Better Late Than Never

You may remember me telling you about a new six-week journey I'm committing to, called the Inner Mean Girl Cleanse. The goal is tackle one self-defeating habit eah week for six weeks. Guess what? We're on week three of the cleanse. Week three. Guess how much I've participated. None. Nada. Zilch. But, you know what? I refuse to beat myself up over it. That's what the Inner Mean Girl would want me to do. Instead, I've taken some time to go over the two weeks I've missed, contemplating the topics covered.

Gossip Girl

Week one focused on gossip. Gossip is indulging in talking about others when they're not around or spreading information about people that isn't true. It involves bringing people down, rather than building them up. Gossip is often done among friends, about friends, but it's not a very friendly action. I can honestly say that I do tend to gossip quite a bit with my girlfriends. We sometimes do it in the guise of worry or concern, but I imagine that if we were truly concerned, we'd be talking to person, rather than about them.

I see an awful lot of gossip in the online world as well. While I don't often get involved in spreading it, I also don't get very assertive in putting a stop to it, either. I've wasted time in the past reading Twitter streams or blog posts to see what so-and-so said about what's-her-name. Yeah, um, who cares? It probably is better to be oblivious of it all and focus on my own life. This is something I've strived to do over the last several months. I want to be proud of what I'm doing, not worry about what others are doing.

Miss Comparison

Which leads me to the topic of week two of the cleanse - comparison. Oh, comparison is one ugly mother. I don't like her one bit because she has so often been my downfall. Granted, I do feel that I'm in a better place now regarding Miss Comparison, but she still manages to get under my skin sometimes. It's so tempting to want what others have, particularly other women. I've given up lusting over the physical and material things. Now it's career accomplishments and successes that I tend to covet.

I have begun to realize that the majority of successful women I aspire to have worked very hard, are incredibly talented and deserve to be where they are. I use their examples to spur me on toward reaching my own goals, Their accomplishments motivate me when I feel like giving up. That's the real purpose comparison should hold. I intend to use comparison to move me forward and to push me to do more, to want more for myself. And two weeks from today, I'll be in the perfect place to bask in all the glorious motivation of hundreds of beautiful and talented women at the Type-A Mom Conference. I can't wait!