UNSUBSCRIBE

At the end of the year, I make a list of nagging to-do’s so that I can start the next with a clean slate. An ongoing task is to unsubscribe from junk email. I’m trying to waste less money shopping for things that I don’t need this year, which means opting out of emails that might tempt me. As I was doing this, I couldn’t help but wish it was this easy in other areas of my life. I found myself thinking, “I wish I could unsubscribe from self-defeating thoughts or bad habits.” At that moment, it occurred to me: I can.

I made a list of the thoughts, habits and old beliefs that I was done subscribing to and threw it away in the trash. I then made another list of what I can replace them with both thoughts and actions to support them. Is that the end of it? Of course not. Was it a good start and way to bring awareness to otherwise subconscious thought patterns? Yes. Since I’ve done it, I’ve been able to catch myself in the act, refocus on something more wholesome, and have avoided a few bad moods and even some anxiety.

Doing this took me all of 10 minutes. Give unsubscribing a try. You’ve got nothing to lose but a bunch of junk clogging up your intellectual inbox.