Thirty Days To Freedom

I changed my mind about March.

And about men and relationships.

Did the same with food and friendships.

Now working on changing my mind about money.

Mental slavery is a b'tch and so I changed my mind and am actively choosing "full free." That is what the main character in that classic movie - Amistad - demanded as he and his fellow kidnapped Africans stood in chains before a judge.

Full free is what this next 30 days are about.

Many of us spend a lifetime trying to be what we came into this life experience as - fully free humans becoming. Naked, unscheduled, unprogrammed and most certainly unshackled we entered. Along the way, well meaning people, starting with parents, changed and influenced our experience of who and what we truly are.

This too can and shall pass - whether it takes a lifetime or a few days. You can choose as I have. Change your mind, free yourself from the most insidious bondage there ever is - mental slavery.

Today is Day One. The first step is to test the strength of the chains that bind you.

What this requires is:

Take an hour or however long you need in a quiet place or simply close your office door if you have one. Do a mental inventory of your life right in this moment. Ask yourself the one and only relevant important question: "Am I happy from the sole of my feet to my fingertips?"

If your answer is yes, like mine is, then your step two is below. Should your answer be no, not really or completely, not sure then this is your step two. Get a bit of paper - nothing big - or on your smart phone app, make a note of the one thing, no more, that you would like to be different and what would make your heart sing.

However, this one thing CANNOT be a material item, such as a new house, car, shoes, etc. Neither can it be dependent on someone, such as your boss passing away or at least retire or finding someone who you feel can make you happy.

Once you have that happiness thread noted, put the paper or phone away and get back to your regularly scheduled activity with this mantra in your mind: "My happiness is dependent on me."

For those of us who feel the constant tingling of happiness, our exercise is to repeat the same mantra throughout the day, no matter what comes up. Colleague being difficult, boyfriend/girlfriend has not texted for hours, car repair shop called and you have to take public transit home - "My happiness is dependent on me."

This my friends is the first step in our deprogramming. It is called "taking responsibility for our lives, feelings and well being." Ever noticed a newborn how unaffected they are by the circumstances around them? Whether the parents bought Gucci baby clothes or their wardrobe came from Walmart they poop in it just the same.

That's our mission today. Find one thing that would tickle us pink and use the thought of it as our compass to inner happiness and peace. Drop a load on whatever else shows up!

Try that for today and tonight just before bed, make a note of three happy moments that surprised you today. Share them with me here or on my coaching page.

Be blessed and be happy as we #BreakLoose this March.

Claudette is the Founder of Daughter of Sheba Foundation. She is a communications specialist and lives in Edmonton, Alberta.