P.S. There will be no email next Tuesday, Dec 26th…a little gift for both of us!
Dec 19, 2023 – I hope this email finds you with some joy of the season in spite of how chaotic it might feel. I feel you!
I bet you’ve heard this riddle: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
I used to not understand that saying, (and I thought it pretty weird, honestly)…but now I see the absolute brilliance of it. And it’s relevant right now.
This time of year there’s so much going on for holiday celebrations and gatherings, travels and details, and the like. Plus lots of PRESSURE from deadlines and expectations.
And then, wonderfully, there’s a NEW YEAR coming right around around the corner!
I LOVE NEW YEAR ENERGY. It’s my favorite drug! It’s that exciting feeling of anticipation, freshness, and hope! Of renewal.
But also comes that pressure of perceived expectations, AKA “Resolutions.” Am I right??
I think by now that we have all agreed that NY’s resolutions are a fallacy and simply don’t work! And, if you ask me, clearly need a re-brand.
Right, John Oliver?
LOL!! But so very true!
It’s like when you turn a birthday, it’s not as if you are wildly different all of the sudden…it’s just a day and then you have a new label for a WHOLE YEAR. You spend that whole year getting wiser (one hopes to, anyway) and getting a year’s worth of experiences (many of which are positive).
But the simple fact that one day you’re 36 and the next you’re 37 doesn’t mean that there’s a giant leap of difference overnight.
Such as it is with December 31st vs January 1st.
We tend to enter the shiny new year with giant (AKA unreasonable!) lists of resolutions which serve only to invite Overwhelma in the door, and then it’s over.
Overwhelm is the freeze ray of progress. The kryptonite of productivity. The fire blanket constantly suffocating your flow.
(Roseanne Barr as Overwhelma?? LOVE.)
We have been told for too many years that “New Year’s Resolutions” are the way to help you have a “better year” and that’s just total garbage. Yes, the New year is pumped full of fresh energy and potential, but it’s not a magic pill.
An unrealistic list of resolutions is just that: UNREALISTIC and therefore doomed from the get-go.
We have to break them down into tiny pieces. Itty bitty micro steps.
Are you with me?
So yes, have the big lofty bucket list loaded with all your life’s hopes and dreams, but pick only a very few for January (like two!), then identify some baby steps forward.
I really mean MICRO-SIZED baby steps.
Remember last October when I told you about doing my daily half sun salutation? I’m doing two now, and loving the consistency. But the fact that the behavior is micro-sized keeps me at it. It sets a good tone for my morning!
How about you? For example, do you want to read 24 books in 2024? Lofty, but do-able. Start by simply making a list of more than 24 that you might want to read. Hint: include lots of books that YOU ALREADY OWN, (brilliant, I know!) and include physical AND digital. Listening to books counts too! I have a fabulous library of Audible books that I have NOT YET listened to. Oh, and books you’ve already started absolutely count!
And get the Goodreads app…so helpful!! I read 20 this year, y’all! ME, yes. me!!
The point is that all of these goals are for just for YOU. For your soul. For your self care. No one else matters! There’s no report card.
Just keep baby-stepping. And get back up when you stumble!
2024 is your elephant for the eating! (Gosh, that sounds gross, but you know what I mean!)
Cheers and Happy New Year to all of us from Leonardo DeCaprio!!
LAST ONE OF 2023!!
Take advantage of our FREE accountability hour in the CALM Collaborative this Thursday at noon central. Sign up for free here-→ Digital Decluttering Live, and grab this last slot of FOCUSED time to do those last minute things.
FIRST ONE OF 2024:
Jan. 4th (ohhhh, that’s pretty close to my special day! So I might make it special for YOU TOO!)
