How the Holiday Season Is a Time for Less, Not More

During a recent decluttering of my house, I was surprised to find just how much unnecessary stuff we had unknowingly held onto. As I was sifting through the clutter, I noticed the similarities between the literal junk that had found its way into my home and the internal junk that we collect so gradually, we often don’t consciously notice it building up and holding us back.

So, instead of buying more junk this Christmas, I want to encourage you to give yourself a meaningful and empowering gift that you deserve. Take some time to look inside and reflect on all that has happened this year, all that you have achieved, endured and overcome, and the things that you’re still working on so that you can remind yourself of what is truly important to you. This will enable you to enter the new year feeling invigorated and ready for success.

The True Meaning of Christmas

The holiday season is a wonderfully beneficial time to turn your gaze inwards. Juggling the pull to buy frivolous things, the expectations of the family to be who we were or who they want us to be and the pressure to appear wealthier, prettier or calmer can be overwhelming. With all the added responsibilities the holidays bring, it’s easy to lose focus on what is important. So, it is vital to take the time to reflect and shed your internal junk, so that you can recover the meaningful beliefs you may have lost sight of and remember to appreciate the joy at the heart of all that Christmas chaos.

Writing Your Naughty and Nice Lists

When I am helping someone to transform and reach a goal, one of the first things I teach is how to recognise the internal junk holding them back. Here is a simple way to recognise the difference between the junk that belongs on your Naughty List and the essentials that belong on your Nice List:

1. Make a list of the things that make you feel happy, blissful or invigorated. It could be brunch with the girls, taking photos, going for a walk or anything else you can think of.
2. Explore why each of those things made it onto your Nice List. Is it because you enjoy getting dressed up, taking time to appreciate nature or the clarity gentle exercise gives you? Are there some overlaps?
3. Make a Naughty List of the unnecessary things that are shortening your Nice List. Are there some behaviours, thought patterns, activities or even people that challenge or obscure the good things that drive you? Is that voice in your head telling you that you only look beautiful when you’re dressed up, you feel too busy to stop and take photos or are you bored with the same walking trail?

You must learn to find the harmful thought patterns and belief systems so that you can shed that heavy, useless junk and focus on letting the good things inside you shine through.

Getting Rid of That Coal in Your Stocking

Want to know a secret? That’s one of the top things on my Nice List. It’s why I created Nourished Energy. I want to help you get rid of the inner junk and reveal your true self – the self that is worthy of believing that you are good enough and confident enough and that you are okay just the way you are. Helping you find and achieve your desires by unleashing the potential that’s already nestled inside you is what makes me feel fulfilled.

Here’s a few tips on how to begin crossing off that Naughty List:

• Shut down that negative voice in your head – Tell yourself you’re beautiful every morning because that bedhead and those wrinkles were earned and they are yours alone to flaunt.
• Make time to explore the things that give you joy – Set aside an hour each week to be creative with photography or cooking or the thing that brings you bliss.
• Expand your horizons – Change it up by learning new things or discovering new places, it will teach you more about yourself and what resonates with you. Find a new trail to walk along near your work or join a walking group and explore with new friends.

The Gift that keeps on Giving

New Year’s Eve is infamous for resolutions. I believe change happens whenever you take the first step, but there is something motivating about the beginning of a new year. So, take advantage of that motivation and use it to reflect, cleanse and find the goal that you are determined to achieve going into the new year. Clearing out that inner junk and working to reveal your true self isn’t easy, but it is the best gift you could ever give yourself. Besides, if you ever need support and guidance, I will be here – not to help you be more of something, but to help you be less, to return you to who you truly are.

In love and light,
Loretta xo