Choose the Good Stuff
By Sheila Thornton Warfield
Engaging in the daily work to remain committed and focused on a purposeful journey takes real discipline. Yet, like many folks, there are times when I willingly choose to go off course and engage in taking in too much information, streaming too much TV, watching the wrong documentary, and lending ears to mindless chatter. And, despite our choice to willingly lean in, we look up and we’ve gone too deep. We’ve miscalculated the compounded effect of allowing the junk of erroneous words, images and people enter our psyches.
I believe I’m pretty good at having agency and curating what I want and need for a healthy life. However, I let my recent curiosity get the best of me, and I overindulged in mindlessness, and it torpedoed my disposition. And once this happened, my ego showed up, and I was off to the races… complaining about this, being demanding about that, etc. I became impatient, curt, suspicious and anxious. It was time for a self-imposed intervention and reboot.
How did I get here, I asked, and what would it take to recover and get back to the Light? As I considered my choice to sidestep my course in the first place, I had a hard reality to acknowledge - for me even the smallest pinhole of negativity requires instant eradication. The consequences that result from allowing negative forces to be part of my experience for days caused too many distractions and tainted my disposition. I had to pause and work overtime to find my way back to the Light.
Viewing life from the shadows is not where we find peace and joy. Being honest with ourselves and acknowledging the triggers that cause downward spirals requires maturity, self-awareness, and discipline. We need to be determined every single day to only let the good in, especially when we have control, and limit our exposure to the dark and questionable forces that are outside of our control. I’ve always found the “Serenity Prayer” such a timeless and beautiful guide for helping me keep things in perspective:
God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the Courage to change the things I can and
the Wisdom to know the difference.
Let’s do ourselves a ‘solid’ and practice the daily acts that help us stay connected to the good, love, and light that strengthen our purpose and give real meaning to our lives.
Six daily acts to consider:
Don’t participate in negative chatter.
Create a meter for participating in other people’s stories (and drama). Know when enough is enough.
Commit to the self-care routines that fuel you.
Engage in only positive self-talk.
Surround yourself with positive people.
Know that you are, and have always been, enough!
Now, turn, face the light, embrace the warmth, and step forward - always forward. If you need to look back (don’t step back), only do so to remember how far you’ve come and be amazed.
#goodstuff #choosegoodstuff #operationbutterfly