Last month, I had the life-changing experience of attending my first Rise conference in Ft. Myers. That trip kickstarted me on a journey to be honest with myself make some real changes in my life. This time would be different because I wanted to be committed to those changes. I would like to share some of the changes I have not only implemented but stuck to so far.
1. I decluttered, again....surface areas clear, closets purged, inventory taken. My biggest motivator for this wasn't Marie Kondo or any other source. It was the feeling I have when we are on vacation and I am not digging through everything to find something to wear. It's always easier when you only have what's needed for the week and that always brings me peace. I would look forward to packing because I enjoy pairing everything down to the minimal quantity. I decided I don't have to wait for vacation to have peace of mind and I went all-in on all I own.
2 a. I use an hour in the morning just for me. I wake up at 4 am because that is when it is quiet in our house and quiet was something I found myself desperately seeking. I drink my first 24 oz of water while my coffee brews then I enjoy my coffee while I journal. I've mentioned before, I use a Panda Planner and it has worked wonders for me. www.pandaplanner.com
2b. Once I am done with my planner, I listen to a meditation podcast. This helps me get my mind and body ready for the day. It is the perfect thing for me to do before the kids get up.
3. Wheat Grass! Get my greens before I eat which triggers me to get in another 16 oz of water before I head out the door.
4 a. I learned how to block things out. The news made me anxious so I stopped watching. I don't watch any tv regularly and I don't miss it one bit. The same goes for social media if I found myself feeling things I didn't want to feel I unfollow. I have learned that my news feed is MINE, and I am allowed to only want to see certain content.
4b. I use social media for a purpose now which is to be inspired. One thing I wrote in my planner as a skill to develop for a long time was to stop scrolling mindlessly. I now log on with a purpose and when I find myself scrolling like I'm playing a slot machine I put the phone down.
5. I also purged my phone of apps that were vampires of my time. Please don't hate me but I had to break up with amazon.....It was becoming a habit and a bad one. I would find myself getting bored with Facebook and then I'd jump over to Amazon to research a million and one things that I truly did not need. I would rationalize my spending by reading reviews first which made me feel like a responsible consumer. Want to reflect on unnecessary spending, go through your order history on Amazon and tell me you truly needed each of those things. My UPS man may be scared that something happened to me, but my bank account thanks me and it's also less stuff being added to my inventory. https://www.cleanfox.io/en/
6. After I stopped mindless scrolling and spending I decided to write down every time I spent money. This helped me see things that weren't needed like Dunkin Donuts. I do NOT need to go through the drive-thru before I hit the road every single day. I have my one cup at home in the morning and then its water, water, water. That one cup in the morning is more of a treat, I buy more expensive coffee now because I'm not drinking sooooo much in one day anymore.
7. This next one will come as a shock but all the water leads me to a whole lot less alcohol. It's amazing how all these things overlap. Having a drink, or four (don't judge) was just what I did after a bad day. That to a cycle of having bad days. It was also another category of spending that was doing nothing positive for my life so it had to go. I now will allow myself a drink or two on the weekend and that's it. No more headaches, night sweats or wondering where the hell my money went.
8. I am going to be fully transparent here. I've got student loan debt and a lot of it. I resented that bill so much that I tried to just ignore it and pray it would disappear. Surprise that doesn't work. What does work is realizing how much of that giant number Ove already paid off and seeing how much money I am now not blowing and saying c'mon HESAA you're going DOWN.
Wow, that's quite a bit for one month. This wasn't that hard and I in no way want this to come across braggadocious. I hope this can help others to see how one simple change can give you tons of momentum in a positive direction.
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