I Love You, Me.
This month was a doozie as far as the Leading Lady Challenge goes. Practicing self-acceptance and love is hard and I feel as if, at this point in my life, it shouldn't be. I've lived with me now for almost 55 years. I've survived, thrived, overcome, and all that but still, I have those major moments when the belly and back fat, the chub-rub, and general, thankfully minor deterioration of my body due to age just has me struggling. Toss in the lack of outside validation (that I sadly still look for) and yeah, I realize I still have work to do in this area.
On the flip side, I do have some great practices in place now thanks to bringing Mackenzie to life. First, my daily affirmations include, "I accept and love myself unconditionally", or some variation that bolsters my self-esteem. I imagined at some point in Mackenzie's life, that message was taught and reinforced and I figured, for me, better late than never and I worked daily to keep that affirmation on permanent rotation in my mind.
But hey, that's why they call it a challenge and I am in a better place at the end of this month than I was when I started so I'm counting it as a win. How did your February turn out? Are you participating in the Challenge? If so, who was your character, and what traits did you practice?
Â
In case you are new to the blog, all this year I'm bringing my fiction to life via a series of monthly challenges where I pick a character from the books I've written and incorporate certain of their traits, behaviors, and such into my day to day living. This month, I "played" Mackenzie from my novella, Let there Be Life (<---- Click to purchase).
March brings the opportunity to play a character that is so, so close to my heart and that character is the actual lead in my first written novel, Hello Diva. I chose her not only because she is "me" (fictionally speaking), but because I wrote into her a resiliency and determination that I need to practice more of. Especially now as I wrap up my first year as a full-time novelist. More on that in the blog posts to come.
In the meantime, to learn more about the challenge, click HERE for a free info sheet that comes with a sample of how I'm meeting the challenge and a blank form for you to use should you have a fictional character in mind you'd like to channel for 30 days.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Be sure to leave any questions or comments below and until next time, sending love and inspiration.