As we get ready to say goodbye to 2024, there's one thing I like to do at this time of year, and that is to let go. To decide what needs to stay in 2024 to make room for what I want to do, have, and experience in the New Year.

For me, this is a really important part of goal setting that a lot of people tend to miss. But when you don't acknowledge and intentionally decide what is not coming with you as you turn the page on a New Year and your next chapter, you tend to end up carrying a lot of things forward into the New Year that really do not serve you and won't help you in intentionally creating the 2025 you want.

The kind of things that instead help you recreate the year, or years, that have passed. And I'm talking about things like habits, beliefs, commitments, relationships and even emotions.

But right now, as you think about your New Year goals, it is the perfect time to pause and make a conscious choice to leave some things behind. To make space for different habits, beliefs, commitments, relationships and emotions that will serve you in creating something different in your life.

So, as I go through this process myself, I thought I'd share it with you and the five things I'm personally leaving behind in 2024 – what they are, why they've held me back, and how letting go of them is opening space for what's next.

I'll also help you decide what you're ready to release, so you can step into 2025 with clarity, intention, and the freedom to create your biggest, boldest dreams.

Welcome to The Self-Creation School podcast, for women who are ready to ditch mediocrity, step up and get more of what they want, and finally say YES! to a life that sets their soul on fire. I'm your host Leanne Letica, Self-Creation Coach, founder of The Self-Creation School AND Queen of YES!. If you're ready to play life by your own personal rule book, and give yourself permission to say YES! to yourself and your wildest dreams, this podcast is the place for you.

Well, hello, my friend, thanks so much for tuning in to today's episode of the podcast. Who can believe we are just one week out from Christmas. I don't know about you, but it still feels like yesterday to me that I was getting ready for last Christmas. I hope things are not too crazy in your world right now and that you can take some time to appreciate the things that matter most at this time of year.

Today, I want to share with you what I am releasing from my life before I ring in the New Year and start writing my 2025 chapter and give you some tips on how you can decide what needs to stay behind too.

Now, I'm not going to be talking today about how to set effective goals that will help you create a life you love. I'm going to assume you already have an idea for what you want to do, have and experience in 2025.

But if you're not yet clear on that, that's also perfectly okay. This is still going to be a really valuable conversation for you today, perhaps even more valuable in many ways. And stay tuned because I have been working behind the scenes on some very exciting projects that I will be announcing in the New Year that will help you get crystal clear on what you want.

So, the first thing I will say is that the underlying process for what I'm sharing here today is pretty simple. I use a journal, and I schedule aside time for quiet reflection, for deeper thinking and having a really honest conversation with myself about the year that has passed and what really isn't working for me.

For me, personally, I tend to set my New Year goals in November because it's my birthday month and I like to use that month to think about my next lap around the sun. But listen, sometimes at this time of year, I'm still firming things up and getting clear on what's next. And especially if that's the case, I tend to find going through this process to identify what I don't want more of actually helps point me in the direction for what it is I do want.

Sometimes you need to see what you don't want, what isn't working for you, to know what you do. And so, this is why I said a moment ago that this is still a really valuable process, perhaps even more so, if you don't yet know what you want.

Of course, if you do, then you can take a look at both sides of the coin to help you decide what needs to stay in 2024. You can look at what hasn't served you, as well as what will serve you in achieving your new goals and marry that together.

So, journal, time for an open, honest conversation, and your goals, if you have them. And what I like to do is think about these five areas. My beliefs, those stories that have been a theme in my year. My habits. My commitments, or where it is I'm committing my time and energy to. My relationships and the people I'm hanging out with, both in real life and online. And finally, my emotions. Specifically, my negative emotions that have maybe been a little too present in my year.

So let's start with beliefs, with those stories that have maybe been playing out front and center stage a little too much this year.

For me, the belief I know without a doubt I am leaving behind is my story that I can't travel and build The Self-Creation School at the same time. If you've been listening in, that is a story I had very much because of the all-or-nothing way I was approaching each one of these things.

This year I have been on a quest to challenge that story because travel and helping women like you and me live wildly fulfilling lives we love waking up to every day are both things that I am very passionate about. And by holding on to the belief that I can't do both has really impacted my ability to do either, if I'm honest, to the extent that I know is possible.

