CHECK IN for Week 37: Shop Lift

Posted on September 23, 2018 by Barbara Banks

Checking in on Week 37′s Task of SHOP LIFT.

This week you were to buy NOTHING…not at a store or online…and to LIFT your awareness of how you SHOP.

If you are trying this, you might be right near the tail end of your “no-buy week”.

How is it going?

What are you noticing?

How is it feeling?

Have there been temptations, a “giving in”, or has it been fairly easy?

What I have learned from doing this exercise many times throughout the past several years, is…

I do have a tendency to impulse buy. By waiting to purchase, I realize I didn’t need that thing I thought I wanted. I’ve saved a lot of money this way.
By waiting to purchase, I had more time to think of what I really want and choose more wisely. This sometimes fell in the category of price, more my style, better quality, or functionality. I have been satisfied with everything I have purchased after waiting. Obviously, I’ve learned to WAIT much more often before purchasing.
Not spending made me a better steward of my money, meaning I directed in areas that were important to me, like travel instead of another plant for my garden or another pair of shoes.
I, in reality, have more money than I thought because I’m more conscious of where it is going.
I have way less stuff. My house is easy to keep tidy and clean. This has given me more peace and more time, as I’m not stressing out over keeping up with so much stuff.

SHOPPING TIP:

Before you purchase something, beyond food and basic necessities, you might want to put it through some criteria you make for yourself.

Purchasing items for your home, think about these kind of questions…

what do you want your HOME to be about? What is its function? (gatherings, parties, solitude, restoration, etc.)
If you could pick 3-5 adjectives to describe how you’d like your home to be, what would they be? (cozy, peaceful, colorful, light-hearted, welcoming, etc)
what is your style? (elegant, country, artsy, farmhouse, cottage, classic, antique, rustic, whimsical, modern, urban, clean lines, eclectic, etc)

I do think about these things before I purchase anything for my home. I also ask myself does it have a FUNCTION…a job, a purpose? I’m very practical! And, do I think it is BEAUTIFUL? I love things to LOOK a certain way, so it has to meet the BEAUTIFUL TO ME question.

You can ask similar questions in regards to clothes…

what kind of clothes fit your FUNCTION(S)…play, exercise, work, hanging out, etc.
If you could pick 3-5 adjectives to describe the kind of wardrobe you’d like, what would they be? (easy-care, comfy, classic, everything goes with everything, elegant, artsy, fewer pieces, etc.)
what is your clothing style? (classic, boho, artsy, total comfort, trendy, elegant, etc.)

Again, I think about these things before I purchase clothes. And, I make sure I absolutely love how it fits, love the fabric, and that it will go with several other things I have in my closet.

(If you are not sure of your STYLE or what you really want, try using PINTEREST. It is a great place to save pictures of home goods and clothing that you like. After awhile you will notice what is catching your eye. This will help you pinpoint your style.)

Feel free to share what you learned from your SHOP LIFT week in the comments. I’d love to know.

Cheering You on to a Whole Shop Lifted & Criteria Heart,

2018 Week 37: Shop Lift

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Barbara Banks

Week 37’s Task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is to Shop Lift.

By now you realize I’m not actually asking you to SHOPLIFT…to steal something from a store!

This week’s task is to LIFT your awareness of how you SHOP.

Simplifying and minimalism is a very popular and has been for many years now. One of the tenets that surround this way of life, is consumerism.

Everyday we are bombarded with advertisements and information about things we SUPPOSEDLY need, will make our life better, will make us happy, and on and on.

Because of this, we start to believe we need so much and surround our self with things. We spend our money, often, with little forethought.

To live a simpler, less stressed, and happier life, put in simple terms, one needs to get rid of stuff and stop buying more stuff.

I have been simplifying my life for several years now….from how I eat, to what clothes I buy, to how I do tasks…and, I will say, my life is more peaceful and happier.

I did have to LIFT my awareness of how I SHOP. I continue to practice this task many times throughout the year.

The task is to NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR A WEEK.

NOTHING!

Nothing other than food, and even then, aside from purchasing some fresh veggies and fruit, you might find you can live on what is in your freezer and pantry for a week .

If you find you still NEED an item after a week, by all means, purchase it…next week.

Try this for a week and notice what you experience, feel, and learn about your shopping habits.

Get your family on board and discussed what you learned from not purchasing something, wanting something and not getting it, waiting before you purchased something.

Cheering You on to a Whole Shop Lifted Heart,

Barbara

CHECK IN for Week 35: Bushwack

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Barbara Banks

Checking in on Week 35‘s Task.

This week, before we bushwack, your task is to write out your 70-80 thoughts.

How is that going?

This is part ONE of the BUSHWACK process.

It will be important for you to list your thoughts.

Writing them out will automatically reduce their power providing you a chance to BUSHWACK a new thought.
More importantly, you will have spent some time paying attention to the thoughts going through your head. Once again, an extremely important step in changing your thoughts and thus becoming a lighter, more loving you.

Maybe you are noticing categories , such as…

food
clothes
body image
worries
work
future
past
etc.

Take note of your categories.

The thing is….DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!

Sit down and write out your 70-80 thoughts!

