Real People Real Talk

How to Have the BEST Year ever! (Pt 3)

• Season 4 • Episode 3

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How to have the Best Year Ever? Here's the complete list discussed over 3 episodes!

  1. Give your Life to God
  2. Read God’s Word consistently 
  3. Pray Daily
  4. Find a good church and attend faithfully
  5. Forgive
  6. Practice Gratitude, 
  7. Don’t put God in a box
  8. Develop a self care routine
  9. Get Help
  10. Don’t Postpone your joy
  11. Vent Joy 
  12. Journal
  13. Comparison is a waste of time
  14. Place your Identity in Christ and Christ alone
  15.  Choose your Spouse well
  16. Being Right is overrated
  17. Don’t expect your spouse to complete you
  18. Give each other a lot of grace
  19. Try New things
  20. Invest in yourself  
  21. Invest in your body
  22. Learn to say no
  23. Shoot Your Shot

Scripture Mentioned

  • Mark 10:7-9  “7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome and thanks for tuning in. To Real People, real Talk, relevant conversations that take you from surviving to thriving. This is the podcast that goes there. My name is Paul Calco and I'm your host. Now let's talk.

Speaker 2:

Hello, thriver and welcome to the Real People, real Talk podcast.

Speaker 1:

This is how to have the best year ever. Part three.

Speaker 2:

We're giving you our top 23 best life hacks and words of wisdom that will help you to thrive spiritually, mentally and relationally and part one. If you haven't listened to it, go back and listen to part one and part two, as part one was talking about thriving spiritually and part two was about thriving mentally and emotionally, and today is about thriving relationally, and we're going to dive into personal development and personal growth as well since this is part three, babe, do you think we should give our thriver um a recap?

Speaker 1:

yes, yes, I do let's do and let's make it quick. Number one was to give your life to god. That's the best choice you can ever make number two.

Speaker 2:

Two was to read God's word consistently.

Speaker 1:

Number three pray daily, because praying is a conversation that you cannot afford to miss.

Speaker 2:

Number four find a good church and attend faithfully Community matters.

Speaker 1:

Number five forgive. There's freedom and forgiveness y'all.

Speaker 2:

Amen, number six, practice gratitude.

Speaker 1:

Number seven don't put God in a box.

Speaker 2:

Number eight develop a self-care routine.

Speaker 1:

Yes, do that. Number nine get help. In other words, be bold enough, be wise enough to get the help that you need.

Speaker 2:

Number 10, don't postpone your joy.

Speaker 1:

Closely related. Number 11, vent, joy. Vent about the things that bring you joy and watch how your mood changes.

Speaker 2:

Number 12. Journal A great thing to add to your self-care routine.

Speaker 1:

Number 13. Comparison is a total waste of time, so don't do it, fam.

Speaker 2:

And number 14. Place your identity in Christ and Christ alone.

Speaker 1:

Now for the moment that you have been waiting for, as we conclude this list Number 15.

Speaker 2:

Choose your spouse well no-transcript.

Speaker 1:

So choose well, because your spouse is going to be your lifelong partner, your financial partner, your co-parent and so much more. So this is not a decision that you should take lightly.

Speaker 2:

A man. Mark 10, seven through nine, says for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.

Speaker 1:

That's the word. The two shall become one, and that, my friend, is a lifelong process, and you want to do that with somebody that you truly love and with somebody that truly loves you. So pray about this decision, fast about it, get to know this person well and make a wise, informed decision.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir, number 16, being right, is overrated True statement. Now, it's hard for us humans. It's hard to let go of being right or let go of pride of being right, because that's pretty much all it is. It's pride whenever you're trying to be right. So it's okay to listen to somebody else's perspective, it's okay to understand somebody else's perspective. All that is okay. It doesn't mean that you're wrong. It just means that you are trying to get together to make things right.

Speaker 1:

Exactly so when it comes to love, when it comes to marriage, when it comes to relationships, being right is overrated, and here's what we mean. Sometimes you can be right and you can win the argument, but you lose relationally. Everything isn't worth fighting over. Your marriage isn't meant to be merely endured, but enjoy. So please don't waste time with trivial arguments but being mad and giving each other the petty silent treatment. I think this is the area that we have grown in and we should continue to grow in. We try our best and we're growing at this, but we try our best to solve conflict as fast as possible, to forgive as fast as possible and not to bring yesterday's arguments into today.

Speaker 2:

Amen, number 17. Don't expect your spouse to complete you because, baby, I'm completely whole yeah.

Speaker 1:

See, that's a false and faulty expectation to have for your spouse to complete you. In spite of what hollywood and movies and social media and the culture may say, your spouse isn't there to complete you. That's putting too much pressure on your spouse. When it comes to marriage, when it comes to holy matrimony, please don't expect your spouse to complete you. Only God can complete you. Your spouse is there to compliment you and to make you better. Those are the whole concept. It's not about you finding your other half. When it's you and God, you're whole and you find another whole person. All right.