So, I really wanted to find a way for both of my one loves to co-exist. And if you've been listening in over the past few months, I recently lived in the question of how travel and work might go hand in hand during my two-month slow travel experiment in Thailand.

Now, I'm not sure if I completely nailed it during that trip, but I did find one way that travel and work can be possible. And I learned so much from that experience, which is really going to help me design my life and business moving forward in a way that work and play can go more effortlessly together.

But I am officially leaving behind the story that work and play don't mix in 2024. Because I have gathered evidence for how they can and busted that myth. My new story that is coming with me into 2025 is work and play can co-exist, and I can find new ways to make that happen.

So, what's one belief you've held onto this year that feels like it's been holding you back? Think about how this has impacted your decisions, your emotions, your opportunities, and your life experience.

And then imagine letting go of that belief. How might your life open up if you let it go? How might your life be different if you no longer had that story or belief? And is there a story you can replace it with that supports what you want in 2025?

The next thing I'm leaving behind is my 'over' habit. If you've never heard of that before, that's okay, because I hadn't either until I started thinking about the things I wanted to leave behind in 2024 that really aren't serving me. And I may have coined that term, who knows?

So, here's what my over habit is. Looks like overworking, overdoing, over perfecting, over complicating, over thinking, over comparing, overeating, over scrolling, over ambition. Listen, I am not someone who's going to pretend that I have all of this figured out and my life is perfect. I still have some things that need some work.

And here's what I know most of those things stem from. Perfectionism. I am a perfectionist by default. It goes right back to my childhood and my belief that I wasn't good enough and therefore I need to work really, really hard to make everything more than perfect so that then maybe, just maybe, I'd finally be good enough. I have done a lot of work to change my story of not-enoughness over the years and I do still work constantly to not fall into that trap.

The thing about our old stories and beliefs is that they do tend to pop back up again from time to time, especially when you are trying new things or pushing your boundaries for what's possible. Sometimes they come up at times when you are emotionally stressed for whatever reason or physically run down.

And so, this is why it is just so important to become self-aware, to spend the time to understand your stories and how they impact your life, learn how to rewrite them, and how to recognize when they have popped back in to say hello.

Over time, the effort required to do this does become less, and it does become much quicker to recognize and shift those stories and keep moving forward. But I am never going to be one of those coaches who tells you that this is a once and done thing. Listen, if you are human like me, and I suspect that you are, you are going to have stories and emotions that need cleaning up regularly.

So, overworking, overdoing, over perfecting, over complicating, over thinking, these are definitely for me all to do with perfectionism.

Now, I also know that things like overeating and over scrolling come from escapism. Escaping things like boredom, putting myself out there because perfectionism is playing a visit, doing things maybe I don't really want to do, like ironing. I'm not a fan, to be honest. Sometimes escapism can be to avoid dealing with what's going on in our lives and processing the heavy emotions.

And finally, I'm very aware that some of my 'over' habits, like my over ambition, stems from a true and more fulfilling drive, desire, or passion if you like, for things that I want to do. Like what I do right here within The Self-Creation School as a coach.

I am a very ambitious person and that in and of itself isn't something I want to necessarily leave behind. But I think one of the things that has happened for me over the years as I've experienced just what can be possible when you open your heart and mind to it being possible, is that I tend to want to do so much more because I know so much more is possible. And every so often that doesn't actually serve me.

Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should. If you know my story, having more, doing more, and achieving more, it doesn't always bring more of what truly matters, which is your happiness, well-being, your peace and joy, and all of those kinds of things.

I wanted to just bring this up before I moved on to the next thing I'm letting go of, because it is important to understand what lies behind your thoughts, emotions, and actions. Sometimes it isn't that you need to let go of them. You simply need to embrace them in a more effective and intentional way that serves you rather than drains you or holds you back.

So, ambition for me will be coming forward into 2025 in a much more intentional way. And a lot of those other 'over' habits, I will be leaving them behind to make room for simplifying things in my life, working more intentionally and productively, serving you more effectively, and being present in myself and in my life for more of the things that matter and truly do make my world feel so fulfilled.

