Remove the Toxins

Toxins (noun): poison; all substances that can cause disturbances to organisms

Toxins are all around us.  
They cause stress, exhaustion, illness, and unhappiness in our lives.  

Why do we let this horrible stuff consume our lives?  

For most of us, we may not even realize toxins are present in our lifestyle. We go through the same habits, day in and day out, not being mindful of what we're doing, consuming, or how we feel.  Mindfulness is a habit that can help us be aware of the pleasures, as well as the toxicity in our lives. Mindfulness is not easy to do and must be practiced constantly.  It takes practice to listen to your body, your mind, and your heart.  How often do you ask yourself, "Am I living the life I want?" and "Is my life truly bringing me joy?" These questions are scary as hell to ask ourselves because the answer for many of us could be no.  For me, it was hard to admit that I felt stagnant, floating through life, not moving in any particular direction.  But honesty is so important, especially to yourself.   

Here is my honesty: I feel like my life is out of control, meaning that I'm not in charge of my direction presently. My commute to my job is finally taking a toll on my body.  I stress over clutter and the excess stuff in my house. I want to worry less about cleaning my big house every weekend.  I want to save more money for traveling, but I have too many bills to pay.  I want to start a family but the fertility process is making me crazy and unhappy.  I want financial freedom to have options to stay at home when we do start a family.  I want to be outside more because nature heals my soul.  I want to be more deliberate in my decisions and choose the direction that is right for me. 

Now at first, I thought all of this honesty about my life was just me complaining and being ungrateful, which really made me feel like crap. But then I realized that I was wrong.  Mindfulness is not complaining!  I am grateful for everyday I wake up, including things I have such as, my large house and my teaching job.  But the hard truth was that these amazing things were not helping me head in the direction that I want anymore.  At one point in my life they were making me happy, but now, these things have expired and need to be reevaluated.  Are these parts of my life helping me live the life I want or are they getting in the way?  Being mindful is about being real with yourself.  Being mindful is what leads you to thriving, instead of just living and going through the motions with no true direction. 

Now that I have admitted to how I feel about myself and my life, what's next? This part is the most difficult because it involves a scary word, CHANGE.  I need to make a strategic plan to take action and make changes. Change is frightening and exciting at the same time because it brings a world of the unknown. But isn't life all about growing and learning? And I know, because I do a lot of reading, that growth only comes with change, good or bad, we learn from it all.  Listed below is my plan, or steps that I have and will continue taking to change my life for what I truly value most.  I have also included an organizational tool to help organize these steps: Less Toxins, More Thriving Chart 
Please feel free to customize this chart to fill in your values in life. 

If you need a change, then get started now.  
​What's your plan for thriving? 
 
Step 1: Write down your life valuables, what brings meaning to your life. (See Less Toxins, More Thriving Chart )

Step 2: What actions can be done to rid your life of these toxins that get in the way of your life valuables.

Step 3: When will you take these actions?

Step 4: Reassess your life.  Am I headed in the direction I want? 
Am I thriving in the life I want?

Repeat the process anytime you need to clean out the toxins. 


             Thrive it up,
                       Jillian