Sole in Love: Time to Give Up

I didn't grow up going to church so I don't consider myself religious by any means but I am spiritual. I believe. Most of my extended family members are Catholic so I always saw them participating in Lent every year. I really never knew what it meant until I was older and decided to go to church on my own and do my research. In case you aren't familiar with Lent, it's when you give up something for a period of 40 days, starting today, Ash Wednesday. You can Google and read more into the meaning of Lent because there is a lot of information.

I have never participated because I always thought it was more of a religious thing. This year, I want to change that. I want to participate this year by giving some things up and to give back to my family, my community, friends, etc.

Today, I am giving up shopping. You read that right. Shopping. I think I may be an addict or something because I always feel the need to buy something. Hey, the first step is admitting it, right? Now I'm not gonna get crazy or anything, I only mean giving up shopping for things I don't need like clothes, shoes, home decor, and makeup. I have everything I need already. It will also help me save some money for some trips I plan on taking later this year.

I also have a confession. Since I knew I'd be giving up shopping for 40 days, I went on a small shopping spree last night after work. I needed to get it out of my system! Ahh...here goes to no shopping for 40 days. I can do it!

Something else I'm going ~~to try~~ to give up: sweets/sugar. They are my ultimate downfall. I can eat clean all day, errday but if someone puts a candy or cupcake in my face I guarantee you 115% that I'm going to eat it like I'd never eaten anything in my whole life. I love candy, cake, ice cream, cookies. You name it I'll eat it. I'm not only giving it up because it's a luxury for me but I really need to buckle down on my eating. It'll help with final weeks of my challenge.

I'll start giving this up tomorrow because today is my mom's birthday and we all celebrate with cake, right? Right. I need me a last piece of cake.

Giving these things up I feel the need to give something back. I'm a giver by nature. I love to give because it makes me feel good. It doesn't even have to be anything of monetary value but even a phone call, text, or email to a family member to let them know you're thinking of them. I want to wake up every morning with positive thoughts and bring the positivity to my workplace. It's a struggle because we have to be realistic with our work, which I hate. I want to encourage my team to see the good in every situation even when our month looks bad.