So, ask yourself, what is one habit that has been draining you, holding you back, or helping you keep recreating a reality you'd rather leave behind? Maybe for you too, it's things like overworking, overthinking, or even over giving. But it doesn't have to be an 'over' habit like mine.

Think about all the regular things you do on a daily basis or a regular basis in your life and what might change for you if you left these habits behind in 2024. Then choose one habit that is holding you back the most and replace it with something intentional.

Now before we move on, notice that I am only choosing one belief and one habit. You don't need to wipe the slate completely clean and start again. Honestly, I don't recommend that you do because you will likely find that very difficult and get nowhere.

A few things well done will have a much larger impact on your life than trying to change everything at once. The idea of this process is to try and identify one thing in each of these areas that will have the biggest impact on your life if you were to let go of it and leave it behind in 2024.

Moving on, and the third thing I'm letting go of is committing my mornings to my office.

This is very much tied with my 'over' habit, by the way, and when I lived in Australia, it really wasn't how I ran my day. But since we moved country, it has taken me some time to get back into a routine that works for me. And I've been I've fallen into spending my mornings working as opposed to how I used to spend them, which was focusing on my health and well-being, my personal development and growth, my mindset and things like that.

Now, I still do mindset work every single day. But I'm going to be honest, health and well-being was on my goal list this year. And instead of committing to working out, I committed my time to working in front of my computer. The end result for me has been a real imbalance in overworking and under-nourishing my physical well-being. I probably don't need to tell you that is absolutely not something that serves me.

So, committing my mornings to working at my desk is staying behind in 2024. And I am replacing that with a commitment to working out, working out physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When you look back over your 2024, is there a commitment you've taken on this year that doesn't align with what truly matters to you or the life experience you want? If you have trouble thinking about this, take a look back through your calendar or even your to do list to see how it is you've spent your time and what things you've shown up for.

It might be really obvious to you, like a commitment to a regular social gathering that leaves you feeling drained. Or it might be less obvious, like mine, where you've committed a disproportionate amount of time to something which has left little or no time to something that does truly matter.

The fourth thing I'm letting go of is in the area of relationships, and it is all the people who digitally distract me.

What I'm talking about here is the online groups I've joined that perhaps I don't really check in on or participate in, but they clutter my social feed and often, my inbox. I'm talking about those email newsletters and subscriptions I've been interested in at one point, but I don't really read and again they clutter my inbox.

I'm also talking about the people in my social feeds I followed that make me feel pulled in a thousand different directions. One says do this, another says do that. This week, this is the magic pill. Next week, it's something else. You know what I mean, right?

So, I really want to fine-tune who it is I allow into my digital space and the people I allow to take up my time or focus. I want to ensure that moving forward, I am exposing myself to people who keep me grounded, inspired, informed and educated, but not distracted with a million different things I can try and do that distract my focus from what matters, and at the end of the day, disrupts my momentum.

You've probably heard the saying, you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. In this digital age we live in, often we are spending a whole lot of time with people online that don't really contribute meaningfully to our lives. So, it's not just physical relationships you might want to consider here, but also those you have in your digital space too.

Are there any relationships or connections with others that feel draining, heavy, one-sided, unsupportive, distracting, or out of alignment in some way with what you want to focus on in 2025 and who it is you want to be?

Imagine how it might feel like to step back from those relationships or connections, or at least to redefine the boundaries in terms of how much time you give to those relationships in 2025. And how letting go of these relationships could make room for new, more empowering, inspiring, and supportive relationships to take their place.

The final thing I am choosing to leave behind in 2024 is overwhelm.

Years ago, overwhelm and anxiety were my best friends. We hung out all day, every day together and I had no idea at the time what kind of influence they were really having on my world.

I have done a lot of work to replace them with emotions like calm and clarity. But this past year I've had a lot of overwhelm sneaking back in. So, I know for sure it's one emotion I want to leave in my 2024 story to make space for that feeling of calm to take stage once more.

