Taking the Garbage Out

In our household, Monday's are our garbage days. Like some of you, my husband is the one responsible for making sure the garbage gets to the road in time.  It's crazy how much garbage our small family of three can accumulate.

This isn't the type of garbage I want to talk about today.

Through television, social media, negative people, work, our own heads, and many more ways we deal with garbage EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Last night while my husband and I were watching TV, a segment of a celebrity gossip show came on previewing their show coming up that night.  They talked about three things within the five second commercial.  Let's just say all three topics pertained to body image and definitely not in a positive way. I just sighed.  I'm pretty sure my husband sighed too. And don't get me started on the Viagra commercials!

Let me first say that I expose myself to garbage every day.  I don't like to admit it, but from time to time I check TMZ.com or maybe Eonline from my phone. Usually it is out of boredom.  I listen to rap music sometimes. I watch Real Housewives of Atlanta. I wear sunscreen with chemicals. I ate two fudge rounds yesterday. I would say all of that is probably garbage.

What do I mean when I say garbage? I am referring to anything that will NOT strengthen the mind, body, and soul. 

Some of you may be dealing with more serious garbage in your life.  Maybe you live with or are close with someone who brings you down on a daily basis.  They are so miserable with their life and they seem to try to make yours just as miserable.  Sometimes, you even believe the garbage they put in your head.

You may be reading and say to yourself "I don't have anyone toxic in my life." Some of you may be the toxic person in your life.  Every day, your mind may tell you things like  "You aren't capable", "You are unattractive", "Just quit that habit another day", "You are weak" or "You can't do this".  This is ALL garbage! Think about the times in your life when you were very positive and encouraging towards yourself.  Did you achieve that goal? Did you quit that bad habit or addiction? Were you happier? Probably more often than not, you can answer yes!

ALL of us have been toxic to ourselves at one point or another. In my opinion, our own mind probably creates in more garbage than anything else in our lives.

What can we do about all this trash and how we can take it out?  Here are some tips that I have learned from my experiences...

• Try something new that is positive or replace something negative.  For me, it has been listening to Christian music more. 

•  As challenging as it is, try to avoid websites and television shows that you know are garbage.  If you know in your heart that it's best for you to not to watch or view them, be strong and stay away from them as much as you can. Avoiding them once is a success!

• Remind yourself of how awesome you are!  Think about compliments you have received in the past about your intelligence, your appearance, and what you have accomplished. Think about what others love about you and what makes you special. Remember...

Let's be real here. We are probably going to continue exposing ourselves to some sort of garbage even when working on replacing or taking some out of our lives. I would say it is more about cutting things out one at a time or even minimizing this trash that we put in. Baby steps.

Think about your day.  What do you put in your body?  What do you expose yourself to that you probably shouldn't?  Help Yourself  by feeding positive, happy, healthy, motivational, loving, self-improving and healthy images and thoughts in your mind. Don't waste your time.