Speaker 2:

Amen, because you don't want somebody to bring 50% To your marriage, to your relationship. You want each person bringing 100% when they can, and that's all I must say on that.

Speaker 1:

Right. So at the end of the day, god is the one that completes you, so we just want to make sure that we have things in order.

Speaker 2:

Amen, number 18, give each other a lot of grace.

Speaker 1:

Y'all. It's inevitable. No matter how hard your spouse tries, from time to time they will disappoint you. It's a part of life. If your spouse messes up, extend grace, forgive and move on. If you're the spouse that messed up, be sure to do your part to make things right, Acknowledge your shortfall, apologize and strive to do better. Before we move on to the next segment, we have a few relationship quotes that we'd like to share with you.

Speaker 2:

Yes, a great marriage is not when the perfect couple comes together. It's when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences. Dave mirror.

Speaker 1:

That's good right there. Another one is marriage is not a noun, it's a verb. It isn't something you get, it's something that you do. It's the way you love your partner every day. By Barbara DeAngelis.

Speaker 2:

That's good. But this one says a great marriage isn't something that just happens, it's something that must be created Von Weaver.

Speaker 1:

Yes, if you want to have a good marriage, if you want to have a great marriage, it's going to take work, it's going to take time, it's going to take intentionality and effort, and it's a fun process, all right. You have the greater one living on inside of you, talking about the Lord here, and when you put him first in your marriage, greatness will happen.

Speaker 2:

Amen. Marriage and love are action verbs. They're not just those verbs that you hear and you see, but they are the ones that's going gonna need a little action to keep it going but enough about relationships, as we're going to devote the month of February and March to all things love and relationships. So be sure to tune in now let's transition to our final segment of personal development. Slash personal growth and life hacks in general. Number 19, try new things.

Speaker 1:

Yes, this is our catch all segment. I believe that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. You never know the things that you may enjoy if you never try it. This year, me and my wife, we're all about trying new things new foods, new experiences, traveling new places and just being curious about life, embracing discovery, embracing adventure and even embracing the what ifs in life, because trying new things will help you to get out of your ruts and rediscover the joys of life.

Speaker 2:

And so we're going to share a few things from this article by lifehacksorg, where it gives us the top reasons on why you should try new things yes, and let me just tell you um, trying new things might not be easy for you, especially if you have a hard time getting out of your comfort zone, like I. Once I get comfortable, I am comforted, okay. So trying new things is going to take you getting outside of your comfort zone. It's going to take you opening up a little bit, trusting your spouse, trusting your partner that they're not going to put you in any type of danger, and going with the flow. I'm a spontaneous person but I do like my comfort zone and just try something once. You may like it. You may not like it, who knows, and if you don't like it you don't have to do it again, but at least you can say you tried. Now back to the article by lifehacksorg. It says until you try new things, you may never know your true passion, purpose or power.

Speaker 1:

Until you try something new in life, you will never know if you could do it better try new things can bring you out of your shell and even help you to get to know yourself better. Trying new things is actually you out of your shell and even help you to get to know yourself better. Trying new things is actually healthy.

Speaker 2:

Yes life stops when we stop learning and trying. The learning process continues long after we have left school and into our daily affairs. Your brain, just like the rest of your body, needs food to remain active and new things stimulated and boosted the article goes on to say that trying new things also keeps you humble.

Speaker 1:

Man. I remember when we tried something new. This was when we was on a road trip to dc and we stopped somewhere before going there. It was during the winter and I tried ice skating, but you remember that, yep I do?

Speaker 1:

yeah, and I got the pictures and videos to prove it. I'll just say this it was a very humbling experience, to say the least. Um, did I enjoy it? Yes, would I do it again? Probably not, but it made for good pictures and good conversations as I was slipping and sliding all over the place true statement.

Speaker 2:

You even have one of those little penguins that the kids use.

Speaker 1:

That was pretty cool, I was hoping you would bring that up, but here we are.

Speaker 2:

I'm sorry the pictures would have shown it, but I just wanted to let the people know it's okay, try new things, maybe a little out of your comfort zone, maybe even a little embarrassing if you think, but at least you try. At least you try Now. The last thing from the article is this Try new things today and open yourself up to new emotions, experiences and cultures. It's boring recycling the same old things over and over again. Whether it's a new haircut, food, hobby or experience, there's fun in adding a new thing to your life Portfolio. Life is too short to remain in one place without any stories or memories of new things you did on your own that was a great article, just reinforcing the fact that you need to try new things.

Speaker 1:

And now for number 20 invest in yourself. Personal growth, personal development is huge and it's something that you got to be intentional about. It's something you can't delegate to anybody else. You got to do it for yourself. I would encourage you to have a personal growth plan If you want to grow and if you want to be better in your marriage, if you want to be better in your finances, if you want to be better in your career or health then you need to make a plan for it and be intentional.