Overwhelm is the kind of emotion that can really keep you stuck in things like indecision, inaction, in exhaustion and confusion. And I know for me there's a good chance it snuck right back in alongside my perfectionism, because it has been a big year of pushing personal boundaries for me this year.

Like I said earlier, our old habits, beliefs, thoughts and emotions, they all love to pop back in and say hello when we are doing new things.

So, think about the emotions you've felt this year. Is there a predominant negative emotion like overwhelm or anxiety that you've been experiencing that is maybe keeping you from taking action towards your goals?

Perhaps you've been feeling a lot of guilt, resentment, or regret? Or it could be confusion, unhappiness, vulnerability. There really are so many different kinds of negative emotions.

So, I encourage you to sit with this one for a little while and really tap into how it is you've been feeling this year on a regular basis and see if there is that one emotion that might be best left behind in 2024 to make room for a more positive emotion. And then imagine letting it go and what emotion would take its place.

I talk a lot about emotions and how to change your emotions by looking at the stories creating them. And I have talked a lot about this in particular over the last few podcast episodes.

So, if you haven't heard my take on this, I definitely encourage you to go back and take a listen to my recent episodes. And there are also earlier episodes where I talk about choosing your stories and emotions. So take a browse through the collection and see what stands out to you.

The reality is you can choose better emotions by choosing better stories. Sometimes we do get stuck thinking and feeling certain ways but use this pause and this time of year to decide to get unstuck. To decide to leave behind the negative emotions and open the door to much more positive and empowering ones.

Again, I am choosing just one emotion to let go of here because I think that one emotion is actually kind of the ringleader for a lot of other emotions. I suspect you'll have a ringleader too.

So, there you have it, the five things I'm leaving behind in 2024. A belief that work and play can't co-exist, my 'over' habit, committing my mornings to my office instead of my well-being, relationships that digitally distract me, and the emotion of overwhelm.

For me, these choices feel like a weight off my shoulders. They feel light and liberating. And they feel like I am almost clearing the slate clean by leaving them behind.

Not completely, of course – because life is never about perfection and there will always be work on ourselves to be done, as long as we desire to grow and thrive – but enough to make space for the new more intentional beliefs, habits, commitments, relationships, and emotions to take hold and help me make 2025 matter in all the ways I want.

I hope this conversation today has inspired you to spend some time during the next couple of weeks to reflect on your own life and the year that has passed. To think about your beliefs, habits, commitments, relationships, and emotions. And to ask yourself, what's weighing me down? What feels heavy, or out of alignment? And then imagine leaving those things behind as you step into the New Year.

Now, one last thing. Remember that this isn't about letting go of everything that doesn't serve you all at once and changing your life overnight. It isn't about wiping the slate completely clean, it really isn't.

It's about identifying the one thing in each area that, if released, would create the biggest impact for you. Will there be other beliefs, habits, and so on that you might need to work on and release as time goes by? Yes, of course, because we are complex human beings. But this is about choosing a few changes right now that will lead you to big shifts.

I'd love to hear what you choose to leave behind in 2024, so take a moment to DM me on my socials or drop me an email and tell me all the things. I do read all of your messages, and I do reply personally to each and every one of them.

And remember, if you need help getting clear on what's next or how to create a life you love, stay tuned because exciting things are coming in the New Year to help you say YES! to your biggest, boldest dreams.

You'll hear about this first if you are a subscriber to CREATED, which is my weekly email. So, if you are not yet receiving that email, the link to join is in the show notes for you. It's jam packed with value each and every week, and women tell me it's the one email they look forward to reading.

That brings today's episode to a close. Thank you so much for joining me and from my corner of the world to yours, I hope your holidays are filled with peace, love and joy.

I'll be back as usual next Wednesday with a very special episode to help you set the tone for your New Year. I'm all about finishing out this year with reflection and intention, my friend. So, that episode will be ready and waiting for you when your festivities are all said and done.

Until then, be the woman who says YES!

Hey, want to know what's stopping you from saying YES! to you and a life you love?

Head over to https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock and take my FREE 60 second quiz to find out what's standing in your way today and I'll send you my Self-Creation Shift process for shifting it.

That's https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock. I’ll see you there.

