It is no secret that I have let other people’s negative thoughts and behavior effect what I have been doing and to some degree my thoughts about myself – I doubted my abilities, I questioned if I should continue to blog, I compared myself to others, etc. This internal struggle resulted in multiple blogging breaks during the past year. I am usually an independent and self-confident woman with a bit of a stubborn streak (or so Heathen Dad says – I prefer to think of it as being independent, not stubborn, lol).

Everyone has periods of their lives where they doubt their decisions, abilities or their choices in general. The problem just seems more observable in women. I think it is because women just don’t always treat each other well. Have you ever read Queen Bees and Wannabes? You really should pick it up if you don’t have it. The interaction between females is pretty consistent throughout life and quite frankly we are pretty mean to each other at times.

The important thing is to deal with these issues as they arise in your life. The first time I was in grad school working on my counseling degree we were encouraged to participate in personal therapy sessions. The idea behind it was we needed to deal with personal issues to be more effective therapists. Most people entering the program were initially turned off by the idea, but eventually came to believe that the personal work was a vital part of our training. After completing grad school I stopped attending personal therapy sessions, but maintained the belief that working on issues as needed was the best thing.

With a crazy family schedule like mine it is often difficult to find the time to do things just for myself. It seems like I am always the one who compromises to make easier for my family…from small things like not getting the pizza toppings I really want to larger things like dropping a community group that I loved attending because it was difficult to manage with our schedule.

I have been making more of an effort of taking more time for myself. I have decided that taking even a little bit of time daily to read or just veg out will help me to feel more balanced. A few weeks ago during my reading time, I read about the 40 Day Inner Mean Girl Cleanse and realized what my major issues recently have been caused by – I have been listening to my Inner Mean Girl. I was quite shocked to come to this realization. At first I didn’t understand how I became bothered by my Inner Mean Girl. I thought I had successfully duct taped her mouth way back in junior high. I reminded myself that the tape can come loose over the years and I just need to put her back into her place with the duct tape firmly over her mouth.

I am excited to announce that I am one of the Self-Love Ambassadors for the Inner Mean Girl Cleanse. During the cleanse I will be writing about the six habits that feed your Inner Mean Girl and the self-love habits that should replace those toxic habits.

The 40 Day Mean Girl Cleanse is free and open for anyone to join. I encourage you to sign up and enjoy this journey of self-love with me. The 40 Day Inner Mean Girl Cleanse kicks off on August 25, 2010.

Now where did I leave that duct tape?