Dear friend,

I hope this message finds you well. Last week marked the beginning of our journey in "THIS IS MY YEAR." We kicked off by encouraging the practice of ME TIME. If you're not accustomed to taking time for yourself, that's okay; forming new habits takes time. Remember, this is your year, not just one day.

If you haven't started dedicating time for yourself, consider starting today – it's a small step that can make a big difference and bring a smile to your face.

Continuing with this theme, I'd like to suggest some activities for this last week of January, especially if the hand massage tactic didn't resonate with you.

DO THIS...
Wake up 30 minutes earlier than you normally do to create a moment for yourself. Begin your day with something that inspires, educates, motivates, or simply makes you happy.

Why is this crucial?

Throughout the day, we're bombarded with negativity and stress from various sources. The news can be disheartening, people we interact with might be in a bad mood, and social media often portrays an unrealistic standard of perfection. Although we believe we can simply think positive thoughts, our soul absorbs the negativity, weighing us down. It's essential to protect this delicate part of ourselves.

Nerdy anecdote here; I always think of this soul protection like the process of whitening teeth. I'm a major nerd that loves highly detailed specific topics and data downloads, and I remember vividly my childhood dentist, Dr. Brown, as he explained this...

Our teeth are very porous and almost look like sponges under a microscope! When we whiten our teeth the product goes inside those pores and bleaches the stains within. After a round of teeth whitening, a fluoride treatment is needed to fill in the holes and prevent further staining. This is also why sensitive teeth feel so good after a round of fluoride trays. Once all those little pores are filled, future discoloration is less likely because our teeth are now less porous.

Similarly, starting your day with inspiring and joyful ideas fills your mind and your soul, leaving little room for negativity. Your spirit is less porous so it resists getting stained by outside sources.

Some people prefer reading, meditating, exploring inspirational posts, or listening to podcasts or music. I also enjoy just sitting in a bit of meditative rest listening to "green noise". Check it out! It's wonderful to relax to, and it helps to combat that squirrel brain we all have from too much stimulus. Whatever you choose, make it beautiful for your soul.

THINK THIS...
Self-care and self-compassion are exclusively for you, a dedicated time to honor the positive aspects of your life. Ask yourself, what have you recently done that brings you happiness, pride, or contentment?

It's also a time to relax and give yourself space when things haven't gone well. If you're dwelling on a mistake, acknowledge it, and then let it go. We all strive to be our best. To do that we must recognize our strengths and become aware of our areas for improvement. Praise yourself for the job you have done and what you could do, and forgive yourself for any areas where you want to improve.

My husband uses laughter to relax and he loves funny movies. One of the movies he exposed me to was "What About Bob" with Bill Murray. If you've never seen it's absolute comedic gold and definitely a lighthearted feel good film.

Although the movie is intended to be funny, there's also nuggets of good life advice. The main character Bob suffers from crippling anxiety. As part of his journey to overcome this, he visits a therapist. His therapist recommends "baby steps" as a way to move forward when facing fears. And the scene where Bob begins to implement this advice is nothing but hilarious and endearing.

Similarly for us, when working on new habits, taking baby steps can work wonders. One step in the right direction gets us started and every step after, although small, continues us towards our goal.

For us to feel confident, enjoy our home and work lives, and fulfill our promise and potential, we must invest in ourselves. That's what we're doing together this year. Here's to us and all the baby steps to the wonderful things we'll work on in 2024!

All my best,

Liz