As we get ready to say goodbye to 2024, there's one thing I like to do at this time of year, and that is to let go. To decide what needs to stay in 2024 to make room for what I want to do, have, and experience in the New Year.

For me, this is a really important part of goal setting that a lot of people tend to miss. But when you don't acknowledge and intentionally decide what is not coming with you as you turn the page on a New Year and your next chapter, you tend to end up carrying a lot of things forward into the New Year that really do not serve you and won't help you in intentionally creating the 2025 you want.

The kind of things that instead help you recreate the year, or years, that have passed. And I'm talking about things like habits, beliefs, commitments, relationships and even emotions.

But right now, as you think about your New Year goals, it is the perfect time to pause and make a conscious choice to leave some things behind. To make space for different habits, beliefs, commitments, relationships and emotions that will serve you in creating something different in your life.

So, as I go through this process myself, I thought I'd share it with you and the five things I'm personally leaving behind in 2024 – what they are, why they've held me back, and how letting go of them is opening space for what's next.

I'll also help you decide what you're ready to release, so you can step into 2025 with clarity, intention, and the freedom to create your biggest, boldest dreams.

Welcome to The Self-Creation School podcast, for women who are ready to ditch mediocrity, step up and get more of what they want, and finally say YES! to a life that sets their soul on fire. I'm your host Leanne Letica, Self-Creation Coach, founder of The Self-Creation School AND Queen of YES!. If you're ready to play life by your own personal rule book, and give yourself permission to say YES! to yourself and your wildest dreams, this podcast is the place for you.

Well, hello, my friend, thanks so much for tuning in to today's episode of the podcast. Who can believe we are just one week out from Christmas. I don't know about you, but it still feels like yesterday to me that I was getting ready for last Christmas. I hope things are not too crazy in your world right now and that you can take some time to appreciate the things that matter most at this time of year.

Today, I want to share with you what I am releasing from my life before I ring in the New Year and start writing my 2025 chapter and give you some tips on how you can decide what needs to stay behind too.

Now, I'm not going to be talking today about how to set effective goals that will help you create a life you love. I'm going to assume you already have an idea for what you want to do, have and experience in 2025.

But if you're not yet clear on that, that's also perfectly okay. This is still going to be a really valuable conversation for you today, perhaps even more valuable in many ways. And stay tuned because I have been working behind the scenes on some very exciting projects that I will be announcing in the New Year that will help you get crystal clear on what you want.

So, the first thing I will say is that the underlying process for what I'm sharing here today is pretty simple. I use a journal, and I schedule aside time for quiet reflection, for deeper thinking and having a really honest conversation with myself about the year that has passed and what really isn't working for me.

For me, personally, I tend to set my New Year goals in November because it's my birthday month and I like to use that month to think about my next lap around the sun. But listen, sometimes at this time of year, I'm still firming things up and getting clear on what's next. And especially if that's the case, I tend to find going through this process to identify what I don't want more of actually helps point me in the direction for what it is I do want.

Sometimes you need to see what you don't want, what isn't working for you, to know what you do. And so, this is why I said a moment ago that this is still a really valuable process, perhaps even more so, if you don't yet know what you want.

Of course, if you do, then you can take a look at both sides of the coin to help you decide what needs to stay in 2024. You can look at what hasn't served you, as well as what will serve you in achieving your new goals and marry that together.

So, journal, time for an open, honest conversation, and your goals, if you have them. And what I like to do is think about these five areas. My beliefs, those stories that have been a theme in my year. My habits. My commitments, or where it is I'm committing my time and energy to. My relationships and the people I'm hanging out with, both in real life and online. And finally, my emotions. Specifically, my negative emotions that have maybe been a little too present in my year.

So let's start with beliefs, with those stories that have maybe been playing out front and center stage a little too much this year.

For me, the belief I know without a doubt I am leaving behind is my story that I can't travel and build The Self-Creation School at the same time. If you've been listening in, that is a story I had very much because of the all-or-nothing way I was approaching each one of these things.

This year I have been on a quest to challenge that story because travel and helping women like you and me live wildly fulfilling lives we love waking up to every day are both things that I am very passionate about. And by holding on to the belief that I can't do both has really impacted my ability to do either, if I'm honest, to the extent that I know is possible.

