"So what are you giving up for Lent?"
We're asked this question every year, and some of the standard answers come up.
Ex: Chocolate, soda, candy, Facebook, alcohol, coffee/caffeine...
A lot of us have attempted the aforementioned and some emerge victorious. Every year, I seem to get stumped with this question. I wrestle with the questions of "Should I give something up or try to do something different?" For example, doing one act of kindness a day, or saying a prayer every three hours.
After lots of thinking, I had a few ideas. To write out three good things in every day, take 10 minutes before bed to meditate, turn my phone off 1 hour before bed, stop hitting snooze on the alarm clock...
In the end, I decided to try something different. I had noticed that I developed a nasty habit of throwing around colorful language when I didn't mean to. I don't know how or when this habit started, but I didn't like it.
So when Lent started, I gave it up. I gave up swearing.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely had a few slip-ups. But, I had a method. Every time I caught myself swearing, I would drop a quarter into a rice bowl that I was going to be bringing back to my church at the end of the 40 days.
At first, I found it extremely difficult. I realized just how often I had been swearing - usually in casual conversation. But after a few days, it was a lot easier. Phrases such as "shoot" and "gosh darn it" and "fudge" soon worked their way back into my daily vocabulary - as opposed to their more colorful counterparts.
Each time I found a swear word escaping my lips, a quarter would go into my rice bowl. Even though I felt bad for swearing, it was nice knowing that I was still giving back to someone who needed my loose change.
By the end of Lent, I noticed a few major changes in my life.
By far the most important was my own happiness. I didn't get frustrated as easily. Just by replacing a few words in my vocabulary, and it ended up going a very long way.
I even noticed a difference in my productivity. I was able to get my work done much more efficiently during Lent than any other time of the year. It was a welcome change in the life of the ever-procrastinating college student.
Equally as important was my stress levels. My heart rate dropped significantly, and I found myself getting much better sleep than I had before Lent started.
After Lent ended, I still tried to keep up the habit. Yes, sometimes the words slip through the cracks - but I make a conscious effort every day to not go back to my ways before Lent. I'm happier, more productive, less stressed, and all around a better person because of my giving up swearing.
