almost completely on what we see.
So how does this analogy relate to our personal lives? Our foundation is also on the inside. It’s our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health (mind, heart, gut). In our daily lives, we almost completely focus on the exterior (the “what”) that we do, but our foundation (the “why”) is critical. Life is a series of choices and actions. I choose how and where to live, where to work, with whom to live, and how to nourish my body. The choices I make every day guide my life, but how often do I explore the “why” of my choices? When do I have the time when I’m so busy doing life?
Does your lifestyle align with your values? How did you choose your house/apartment or the neighborhood you call home? Why did you choose to (or not to) go to church this week? What goes into your eating habits? Do you put effort into friendships? Where do you prioritize your time? Should you quit the job you hate? These all seem like simple questions, but what if you’re just going with the flow of life and you find yourself on the easiest, or most popular path. Shouldn’t we live purposefully?
So, let’s assume you are convinced that looking inward and re-evaluating the strength of your foundation is a good idea. What does it look like and what is the next step?
A few necessary elements include:
1) An honest inventory: Take an honest look at how you’ve lived your life. Acknowledge strengths and weaknesses, good and bad choices. Take accountability and try to avoid judgment (acceptance is ideal)
2) Time: Taking an inventory may take time, and you’ve been feeding your mental, emotional, spiritual, physical health for years. It may take time get back on track. Have patience!
3) Quiet: To focus internally, you need to quiet your mind. This may require quieting your environment. It’s like they say in movie theaters… “silence is golden!”
4) Support: Most of us need help. Others can validate, share wisdom and experience, offer another perspective, and provide accountability.
5) A plan: Create a plan to align your choices with your values and being your best self. Make lifestyle shifts through attainable changes, that strengthen your foundation.
There are many strategies for achieving the plan with goals. If you are refocused in your mind, heart, and gut, and your “why” aligns with your foundation, then the outcome falls into place!
