0:00
Episode 3950, choose what you carry forward.
0:06
Moms, it's time to rediscover, rejuvenate, and renew who you are in mind, body, and spirit.
0:11
Welcome to Create Your Now, Your Best Selfie, the show that help you do just that.
0:16
Here's your host, Certified Life Coach, personal trainer, and nutritionist, Christian Wardo.
0:25
Happy everyday, I hope you're having a fabulous week, guess what?
0:29
It's almost the weekend. Are you excited? All in thrilled.
0:31
Okay, come on, we've got the NFL playoffs. I'm so sorry that the college ball is overbutt.
0:36
You know what, we got to destroy an open happening, and we've got, I think there's a few other
0:40
things going on. There's some golf stuff going on. Come on, choose what you carry forward.
0:44
For those of you who are brand-new to Create Your Now, welcome to this incredible family.
0:47
I'm so delighted to be your presence. If you are to have the opportunity,
0:50
you want to head on over to CreateYourNow.com, where you can learn more and
0:53
sign up for the Kisses newsletter, the Keep It Simple Strategy, everyday solutions to live,
0:57
love, and impact. Okay, I wanted to go through that fast for a reason. Why? Why do you think I'm
1:02
speaking so fast? Because honestly, I think that's how we live our life. We are on automated.
1:08
We just keep going, and we're living by our habits. Ooh, how does that feel today?
1:14
Not so great, does it when maybe you've left a few things behind?
1:18
Things that you wish you hadn't left behind because of failures. Maybe even successes,
1:22
maybe you made the wrong decision, and maybe you're sitting here going, well, I'm just kind of
1:25
going through life because, yeah, I'm loading the trucks. This is what I get to do. I've already,
1:31
you know, made my bed, got to lay in it. This is what it looks like. Does it really have to be that way?
1:37
Because sometimes we just get so automated that we become animated only to what we know.
1:45
Now, I don't know that I can repeat that again, so let me try to remember what I just said.
1:50
Sometimes we become so automated that we become so animated to what we know.
1:55
And literally that is what we have been doing basically since you became an adult. Now,
2:02
yes, some of it has been repeated in your childhood. We're not going to go into that because there's
2:07
a lot of digging, right? And if you're one who's saying, gosh, Christian, I'm just starting out
2:11
and this whole deep thinking stuff. And I really want to change my life. And now I'm exhausted
2:15
because I came here for inspiration, motivation day. I know, but guess what? That little
2:21
two little dimples on either side of you, you know, that, yeah, instead of having them turn down,
2:26
smile. You'll feel better already. You may not feel like you're having a great day, a great week,
2:32
a great month, a great season, whatever it is. But you can still have a smile on your face. I know.
2:39
I've lived it. And on some days, honestly, and actually maybe more so like moments, I'm living it.
2:47
It's not easy. I think about all the stuff that we go through. I've been having conversations with
2:53
people all over the world. And I'm wearing my big sign that says, tell me your life story.
3:01
And honestly, that is such an honor for me to have that bright sign going off because you matter.
3:08
Your story matters. My strength is my story, right? That is your story.
3:14
And so as I meet people, as I come across people, people who haven't heard of me ever before,
3:20
but still tell me their life story, I can be checking out in a grocery store. And all of a sudden,
3:26
it's like, wow. And within the 30 to 90 seconds that I have with that person, I've learned where
3:35
they've come from, what they're struggling with. And oh my goodness, I just wish my shift was over.
3:41
Now that's not exactly the same across the board, but pretty much sums it up.
3:47
Now I know that conversation is not happening with absolutely everybody who comes through that line.
3:53
I know it's because I've got this special sign that says, you can talk to me. I'm here for you.
4:01
But you know, it's hard to be that person if you're carrying the weight of the world on you.
4:07
And I'm here to remind you you don't have to carry the weight of the world.
