It's easy to get overwhelmed in life - especially just after the holidays when life returns to seemingly less holy moments around us. Cheri Gregory offers practical and pivotal help in today's read. Read to the end for information on a book giveaway!
Elisa
Be Your Best Self, Even Under Pressure
By Cheri Gregory
I wish I were better under pressure.
Oh, to be the kind of woman who keeps her act together as things around her fall apart!
But I'm not. My natural reaction is to crumble in a crisis.
Two decades ago, during a 6.7 magnitude earthquake, I stumbled down two flights of stairs and started out the front door before remembering:
My children.
Meanwhile, my level-headed husband had made a beeline to our kids' room at the first tremor. Throughout the quake, he stood in a doorway, protectively holding our baby with one arm and our toddler with the other.
That was my moment of truth: I'm not made of hero stuff.
Quite literally. As an HSP - a Highly Sensitive Person - becoming easily overwhelmed is in my DNA.
So in the moment of crisis, my hyper-alert nervous system always betrayed my best intentions.
Until I learned about pre-deciding.
Pre-Deciding
Pre-deciding is making intentional decisions ahead of time about particulars and principles.
Pre-deciding, before you're facing an overwhelming situation, about who you are as a person, what your core values are, and how you will act saves you time, energy, and agony.
You chose ahead of time - before the question is asked, before the problem occurs, before the dilemma arises - what you will and will not do. Who you will be and who you will not be.
Pre-deciding puts your core values into action long before they are put to the test.
Pre-deciding makes sure that your Future Self is your very best self.
Your Personal Manifesto
One of the best forms of pre-deciding is making your own Personal Manifesto.
Your Personal Manifesto is a simple series of present-tense statements about who you are and who you aspire to become, by God's grace and power.
It's an intentional invitation for the Holy Spirit to work on specific areas of your life-especially when you're under pressure.
Here's what the most recent version of my Personal Manifesto looks like:
Having my Personal Manifesto in front of me when I'm in the midst of a crisis keeps me from crumbling, by reminding me of my very best self. I make better choices when I focus on who I want my Future Self to be.
Sharing my Personal Manifesto with trusted friends and family members empowers them to encourage me when I'm overwhelmed. And to hold me accountable to who I've said I want to be.
Will a Personal Manifesto help you stand your ground the next time you're in an earthquake? Hard to tell.
But it can help you to ...
... live in God's love.
... say "yes" to only the few things that only you can do.
... seek joy each and every day.
... ask for what you need.
... initiate difficult conversations.
... de-clutter your home.
... focus on gratitude.
... learn to rest.
Develop a Personal Manifesto. Put it into practice. And you'll learn to be your best self, even under pressure.
Cheri Gregory spends her weekdays teaching teens and weekends speaking at women's retreats. She's been married to her college sweetheart, Daniel, for more than 28 years. The Gregorys and their young adult kids, Annemarie and Jonathon, live in California. Cheri co-authored Overwhelmed, with Kathi Lipp.
Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker and the bestselling author of several books, including Clutter Free, The Husband Project, and The Get Yourself Organized Project. She and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four young adults.