changing seasons | the iGnite blog

Mar20

Point to Ponder:
What do you need to quit?

by Neissa Brown Springmann

Celebration! The first day of spring is tomorrow, March 20th and if there’s a person in the world who doesn’t love the season of rebirth, renewal and regrowth, I’d like to hear from he or she and to try to convince them otherwise. Blooming tress, longer and warmer days, and playful chirping birds are all signs that Spring has sprung and we get to begin again.

While I love the spring season, I actually have an affinity for them all. Having lived in both Austin and now San Diego, two cities who don’t have dramatic changing seasons, I’d argue that the seasons in both of the warmer climates are prevalent enough. They come at just the right time and give us exactly what we need, whether it be more time to rest or more time to play. Really, I feel that the changing seasons are nothing short of miraculous and our Creator knew exactly what we needed, at the perfect time.

Now, as we say goodbye to winter and welcome spring, you don’t have to look long or hard to find a blog post or magazine cover filled with springtime inspiration. Last week, while reading a new book, I too found what I think is the perfect way to start spring–Quit Something!

Recently, my good friend and iGnite member, Catherine Sanderson, recommended that I read Love Does, by Bob Goff. Ironically, Bob lives in San Diego and while I had been encouraged to read his book before I never took action, until Catherine sent me a very persuasive text saying, “Neissa! Do you know a book Love Does and/or Bob Goff? You would be freaking obsessed!” I mean, how can I say “no” to that? In addition, Bob’s whole mission is to inspire people to dream big and make life more awesome. Again, that’s hard to pass up! So, I purchased the book and while I haven’t finished it yet, I have snagged some jewels of inspiration from Bob, like ‘quit something’!

Either Bob doesn’t reveal why or I just haven’t gotten to the part in the book where he goes into more detail, but every Thursday Bob ‘quits something’. After reading this I paused, thought about it and decided it was brilliant! After all, to routinely quit something requires us to regularly stop and evaluate our actions and life, including any pesky bad habits that we’ve picked up along the way. Furthermore, this is one of the gifts of springtime, the season of new opportunity and rebirth. In order for new life to grow, we need to pull the weeds and quit something.

One simple yet big example that Bob used was to quit texting and driving, so don’t feel like you have to quit your job, unless you’re miserable and it’s preventing you from living a more awesome life. You get to choose. And, whatever you decide to quit, if you slip up, no one says you can’t keep choosing that same habit to quit each Thursday.

To get your mental juices flowing, below are 25 examples:

Quit saying ‘I’m sorry’ and replace it with ‘Thank you’. (Ex. If you are late to a function and everyone waited on you, rather than profusely apologize, greet your group with “Thank you so much for waiting on me!”. Though there’s nothing wrong with a sincere apology and many times they are necessary, women tend to over apologize. Plus,gratitude is always the winner)
Quit complaining
Quit wishing, waiting, over thinking and doubting yourself
Quit comparing yourself to others or who you were yesterday
Quit talking
Quit the glorification of being busy
Quit being late
Quit eating on the go or in your car
Quit going to bed past 10:00 p.m.
Quit being a consumer of things
Quit saying anything negative about yourself or others
Quit worrying and being afraid
Quit looking at social media
Quit drinking soda
Quit using the word “like”
Quit using your phone while enjoying a meal with other people
Quit doing at least one thing for your kids
Quit settling in relationships
Quit yelling
Quit reading gossip magazines
Quit eating fast food
Quit saying “yes”
Quit saying “no”
Quit looking at your phone before bedtime
Quit trying to gain the approval of others

As you can see, there is so much healthy quitting that we can do in which new life can grow. It’s the inspiration and promise of the gorgeous spring season of opportunity! When one unfruitful door closes, a fruit-bearing door always opens.

Action Item:
Each week, quit something that isn’t helpful, necessary, and/or is dangerous and preventing you from living your dreams and an awesome life.

nov6_2016-2

Point to Ponder:
What changes in your life do you need to make and what do you need to let go of?

by Neissa Brown Springmann

A few weeks ago I took Malaine, our three year old daughter, to get a much needed hair cut. Her hair had grown to the middle of her back and from her oatmeal breakfast to her ongoing play date with playdough, her hair became a catch-all for everything (yuck!). Like many three year old girls, her sweet, funny and very loving nature can be overtaken by an extremely feisty, salty and disagreeable teenager. So, as I stood close by (mostly to make sure she obeyed the stylist), I witnessed a literal transformation in my little toot. While several inches were cut and her hair was very cute, most interesting was the change in her demeanor, posture and attitude. Morphing right in front of my eyes was an agreeable three year old with a big smile and an added skip in her step. While she couldn’t articulate what had occurred, I recognized what Mother Nature so beautifully models for us from season to season, which is how cleansing and essential change and letting things go is.

Like leaves on a tree, not only during the fall season do they drop to the ground and then bloom also from spring to summer and summer to fall, they are constantly changing form and color. And, if Mother Nature doesn’t stay the same, it leads me to believe that we too are created to regularly evolve and let go of the things that we cannot control, are weighing us down and therefore stunting our growth and ability to live in gratitude.

Next, and to go another mind-blowing step further, according to National Wildlife Federation Naturalist David Mizejewski, “Fallen leaves offer a double benefit. Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and fertilizes the soil as it breaks down.” The way I see it is that is if it weren’t for the change in season and the trees letting go of its leaves, the weeds would overtake the ground, therefore stripping it of it’s potential growth, beauty and the perfect cycle would end.

With Mother Nature being our greatest teacher and so eloquently demonstrating the absolute need for change and letting go, my question to you is what changes in your life do you need to make and what do you need to let go of? Furthermore, what changes can you make and what can you let go of that will allow you to experience greater satisfaction and more gratitude?

For change, it doesn’t have to be anything dramatic, as a little change goes a long way. Like Malaine, maybe it’s a hair cut, a color or new style, rearranging your living room or painting your walls a new color. Or, maybe it’s something more bold that requires a giant leap of faith and extraordinary courage, like changing jobs, careers or moving.

As for letting go, I believe it is the key that unlocks our greatest potential, beauty and life. Just imagine how liberated we would be if only we let go of “our plan,” the extremely high expectations we have placed on ourselves or feel that others have placed on us; what if we were able to let go of the “should have’s” from our past that paralyze us, the self-judgement that keeps us from focusing on our immensely blessed life or let go of judging others all together. What if we let go of the need to please, the desire be someone we aren’t or the need to be approved of. What if we let go of the ridiculous assumptions that take up prime real estate in our mind and keep us spinning. Finally, what if we let go of worrying, let go of relationships that no longer serve our souls and let go of the need to control what is not ours to control. Instead, what if we allowed God to do for us what nature allows Him to do and He so perfectly does for nature? It’s the ability to recognize that we don’t have all of the answers and we can’t fix everything. It’s the simple act of gratitude–saying “thank you,” not blocking the blessing and letting go and letting God do what only He can do in your life.