4:11
Even though we all do it. So much in life is left in the trenches of what we lost or what
4:18
didn't make it. Success can leave scars as much as failures. But the sting is always greater
4:25
when something does not go your way. Yet that's not how your story gets to end. There is joy
4:33
in the morning and you get to choose what you carry forward. I feel like we need to have like an
4:40
amen, hallelujah. Because that choice isn't because of how much you know as in your wisdom
4:46
or the wit you've picked up along the way, your adorable humor, no. Though those are added riches
4:54
right to your journey. And they mean something for sure, but it's because you're paralyzed in what
5:00
you decide to hold on to. What you bring with you shapes, not just your next step, but your entire
5:08
path ahead. One step at a time needs to miles of greatness. So what have you been holding on to lately?
5:16
Stories you need to let go of. Maybe you're in a position that you need to forgive.
5:22
So you can move forward. And let me just give you a little tidbit here. Sidebar,
5:29
forgiveness does not mean that you forget. Nor does it mean that you're okay with what happened.
5:38
It's saying it's out of my control. You take it. You bear that weight now. I no longer.
5:46
It's not going to hold me hostage. I don't like what you did to me, but I'm moving on.
5:55
And it's a different walk for everyone. And it depends on what it is, right?
5:59
There are different levels. It kind of, I mean, I don't want to say forgiveness that there's
6:03
levels, but it kind of feels that way, right? For example, let's go to the dark side here for a moment,
6:09
right? If someone took someone's life, that's a very, very dark side. Or in the other hand,
6:14
oh, someone just talked bad about me, brings back kind of elementary middle school high school days,
6:19
right? So you have everything on either end of the spectrum and then everything in between.
6:26
What are you holding on to? Maybe it is something from high school college.
6:33
Maybe something that is coming up for you, but you really don't know what it is. Maybe it's
6:37
something from your work. Maybe it's something from your past that you really just didn't notice.
6:42
And all of a sudden, maybe it's a smell or you've seen a show or you've heard some talk and all
6:48
of a sudden it's like, where did this come from? What are you holding on to that you need to let go of?
6:56
The Apostle Paul knew the weight of what to leave behind and what to carry on. He said it plainly in
7:02
Philippians 3 verses 13 and 14, brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken
7:07
hold of it. But one thing I do for getting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
7:13
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
7:19
You are called to a higher place. You are not to stake stuck in the trenches. That doesn't mean
7:28
you're not going to be there. Not saying that at all. But Paul teaches us that progress depends
7:34
on consciously shutting the dead weight of the past and intentionally moving toward what lies ahead.
7:40
What's right in front of you? Hence, create your now. You're not doing it by yourself. By the way,
7:47
right? You do know that by now. Right? You're walking with God and he's leading the way.
7:54
But too often we get stuck swirling in the ret of what went wrong. A relentless replay of failures
8:01
and disappointments. But the trouble is that the longer you linger there, the more you settle in
8:06
those trenches, the more you get comfortable. In fact, you'll go out and spend $1,200 on a lazy
8:12
boy recliner and just hang out there, watch your football games from there, cheer on your team
8:18
that's well, maybe not winning like you thought they should. You let your past become your prison.
8:24
And you make your prison comfortable. Let me say that again. You let your past become your prison
8:31
and you make your prison comfortable. It's not supposed to be. I mean, where is freedom in that?
8:38
Think about what you're holding on to and for what reason. Because my friend Freedom starts by
8:45
choosing what you carry forward. And I know it's hard. I get it. It's hard when you look at your story.
8:57
And if I was to sit down with you right now and share with you my whole story that's just been
9:02
happening the last week and a half maybe, you'd be like, Kristian, why are you talking to me?
9:11
Because I care. Because I love. Because I serve. And just because I have all this stuff happening
9:19
doesn't mean that I cannot care, love, and serve. Choose what you carry forward. That's what I do my best.
9:33
I try to choose what and how I show up my little granddaughter. She is so adorable. Number one,
9:40
I just got to share the story with you. Oh, couple stories. Just bear with me here. But you know,
9:44
they are in the 18 months stage and they turn to and it's like their talkative stage. And once they
9:50
hit the two year mark, all of a sudden it's like, there's like 10 new words every day. And one of
9:56
her new words is grandma as plain and simple as can be. Now she's been saying it for a while by the way.