Speaker 2:

I heard A lot of things don't happen if you don't write them down. So if that means you got to get a journal, like we said before, you need a journal, or maybe you just need to write it out to where you can see it every day, or to stick, you know, on a paper Reminders in your phone, write it out. That could look like listening to a podcast. It could also look like reading books, going to conferences, just to name a few.

Speaker 1:

So good, better, best. Don't let it rest until your good is better and your better is best. So invest in yourself.

Speaker 2:

Yep, because if you don't do it, who will?

Speaker 1:

Facts.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir. Now number 21, invest in your body.

Speaker 1:

Honey, why do you think it's important that we invest in our bodies?

Speaker 2:

you get one one body, okay, it's your temple. You have to take care of it if you want to live a long and healthy and prosperous life, because if you're just putting junk inside your body, then only thing that's gonna come out is junk. But if you're putting good things inside your body and that even goes for your mind and spiritual, what?

Speaker 2:

you put in is what you get out. So that goes along the physical and the emotional and the spiritual, positive things, positive outcomes, negative things, negative outcomes, same with what you eat, and so on and so forth.

Speaker 1:

And look at eating, eating. I know eating is part of entertainment, but look at it as fueling yourselves, nourishing yourselves. You want to give yourself the best food. So, as my wife already said, you have one body. It's god's temple. Treat it right, steward it well. Eat more god-made things, such as fruits and vegetables.

Speaker 2:

Eat less man-made things, such as overly processed foods and that could be hard, especially if you live in america, because a lot of stuff is very, very processed. So just make sure that you are trying to get the best out of what you are eating, and you need to get off the couch, move your body and this was something I was convicted of last year, as I'm still on my health journey, man.

Speaker 1:

But health isn't a destination, it's a journey. So invest in your health, because your health matters and you deserve to have good health. As a matter of fact, man, as I've been working out, I've been changing my perspective, changing my view. I exercise, I work out, I strive to eat better, not because I hate my body. No, because I love my body. When I work out, it's not to punish myself, but it's actually to reward myself, as my wife said, by getting off the couch and moving your body. I, my wife, said about getting off the couch and moving your body. I think my best purchase in 2022, personally, would be the treadmill that I got. I park it right in front of the tv because I'm going to watch tv. I'm going to watch nba, nba games, and so I park it right there in front of the tv. I put on the game, I walk and I feel super productive.

Speaker 2:

So invest in your body yes, invest in your body, but also be sure to check out next week's episode, as we're going to have a conversation about faith and fitness to help you thrive physically. So let's move on to number 22. Learn to say no.

Speaker 1:

I want to keep this one short and sweet. I want to free you right now and give you permission to say no. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to say yes to everything and everyone. Stop being a people pleaser. I want to encourage you, admonish you and even challenge you to establish and enforce some healthy boundaries and learn to say no. Hear me when I say this and hear me well. If you say yes to everything and if you say yes to everyone, you will end up overextended and burnt out. It's crucial, it's essential to your mental and emotional health to exercise discernment so you can learn when to say yes and learn when to say no, my friend yes, sir.

Speaker 2:

And now number 23, the final.

Speaker 1:

Shoot your shot and this is what we mean with that one. What is that thing that god has been stirring in your heart? Is it to write a book? Is it to start a YouTube channel? Is it to start your own podcast? Maybe it's to go to school, or to go back to school, or even start a business, or even go into ministry.

Speaker 1:

Whatever that thing is that God has placed on your heart and you can't shake it off, it's time to answer that call on your life. It's time to answer God's call on your life and to walk in purpose, because, friend, when you walk in purpose, there is a level of peace, there is a level of joy, there is a level of satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment that's available to you, and I did an entire episode on this topic. I'm going to leave that link in the show notes title Shoot your shot so you can check that out as well. Well, there it is Our best life hacks, our best words of wisdom to help you to thrive and help you to have the very best year ever. Twenty twenty three.

Speaker 2:

Twenty, twenty three, with all 23 hacks. Don't feel pressured to apply all these today. Focus on a few, maybe two or three a month, because life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Speaker 1:

You said that very well, honey, and to our dear listener. Thank you so much for tuning in today. You have one life to live, so enjoy it. We are hoping and we are praying that you have the best year ever. And if you have enjoyed this content, be sure to share it with a few friends. And before we let you go, baby, you might as Santa prayer for our dear listener.

Speaker 2:

Yes, god, thank you so much for our listener. We thank you for everything that you are doing in their lives, god. We just pray that they will use these 23 keys that we have given them, god, to let them have a awesome, magnificent 2023. And we just love you and we thank you for everything that you have already done in the other years, god, and we just thank you for everything that you're going to do in this year alone and we don't take it for granted. Everything that you are doing in and through us. We thank you, we praise you. Jesus name, amen and amen again.

Speaker 1:

Now go be all that god has called you to be and have the best year ever and we out.