So, I really wanted to find a way for both of my one loves to co-exist. And if you've been listening in over the past few months, I recently lived in the question of how travel and work might go hand in hand during my two-month slow travel experiment in Thailand.

Now, I'm not sure if I completely nailed it during that trip, but I did find one way that travel and work can be possible. And I learned so much from that experience, which is really going to help me design my life and business moving forward in a way that work and play can go more effortlessly together.

But I am officially leaving behind the story that work and play don't mix in 2024. Because I have gathered evidence for how they can and busted that myth. My new story that is coming with me into 2025 is work and play can co-exist, and I can find new ways to make that happen.

So, what's one belief you've held onto this year that feels like it's been holding you back? Think about how this has impacted your decisions, your emotions, your opportunities, and your life experience.

And then imagine letting go of that belief. How might your life open up if you let it go? How might your life be different if you no longer had that story or belief? And is there a story you can replace it with that supports what you want in 2025?

The next thing I'm leaving behind is my 'over' habit. If you've never heard of that before, that's okay, because I hadn't either until I started thinking about the things I wanted to leave behind in 2024 that really aren't serving me. And I may have coined that term, who knows?

So, here's what my over habit is. Looks like overworking, overdoing, over perfecting, over complicating, over thinking, over comparing, overeating, over scrolling, over ambition. Listen, I am not someone who's going to pretend that I have all of this figured out and my life is perfect. I still have some things that need some work.

And here's what I know most of those things stem from. Perfectionism. I am a perfectionist by default. It goes right back to my childhood and my belief that I wasn't good enough and therefore I need to work really, really hard to make everything more than perfect so that then maybe, just maybe, I'd finally be good enough. I have done a lot of work to change my story of not-enoughness over the years and I do still work constantly to not fall into that trap.

The thing about our old stories and beliefs is that they do tend to pop back up again from time to time, especially when you are trying new things or pushing your boundaries for what's possible. Sometimes they come up at times when you are emotionally stressed for whatever reason or physically run down.

And so, this is why it is just so important to become self-aware, to spend the time to understand your stories and how they impact your life, learn how to rewrite them, and how to recognize when they have popped back in to say hello.

Over time, the effort required to do this does become less, and it does become much quicker to recognize and shift those stories and keep moving forward. But I am never going to be one of those coaches who tells you that this is a once and done thing. Listen, if you are human like me, and I suspect that you are, you are going to have stories and emotions that need cleaning up regularly.

So, overworking, overdoing, over perfecting, over complicating, over thinking, these are definitely for me all to do with perfectionism.

Now, I also know that things like overeating and over scrolling come from escapism. Escaping things like boredom, putting myself out there because perfectionism is playing a visit, doing things maybe I don't really want to do, like ironing. I'm not a fan, to be honest. Sometimes escapism can be to avoid dealing with what's going on in our lives and processing the heavy emotions.

And finally, I'm very aware that some of my 'over' habits, like my over ambition, stems from a true and more fulfilling drive, desire, or passion if you like, for things that I want to do. Like what I do right here within The Self-Creation School as a coach.

I am a very ambitious person and that in and of itself isn't something I want to necessarily leave behind. But I think one of the things that has happened for me over the years as I've experienced just what can be possible when you open your heart and mind to it being possible, is that I tend to want to do so much more because I know so much more is possible. And every so often that doesn't actually serve me.

Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should. If you know my story, having more, doing more, and achieving more, it doesn't always bring more of what truly matters, which is your happiness, well-being, your peace and joy, and all of those kinds of things.

I wanted to just bring this up before I moved on to the next thing I'm letting go of, because it is important to understand what lies behind your thoughts, emotions, and actions. Sometimes it isn't that you need to let go of them. You simply need to embrace them in a more effective and intentional way that serves you rather than drains you or holds you back.

So, ambition for me will be coming forward into 2025 in a much more intentional way. And a lot of those other 'over' habits, I will be leaving them behind to make room for simplifying things in my life, working more intentionally and productively, serving you more effectively, and being present in myself and in my life for more of the things that matter and truly do make my world feel so fulfilled.