10:04
But it just brings such joy to me to hear gamma, gamma. And every once in a while we get the role of
10:12
the R in their grandma. And it just has this ring of like, yes, that's what you want to be able to
10:20
carry forward. This stuff that says, yes, one that sweet little voice, she also looks at me and says,
10:26
happy. Meaning she's choosing to be happy. Let's take a page out of her book and be happy. You see,
10:35
we get to choose right now. Joy, we could get on a tangent here and I'm not going to. I'm not talking
10:42
about joy. I'm talking about your feelings of the happy where you can put a smile on your face
10:48
even though you might be coming out of a dark closet. You can still have a smile on your face.
10:54
It may not feel that great, but you don't have to live in the trenches to walk your new path.
11:04
Think about a forest, a beautiful living, growing forest, green, bright green. Maybe now for you,
11:12
I mean, we're waiting for this thing to hit us here in the south. We're not sure if it's going to.
11:18
We're not sure if we're going to get pummeled with ice and snow or just snow or just ice or
11:25
a combination or maybe nothing. We have no idea, right? It's one of those things where you kind of,
11:32
throw it up in the wind and say, okay, where's it coming down? We don't know.
11:36
Maybe you have a little snow in your forest. You see the seeds it carries forward are the future
11:42
trees, right? This beautiful forest. The promise of fresh green under sunlit skies.
11:51
When they're wide awake, when the sun is up and as a sun descends and sets, oh my goodness,
11:58
it's just like they all go to sleep. And then in the morning, there's joy.
12:03
Your life is no different. The seeds you plant today, the lessons you hold close, the hopes you
12:09
refuse to bury. Those are the things that grow into your now. Create your now because it all
12:19
begins by what you decide to carry forward with what you are going to maybe physically pick up,
12:27
maybe physically remove from your heart and yet take the other with you.
12:33
Matthew 634, Jesus reminds us, therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow, we'll worry
12:40
about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Who doesn't need that reminder every day?
12:48
I've been there. Maybe you're there now. Maybe you were there just just your day. Maybe not
12:54
necessarily today. But we have that worry, that hurried worry of, gosh, I just don't know what this
13:03
looks like. Maybe 2026 is starting out a little rough. Maybe it's not. Mine has. I don't know why.
13:15
Do I question? Maybe I think I've questioned twice, honestly, because I choose what to carry forward.
13:28
You have a clear call to live a focus that allows you to smile,
13:36
to allows you to see today not trapped by yesterday's shadows or tomorrow's anxieties.
13:42
You can't change tomorrow and you can't change yesterday, but you can be present today.
13:55
Carry forward your courage. Carry forward your hard one wisdom. Carry forward your capacity to forgive.
14:04
Carry forward your choice to keep moving forward. Carry forward your resiliency, that smile that
14:12
comes after storms. Oh, my friend, carry forward the faith that better days are yours to claim.
14:20
The best is yet to come. And in the end, life's trenches, we know, they're real, right?
14:29
But they are not permanent. Did you hear me? They're not permanent.
14:33
Even though I get it at the moment, you may be sitting there with close fists right now,
14:37
going, you don't understand I have to hold on to this because if I let go, I don't know what's
14:43
going to happen. I get it. I so get it. But if you don't let go, God can't catch you. Why? Because
14:56
you're trying to do everything under your own strength. For a moment, take a deep breath and
15:03
open your hands and your heart. My friend, the difference between sinking and standing is your
15:12
choice to carry forward. What fuels growth, healing and purpose. God has a divine plan for you.
15:24
When I say you were created on purpose, no, like literally you were. Don't question that.
15:33
Maybe you're in a relationship right now that you're like, gosh, Christian, I'm not even
15:36
confident in who I am. I understand. You're fearfully and wonderfully made. You're a child of God.
15:45
And if that's the only thing you can hold in your heart, then hold that. And the rest will come.
15:53
Maybe you're sitting there going, I just got so many questions about what's next. I don't know
15:59
what's next. I've made some decisions financially. I'm making some career changes. I don't know
16:05
what it looks like. What's next? I ask you and encourage you to get on your knees and pray. And if
16:14
you can't get on your knees, that's okay. You don't have to be on your knees to pray to God. I'm
16:18
just saying, right? With and wisdom. We've got to put a little bit of humor in our every day
16:25
so we can smile every way. Doesn't matter for sad or mad, but we can choose to be happy.
