Thursday, February 28, 2013

A New Challenge

Before my therapy group dissolved, we talked about our past year and what we wanted for the future. I actually goals written around the theme of resources, financial, emotional, temporal, and physical. One of my ongoing issues is waste, and my own patterns around spending my energy, (mis)spending my money, and the fact that I know intellectually I have limitations, but not doing my best to maximize my resources. You know, by doing some clearheaded thinking, planning ahead, practicing patience and not giving into my emotions. One of the things I decided to do this year was a 1 week spending fast each quarter. The first one starts tomorrow.

The rules are simple: no shopping, no food buying, no restaurant meals, no impulse purchases because "I need" an item. In preparation, I made a list of what I do need before entering this week: a jug of cat litter, a 6 pack of Coke, a gallon of milk, and some chocolate. Seriously, I can scare up 21 meals out of the contents of my pantry and fridge. If I need entertainment, I can scour the tub or groom a cat. Or meditate. Listen to the radio. Paint my nails. Sleep. Cain and Willa have food and medicine, and even treats (okay, only Willa considers brussels sprouts a treat.)

I just got back from Target, where the shopping trip for my short list of supplies spiked my anxiety and a can of soup, a box of mac & cheese, and some rice pilaf also made their way into the bag. Yes, I should have put them back once I realized they were anxiety-quellers. But let's start small.

1 comment:

lsaspacey said...

For entertainment...groom a cat. I love this!

Thank you so much for the Olivia Pope link! Amazingly, I never noticed how much white she wears, weird right? My favorites are her coats and "wine clothes".