10 surprising habits that changed my life Pt.2

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Hey, hope you're well. Fall is already in the air. Where is the time flying?Here's your digest for this week. Hope you find these, inspiring and encouraging.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

10 Surprising Habits that have changed my life Pt.2

This week we continue my series on the habits that continue to prove incredibly helpful. Hope you enjoyed the first 3; Audiobook/Podcasts, Video Games, and Deep Work.Enjoy the next 3 and let know if you practise any of these by responding to this email.(approximately 7 min read)4.) Taking a weekly Sabbath

Exodus chapter 20  verses 8-11 says,Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”So in Scripture we see a commandment to take 1 day off from work as rest….Physical rest and Spiritual rest.I know some people are gonna wanna argue with me now that the Sabbath is really on Saturday but that’s not the point of this.In light of the totality of Scripture, including the new testament, the point is not the specific day itself but the practise of taking a day to recenter ones mind on the ultimate source of provision.One of the purposes of the Sabbath was not only physical rest of your body and mind, but also Spiritual rest in that it was a day used to re-orient one’s mind back to the creator.Psalm 75: 6-7 reminds us that promotion does not come from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: and he puts one down and elevates another.We are also reminded in Ecclesiastes 9:11 that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”And who controls time and chance but God?And so God commanded that we take a day to stop our work, so as to remind ourselves that it is not solely in our own striving that we will see the results we want….in business, in work, in goals, etc.We must work, but we must trust in God ultimately for our provision.And that is what the Sabbath - the day of rest is intended to do.And I think this message is sooo important, especially in the world of hustle culture….in the world of entrepreneurship…in this world of goal setting and ambition.It is important to remember that God is the ultimate source, and has commanded us to take a weekly Sabbath to remember this.Interestingly, scientific research and lived experience also shows this to be positive.Burn out is a real thing and a real risk for those who want to keep going non-stop.But those who take breaks are much more likely to succeed in the long run.I also believe that God blesses those who take the Sabbath, not just in the restoration that comes from rest, but in the obedience of resisting the urge to only trust ones own efforts.WOOH!That’s a lot of teaching.Bringing it home, I have found this to be the case!I cannot tell you how many times opportunities and ideas have come to me on my Sabbath.Not working….well trying not to work…and taking the time to rest, read my Bible, go to church, meditate and BOOM!A new opportunity presents itself or an idea comes that radically changes things for me.I started practising taking a Sabbath - one day a week of ZERO work - years ago and I’ve been better for it.And in case it’s not clear, this isn’t just a weekend off to chill and relax.While that can be a part of it, the Biblical definition of a Sabbath cannot be removed from the spiritual disciplines that go along with it - reading my Bible, fellowshipping with other Christians, deeply meditating on the Word of God and prayer.5.) Journaling

I’ve done this on and off for years.It’s a basic habit that I use when I find my mind is particularly full, anxious or just racing.Writing down my thoughts, ideas and feelings helps me understand and process them better.Confusion and anxiety often exists in chaos and uncontrolled energy.So when you’re feeling anxious or unsettled, it can be very helpful to write all the things in your mind.I’m not a psychologist but something about seeing it outside of your head is very clarifying.You can see these thoughts  in the light of day.In the mind, they can be very illusive.When your mind is racing or you’re anxious It’s like being in a mansion with many rooms and you’re hearing sounds, voices and whispers coming from all the rooms.You don’t quite have clarity on what’s being said or what that sound is, but you know there’s something here, and over there and over there.Journaling is like meticulously going into all of those rooms and bringing all of those things out, and gathering all of them in the foyer.So rather than distant, unclear noises, you see all it in one place.Then you can process all of them.Here’s a super high level hack.Journaling also helps me with something called “Metacognition”.This is the act of thinking about how you think.So simply by having clarity on what is on your mind, you can now not only assess the thing itself, but assess how you’re thinking through the thing itself.Here’s a simple example.If my wife says something in passing and for whatever reason, it slightly triggers something within me….maybe insecurity, discomfort, irritation, whatever.I have found that simply leaving it in my mind doesn’t help.It just festers because I’m not processing it clearly or directly. It’s just sort of there looming in the dark.But if I write it down, I can ask myself questions like;

• What did she actually say?

• What was the context?

• What do I know about the kind of person she is?

• Is my emotional response proportional to what was actually said? (Metacognition)

• and so on.

You see how this can help you better understand your own mind?I don’t do this perfectly, but I try.And this is just one example of how I use journaling to bring peace, clarity and order to my mind.And a clear mind is the start of a changed life.6.) Scheduling Creativity

There’s this illusion that creativity strikes at random times like a lightening bolt.Some ideas come like that, but to be honest, creativity is like any other muscle.The more you do, the more you’re able to do.So several years ago, I stopped waiting for inspiration to hit me before writing and recording songs.I scheduled weekly writing sessions where I would just sit with beats and attempt to conjure up something.Not all of those sessions created magic, but they did sharpen my skills and give me more opportunities at bat.Little did I know at the time was that those sessions were also increasing my catalogue, which would later prove to be very helpful.It was from that catalogue of demos and ideas that I was able to land different lucrative deals and then put out 2 EPs, even though there was a period of time when I  couldn’t write as much as I had been previously.I had enough songs to use.It’s the saying, if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready.Approaching creativity as a work day is counter-intuitive but is one of the secrets of the greats.Just schedule it in (whatever that is for you) and do it.You’ll be sharpening your skills, developing assets and intellectual property for yourself, and not to mention developing the discipline of consistency, which is such a transferable skill wherever you go.7.) Boxing / Working out / Exercising

This one is pretty obvious, so I won’t spend too much time on it.Staying active makes you feel good and perform better.You’re more focused, you have more energy and it gives you an increasing sense of accomplishment.Look, the more hard things you do, the more your confidence grows. It’s just natural.So doing difficult things like committing to exercising, will actually boost your confidence, which will bleed into other areas of life.Here’s a hack:Record yourself working out, then afterwards do a little editing and add some hype music that you love to your workout video.You don’t have to post it. This is for you.Just watch it, and see how motivated you become just watching yourself workout to some epic music.It’ll make you want to do it more, I promise!Watch it again whenever you’re feeling unmotivated.I personally do this.---------

Reflect on these this coming week and excited to share the rest with you next week.Again, let me know if you do any of the ones mentioned so far.

VIDEO I ENJOYED THIS WEEK

Why Men Are Thinking About The ROMAN Empire At An ALARMING Rate...

You may have seen this trend on social media. Wives all over the place are randomly asking their husbands how much they think of the Roman empire. To their surprise it would seem that MANY men think about it frequently. My wife asked me and would you know it? Like many men, I also do...at least once per week. Ruslan has an interesting take on why this might be the case. It's an insightful video.Watch by clicking the image.

SONG I ENJOYED THIS WEEK

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

When is it ever a bad time to listen to Coldplay? Never! I periodically go back to Coldplay in my music library. This was once such week. Currently enjoying their classics like this one.Listen now by clicking the image.

That's it for this week.Love you,ShopéP.S. New song coming in October....sorry for the delay. Pre-save all my future releases HERE. You'll only ever had to do this once.P.P.S. Don't forget to my latest YT video Christians get THIS wrong about money

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