Good morning, lovely you!
During my recent trip to Florida, I would walk by a house each morning on my way to the beach. The house was being repainted and every morning there would be one or two guys out on ladders painstakingly scraping off every inch of old cracked and bubbled paint.
Seeing them reminded me of the time I brought home an old dresser someone had left out on their curb. I was in my early 20s and free furniture was NOT something you passed up. I decided to repaint the dresser but didn’t bother to scrape and sand the original paint off that had begun to bubble and crack in quite a few places. Hey, I was young I didn’t know.
Well, needless to say, my new paint couldn’t really stick and the dresser looked AWFUL!
This is what happens to so many of us who decide we want to become a better version of ourselves. We have an idea of what the transformation should be, we plan on how we’ll get there, but we don’t bother to scrape away at our old, outdated and no-longer-beneficial selves first. And then we find, months later, that our new selves can’t stick because our old selves are right there under the surface screwing things up!
As the new year approaches, I know many of you are determined to live with greater passion, purpose and integrity. I know you want to take better care of your mind, body and spirit, and that’s wonderful, but if you don’t release those parts of you that no longer suit you, then your new vision can’t take hold.
Before the new year begins and you set out to become the next version of yourself, take some time to say goodbye to the old version. Let go of those toxic behaviors and patterns that prevent you from living the life you’re meant to live.
Here are some ways you can release and let go of that which no longer serves your higher purpose:
Let Go of Blame
Real change requires personal power. Blaming others for your problems gives away your power. If you want to truly transform your life, you’ll need to stop the blame game and take FULL responsibility for your life.
Let Go of Your Need to Please
Over the years, the people I have met who have been diagnosed with cancer and other serious diseases usually all have one thing in common: they are people pleasers. They typically make sure everyone in their life is okay and has everything they need, while at the same time completely ignoring their own needs.
You have got to take care of your own needs first, or you won’t have anything to give others. Get comfortable with saying “no” more often and taking time for yourself. Do NOT confuse self-love and self-care with selfishness. They are completely different things.
Let Go of Trying to be Perfect
Perfect doesn’t exist. So many people try and reach perfect because they believe if they become “perfect” they will finally be loved and accepted. But how can you really receive love from others when you obviously don’t love yourself?
To REALLY love yourself is to love your flaws and shortcomings. Becoming a better version of yourself does not mean to become perfect. It means to let go of what no longer serves you so you can step into your true potential and purpose.
Let Go of Allowing Your Emotions to Dictate Your Decisions
Our emotions are great at telling us what is or isn’t working in our life. When we’re angry, frustrated or anxious, we know that something is not right in our world.
But as important of a messenger as an emotion is, you should never let it decide what action you take. Think of your emotion as a private in the army. This private runs into the room and hands the general a message, but the private then leaves the general to decide what steps to take next.
You are not your emotions and your emotions are not who you are. Never suppress your emotions, but don’t let them dictate your life.
Let Go of Your Inner Critic
We all have that voice in our head that tells us we’re not good enough. Make a mistake, the voice is the first one to say, “I told you so.”
The voice gets REALLY loud at times of growth because it knows you are about to kick it to the curb. So it YELLS AT YOU to try and bring you down a peg or two, so you will give it your power.
As you head into the new year, poised for tremendous growth, it’s time to let that inner critic go once and for all. Don’t fight with it. In fact, do the opposite. Thank it for trying to help you and let it know it is no longer needed. During the days and weeks that follow, it will still chatter away, and each time it does, simply turn the volume down in your head a little bit more and a little bit more. Eventually you will no longer hear it.
Scraping old paint off houses or furniture is no fun. And scraping our old selves away is equally labor-intensive. But the truth is, unless we let our old selves go, we get in the way of our new selves sticking.
Much love,
Prue