Let’s try peace for once. Let’s try no negativity. Let’s let love in for a little while. I encourage you to join me in a 20 day fast of no negativity. No negative words. No negative people. 0 negative experiences. Be your own peace keeper. Let’s be keepers of ourselves. This fast came about as I was walking into a job I dread that has taught me a lot about how business works and doesn’t work. I smile at work and I have many associates. I do good work but it is not fueled by passion so it eats away at my soul with its repetitiveness. I have entertained the idea of punching out permanently from the time clock but I soothe those thoughts with this is a means to an end. During my daily self-pep talk I realized how detrimental negativity can be. I have a co-worker who started with me that says “I’m ready to go home” every single working day no fail no matter what time it is. I began to first suggest a job search maybe that will help the situation. Fail. I next tuned the co-worker out. Fail. Now when I hear that statement I simply say, “You always say that”. It neither soothes the beast nor combats. Silence ensues and the next topic approaches.

I believe we have limited control of our thought s. Within those limits however I can cancel out a negative thought with something positive. For me, “you have acne” is replaced with “It doesn’t dictate my life or make me less of a person”. “You’ve gained a lot of weight since high school” is replaced with “I am in control of my impulse eating and I am beautiful”. I never make excuses and I never ignore those self-destructive thoughts. Pertaining to negative thoughts about others, I do not let those thoughts escape my mouth unless I am asked for an honest opinion by that person. “Her makeup needs some work” is replaced by “I remember those beginning makeup lessons”. “I can’t believe she wore that” is replaced by “She looks confident, that’s inspiring”. “His voice annoys me” is replaced by “His willingness to assist is reassuring to customers”.

I have vowed not to eat anything that negatively impacts my health for 20 days. I am a dedicated label reader. I look for the USDA symbol first then I turn to ingredient listing. I usually skim the first 5-10 ingredients then check for artificial coloring or flavoring and go right to the nutritional value. If it has anything over 100% I determine is it useful. Honestly the body cannot handle 133% iron for the day. I will control my premenstrual cravings for chocolate and replace it with minimal dark chocolate. I occasionally drink wine but I will not use it as a coping mechanism.  Saying goodbye to pizza is the hardest because it makes me so happy. How will I deny the cheesy, buttery goodness that exceeds my dairy values for the day with every bite? This thought alone exhausts me and makes me scream but it is for the greater good.

I vow to not engage with negative people. They are not adding value to my life or my experiences. These people are leeches. I imagine these types of people that ask you to indulge in negativity with them do so for social acceptance. I imagine they do it for reassurance that they are not alone or wrong in feeling this way. I will not allow this in my space. I will be the keeper of my happiness. In instances where I cannot avoid the actual person or situation I will be mute and lose myself in positive thoughts. I will not scold anyone for their negativity because it puts me back in a negative space.

“The mind’s natural condition is peace. Then a thought enters, you believe it, and the peace seems to disappear…. When you question the thought…the story falls away… Peace is who you are without the story. “–Byron Katie