What Happens When it’s NOT Worth the Calories

Not long ago, “Sex and the City” came on while I was at the dentist. I hadn’t seen the show in ages but I watched it religiously back in the day.

When a scene opened with Carrie talking to Miranda, I nearly cried.

Yes, I teared up! True story. Because I honestly felt like I was seeing friends I hadn’t seen in a really long time.

It sounds silly, but I really love when the characters in a TV show feel like they are a part of your life. You find yourself missing people who are not even real!

I do believe TV has the ability to inspire us, teach us and make us feel like we are not alone.

But let’s be honest.  Most TV is low quality, addictive filler. 

Most of the time we use it as background noise.
We use it to distract ourselves from a hard day.
We use it so we don’t have to think about or hear what might be bothering our hearts and minds.

And while I’m a fan of simply tuning OUT when needed, how often do we find that hours have passed and we have fallen deep into a Seth Meyers Late Night Monologue when we know it’s NWTC?

NWTC = Not Worth The Calories

NWTC can be applied to crappy chocolate, bad television or basically anything that does not contribute to your overall joy. Sorry, Seth.

NWTC is the filler. It’s the fluff. It’s the stuff that doesn’t have any substance, emotional nutrition, or true importance.

**Please note, I am not actually referring to food at all, nor do I believe in counting calories by any means. This is just a playful term to check in with yourself.

How many things do we do in our life that are NWTC?

You see, the problem is that this FLUFF keeps us from things that ARE “worth the calories”, so to speak.

When you engage in things that are NTWC, rather than engage in what you love, those tings keep us from quality connection, quality time with loved ones and quality time in our homes that we work so hard to have.

It keeps us from hearing the whispers of our own heart or being availble to new ideas that want to bubble up. 

If you are looking for more quality connection, I invite you to ask yourself, “Is this worth the calories?”

Clearing out the fluff in order to create space for what is actually of value isn’t always easy, especially when it means letting go of something that provides comfort.

It requires courage.

Not the same kind of courage that it takes to leave a long-standing relationship or move across the country, but a quiet kind of courage.

The kind of courage that says, “I am going slip into the void.

I am willing to be with the quiet.

I am willing to allow my mind to wander.

I am willing to be with myself.”

The risk often promises great rewards.

Not long ago, I turned off my TV fluff.

As a result, I am hearing my own thoughts more. When new ideas come, I am able to catch them before they float away.

I am cooking more (To see what I am cooking, click here).

I am spending more time getting lost in some good fiction. This is a joy I haven’t given myself in ages (To see what I am reading, click here).

I am tuning into a new musical artists (To hear what I am listening to, click here and log into Spotify).

Engage in what you love. All these things feel so much more filling. They are AWTC (Absolutley Worth The Calories).

As a result, I must admit, life is tasting even more delicious.

Is there something you do or experience in your life on a regular basis that you know is NWTC?

I’d love for you to share in the comments A) What that is (I bet we all have some pretty unique ones), and B) Do you engage in what you love? What you can be doing with that time/space instead that would be “worth it”?

Sans fluff,
Erin