3 Books I want to Embody in 2023
I’m sharing the 3 books I want to embody in 2023. Are you with me? Together let’s declutter, love everyone always and create good habits! I absolutely love to read! I like to read almost anything honestly, but at the end of 2022 I started three books that I want to really embrace and embody in 2023! First tell me, how is It 2023 already?! Time just flies! I feel like these three books somehow just found me last year. They landed in my lap or called out to me from the covers… like for real! I know God hade His hand in It and I have so much work to do, but I am so grateful to have some direction.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Last year I started serving in our church life group by organizing the small groups. Part of that responsibility was choosing a book or study for everyone to enjoy together. I am not going to lie, that felt like a tremendous amount of pressure for me so I prayed about It a lot. As I was scrolling “the gram”, I kept coming across The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I wish I could say that I don’t judge a book by its cover, but I totally do. And I liked how simple it was. It was just saying “Read me and your life will feel this effortless and unburdened”.
To be honest, my life was completely chaotic when I found the book, and I just felt like maybe other people also had the desire to simplify things and not be so rushed all the time. I presented this book to our leadership team and they loved the idea, in fact, two people had already read It and loved It! So, that’s when I began to read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and fall in love with simplifying my life. At this point, I think any time I open my mouth, people think I’m going to mention this book which is how much It has changed the way I think and encouraged me in a new way of living.
Since this book, I have learned so much about decluttering all areas of life, giving myself margin in circumstances so that I don’t lose my patience or become frustrated easily. I have SO much more work to do on myself in this area, but I am so grateful for the tools in this book. John Mark Comer talks about practicing a Sabbath (a day of rest), having silence and solitude in life, and decluttering. You better believe I have already started purging things room by room and It feels so good! More stuff = more stress, especially in my current life stage. I want to embody this book and eliminate hurry as much as possible.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Atomic Habits has been everywhere! At least, I’ve seen It everywhere. I see It online, front and center in a book store, and even in the hands of business owners I respect and aspire to be. Having a good routine has been difficult for me ever since I left my day job. Without the mandatory structure of work hours, I have had a hard time. You may have noticed my post the other day about my pregnancy with Cole. It has left me with some really bad habits that are hard to shake, some pretty awful PPD and postpartum anxiety and lots of exhaustion.
Having purchased and read other books about habits without any change, I was skeptical of Atomic Habits. But the people who were talking about It really showed how they have incredibly good and inspiring habits. So, I dove in via audio book. I have since paused on chapter 5 because I am at a place where I need to make my plan intentional and take time to write things out. However, I have already seen an incredible difference in my mindset and an identity shift. And, it’s small and easy enough actionable items that seem to already be helping me. Months ago I started working on my morning routine, and I want to just keep building on top of that!
I was listening to Jenna Kutcher’s podcast episode 608 about her recent health journey and something she said hit me hard. She was talking about how she always believed herself to be the fat girl of her group of friends until she started making choices that aligned with that belief. Sometimes we believe something of ourselves and even if that isn’t true, we start making decisions that align with that belief. Atomic Habits hits hard on this too. So, enter my new mantra “I am a healthy, energetic and joyful mom.” And, I’ll be repeating this out loud until I believe It! I am committing to embody the process behind creating good habits.
Everybody Always by Bob Goff
Bob Goff is an amazing writer and speaker! I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak numerous times and I love that he writes just how he talks. He is unapologetically himself in the most humble of ways. He is open about his faults, what he learned, his experiences and his opinions. This book is all about loving everybody always. And, if I’m honest, I don’t always love everyone in the best way. I love how he teaches us simple acts of loving everyone and shares what God has taught him about people, simply through life stories. Some people are just harder to love and I know they probably feel the same way about me. So, I am really trying to love even those that the love doesn’t come naturally.
What do you think?? Have you read any of these books? Do you want to come with me on this journey to embody these 3 books in 2023. Let’s do this together!