Cheering You on to a Whole List Before Forging Ahead Heart,

Barbara

2018 Week 35: Bushwack

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Barbara Banks

Week 35’s task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is to BUSHWACK!

bushwack:

(v): traveling/hiking through dense growth by cutting throughbranches and bushes;(n): it is also a term used by hikers to describe a very strenuous, obstacle ridden trail with brush, branches and/or bushes etc.

I’m not going to send you hiking, though that would be an awesome activity to do this week!

We are going to do a bit of hiking in our minds.

I like to hike. I like to follow trails. I like trails because they are

easier…already trampled and free of obstacles,
less stress filled...no extra equipment needed to traverse a well-worn trail,
well-marked…also making it easier, and
safer…hopefully, as most trails have been planned/created and been proven worthy by many travelers.

Bushwacking, on the other hand,

takes courage to go off the beaten trail in order to forge a new path,
takes extra equipment like a knife or hatchet to cut down brush and branches,
takes bravery to face uncertainties and the potential to get lost, and
takes extra effort to keep one’s self safe and “whack” one’s way through brush and bushes.

If you are like me, the well-worn trail is more relaxing, peaceful, and, basically, pain-free.

What does this have to do with our minds?

Out thoughts cut “trails” in our mind. These are often WELL WORN! Not all our thought trails are fun or nice BUT they are easy, safe, and well-worn. They are familiar to us and take no extra effort to travel down.

We think over 60,000 thoughts a day. 85% of them are negative in nature, and so many of them are well-worn trails.

If you could catch just 5% of those negative thoughts, and BUSHWACK a new trail (a new thought), you could have a more positive and different life.

The key here is to CATCH THEM!

Studies have shown that we think the same 70-80 thoughts everyday just in different ways. These would make up our 60,000 thoughts.

Before the BUSHWACKING, comes AWARENESS.

This week, before we bushwack, your task is to write out your 70-80 thoughts.

YES…get out those journals and write out your 70-80 thoughts! (At least I didn’t say 60,000.) You might notice that they tend to fit in certain categories, which is why the 60,000 turns in to 70-80, just thought in different ways. This is similar to WEEK 4 where the task was to GIVE NOTICE to your thoughts. This time, however, write them out.

Checking in on Week 37′s Task of SHOP LIFT.

This week you were to buy NOTHING…not at a store or online…and to LIFT your awareness of how you SHOP.

What I have learned from doing this exercise many times throughout the past several years, is…

SHOPPING TIP:

Before you purchase something, beyond food and basic necessities, you might want to put it through some criteria you make for yourself.

Purchasing items for your home, think about these kind of questions…

You can ask similar questions in regards to clothes…

Feel free to share what you learned from your SHOP LIFT week in the comments. I’d love to know.

Cheering You on to a Whole Shop Lifted & Criteria Heart,

Week 37’s Task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is to Shop Lift.

This week’s task is to LIFT your awareness of how you SHOP.

To live a simpler, less stressed, and happier life, put in simple terms, one needs to get rid of stuff and stop buying more stuff.

The task is to NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR A WEEK.

NOTHING!

Try this for a week and notice what you experience, feel, and learn about your shopping habits.

Cheering You on to a Whole Shop Lifted Heart,

Barbara

Checking in on Week 35‘s Task.

This week, before we bushwack, your task is to write out your 70-80 thoughts.

It will be important for you to list your thoughts.

The thing is….DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!

Sit down and write out your 70-80 thoughts!

Cheering You on to a Whole List Before Forging Ahead Heart,

Barbara

Week 35’s task of 50 Weeks to a Lighter More Loving You is to BUSHWACK!

bushwack:

(v): traveling/hiking through dense growth by cutting throughbranches and bushes;(n): it is also a term used by hikers to describe a very strenuous, obstacle ridden trail with brush, branches and/or bushes etc.

I like to hike. I like to follow trails. I like trails because they are

easier…already trampled and free of obstacles,

less stress filled...no extra equipment needed to traverse a well-worn trail,

well-marked…also making it easier, and

safer…hopefully, as most trails have been planned/created and been proven worthy by many travelers.

Bushwacking, on the other hand,

takes courage to go off the beaten trail in order to forge a new path,

takes extra equipment like a knife or hatchet to cut down brush and branches,

takes bravery to face uncertainties and the potential to get lost, and

takes extra effort to keep one’s self safe and “whack” one’s way through brush and bushes.

What does this have to do with our minds?

Out thoughts cut “trails” in our mind. These are often WELL WORN! Not all our thought trails are fun or nice BUT they are easy, safe, and well-worn. They are familiar to us and take no extra effort to travel down.

If you could catch just 5% of those negative thoughts, and BUSHWACK a new trail (a new thought), you could have a more positive and different life.

The key here is to CATCH THEM!

Before the BUSHWACKING, comes AWARENESS.

This week, before we bushwack, your task is to write out your 70-80 thoughts.

Feel free to share how it was to list your 70-80 thoughts in the comments.

Cheering You on to a Whole Aware Before Whacking Heart, Barbara

Cheering You on to a Whole Aware Before Whacking Heart,
Barbara