Week 1 | Days 1–7 | Give up the Toxic Habit of Gossip

DAILY PRACTICE: BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD BY TRANSFORMING GOSSIP INTO GOOD TALK.

Morning Practice: Practice the Love Mantra

Before you get out of bed in the morning, you want to start your day CONNECTED to yourself and your commitment to GOOD TALK. We do this each week with a Love Mantra, which is a simple but mighty statement you repeat to yourself, like a PROMISE to yourself.

Here’s how it works: Before you get out of bed, open and close your eyes, put your hand on your heart and repeat these words for about a minute, trying to feel them in your body. At first you may feel nothing, that’s okay – fake it ‘til you make it, and trust the words are seeping in. The power is that you are installing this mantra into your consciousness so that during the day, when the toxin shows up – gossip in this case – you will remember the mantra and your earlier words will empower you to make new choices.

Your Love Mantra for the next 7 days:

“I SAY NO TO GOSSIP. I CHOOSE TO ONLY SPEAK WORDS THAT COME FROM MY HEART.”

Commit these words to memory or write them down on a piece of paper or in your journal and keep them near your bed.

Or because we heart you SO much, we made you a Love Mantra poster! You can download it and print it out by clicking here.

Daytime Practice: Live your entire day aware of your words, and choose Good Talk over Gossip. Here’s how to apply the Good Talk self-love antidote during an Inner Mean Girl toxic attack of gossip – from you or anyone else – without losing your self-respect or self-empowerment:

1. Speak about others as you would like to be spoken of. When the gossip is coming, stop and think to yourself, “How would I want to be spoken about in this situation?” And then speak from there.

2. Keep your motivations and intentions clean. As you speak about others or even think or read about others, ask yourself, “What is the motivation behind what I am saying or doing?” If your motivation is not from a love–based place (like it feels good in your body), stop talking and/or change your words.

3. Lift others up, never tear them down. Notice when your words or actions seem to be tearing someone down, or judging them, and apply the Good Talk rule of only lifting others up – this includes people you know and don’t know. For example, while celebrity gossip may make your Inner Mean Girl feel great for a minute, it's better to avoid – to say NO! to consuming - any media that drags others down. And instead send that person compassion that another human being was willing to hurt another to be paid to generate gossip.

4. Be a leader, change the conversation. If you find yourself being invited or tempted into gossip, instead choose words that change the energy. Invite the other person into Good Talk. Try something like, "You know what I love about______" or "I feel a lot of compassion for _____".

This week - notice when you do fall into any of the gossip toxic habits and take note of how that feels in your BODY! And switch the channel to your heart, where your Inner Wisdom speaks from. She’s not a Pollyanna, she tells the truth, but with love. Become aware of how differently you feel when you live from the Good Talk place.

Evening Practice: Reflect on your day with your Inner Wisdom. Before going to sleep, take a look at your Love Mantra (keep it next to your bed) and ask yourself (and your Inner Wisdom) what you learned about Gossip and Good Talk today. Close yours eyes, knowing that you are supported and loved as you choose MORE LOVE for yourself and those around you.