Better to go hungry...

"She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat."~Proverbs 31:27 (Amplified Bible)

This isn't a post about dieting. I'm meditating on this verse from Proverbs tonight. I heard it as I was watching Joyce Meyer and it really resonated. Sometimes I can get into a rut and feel as though things simply aren't worth my trouble. This often happens when I let myself fall into discontent or self-pity and I always know when I am allowing this to happen. Thankfully, on most occasions I have been able to turn it around and get back on track. Sometimes it takes a little longer than others, but usually I can get my head on straight when I take time to remember the blessings that I have experienced in my life.

My sister shared something with me recently that put it all in perspective. I am prone to anxiety and when I slip into these "ruts," it isn't unusual for me to start panicking. What if I slip all the way back into depression? What if I can't get back on track? What if I really am not able to be the person I want to be? These thoughts can attack when I'm feeling my lowest and if I don't put my foot down, I run the risk of losing a great deal of or maybe even all of the ground that I have covered to this point. My sister's advice to me was this; when you start feeling anxious about something that is happening in your life, you need to ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is this something you haven't been through before?
2. Is this something you didn't expect?
3. Is this worse than anything you've been through before?

As I thought about these questions, I realized that my answers to all of them were simply, "NO!" During the last few episodes of anxiety that I've experienced, none of it was anything I hadn't been through before. None of it was unexpected. I had really brought the situation on myself. And none of it was worse than anything I had been through before. And even if it had been, there was really no reason to let it overshadow all of the work I've done to build my self-confidence, my self-esteem and my desire to help others. And I will not let my emotional highs and lows dictate the distance that I will travel in this life to do what I am here to do.

And so, the quote above really speaks to me. I will not eat the bread of idleness, no matter how much it calls to me. Sometimes, it's just better to go hungry and go on.

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How many ways are there to get "unstuck"?

Funny you should ask. I recently remembered that there was a book out there titled, "Getting Unstuck," and decided that it was time for me to check this one out. When I went online to see if I could find the book at my local library, I came up with four different books all titled, "Getting Unstuck." I did what any very confused person would do, I reserved all of them. All of them are slightly different; addressing the same type of issue from different angles. I figured it might be helpful to break them down here and give you a brief synopsis of each in case you are looking for the same type of information.

The books include:

1. Getting Unstuck: Breaking Through Your Barriers to Change by Dr. Sidney B. Simon. This book is focused on helping you identify what "stuck" means as well as developing some simple strategies for getting yourself over the hump and heading towards being more satisfied with your life. Published in 1988, this book has some great ideas in it for how to address the barriers to happiness that may exist within your life.

2. Getting Unstuck: Escape Three Traps Women Face Today by Linda S. Mintle, Ph.D. This book addresses three main areas: Anxiety, Depression and Eating Disorders. Dr. Mintle talks about how our thinking influences our emotional health and how to know when we are stuck in self-defeating patterns. This book is definitely geared towards women and helps you to deal "honestly and openly with the depression, anxiety, and pain that can block your way to a full, productive life." Published in 1999.

3. The Life Plus Program for Getting Unstuck by Robert Handly and Jane Handly. This book has a slightly different title, but included Getting Unstuck so I stuck it in here anyway. This book talks about how to use what the Handly's call POWER tools to help us deal with guilt, anger, or blame. Thinking positively and overcoming obstacles are the main themes running through this book. The authors share their personal experiences with overcoming obstacles to help you see what you can do if you change the way you think. Published in 1989.

4. Getting Unstuck: 8 Simple Steps to Solving Any Problem by Dr. Joy Browne. Dr. Browne talks about how we need to accept that sometimes setbacks are necessary to help us move towards something we didn't even know was waiting for us. A very positive way of looking at the negative in our lives and seeing how they have led us toward something better. In this book, Dr. Browne gives different scenarios in which the person is struggling to find an answer to a perplexing question in their lives. This one was published in 2002.

All of the books have good points and bad points, but for the most part it really depends on what kind of "stuck" you are. If you are stuck in a pattern of feeling bad about the things that are happening in your life, you'd probably benefit from reading some of #4. If you are a woman who is having problems with anxiety or depression, then check out #2. If you need motivation to take a step forward, choose #3. If you just need a general guide to moving past some negative patterns, then #1 might work best. Or read them all, it can't hurt to check out all of the available information. The point is that if you are feeling stuck in your life, there are a number of things you can do to get past it. You just have to be willing to do a little work.

Hope this information is helpful to you. If you find resources that are related to this topic that you would like to share here, please send them to us! We'd love to include it on the blog.

Take care!

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