The Emotional Piggy Bank

By: Melissa

​I came across this on Instagram a while back and saved it because it resonated so strongly with me. To tell you the truth, I may have put my old therapist's kids through college discussing this very subject (and I’ll likely pay for my new one’s retirement the same way!).

​I have to say that the month of June has been…Busy? Stressful? Overwhelming? Emotional? How about I go with this: June has pretty much been shitshow all around. As such, I’ve had to work quite hard to remind myself of this every day, and then sometimes even harder to put it into action. But it’s totally worth the effort, because if I hadn’t put it in I’m pretty sure I’d have lost my mind weeks ago.

While saying “No” to beliefs, actions, or even people, who don’t serve us is simple...it sure aint easy. When I re-read this today I got to thinking about the long list of “stuff” I’ve worked to keep out of my metaphorical shopping cart. 

Things that cost me my happiness, smile, peace, or all three:

• Counting calories
• Red wine
• FOMO
• Staying up late because it’s embarrassing how early I actually want to go to bed
• Gluten (sometimes)
• Avoiding gluten (other times)
• Attempting to act like less of an introvert than I really am
• Taking responsibility for the way others feel
• Thong underwear
• Loving someone for who they could maybe, possibly be, one day, if they tried really hard
• Holding back tears when they just want to come out
• Binge watching TV shows alone 
• Feeling guilty over relaxing instead of doing chores
• Asparagus - no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise
• Small talk
• Letting my car turn into a storage unit, trash collection space, or giant furball
• Forcing myself to take short showers
• Keeping the house (just a few degrees) warmer in an effort to save a few bucks on the electric bill
• The McDonald’s drive-thru
• Skipping my morning meditation and yoga sessions
• Pretending, of any kind 

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My peace, happiness, and smile are the ultimate goal, always. It’s my job, and my job alone, to keep them in mind as I move through this crazy life. The opportunities to make impulse purchases pop up a million times a day. So, having a clear list of all the crap that I really don’t want to be spending my time and energy on, before the opportunity to spend on them arises, goes a looooong way to helping me stay true to myself (and maintain my sanity!).

What’s on your “that's just too expensive” list?