16:32
We can choose what we carry forward. So what will you choose to carry forward today?
16:39
Maybe you need to look at yesterday for a moment or last week and say, what do I need to let go of
16:44
and what do I need to bring forward with me? Maybe you need to get back in the word of God.
16:51
I don't know where you stand in your faith. That's not for me to judge. And there's no judgment here.
16:56
I don't hide my faith. I don't hide my beliefs. If it's for you, I tell you go after it. But maybe you're
17:02
just in search of, maybe you don't know of God the way I talk about him because he is with me.
17:13
He's present every day, every where I go and he is with you. But you have to allow him to be there.
17:24
Maybe you're the one who's got the fists held so tightly right now. You can't let go. You just
17:32
can't do it because you don't know how far the fall will be. I'm telling you, let go. God will catch
17:40
you. I promise. You may not like what you see on the way down, but I promise you he'll carry you
17:47
on the way up. I don't know where you are right now in life, but he does. And I just want to take a
17:57
moment. I don't do this very often, but I just really feel like this is what we need to do.
18:03
We need to stop for a minute. You know, I have a lot of fun, right? We talk about wit and wisdom and
18:08
you know, the humor and and and all here and you know, we can kind of go back and forth and we talk
18:16
football and because I love it. We talk tennis because I love it. A lot of times we're talking
18:22
and always not because I love something, but it's just part of our life. And here it creates
18:28
you now. It's about real life application. What are you doing? How are you showing up?
18:33
But sometimes it just feels so overwhelming. There are no words. And maybe you're one that's
18:41
holding out going, Christian, I'm just waiting, I'm waiting, but I've been praying for over a year
18:47
and my prayer still hasn't been answered. So deep breath. Dear Heavenly Father,
19:00
I know sometimes we just get so bent out of shape because we want to do all the bending our way.
19:13
Lord, open our hearts to what you have for us, Lord. Unwind us,
19:20
twist us in a manner that draws us closer to you, Lord. Let us feel that fire deep within ourselves,
19:30
that only can come from you, Lord, because I know, I know, their hearts hurting.
19:39
Draw them close to you. Let them know that you are carrying the weight of the world and they
19:47
don't have to. Or to ask that you just bring comfort and healing, you bring a peace that surpasses
19:57
all understanding and just know and just know that you've got us because I know you do.
20:09
And the walk by faith thing is so hard when we always want to see it our way,
20:15
but it's best your way. Or we ask that you bless our steps, you bless our hearts.
20:24
And most importantly, Lord, you hold us close to yours. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
20:36
I don't know if you needed that today. I don't always pray every single day on the podcast.
20:43
Let me tell you, I'm praying for you all the time off the mic. Sometimes I just have this deep feeling.
20:54
And I believe someone out there, even if it was just you, needed that prayer.
21:00
And remember, it's not about me. I don't have any magic. I don't claim to. What I carry here
21:06
has no weight, but God carries it all. Let him carry your miseries. Let him carry all the chaos.
21:19
Leave the trash at the foot of the cross. Forgive those who you don't like, who have done you wrong,
21:31
so oh, my friend, you can move on. It's not worth carrying it around with you. It is hard. It's hard.
21:39
But let it go. Because in the long run, your heart will be better for it. And so will you. Remember,
21:52
this is your temporary home. God's preparing a special place for you. So as much as maybe you're
22:01
going through and you're not really sure what life really looks like and how you're going to get to
22:06
the other side of this, you're going to be able to do it. Because guess what? God's got you always.
22:17
Go in peace. Be present. Be incredible. Be you. I love you so very much. I cannot wait to see you
22:24
on the other side. Blessings, hugs, and lots and lots of love. We'll talk to you real soon.
22:28
Have a glorious, blessed day. Oh, and you know what? It's Friday, Jr. So we'll talk to you soon. Love you.
22:35
Bye-bye. Feeling inspired and ready to train for life and love your journey,
22:40
visit createyournow.com for more incredible resources to help you along the way. We'll see you next
22:46
time on Create Your Now, Your Best Selfie. And remember, always be sure you consult your
22:51
physician before beginning any health and fitness plan.