{lent; negative self talk}

I hope that everyone enjoyed their Fat Tuesday! The hubs and I were pillow-deep in tissues and sick day sniffles, so I took it easy on cooking. {Which is a bummer because I was looking forward to making some amazing Emeril something-or-other full of okra and creole spice...} We had takeout.

So, since it's the first Friday of Lent I thought I'd figure out what my plans were for the next 40 days. 

I grew up in a fairly Lent observant house. Macaroni and Cheese and fish on Fridays... gave something up... went to church. The older I've gotten, I've become less of a churchgoer, but I like to think I still maintain traditions and observations. Every year at Lent, I evaluate what I could stand to sacrifice and what I could stand to improve upon. 

A few years ago, I stopped giving up chocolate or swearing or... {I felt like a little kid back in the confessional trying to come up with something bad, rather than an adult making a meaningful commitment} and started to come up with something that I could do a better job of in order to make myself the best I could be. 

This year's commitment is getting rid of negative self talk. I have a lot of ideas of what I would like to do within my career, personal life, and mommyhood and often talk myself out of them. I let myself think that things are "too hard" before I really give it a go and end up falling short of my potential. It's not good for anyone. 

So, my Lenten challenge to myself- and everyone out there- is to give up on the negativity. So often we miss opportunities and fall short simply because we talk ourselves out of it. If we all lived up to our potential, and gave 100%, imagine how awesome things could be.

Good luck!

Positive thinking also helps with stress management...