I have found myself existing in a very strange space lately. There isn’t much that rattles me. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, I’m a very even keel person. The past few months I have had to be incredibly intentional to not let my emotions control my actions.
That can be a challenge because we live in a world where our emotions are easily manipulated by 24-hour news cycles, social media feeds, and clever advertisers who use our personal data against us. If you’re not careful, you can be swept away in the hype, anxiety, or fear that surrounds you. So many of us are losing that battle.
It got me thinking about the importance of interrogating what you focus on. While in Houston for work, I had a personal epiphany of sorts. I was in my hotel room packing up my things when I cranked the music up and had my daily private dance party. I literally start every day with a dance party. It helps me set the tone for my day. As I danced across the room, I felt like I was glowing from the inside out. Has that ever happened to you? Naturally, I whipped out my camera to preserve that feeling. I wanted to remember that moment just in case the day presented unforeseen challenges because … life.
There are so many times we find ourselves moving through the day feeling defeated, dejected, or somehow damaged. We seem to be wired to zero in on the bad. You can have a major win and then hear something negative or make a mistake, and you spend the rest of the day beating yourself up over it. I think at the core, we have moments of questioning our worthiness. And truthfully, that really sucks to admit. Of course you’re worthy … of love, of goodness, of peace. You are worthy. You just need to flip the script you’re reading in your mind. I know that is not always easy.
What if you had a practice of capturing the moments in your day where you felt amazing, celebrated, inspired, loved, or triumphant? What if you looked at those images at the end of your week as a reminder that YOU ARE amazing, celebrated, inspired, loved, and triumphant in spite of the hard or challenging things happening around you?
Project: Think on These Things is my personal challenge to you to spend the entire month of July capturing images of those very moments in your day. (Yes, I’m giving you permission to take unlimited selfies, usies, or something else altogether.)
I have this crazy idea that we can rewire ourselves to zero in on what is lovely, kind, and pure in ourselves and each other, rather than all the junk that weighs us down and keeps us mistrustful of the world around us. Are you in?
Using the hashtag #thinkonthesethings, share your images of yourself, the world around you, or whatever every day throughout the month of July. At the end of each week, take time to reflect on your images. Relive those moments of feeling amazing, celebrated, inspired, loved, or triumphant. You can even share your reflections on the hashtag!
Post your pictures on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or wherever you hang out on Al Gore’s internets. Just make sure you use #thinkonthesethings so I can find you. Each week, I’ll capture your images and share them on the blog so we can track all the goodness you are putting out into the world.
You bring something incredibly beautiful to the people around you and the world at large. Even if you don’t believe it today, my hope is that you will end July fully immersed in your worthiness.
