It feels like it took exactly one day… Ok… Maybe two days before everyone on social media was discussing all the things that spark joy.
All at once, I was overwhelmed by the posts and likes and shares and more posts and Instastories. You too? People all over the world (seemingly) reorganized their homes, held possessions one at a time to see if it sparked joy, and then thanked it while tossing it in a pile to donate OR folded it up real tiny and stacked it in a drawer.
And while I personally did not get caught up in that wave (although, I do enjoy thrift stores a bit more these days), this whole phenomenon got me to thinking…
What about the mounding thoughts I keep of myself and the things I choose to believe?
When was the last time I took inventory of all the clutter in my own mind and heart? If I pause for only a moment, the thoughts and beliefs need no encouragement to surface and re-introduce themselves.
Thoughts like these barge in:
“I have no idea how to handle this pre-teen attitude. I know I had one myself, but this is my first time seeing it as a mom. Is there a map for this?”
“Is my hair looking crazy again?”
“Why won’t my anxiety leave me alone today? I’m doing literally nothing and it feels like ‘nothing’ is now an emergency.”
“When can I sneak in another stop to Chick-fil-A?”
Do you have as many random thoughts as I do? I think we moms inherit this brain, don’t we?
But the beliefs surface, too:
“I will never be as beautiful as that one mom at the park. If I took hours to get ready, I wouldn’t even come close.”
“My thighs are gross looking.”
“My skin is awful.”
“I’m not a good enough mom.”
“I don’t deserve even a splurge stop at Starbucks.”
Ouch, right?
I’m not going to ask you to publicly share your own thoughts and beliefs but I’m willing to bet, you have a handful of them that are less than good. We all have these awful things we think and believe about ourselves.
Don’t worry. I’m not about to suggest you capture each thought and belief, one at a time, and thank it for its service while you toss it in the trash. But I do have an idea to share – a bit of a spring cleaning, if you will.
What if you and I wrote out the top 3-5 negative things we believe and found a way to change those things? The formula is simple. For every negative belief, replace it with a positive one.
I’ll go first to give you an example: “I’m not a good enough mom.”
I’m going to replace that with: “I’m blessed to be a mom, and my faith helps me grow stronger in the areas I am weak.”
But it’s no good to just do the exercise in your mind and move on with your life. Pen to paper, write it out so you can go back and see it in ink. There is GOOD truth to fill your mind and heart with. And the more you and I believe the GOOD, the less we will believe the negative.
Now, how’s that for sparking a bit of joy?
Let’s work on this together this Spring season and shine like the beautiful mamas we are.