So, ask yourself, what is one habit that has been draining you, holding you back, or helping you keep recreating a reality you'd rather leave behind? Maybe for you too, it's things like overworking, overthinking, or even over giving. But it doesn't have to be an 'over' habit like mine.

Think about all the regular things you do on a daily basis or a regular basis in your life and what might change for you if you left these habits behind in 2024. Then choose one habit that is holding you back the most and replace it with something intentional.

Now before we move on, notice that I am only choosing one belief and one habit. You don't need to wipe the slate completely clean and start again. Honestly, I don't recommend that you do because you will likely find that very difficult and get nowhere.

A few things well done will have a much larger impact on your life than trying to change everything at once. The idea of this process is to try and identify one thing in each of these areas that will have the biggest impact on your life if you were to let go of it and leave it behind in 2024.

Moving on, and the third thing I'm letting go of is committing my mornings to my office.

This is very much tied with my 'over' habit, by the way, and when I lived in Australia, it really wasn't how I ran my day. But since we moved country, it has taken me some time to get back into a routine that works for me. And I've been I've fallen into spending my mornings working as opposed to how I used to spend them, which was focusing on my health and well-being, my personal development and growth, my mindset and things like that.

Now, I still do mindset work every single day. But I'm going to be honest, health and well-being was on my goal list this year. And instead of committing to working out, I committed my time to working in front of my computer. The end result for me has been a real imbalance in overworking and under-nourishing my physical well-being. I probably don't need to tell you that is absolutely not something that serves me.

So, committing my mornings to working at my desk is staying behind in 2024. And I am replacing that with a commitment to working out, working out physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When you look back over your 2024, is there a commitment you've taken on this year that doesn't align with what truly matters to you or the life experience you want? If you have trouble thinking about this, take a look back through your calendar or even your to do list to see how it is you've spent your time and what things you've shown up for.

It might be really obvious to you, like a commitment to a regular social gathering that leaves you feeling drained. Or it might be less obvious, like mine, where you've committed a disproportionate amount of time to something which has left little or no time to something that does truly matter.

The fourth thing I'm letting go of is in the area of relationships, and it is all the people who digitally distract me.

What I'm talking about here is the online groups I've joined that perhaps I don't really check in on or participate in, but they clutter my social feed and often, my inbox. I'm talking about those email newsletters and subscriptions I've been interested in at one point, but I don't really read and again they clutter my inbox.

I'm also talking about the people in my social feeds I followed that make me feel pulled in a thousand different directions. One says do this, another says do that. This week, this is the magic pill. Next week, it's something else. You know what I mean, right?

So, I really want to fine-tune who it is I allow into my digital space and the people I allow to take up my time or focus. I want to ensure that moving forward, I am exposing myself to people who keep me grounded, inspired, informed and educated, but not distracted with a million different things I can try and do that distract my focus from what matters, and at the end of the day, disrupts my momentum.

You've probably heard the saying, you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. In this digital age we live in, often we are spending a whole lot of time with people online that don't really contribute meaningfully to our lives. So, it's not just physical relationships you might want to consider here, but also those you have in your digital space too.

Are there any relationships or connections with others that feel draining, heavy, one-sided, unsupportive, distracting, or out of alignment in some way with what you want to focus on in 2025 and who it is you want to be?

Imagine how it might feel like to step back from those relationships or connections, or at least to redefine the boundaries in terms of how much time you give to those relationships in 2025. And how letting go of these relationships could make room for new, more empowering, inspiring, and supportive relationships to take their place.

The final thing I am choosing to leave behind in 2024 is overwhelm.

Years ago, overwhelm and anxiety were my best friends. We hung out all day, every day together and I had no idea at the time what kind of influence they were really having on my world.

I have done a lot of work to replace them with emotions like calm and clarity. But this past year I've had a lot of overwhelm sneaking back in. So, I know for sure it's one emotion I want to leave in my 2024 story to make space for that feeling of calm to take stage once more.

