Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you to go brush your teeth, or put on clean clothes,stand up straight, go to bed, or even get ready for school and you just did NOT want to??  I hear my 6 year old self saying “BUT I DON’T WANNA!!” right at this very moment.  I’m sure many of you mommas out there are having visions of your child’s last “I don’t wanna” episode.  Am I right?

Well, now that I’ve moved up a few boxes in the checklist, I still find myself saying sometimes – you know what, I just don’t wanna…I just do not want to…  followed by whatever it is that’s pulling at my mind in that moment.  And then I hear the infamous phrase I had grown to hate “Well, you’re old enough for your wants not to hurt you.” (spoken to me whenever I said I didn’t want to do something)  I had fallen into the mind set that even though you may not want to do something you were still supposed to even sometimes expected to do it anyways.  And that..that is one hard habit to break.  Thank heavens I did!

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a fine line between regular old wants and don’t wants and their conterparts…responsibilities.  I take care of my responsibilities even though I may not want to, but I signed up for them and there you go.  (Case in point: today is pay day.  3/4ths of my check is gone already after paying 3 bills…Wanted to? Not so much. Responsible? I like to think so.)

I’m talking about those days when you just don’t wanna cook something for dinner and you would much rather go out and splurge on sushi for yourself, or you see someone that you just don’t wanna speak too because they really aren’t all that friendly and you have always been cordial before because that’s the proper thing to do, or you just don’t wanna put on a bra and make-up to run up to the corner store to grab a few things, or you don’t want to care so much about others and you want to be just a lil selfish for a bit and take care of numero uno, or you just don’t wanna talk / laugh / smile and be bubbly – maybe you would rather be a gray cloud for a day and get it all out and be that ray of sunshine the next day.  Are you following along here?

SOMETIMES YOU JUST DON’T WANNA!

And you know what..that is perfectly okay. I’ve spent way too much time doing countless things that I really just did not want to do.  I was under the impression that I was supposed to do them and such because I am a woman or I’m from the South or whatever excuse I used to tell myself.  Well, not anymore.  I’ve come to realize that age old phrase that “life is too short” and why on earth am I putting energy and precious time into situations and things that maybe I just don’t wanna do.  That doesn’t make much sense, now does it?! No. Not at all.  Am I talking circles on this one or is someone else catchin what I’m throwin??  Just checking.

And so dear reader, this is my challenge to you in this next week.  Figure out something that you just don’t really wanna do – but always have before and you know the reasons why – and be OKAY with not wanting to do it or even not doing it at all.  (There’s a difference in not doing something that you don’t want to and actually being ok with the fact of not doing it.)  How will I know if it’s something I can go without doing, you ask?  Trust me, you’ll know the difference between wants and responsibilities when the time comes.

And you know what else, I bet you’ll find that it might just do you a bit of good to be a tad bit selfish for once.  Numero Uno comes first in the line of numbers for a reason you know..