Tag Archives: God

He was right the whole time. An epiphany about habits

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This is a common occurrence in the Eckhardt home.  Jeff will communicate a thought he thinks will help me.  He is dumbfounded when I share the same thought as an epiphany I learned from a podcast or a book.  Why did I have to hear it from someone else?  He was right the whole time.

Today I had a similar moment with God

Tiffany Eckhardt, owner of Flown The Coop, discovers a paradigm shift reading Atomic Habits, by James Clear

I am a journaler.  I write out all my feelings to determine what I think about them.  God has been whispering the word “BE”  to me for a long time.  It didn’t register until today.

Road to an epiphany

I have created a wonderful habit of listening to podcasts as I get ready for the day.  If you haven’t already, check out my 5 Podcasts To Finish 2018 Strong article.

My habit has introduced me to wonderful Influencers.   I am currently enjoying the #Last90Days challenge with Dave and Rachel Hollis.  I tune into their daily FB live for inspiration.  Their Five To Thrive has really propelled me into some great foundational habits.

I’m seeing a reoccurring topic arise throughout the podcast world.  Everyone seems to be talking about habits.

I am currently listening to The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do on Audible.  This is a book Rachel Hollis recommended the first week of the #Last90Days challenge.  Wow! The study of habits is fascinating.  The same week I started to listen The Power of Habit I heard an interview on Lewis Howes’ podcast with James Clear. James just wrote the book Atomic Habits.  Blew. My. Mind.  I highly recommend listening to this podcast!

The road to an epiphany led me to a Habits.

I am a reader

My copy of Atomic Habits arrived in the mail yesterday.  Ironically, I am creating a new reading habit at night.  (I am a reader)  I devoured the first three chapters, underlining and wiring comments on several key ideas.  Here are a few of my favorites:

  • A habit is a routine or behavior that is performed regularly – and, in many cases, automatically.
  • the quality of our lives depend on the quality of our habits
  • Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement
  • Success is the product of daily habits – not once-in-a-lifetime transformations
  • You don’t rise to the level of your goals.  You fall to the level of your systems
  • an atomic habit refers to a tiny change, a marginal gain, a 1 percent improvement
  • atomic habits are the building blocks of remarkable results
  • there is a difference between outcome based habits and identity habits
  • It’s hard to change your habits if you never change the underlying beliefs that led you to your past behavior
  • The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity… when your behavior and your identity are fully aligned, you are no longer pursuing a behavior change.  You are simply acting like the person you already believe yourself to be.
  • The focus should always be on becoming that type of person, not getting a particular outcome

Wow!  A paradigm shift!  I had to let all of these ideas sink in.  What stood out to me is that I didn’t truly believe I could be the person who accomplished dreams.  I didn’t believe I could BE successful or healthy (skinny).  I didn’t even believe I could BE a nice person.  UUGH!

He was right the whole time

This morning God whispered to me again, “Be.”  Turns out he was right the whole time.  God was leading me to focus on who I wanted to BE.  He is interested in leading me to my true identity.  Why didn’t I hear him from the beginning?  I was focused on outcomes. I didn’t have faith in the journey!

Now what?

I will focus on small changes over time.  My goal is to become the best version of myself.

The question becomes, “Who do I want to BE?”

  • I am a christian (true identity). I am loving and loyal to my family and friends.
  • I am a healthy person who is committed to daily exercise, drinking water, and eating well (I am skinny). 😉
  • I am a natural networker.  I love connecting people and helping them realize their dreams!
  • I am a leader who uplifts her team to the best version of themselves.
  • I am a reader… love to learn!
  • I am patient… becoming the best version of myself takes time.  🙂

This epiphany might only be for my benefit.

He was right the whole time.  I don’t think God is upset that I didn’t hear “BE” the first time.  I think he knew I needed to take this road to an epiphany.  Tiny habits over time compounds into the person I want to become!  I am thankful for this lesson.

I am humbly grateful if this resinates with you!  Let me encourage you!  Decide the person you want to BE and create habits that serve that person.

I’d love to hear from you!  Get a copy of the book Atomic Habits.  Let’s share what we learn with each other!  Let’s believe in who we can BE!

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!

The Coop

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The Coop, an unlikely dream for a road warrior who continually flies free!  The story of our amazing journey…

I declared 2014 as the Year Of Focus and read it on our kitchen chalk board every day.  I started the year Celebrating What Is Right In The World after watching a video by DeWitt Jones.  He taught me to live with uncertainty, yet act with confidence and the importance of moving from good frame to great frame.

During Texas Antiques Week last spring a dream was born in my heart.  One evening I drove through the beautiful countryside surrounding Round Top and Warrenton imagining living in Washington County Texas.  I remember feeling despair thinking that it was a wild and unattainable dream.  

I didn’t exactly dismiss the dream.  My heart longed to own a property that we could live and work from.  I dream of organizing events and making our dream coop a destination.  Jeff and I casually looked in various rural and urban areas surrounding Houston.  Everything seemed out of our reach.

I figured my big dreams were years away and that I needed to learn to be content.  Instead I immersed myself in self help books and YouTube videos.  I know it’s corny, but I prefer books that encourage me to get my shit together over novels.  The first book I read was You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero.  I had been reading Brene Brown books prior to that and soaked in the idea of shame resistance.  I also caught a Super Soul Sunday with Paulo Ceohlo, which totally blew my mind.  I reread The Alchemist  prior to the fall Texas Antiques Week.  I was learning to believe in the impossible and that I was worthy of big dreams

To be honest, I was dreading Texas Antiques Week in the fall.  I felt stuck in my current situation.  Thank God, He had something amazing in store for me!

As I was settling into my home away from home at Bar W, my friend Meloney mentioned to me that the house she was staying in just went up for sale.  I’ll never forget that conversation.  My eyes got big and I proclaimed, “I want it!”  I made a quick call to Jeff to tell him about the opportunity, fully expecting him to tell me I was insane.  Instead, he said let’s talk to the owners.  A few phone calls later, we agreed to meet the owners to write up an offer on Monday.  This all happened on a Friday.  That weekend was nerve racking.

Saturday God gave me a beautiful reminder that He is in control and loves to give us good things.  That evening we saw a double rainbow over Burton, Texas.  This picture was taken from the property we were hoping to buy.

It was an exciting day when we signed the contract for our dream coop.  I woke up that morning dreaming of the party we would throw there in the spring.

Jeff and I haven’t been through the loan process since 2006.  The hoops we were asked to jump through were ridiculous and quite unnecessary, but in some ways were blessings in disguise.  The weeks following taught me patience and perseverance.  By faith I started packing and organized our Epic Moving Sale.  Each day I woke up expecting to hear good news and went to bed without a clear to close.  As you can imagine, I experienced every possible emotion, but sensed that God was developing my indomitable spirit and a stout heart.  Finally, on day fifty three, I envisioned my dream as a bird in a cage and then envisioned setting it free to fly.  That was not easy for me to do, and honestly the vision exercise didn’t work.  I was a wreck.

I posted this quote to Facebook on the Thursday we were supposed to close.  Jeff had made arrangements for us to move in early, believing it would work out somehow.  It wasn’t until we started unpacking the trailer on Friday that we finally received the clear to close.  What a relief!!!!

Dreams do come true!  Here is a little glimpse of our new coop, our adorable little house with a picket fence and a store front for Flown The Coop!  We have BIG plans for our little homestead.  Stayed tuned as we develop our dream!

Our adorable little home

The Coop, A Flown The Coop destination