Overwhelm is the kind of emotion that can really keep you stuck in things like indecision, inaction, in exhaustion and confusion. And I know for me there's a good chance it snuck right back in alongside my perfectionism, because it has been a big year of pushing personal boundaries for me this year.

Like I said earlier, our old habits, beliefs, thoughts and emotions, they all love to pop back in and say hello when we are doing new things.

So, think about the emotions you've felt this year. Is there a predominant negative emotion like overwhelm or anxiety that you've been experiencing that is maybe keeping you from taking action towards your goals?

Perhaps you've been feeling a lot of guilt, resentment, or regret? Or it could be confusion, unhappiness, vulnerability. There really are so many different kinds of negative emotions.

So, I encourage you to sit with this one for a little while and really tap into how it is you've been feeling this year on a regular basis and see if there is that one emotion that might be best left behind in 2024 to make room for a more positive emotion. And then imagine letting it go and what emotion would take its place.

I talk a lot about emotions and how to change your emotions by looking at the stories creating them. And I have talked a lot about this in particular over the last few podcast episodes.

So, if you haven't heard my take on this, I definitely encourage you to go back and take a listen to my recent episodes. And there are also earlier episodes where I talk about choosing your stories and emotions. So take a browse through the collection and see what stands out to you.

The reality is you can choose better emotions by choosing better stories. Sometimes we do get stuck thinking and feeling certain ways but use this pause and this time of year to decide to get unstuck. To decide to leave behind the negative emotions and open the door to much more positive and empowering ones.

Again, I am choosing just one emotion to let go of here because I think that one emotion is actually kind of the ringleader for a lot of other emotions. I suspect you'll have a ringleader too.

So, there you have it, the five things I'm leaving behind in 2024. A belief that work and play can't co-exist, my 'over' habit, committing my mornings to my office instead of my well-being, relationships that digitally distract me, and the emotion of overwhelm.

For me, these choices feel like a weight off my shoulders. They feel light and liberating. And they feel like I am almost clearing the slate clean by leaving them behind.

Not completely, of course – because life is never about perfection and there will always be work on ourselves to be done, as long as we desire to grow and thrive – but enough to make space for the new more intentional beliefs, habits, commitments, relationships, and emotions to take hold and help me make 2025 matter in all the ways I want.

I hope this conversation today has inspired you to spend some time during the next couple of weeks to reflect on your own life and the year that has passed. To think about your beliefs, habits, commitments, relationships, and emotions. And to ask yourself, what's weighing me down? What feels heavy, or out of alignment? And then imagine leaving those things behind as you step into the New Year.

Now, one last thing. Remember that this isn't about letting go of everything that doesn't serve you all at once and changing your life overnight. It isn't about wiping the slate completely clean, it really isn't.

It's about identifying the one thing in each area that, if released, would create the biggest impact for you. Will there be other beliefs, habits, and so on that you might need to work on and release as time goes by? Yes, of course, because we are complex human beings. But this is about choosing a few changes right now that will lead you to big shifts.

I'd love to hear what you choose to leave behind in 2024, so take a moment to DM me on my socials or drop me an email and tell me all the things. I do read all of your messages, and I do reply personally to each and every one of them.

And remember, if you need help getting clear on what's next or how to create a life you love, stay tuned because exciting things are coming in the New Year to help you say YES! to your biggest, boldest dreams.

You'll hear about this first if you are a subscriber to CREATED, which is my weekly email. So, if you are not yet receiving that email, the link to join is in the show notes for you. It's jam packed with value each and every week, and women tell me it's the one email they look forward to reading.

That brings today's episode to a close. Thank you so much for joining me and from my corner of the world to yours, I hope your holidays are filled with peace, love and joy.

I'll be back as usual next Wednesday with a very special episode to help you set the tone for your New Year. I'm all about finishing out this year with reflection and intention, my friend. So, that episode will be ready and waiting for you when your festivities are all said and done.

Until then, be the woman who says YES!

Hey, want to know what's stopping you from saying YES! to you and a life you love?

Head over to https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock and take my FREE 60 second quiz to find out what's standing in your way today and I'll send you my Self-Creation Shift process for shifting it.

That's https://selfcreationschool.com/yesblock. I’ll see you there.