5 ways to ease into the new year

Happy New Year!

If you are feeling grumpy, glum or out-of-sorts today, it’s not your imagination!

Social media studies and human resources experts have declared today — the first official day back to work and routine after the holidays — one of our toughest days of the year.

If you can get through today, the rest of the year should be smooth sledding! (And I know quite a few of you get that smooth sledding part …brrrrr.)

For many of us, getting back to a schedule and tackling everything in front of us feels a little — no, a lot — daunting.  Yesterday, I was depressed and started to fret about everything that needs to get done now that the holidays are over.

I felt as though I had to handle all of 2014 in one sitting!

*This week’s Pinspiration*

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Don't beat yourself up if you aren't running into the new year. Be kind and patient with yourself when starting 2014.- womenonfire

So, I rolled around in my misery until I stopped myself.  And remembered strategies in the past that helped me get over my holiday hangover of carefree days of endless playing with the cat; caramel corn at 4PM; chocolate-covered cranberries all day; movies in the middle of the day; staying up way past my normal 9:30PM bedtime. 😉


Back to work, Wilber, my endless source of amusement and distraction

So if you’re feeling the challenge today of getting back into the swing of things, check out to see if any of these strategies might ease your way.

5 ways to ease into the new year- womenonfire.com blog

 

1) Go gently this week. As our good friends at Abraham-Hicks remind us: you will never get it all done anyway and where you stand now is a wonderful place. 🙂

I didn’t schedule any calls or meetings today with anyone outside of our Women on Fire team so that I could check in and reconnect with our team.

I’m woefully behind on emails after my annual “vacation” from social media, web surfing and emails. So today I’ve gone through my inbox quickly and prioritized what absolutely needs to be addressed today rather than reading thoroughly and attempting to answer each email.

I also received quite a few videos and resisted temptation to get sidetracked by viewing them. I’ve put them all in one file to watch for enjoyment later tonight.

2) Keep a gratitude journal. One of my daily practices for 2014 is to write a simple list of the five things I’m most grateful for.  Women on Fire member Laura Tiberi of Delaware, Ohio sent me the sweetest note paper to record what fills me up. It makes me happy just to write on this little pad.


Perfect gift for jotting down gratitude notes

Even if you decide not to keep a daily journal, just for today, consider writing the 5-10 things you are most grateful for in this moment.  Even though you may not be feeling it now, somehow expressing gratitude magically transforms the moment and shifts your energy.

3) Move your body!  Any way you can.

Thanks to Women on Fire member Eva Tenuto of New Paltz, New York, check out this quick, 30-day exercise program of “planking.”  This easy schedule takes only a few seconds each day — imagine! — to build your core strength. I started “planking” two days ago with my husband Rob — hmmmm, that doesn’t quite sound right;-) — but you get what I mean, right?!  A short burst of effort goes a long way on this one.

4) Review, establish or act on ONE small goal, thought or plan that you intend for 2014.

Here’s one way to help you do that. Women on Fire member Carrie Saba, health and lifestyle coach (and co-author in our Women on Fire book, Vol. 2) is giving us all THE MOST AMAZING gift!  For the next week, you can access her Word of the Year program. For free! Check out Carrie’s own word for 2014 and the success you can have by orienting your life around one word.

I’ve personally used her technique to great benefit in my own life. The generosity of our Women on Fire never fails to amaze me. Thank you, Carrie!

See all of the program details here and get your year off to a strong start.

5) Reach out and celebrate someone in your life this week. Who had a new baby? Got engaged? Achieved a long-held goal? Might be lonely and could use your good cheer?

A positive acknowledgment, hug or praise from you can make a world of difference.

Here at Women on Fire, we have birthdays to celebrate. Happy birthday today to  Rona Orbovich-Tomassilli, Joan Marie Whelan and Jen Cottrell!

And we have you to celebrate!  Whether you just joined this community of inspiration, love and support — or whether you’ve been part of this circle for a long time, I am so thrilled you are here.

My word of the year, thanks to Carrie Saba, is “love” and there is nothing more that I love than the women here who come together to help each other to live their dreams!

