I've been thinking about this for a while now, "what in my life is not serving me?" I've come up with an answer that I've wrestled with ever since its discovery, so I wonder if I can ease into the 'letting go' process. When I did my 30 days of 'no drinking' challenge in August, I was surprised how easy it was, so could I give up (dun dun dun!!!) TV for 30 days? But then I was plagued with another thought - what is 30 days anyway? Does it change anything in the long run? I mean, I'm drinking a glass of wine right now... I'm going to say "no" for me. I'm skipping the 30 days on this one, and saying goodbye forever!
I've decided to sell my TV. It's just not serving me anymore.
I will miss it like any bad habit or relationship. I will mourn the hours and hours of time we spent together. I always had my TV to turn to when my friends were with their significant others, or I was sad and needed a pick-me-up, or I just got off work and was really tired and all I could do was put my comfy pants on and sit on my couch, and think, "I'm so happy right now."
Some of my favorite nights were in front of the TV with Prosecco, pizza, popcorn, and if Dancing With the Stars was on, I was in heaven. Ha, those were the nights. Some days I would look down on myself and say, "I need to stop this time-sucking behavior; it's not the way I want to live."
Apparently I'm not alone, because the average American watches 5 hours of Television a day. That's 35 hours a week. That's just about where I'm at. Man, what I could do with an extra 35 hours.
Wait, what would I do?....Well, I want to learn Italian, take more design classes, take salsa lessons, travel more, read, listen to more positive podcasts, and go to bed earlier. I'm thinking with an extra 35 hours a week I can start checking things off my list.
Yesterday it started to become real; I cancelled my Netflix and Hulu accounts. This morning I cancelled my cable. With my extra time not binge watching DWTS, I did the math - I will be saving $1427.76 a year! I guess I will have the money for those salsa lessons after all; there goes that excuse!
I feel a tightening in my chest just knowing that in a few days, I'll be coming home, and my TV will be gone...gone! The person coming to buy it will be here, hauling it out of my home, and I imagine myself saying, "You better take care of it or I'll kill you! That's my best friend you're holding onto there, be careful!"
Ugh! How can I handle this? Ok, ok, just make a list of all the things I want to do, and make a plan...We all saw Silver Linings Playbook! I need to have a plan in place!
Oh, who am I kidding, I don't know what's going to happen; all I know is that I tell my organizing clients all the time that they should get rid of what's not serving them anymore. Now I'm taking my own advice. I feel the resistance with them in the beginning, and I feel the resistance within me now. How can I give advice if I'm not willing to take it myself? Silver lining...is when I see the success in their lives unfold, and they tell me how much their situation has improved since they were able to rid themselves of the things that were holding them back.
If you're still reading this, and haven't labeled me 'crazy' for rejecting the entertainment rectangle, I challenge you to take a look around your space, and see what is it that is not serving you. Whether it's a TV, old textbooks, or even a job or a relationship, if it doesn't serve you anymore, take the leap and let go. And after, if you experience regret or enlightenment, then feel free to email me... I'll have plenty of time on my hands to answer you back.