Needing a little "growth"

This morning I actually kneeled to pray. Just me. not with my family. solitude and quiet for a brief moment with just me to talk to my maker. As I began this communication I realized how long it had been since I had done this with "just me".
I make sure as a family we say prayers together. I ask my kids to say their prayers before they go to bed and often my hubby and I will pray together - just the 2 of us.
I realized that my personal prayer and scripture study had suffered for the past several months and I began to contemplate why that had happened.

"I'm too busy."
"I'm too tired late at night, or early in the morning is too early"

really that's about it.
Do I know I need it? yup.
Do I know it's good for me? yup.
Do I recognize the difference in my life when I do the things my spiritual being needs me to do? you betcha!

I laughed as these thoughts went through my head. Guess what I hear every day at my work in my personal training center?

Client: Man, it's been forever since I worked out! I really miss it.
ME: where have you been?
them: busy or tired or overworked...
Me: do you want to get back into it?
Them: YOU BETCHA! I really love how I feel and notice the difference in my life when I exercise.

the conversation I had with My Heavenly Father was the same:

ME: Man, It's Been forever since I worked on increasing my individual Spirituality.
GOD:Where have you been?
Me: Busy or too tired to wake up early or stay up late. sometimes I was just plain lazy.
GOD: Do you want me in your life?
Me: YOU BETCHA! I love how much better I feel when I am closer to you.

So, I am doing what I ask my clients to do.
1 - find out if this really is important to me and why
(I love how I feel when my spiritual being is in tune. I feel more direction and purpose and "whole". I want this badly)
2 - define some attainable action steps to develop a new habit
(I can read daily even if it just a favorite Verse. I can pray daily even if it is just to Tell God Thank you for what I have. I can attend the temple once a month even if it is just me alone.)
3 - celebrate the journey to a better me.
( I will celebrate a better me each month after going to the temple by allowing myself to eat out at a favorite restaurant for lunch or dinner and getting a dessert once a month since I normally don't do that)
4 - recognize stumbling blocks along the way as such not as ROAD BLOCKS.
(Roda blocks keep you from continuing your journey forward. stumbling blocks just slow you down but can be overcome with some effort.)
5 - adjust when needed
(take a look at schedules and energy and time commitment and change things up as my life changes in order to overcome those stumbling blocks.)

I have to laugh at myself a little. I really do relate a lot of life experiences to exercise and working out and how it is the same. self development is the same no matter what area of life you are working on. Goal setting and self improvement steps go across the board in all areas of your life.
- physical
- spiritual
- financial
- family
- personal relationships
- education
etc...
If you want to grow in any area of life that has been on hold or neglected, you must decide what is important and how you will grow in those areas.

I have a LOT to work on. Physically I am doing better than I have in MANY MANY MANY years. But there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

I believe life is meant to be a continual climb toward a better and better existence. I believe that is the purpose of this life - to be better than we were. backsliding does not mean the journey is over any more than getting lost on a trip somewhere means to quit the journey.
when on a trip and you take a wrong road or a tire goes flat, you fix the problem. you may have lost time, but the journey always goes on. SO it is in any area of our life. I have hit a bump in the road and taken a wrong turn for a short detour. But it's time to get back on track and continue the journey.