May you enjoy the best year yet of your life — and may you find the comfort and support here that makes life together as Women on Fire a much easier journey!

Go gently and with much love,

Debbie Signature

P.S. Official registration for the 2014 Women on Fire Retreat in warm, sunny Naples, Florida on Friday and Saturday, February 28-March 1 is open!

Grab your best friend, colleague, sister, mother, daughter, niece and join us for the retreat of all retreats!  You will be uplifted and celebrated and walk away inspired and reinvigorated to take on the rest of the year. Register here today. The lowest rate for members has been EXTENDED to January 20, 2014.

Carrie Saba’s Word of the Year Program

I’m so excited to share this special gift with you from one of our talented Women on Fire members.

Carrie Saba with her Word of The Year
Please meet holistic health and wellness coach Carrie Saba from Columbus, Ohio, who is certainly in the FLOW for 2014!

I’ve known Carrie for several years and last year I participated in her Word of The Year program. Carrie also is a co-author in the new Women on Fire book, Volume 2!

As I mentioned in The Spark!, sometimes it’s best to take baby steps into the New Year rather than jumping in feet first. The beauty of Carrie’s Word of the Year program is that it helps you to do just that. You’ve heard me talk before about the importance of setting a theme for your year to effectively guide you.

I love Carrie’s program, because it eliminates the pressure to flesh out a full theme right away, and yet still allows you to move forward through your year with intention.  You can have both a theme and a word for the year, as I do.  This year my theme is Creating Oases and my Word of the Year, thanks to Carrie, is LOVE.

Carrie has expertly crafted a step-by-step guide to help you manifest whatever it is that you want more of in 2014. You would be surprised at how much impact one carefully selected word can have on your year. It can be the single spark you need to re-discover your dreams, re-align your passions, and rearrange your path toward your desires.

I encourage you to invest a little time in selecting your word by participating in this fun, easy and inspiring program.  Learn more details and download the full Word of The Year program here!

You will have free access to this special and unique coaching program until next Sunday, January 12, 2014. Just add the course to your basket and enter the code: GIFT at checkout to receive your free copy of Carrie Saba’s Word of The Year!

Carrie and I look forward to hearing the word you choose. Please feel free to share your word in the comments below. My thanks to Carrie for her generosity and great work!

A great way to say goodbye to 2013

No matter how you will celebrate the next couple of weeks, I wish you peace, love and joy from my heart to yours.

Before we wrap up this year together, I have a little exercise for you (of course, you know I would!)  It’s a ritual I look forward to and have completed every year in late December for nearly 30 years.  It’s called Timeline.

Together with my husband Rob, we review the past year and write down every major happening or event that stood out for us.

*This week’s Pinspiration*

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10 questions to ask yourself to say goodbye to 2013 and start next year fresh- womenonfire

Once we have our long list, we ask ourselves these questions:

  1. What was remarkable about the year?
  2. Who came into my life this year?
  3. Who left it?
  4. What were my best accomplishments/achievements?
  5. Favorite times/moments?
  6. Biggest disappointment?
  7. Best surprise?
  8. When I look back on the year, I could never have imagined (fill in the blank).
  9. What was the single most significant event of the year?
  10. How do I want next year to be different?

You can have fun doing this eye-opening exercise alone, with a spouse or partner, or as a whole family. It’s amazing to see all that you’ve accomplished, celebrated and lived through during one year.

Saying goodbye to 2013 with Timeline makes way for a brand-new year and opportunity to start anew.  Have a great time if you choose to do it! And let me know how it worked out for you.

This is the final SPARK! for 2013. I look so very forward to seeing you again back here on January 5, 2014 to kick off the New Year together.

Thank you for reading the SPARK! each week and for being such an important member of this powerful, ever-growing community of loving, caring women who are working toward better lives for ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world.

And a huge thank you to our monthly members who have joined forces to support each other to make their dreams come true.  If you aren’t a monthly member yet, you are invited to join us.  What a great holiday gift for yourself to start the New Year and receive even more inspiration, strategies and support to live the life you dream of!