It's Lent, Which Means The Time Has Come For Introspect and Discipline For Betterment.So, Mistah Marvel, what are you giving up for Lent? No one asked me that question. In fact, it was a question that I asked myself late January, realizing that Ash Wednesday landed on the same day as Valentine's Day. Last year, I detailed some of my lenten sacrifices and why I find it important to do so at least once a year. Lent is the perfect time for this. It's the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter Sunday and recreate the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, being tempted by Satan and ultimately leading to his preparation for his ultimate sacrifice. I have to emphasize that this context does not require a strong religious background. In fact, Lent is only recognized by Catholic denominations. But if you're looking at it from, perhaps, an astrological standpoint, you can imagine it to be your own personal Spring Thaw. The grass is preparing to green again, the winter snow is preparing to shed and spring is nearing. What can you give up to blossom in the Spring? After taking some time to think about it, I decided to provide this for my blog and, at the request of my best friend Sharkey, will be journaling my 40 days via Written By Mistah Marvel. Here's what I'm giving up. SOCIAL MEDIAThis is a major one. Never in my adult life have I ever given up social media - ever. But even in last year's post, I suggested giving up creating social media threads and quickly learned recently that the need for instant gratification either makes us say too much, or nothing at all. Most of our time spent on social media is spent scrolling and consuming the content of others, but never creating content of our own. So, a safe assumption is that, even for a freelancer like myself, a majority of my time spent on social media is completely bullshit. And yes, I plan to go cold turkey. My goal is to delete my social media applications and deliver my most important posts via automation and scheduling so that they are both concise and to the point. If so many of us are focused on creating e-commerce and enhancing, it's absolutely vital to consider and reflect on how much of our time is spent doing anything but that. It's a big jump and may have some negative impacts on my insights, but definitely not on my business. We have to recognize when we say too much, or do too much. The focus on the back-end provides a lot of room for growth and I'm excited about that. IDLE TIMEFor clarity, down time, time for relaxation, and free time are not a bad thing. I enjoy being able to relax for a bit, or taking some time away from my work and projects. But what I really don't enjoy is that strange realization that something I deem important has been left undone - or worst, not start. Idle time is my worst enemy. I have spent hours playing space simulators on my tablet, or trying to engage with my followers on social media, or just rolling around in bed in the mornings. All of this in my eyes, are times that could be used to shape up my schedule and get more focused. Whether it's production work, live broadcast, podcast recordings, or getting more gigs. For context, it took me nearly a week to record episode 004 of In Da House Podcast. I'm not lazy, I just overthink things as a longer or more grandiose process than they really are and end up losing a lot of time that could be used being great. To combat idle, I've decided to dedicate myself to a workout plan that is really easy to knock out at home, as well as taking part in a buddy of mine's Instagram challenge: Best Of Me Challenge. The goal is to workout throughout the day and to focus energy to physical, spiritual, and mental growth. So, when I potentially slip into the idle moments, I'll jump into a workout, into a reading, or into meditation (which I'm really getting into). No idle hands! ALCOHOLWith a change in my diet, and committing to live this entire year as a Pescatarian, I've noticed a plunge in my alcohol tolerance. I know there's no such thing as actual alcohol tolerance, but my ability to handle myself after a drink has been less than impressive. Two drinks and I've already begin to feel the weight off my knees (yes, that's how I know I'm getting toasted). In addition, I've noticed just in scheduling that if I'm having some drinks, the last place I'd want to go after is the gym. It's a terrible experience, if I ever tell you one. So, if I'm trying to stay on top of my tasks, stay fit, and commit to being better about all the things I take seriously in life, it just happens to require myself to refrain from drinking. It's a tough decision, but I've already spent most of this month completely away from drinks. So, that being said, I won't complain, nor will I constantly tell people high and low that I'm giving up alcohol. February 14th will be my last drink and, honestly, only because it's Valentine's Day. But outside of that, we are ready for a challenging and life-changing Lenten season. My goal is to provide insight on how I'm doing it, and what progress I've made on a twice per week basis. So, be sure to subscribe to Written By Mistah Marvel for updates on these, new work, projects, and more. Enjoy your Valentine's Day and Happy Black History Month!
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AuthorFrom Personal testimonies to gadget reviews, I'd like to give you a little bit of everything in between. Archives
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