Being Intentional About Guarding Your Heart

Our heart is more important than we think. We may think about the physical function of it pumping blood around the body. However, we never look at the spiritual side of our hearts. The part that truly matters the most at the end of the day.

We have probably heard the term “guarding our hearts” many times before, but may not know how to do so effectively.

For many of us, we either think of it figuratively, as in the case of a “broken heart,” for instance, when we lose a relationship we held on so tightly to, and now it’s gone.

But I’m here to tell you today that the heart is far more important than you think, and it does need to be protected daily, no matter what stage of life or journey you’re currently in.

If we don’t keep tending to our hearts, we will never even realize when we may have developed a hardened heart that’s no longer able to live freely without constraints.

So I will tell you more about how your heart works spiritually and how to guard it as you transition through life each day.

Have you struggled with guarding your heart at all throughout your life’s journey? Please feel free to add to my list or ask your questions or concerns below. I would be happy to help you!

“Guarding your heart at all cost is the key to actually living a life of freedom without heaviness and constraints.”

Search First Your Thought Life

Your thoughts are a reflection of how your heart feels on a daily basis. Your mind processes what’s coming from your heart spiritually. The mind is actually there to guide what’s actually present within you.

If you can be more aware of your thoughts daily, you can also know the state of your heart.

For example, imagine getting up one day with a feeling of heaviness that you can’t quite seem to understand. If you stop for a moment to reflect on your thoughts, I can promise you that the revelation about the heaviness will be made known.

You may have been worried about, for example, a wayward child who hasn’t called you for days or anything that brings fear and anxiety to the surface. That’s when heaviness comes onboard and you struggle to get through those emotions.

Grief is similar and can portray the same feeling as well, especially if you constantly think about what’s causing you pain or hurt.

So identifying what’s on repeat in your thoughts is the first thing to do to become aware of what’s also affecting your heart.

Identify Surroundings Or Relationships that Affect It

We have this saying about our heart “skipping a beat”. There is actually some truth to it. It’s aware of its surroundings.

Our heart also reacts to what we’re experiencing in our environment. It keeps a score. If we are constantly in a negative environment, then we will realize how dull we begin to feel. We will also realize a change in our mood or habits.

It does affect our hearts. We can actually start a new environment with a positive spirit and attitude, for example, a new job, and by the end of a couple of months or even longer, depending on your length of stay, start to feel a bit cold or dull inside.

It’s because you have taken on that negative environment yourself.

Now you have to make a decision for your health and well-being, whether to continually keep staying in toxic environments. It’s a choice not to allow ourselves to be exposed to such environments.

Guard Your Eye Gates and Ear Gates

Even if you remove a toxic environment from your life, you can still have issues with your heart if you also don’t watch what you see and hear each day.

Your heart is like a channel that pulls information in. If you feed it gossip or inappropriate content from music, television, and so on, you’re actually taking on exactly what you’re allowing in through your eyes and ears.

For example, if you constantly watch movies that are scary, then you are also going to realize a shift in yourself. You may feel more anxiety coming on you than before. You’re absorbing what you’re also watching and interacting with.

My idea of protecting my heart is to only entertain myself with things that bring me joy. That would be watching an uplifting movie, listening to uplifting music, or engaging in uplifting entertainment on social media for the most part.

I am aware that sometimes certain things may be out of our control, especially if you are in a car or store or anywhere and there is something that’s not appropriate that’s playing.

If you can’t get out of that atmosphere, then the next best thing to do is to practice blocking out noise by internally shifting your focus to something uplifting, like scriptures or positive quotes and affirmations. Or for me, I just play my scripture or music to drown out the noise; I don’t want to feed my heart.

Watch Your Mouth

Sometimes certain words are constantly coming from your mouth that you may or may not be aware of. It could be negative words that you don’t really want to say, but sometimes they catch you off guard.

For instance, saying something is dumb or stupid or something negative that you may think lightly of. But it does have power.

Words that come from a mouth can speak life or death to your heart. They are like arrows that send a message to those who need to hear it.

That is why it is important to check what’s also coming from your mouth because it’s also an indication of what’s in your heart.

For instance, using the word stupid may not mean anything to you upfront, just saying it, but it’s actually getting to your heart. Therefore, even what you say to yourself or even to others has an effect on them, whether for good or for bad.

Keep A Routine Checkup Of Your Heart

This is an important step that must not be neglected. This is how you become proactive about your heart and how well it’s functioning on a regular basis.

The way that I keep a check on what’s happening to my heart daily is by journaling. I have something I call a “brain dump”, and it’s basically me writing down everything that comes up for me that I may have been thinking about the majority of the time throughout the day.

It helps me to see what state my heart is in and if I have invited in any fear, anxiety, or worry that I know don’t belong there.

I can then take more proactive steps in helping myself navigate those emotions better so that it doesn’t keep affecting my heart.

That’s an easy step to take. There is also therapy by speaking to a counselor or even a friend or family member whom you can trust with your thoughts.

At the end of the day, the goal is to keep things out and not in. When you do that, you’re actually guarding your heart from keeping score.

I hope that these 5 tips will help you to not only understand why it is so important to guard your heart, but I also hope that you will use the practical steps I mentioned to start unloading what’s been happening in your life and to also start your own process.

I promise you that if you start doing this and stick to it well, you will realize that your body will feel much lighter, freer, and balanced.

I wrote a book called A Balanced Life: Moving From a Dysfunctional Life to a Purposeful One. I do believe that we can create the lives that we want to live for ourselves in peace and balance.

We need to make it a priority to shift our lives from what’s not working or helping us be our best selves to something more balanced and meaningful. Get a copy on Amazon.

Also, for more finding balance and self-care-related blog posts, visit:

• Learning To Let Go Of What Doesn’t Serve You
• Walking By Faith Each Day
• Finding Joy And Peace In Simplicity
• Finding Peace In Chaos
• Learning To Love Who You Are
• Living A Life Of Gratitude
• Balancing Motherhood and Purpose
• A Mom In Need Of A TIME-OUT
• Benefits Of Self-care As A Mom
• Overcoming The Hurdles And Struggles Of Motherhood
• Staying fit as a mom

In addition, for more information about my personal journey of re-discovery, get a copy of my book available on Amazon: I am Who God Says I Am: Always be inspired to live the life God has planned for you. It also highlights my personal journey of transition from a dysfunctional life to a purposeful one.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest to see how life can be lived in balance.

Did you find the strategies listed in this article helpful? What were some of your favorite tips? How have they worked for you? Leave a comment below; I’d love to know what you think.

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