calming the mind - week 2 of the Thrive Project

Y'all, week one of the Thrive Project did not go as planned. Or, now that I think about it, maybe it went exactly as planned. We can't be 100% all of the time and it's impossibly high standards to believe we can. My alarm was set for 5 a.m. every day last week and most days, I got up and started my day, even though it was dark and cold. Most mornings, I made coffee and read a devotional and a chapter or two in a personal development book (more to come on this in future weeks of the Thrive Project) and then got ready and started my workday. But one of those days, I didn't. I stayed up late working the night before and was too tired. I turned the alarm off, pulled the covers back over my head and fell back to sleep until after 8. I was a little grouchy about it when I woke up; I felt like I had let myself down by not doing what I said I would. Sometimes our minds play tricks on us to make us think we aren't good enough or that we are bad and I definitely had one of those moments.

But the reality is that this is my project and my goals and while I want to be as close to perfect as possible, it's really not necessary. This is about growing and thriving, not failing. There is no failing because there are no rules!

I'm realizing more and more that beating myself up is a common issue for me and sometimes it takes a day or two to pull myself back out of it, especially when I'm not doing things to keep my mindset in that positive place. And this leads me into week two. For this week, I'm going to spend 15 minutes meditating every day. Ideally, I plan to keep getting up early (although let's be honest, it won't be 5... more like 6:30) and will complete this as part of my morning routine. I have a hard time silencing my thoughts and setting intentions and I want to get better at this.

Meditation looks a little different for everyone but I think the main goal is, like I said, to get control over our racing thoughts. Sitting in complete silence for 15 minutes may not seem too difficult, but I wanted to start small because this is not something I excel at. It's going to take discipline and removing distractions (like phones!).

Let me know if you're doing this one with me!