Getting rid of toxicity

Toxicity is a word that can describe so many things, but the underlying meaning is "poison".  Do you have poison in your life? Is it in the food you eat? Is it in what you drink? Is it in what you watch? Is it in a relationship? Is it in conversations that you partake in?

If you stop and look at your life, there are so many opportunities for poison and toxicity to infiltrate.  It can happen so subtly that you don't even know it exists until it has you in a knot.

So, what do you do when you recognize that you have something poisonous in your life? Of course, you get rid of it....except that's the hard part! By now, this thing has rooted itself into your life and removing it is like removing a kidney. It doesn't happen over night and it will require some recovery and lifestyle adjustments.

The first step is to be willing to evaluate your life in the areas of your interest (nutrition, relationships, marriage, spirituality, career, hobbies, finances).  When you look at each area of your life, can you identify anything that doesn't "feel right"? This is when the connection with your gut is key!!!

After you have identified the "poison", now you visualize and write down what you want in that area of your life.  If it's a sugar addiction, how can you replace that desire for something sweet with something more nutritious? If it's a relationship, what qualities in a relationship do you desire? If it's a conversation at work, how can you guide the conversation to be about something that serves your heart?

This is the tricky part! Begin to establish boundaries.  What's a boundary? It's an opportunity for you to honor your heart and to know that you have control over what you expose yourself to. If something doesn't feel good to you, that's your soul's way of saying "get out".

Honoring boundaries is one of the best form of self love!!! You are simply telling yourself, "you are worth it".

But how do you set boundaries?

Being proactive...you must go into a situation with a plan of action.  When you know you are going to a party that has foods/drink that you are avoiding out of love for yourself, make sure you eat a satisfying meal before hand.  If you know you will be around a person that is not good for you, establish how you will respond when that person does "the thing" that makes your gut clinch.  Will you ask them to stop? Will you remove yourself from the situation? You could be honest and say "I don't like it when you (action). If you choose to do that, I will leave the room".  Setting up the expectation allows both parties to be "in charge". You are in charge of yourself and visa versa. If they choose to act in a way that you don't like, you have already set the expectation that you will leave, so when you do, there won't be any question on why.

Reassure yourself that what you are doing is to honor your heart and not to control others.  You are identifying toxicity and removing it from your life. You are making room for love and light. As you become clear with getting rid of the toxicity and filling that space with love, you will see opportunities that will provide you with just that!

As any change, it is HARD!!! Remember why you started in the beginning! You were looking at various parts of your life and evaluating them to make sure each one is serving your heart to it's fullest desires.  Because we are always evolving, this vision may change, but now you have the tools to change with it! No more stuck with things that weight you down!!! Identify what lights your heart on fire and have more of that in each and every day of your life!!!