Let it Go!

So here we are....a week into 2018. A brand new year, new intentions, new goals, renewed visions and plans. 

Are you still feeling the vigour of enthusiasm that a new year brings with it?

Or are those thoughts from 2017 slowly creeping back in already?

Hands up if you want 2018 to be the BEST and happiest year yet!

Me too!

So how do we do that if we have not let go of stuff that happened last year?

We can't! 

We (unfortunately), cannot control a lot of things that pop up in our lives BUT we can control our reactions and responses to them and how long we hold onto them for!

We all have situations and people in our lives that frustrate us and annoy us and hurt us and so often we spend so much time and energy focusing on that and feeling horrible. We all know that where focus goes, energy flows so why do we spend so much of our time focusing on the people or situations that affect us in a negative way?

I don't know either! But what I do know is I have spent a lot of time in my life doing it and I am starting to get better at letting go of the things that I can not control - and choosing to be happy and joyful instead. 

Don't get me wrong...it is not the easiest thing in the world to do! If it was easy, everyone would be doing it and the world would generally be a happier place, I feel! 

It takes work and it takes conscious effort and it takes one day at a time.

* It is important to acknowledge how I am feeling and the emotions that I feel when I am upset, angry, frustrated, sad or disappointed. (We are allowed to feel the way we feel.)

* It is important to acknowledge them for other people as well. (They are allowed to feel the way they feel.)

* It is very important to not stay in that emotion for very long. The longer you stay there, the more pain you cause yourself.

This is the key! (And something valuable we can teach our little humans.)

* Stop imagining what everyone else is thinking about you because they really aren't thinking about you!

(We all think other people are thinking particular things about us but the reality is - they are too busy thinking and wondering what other people are thinking about themselves! People are too wrapped up in their own concerns to be worried about yours!)

It's True!

* Stop overthinking every darn thing! Life is not designed to be as complicated as we make it! If you want to do something - do it. 

* I can only control how I react and respond to things. I do not have control over how other people act or react. (A big one for me!)

There are so many things that will pop up in our life that will try to steal our joy - if we allow it. But like we teach our kids - we are in control of ourselves and so we can choose who impacts us and we can choose what we KEEP and what we LET GO of. 

 If we are the best versions of ourselves, do you think our kids will notice? They are, after all, the world's greatest mimics!

 What have you let go of from 2017? 

 What are you still holding on to that you need to let go of?

 What will you be conscious of letting go of as you move into the early stages of this new year?

* Remember to breathe slowly and deeply. It is the quickest and easiest thing to do to change how you are feeling.

* I encourage you to consciously remember, that in every situation, you can feel joy.

* I encourage you to remember that everyone has their own 'story' and pain in their minds that control their language and behaviours, and sometimes we have to interact with those stories but they are not about you. It is simply about what the other person is going through. 

* Be patient and be kind to yourself and others. It will be much easier to let go when you do this!

Sometimes letting go is a far greater act of power than defending or hanging on.

It takes a lot more COURAGE to let something go than to hang onto it, trying to make it better.

Letting go doesn't mean ignoring a situation.

Letting go means accepting what is, exactly as it is, without fear, resistance or a struggle for control. 

Until next week...have an extraordinary and conscious week!

Clarissa xo