30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself: Day 1
So, clearly my dedication to my blog, and thus myself, has been lacking. Consistently posting (while forcing oneself in the direction of self discovery) is more difficult than I had anticipated. I feel like I have been overwhelmed in trying to find a new life direction: career, fulfillment, and ultimately more happiness in self-accomplishments. It gets very easy to get down on yourself, the “coulda-shoulda-woulda’s” start filling your consciousness, which ultimately leave you feeling even worse. Thoughts of “If I only I had taken that opportunity, this course in college, just worked harder” has left me spinning in circles lately.
I had been discussing such life concerns with one of my coworkers and friend Natasha, who shared Marc and Angel’s inspiring article, “30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself. #10 Is An Absolute Must.” I can’t even tell you how much it brightened my day, changed my outlook, and brought me to a better place. “There it is,” I thought, “there is the spark I needed.” Tonight, reverting back to my less than self-appreciating ways, I thought I would not only share it with you, fellow readers, but also commit to discussing the 30 things, for 30 days. 30 DAYS. I will be thrilled with myself if I can get through that, and maybe make some new self-discoveries along the way. Here we go….
“Number One: Stop spending time with the wrong people.”
“Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.”
This is considerable for me. I find myself, out of guilt or desire for acceptance, conforming and allocating more time on people that are not reciprocating in a healthy relationship. I can almost feel the energy draining, but for some reason keep fighting to keep the relationship alive. Lately, I had been struggling with some commitments that I didn’t really want to attend but felt I had to, if nothing else but to avoid conflict. My new and wonderful friend Lindsay, who I am grateful to have found, put it something like this: I say no all the time. I can’t make everyone happy, and I’m not going to worry about doing something I just cannot do.
Brilliant. This really gave me a new outlook. I am working on not feeling bad about saying no to people that I want to say no to. I also am spending more time with Lindsay and Natasha, both accomplished and knowledgeable women. Natasha launched her own theater company, and is having her directorial debut in “Sunday’s Child,” coming soon. She inspires me to follow my passions and really get going in my writing and art.
I sincerely hope this post and the subsequent 29 days will get you inspired, too. The more we support each other, and be the people we would want to spend time with, the better the world will be.
Find the “30 Things” article here.
Check out Natasha’s theater company here.
