You might recall that last month, we kicked off a mini-series about what to do when the going gets tough as a milspouse.

We had such a good time with it, that I didn’t want to stop there. So today, I will be sharing another one of my personal “coping” tips when things are harder than normal for our military spouse lives. And of course, we will also take another look at some great ideas shared by our AWN fans!

So here is my monthly tip on how I deal with life when the going gets tough… I get busy– “Sharpening my saw.” 

No, friends, I don’t get all lumberjack and start building a cabin. But I do take leadership guru Stephen Covey’s advice and take a time-out to sharpen my saw.

Here’s the premise: Two woodsmen are out in the woods, you know, doing woodsmen stuff. (I assume this means chopping down things.) Both are under a deadline to meet a quota. One of them stops periodically to check his blade and take a few precious moments to sharpen it. The other one keeps sawing away, as his blade gets duller and duller. Who do you think is going to be more successful (and less exhausted!) at the end of the day. Yep, the one who stopped occasionally to sharpen the saw.

I do the same thing as a military spouse. My motivated to-do-achiever-self-instinct is to keep frantically pushing forward until I feel like the wheels are about to fall off. But I have learned that the smart thing is to take a break every now and then… Do something that fills my souls and recharges my heart.

It could be huge and profound like taking a couple days away by myself. But that only *maybe* happens annually– if I am lucky. I CAN do something ever couple days or so to sharpen my saw: Read a book for fun, drink a hot tea and watch a show on Netflix post-bedtime, Zentangle,  close my computer and take a couple of hours to window shop downtown, get a “fancy” yet simple lunch and dine by myself, grab a quick coffee with a friend or even drink a Coke Zero in the parking lot of Wal-Mart while scrolling Facebook for 15 precious minutes.

But don’t just take my word for it. See what other suggestions our AWN follows had to say about…

When the Going Gets Tough … by clicking HERE.

I don’t know about you, but this is super motivating (and a great reminder for me too!) What do YOU do when the going gets tough?  Jump in and leave a comment below. (And don’t forget to this month’s giveaway!)

Until next time… Keep calm and soldier on, my friends.

Proud to be a soldier for Christ,

“You armed me with strength for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries before me.” ~Psalm 18:39