Fun Fact: Lent is a season celebrated to commemorate the 40 days Jesus Christ of Nazareth spent in the desert. In Matthew 4:1- 11, Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert, making requests for him to use the powers of God to manifest food, water, and to send Angels to his aide if he jumped off a building (or cliff). Lent, then, is our chance to win over temptation.
You don't have to be affiliated with a church, or religion to recognize the coming of Lent. In fact, cultures across the world have widely come to embed the season of Lent into their traditional practices. For example, Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday is a celebration of the feast before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent according to Church calendars. Carnival season in islands such as Trinidad & Tobago, are also linked to the coming of the season. Lent is widely recognized across countries with Christian backgrounds. So, if someone asks you, "What are you giving up for Lent", what will you say?
For starters, let's get into the purpose. Lent is a solemn experience, but we can look beyond the religious implications and think about what it means for you as a creative, a brand, and even just a person. Lent falls significantly placed in the Spring, which offers a symbol "springing up" or "reemerging of self" that can take place just weeks after the Earth makes its equinoctial shift for the season. So, giving up something for Lent can be looked at as a personal "spring cleaning" of self, and should always be something to give up for personal growth and better.
So, this year, we'll make it different. No, you're not giving up chocolate, and you're definitely not going to give up alcohol. Both are significant sacrifices of America's widely popular guilty pleasures, but neither chocolate nor alcohol keep us unproductive and away from growth. Instead, try these ideas of things to give up for Lent other than Chocolate and Alcohol.
Bad Communication & Unhealthy Arguing
Examples: Arguing, Going Back and Forth, Name-Calling, Using insults, Online Arguments
Relationships are important. All of them from romantic relationships, to friendships, and of course professional and business relationships. Nothing, however, ruins relationships like arguing and nonproductive debates. It's been said that one of the biggest problems in arguments is people speaking to respond, rather than speaking to make a point. Thus, arguments become swallowing whirpools of negativity that can ruin your day. This Lent, you have the opportunity to both avoid arguing to be right, but also communicating in unhealthy ways. It's to be noted that this will not be a one-man operation and, chances are if you're in a relationship you should definitely let your partner know - you know, because that's part of communication, too.
Frivolous Spending
Examples: Upcharges for extra rice, bacon, queso, guacamole; ATM fees; expedited shipping and handling; tips, etc
Say what you want, but convenience costs. People often give up the big expenses during Lent, like shopping, and "retail therapy". While both are significant reasons why people go broke, I think it's also important to note that small costs are the reasons why a lot of people don't see their full amounts of money. For example, I used to be notorious for using ATMs outside of my bank's network. Yeah, that was until the ATM fee rose up to about $2.50 and became a double expense once your bank charges you for using that ATM along with the ATM company itself. When you break down the thought, you just got charged nearly $6.50 for accessing your money. Water bottles from vending machines ($1.25), and using your debit card as a whole just becomes an expense on top of what you're already paying for. This can be a sacrifice, but look at is as fine-tuning your discipline with your finances. Look at your bank statement and discover how much money you're losing in small fees under $10.00.
Procrastination
Procrastination is a bitch. Seriously, that unnecessary fatigue you suddenly get that suddenly and unrealistically pushes activities until tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or even next year - is one of the reasons we don't really blossom as we should. Simply put, take accountability for the things that you say you're going to do. People genuinely lose money everyday from not being hasty when it comes to getting business handled. And once again, convenience costs.
Binge Watching & Excessive TV
Binge-watching has become part of American culture. Never before in history have we had access to whole seasons of our favorite shows, respectively. Sure, there's been great line ups of shows like the 1990's TGIF on the ABC network, but nothing like giving you 13 episodes of Orange is the New Black. It's tempting, being caught up in the drama and the climax of our favorite shows, but the truth is 13 episodes at an hour per episode is taking us a long way from being productive. (I say this confidently knowledgeable that IronFist is set to be debuting on Netflix very soon). Instead, limit your time binge-watching shows. Instead of watching the whole season at once, knock out 3 episodes per week. Or kill your overwhelming desire to watch reality TV shows (like Love & Hip-Hop), or ShondaLand shows such as Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder (I know I'm reaching now...I know). The fact of the matter is, even when multi-tasking with the TV on, we're not giving undivided attention to the things that matter in our lives, such as relationships, work, and self-care.
The Social Media Threads
A "thread" is now what we refer to as a series, or a chain, of statuses, mainly on Twitter that following their own sequence and thoughts as they relate to one singular topic. It's an opportunity Twitter users have taken to keep their tweeted thoughts cohesive and easily identifiable by replying to their own tweet, deleting their handle, and continuing the thought. The feature became available in March of 2014 and since has become a staple for dropping knowledge, or gems, and even the occasional story. The problem is that by dropping a thread, you're giving away a substantial thought into the Twitter universe that could be used for a great blog post, a speech, or a featured post that can be pitched out. Furthermore, it means you've been giving something a little too much thought and are willing to spend way too much time on Twitter. Instead, limit your time on social media as a whole. In previous posts, I've recommended applications such as Quality Time as a means of managing your digital diet.
My key recommendation would be to delete your social media's mobile apps from your phone, making access limited to computer. See how things work for you that way. See the change, and enjoy your new habits.
The Guilty Pleasure: Sex
Sex is great. No denying. It's healthy, no denying that either. It's absolutely amazing. I can't lie about that, but depending on each individual person's circumstances, sex does shave away a lot of the day. Not only that, sexual thoughts, take up an overwhelming amount of our focus away. Yes, thinking about sex is mentally distracting - none of us can deny that. Sex doesn't seem like something we would need to give up, but in 2015, I gave it a shot and refrained from sexual acts including, but not limited to (sex itself, masturbation, watching pornographic or sexually suggestive content, speaking about sex (both verbally or through writing), and even on some occasions sleeping in sexually suggestive positions (yeah, no spooning). There is not temptation like the temptation of the flesh. Sex can completely derail your schedule, even when performed at night. Take my word, the amount of energy you put into those hips, might be needed to get some good work done. And, as suggested in my song, "Lenten Sacrifice", sex can be the reward for a solid Lenten season. Sounds absurd, but give it a try.
What will you be giving up for this year's Lent season? Send your responses through the comments below, or reply via Twitter! For more details on becoming a more productive you, and hearing more of my testimonies of best practices, subscribe to the Written by Mistah Marvel newsletter below.
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