Head vs. Emotion

today was REALLY REALLY LOOOOOONG.

i had posted with my fitness accountability group that i was going to workout with my kettlebells tonight but that was 3 whole days ago and there was NO way it was going to happen after an 11hr day today and 14hr day yesterday, until...

i admitted to myself what i KNEW i needed and made the choice with my head to

go for a walk with the dog.

when it was the LAST thing i felt like doing.

no joking, i could hardly make myself stand up but KNEW that i needed just a short walk around the block to decompress from being inside most of the day.

then guess what happened...

i felt so invigorated i decided to get my workout in!

                              

                              but...

                            WHY???

1. I valued myself enough to be ok with replacing a real workout with a short simple walk

2. I accepted that I would take a shower with no sweat to wash away and didn't feel guilty! (i have this thing with not taking a shower unless i workout- which makes me workout so i can "earn" a shower. horrible, i know but habits of 10years don't vanish in 1year. still working on that one...)

3. I realized if I could make the decision with my head- instead of emotions- to give myself what my heart clearly told me i needed- a walk- then surely I could make the same decision regarding my workout. 

   in other words, positive decisions- NO MATTER HOW SMALL- are powerful motivators and encouragers. 

i'll admit, this sounds like a really little deal but for me working out, getting my blood pumping, is really important for my mental health as exercise boosts my endorphin levels a LOT. so, exercising for me is basically a proactive choice that i make for the coming days.

but then it got me thinking...

how often do i really make my decisions this way?? it's obviously the healthiest way to choose:

"Thus says the LORD, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD.

For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds."

~ Jeremiah 17:5-10

...healthiest when a person has the mind of the LORD, as the verses say, as opposed

to trusting in the deceitful human heart (emotion).

i suppose this path of thought got me thinking deeper b/c of the many things that have been happening in my life over the past couple months.

more specifically, the innumerable amount of times i've had to make decisions with my head and NOT my emotions.

most times against my will, if i were honest. 

we live in such a feel-good society, it really does rather go against the grain to make head decisions. just look at the mess the world is in- is it not all b/c someone "felt" a certain way? and then yet another person reacts b/c of an opposing "feeling"?? did Eve not "feel" like making her own decision just once b/c the fruit was "desirable" (positive emotion) to her??

oh, the futility of choosing on emotion. 

yet it happens ALL the time. and needless pain results. a LOT of it.

one of my biggest pet peeves is how some people place such a high importance on being "happy".

what does that mean, anyway??

and WHERE in the bible does it say that we are owed happiness??????????

 

i have found that the objects from which i gain- not happiness- but joy, are those things i have to work at the hardest. ie: my art projects, the children i care for, my spirituality, staying in shape, running races, cooking wholesome meals, the list goes on...

what do all these things have in common?

frustration, disappointment, failure................ PERSEVERANCE

"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."

-Romans 5:3-6

as was once said, "even the trees must go through the winter in order to see the day of new growth and promise in the buds and blossoms of spring..."

~i am THANKFUL God gave me the grace, strength, and solidity to choose with my head~