Here's to a bright new year!

Hi everyone,

Welcome to a brand-new year! I'm feeling like this new year is coming in with higher hopes than previous new years. We have been through a long, long period of stress and uncertainty, and I know we want to see the last of that! And I know many of us are looking for ways to create a new year filled with good things: more energy, connection and creativity, and certainly more hope.

I've been spending some time exploring what those things mean to me and what they would look like as the year unfolds, and how I need to be and act to create a foundation for my 2022 intentions.

I'm thinking specifically about how challenging it can be for resolutions to stick. And I'm offering a collection of resources that may resonate with you as helpful for your own journey.

I hope some of my ruminations give you some food for thought and ideas on how you can hook into the best 2022 for you!

All the best,

If you're on social media, you can't miss seeing all the posts that disparage resolutions. My favourite is this one:

I'm going to open a gym called resolutions.
After the first two weeks of January It will turn into a wine bar.

I'm not sure where this originated, but I'm grateful for this hilarious but all too true reminder of how we set ourselves up for failure.

Thinking we MUST have resolutions speaks volumes about how we view life, consciously or unconsciously. Do our resolutions come from a belief that we are flawed, wrong or otherwise unacceptable? What is really behind the desire for change? While some some changes are necessary, how can we make them without setting ourselves up for failure and self-blame? Being aware of the often unconscious belief or expectation behind a resolution is an essential place to start unravelling what's behind this urge to change.

Many of our resolutions are stated in black-an-white terms. Common examples I have used year after year include: I will quit smoking and eating sugar! I will ride that exercise bike for an hour a day!
And these same resolutions showed up year after year, meaning they had never been achieved.

My year might have started out without sugar or cigarettes, and I might have ridden the exercise bike a few times, but for some reason I couldn't make those new actions stick.

Why don't our resolutions stick? Because each resolution statement had a tail ender of "and then I will be perfect and able to respect myself."

There could be a hidden belief that blocks success. Maybe something like "I'll never be successful." We make resolutions with the best of intentions, but when we can't keep them, we set ourselves up to prove that exact limiting belief. And this leads to a cycle of shame and self-blame. Our self-critic says "see, I told you you'd never achieve that You're. weak. You'll NEVER make it!"

As I restated the same resolutions each year, part of me was smugly doubtful that I would succeed. But another part of me knew I really wanted to stop doing things that hurt my health and add in things that helped. So, I would resolve again the next year to make the changes, and I might get a little further each year. Or some years I simply didn't even try. After we go through several cycles of not achieving our resolutions, we stop making them, fully believing that we cannot change. And this disempowerment spreads throughout our lives and believing we are a failure at everything.

One thing that gets in the way of achieving our resolutions is limiting beliefs that we may or may not be aware of. I find Conscious EFT™ to be helpful in exploring and shifting these beliefs so we can make the changes we want. And it helps us explore more than limiting beliefs. It helps us pinpoint the needs that our 'unhelpful' behaviours meet for us.

It's true that most of the habits we resolve to give up are actually very effective coping strategies. With sugar and cigarettes, the connection to stress is clear. Something happens in our day and we feel the urgent need for a smoke or a candy bar. And this does bring relief. These substances shift our brain chemistry and relieves the stress - at least temporarily. Unless we have another way to relieve stress, and meet the deeper need behind the craving, these are the tools that we will use. Other coping strategies that we might use include being too busy, watching netflix, gambling, shopping, gaming, scrolling endlessly through facebook to name a few.

And each strategy that we use has consequences. A smoke might relieve stress immediately and repeatedly. And maybe that helps us avoid an argument or doing something we feel would be more destructive. As a stress reducer, it works!.... in the short term! But the cost to our health is high, and in the end it creates stress of a different kind. That's why I love Conscious EFT™. It helps in several ways, by

reducing stress in the moment so we don't have to immediately grab the sugar or smoke,
building more resilience in our nervous system so we are not as easily triggered by stress, so our need for whatever strategy/habit we use is reduced,
exploring the deeper emotional needs behind these habits,
identifying more authentic and nourishing ways to meet our needs, and
finding small and achievable steps toward change.

We need to acknowledge that change IS a BIG deal.

Our nervous systems don't like it, so we are often more comfortable in a rut that clearly doesn't meet our needs than we are at breaking out and developing a new habit. Making a change requires us to build new habits, and these are supported by building new neural networks in our brains. These are built by consistent small actions that are undertaken regularly. This is neuroplasticity, and we can actually see new neural networks being built in the brain. (what do tapping science geeks talk about at parties?) And as new networks develop, the old ones related to our unwanted habits start to dissolve.

So, choosing our resolutions carefully is important. Can we make the change gradually, letting ourselves do the small daily work that builds a new habit. Instead of expecting myself to do an hour on the exercise bike every day, I tried to add just 10 minutes. And it became even easier coupling that 10 minutes with something else that I do daily, like cooking supper. I start the onions and then jump on the bike. This helped me to remember my commitment to ride and I could take a netflix break and watch my favourite show while I smelled supper cooking.

The same consistent and repetitive actions are necessary when we are trying to give up certain behaviours, like smoking and eating sugar. We can make the changes much more doable and sustainable by using a three-step process:

ADDING IN Stress Reduction and Nourishment: more nourishing foods and stress reduction practices like Conscious EFT™ along with exercise will reduce the stress triggers that drive our cravings for unwanted behaviours.
REPLACING some of the less desirable foods and habits with more nourishing ones (e.g. replace table sugar with dates or berries). This reduces the inflammation and craving-creating imbalance caused by some of the most 'addictive' foods. And instead of having a smoke, have a glass of water or do some easy breathing exercises.
RELEASING the most harmful and inflammatory foods or actions that are damaging (let go of candy or wheat). And this finally releases the toxic impact of the food and releases us from the cravings! WOOT! And for non-food-related habits, gradually let them go until you are trigger-free!

EFT has been shown in numerous research studies to significantly reduce food cravings. (up to 74%). And it is also very helpful to reduce cravings for cigarettes and other less-nourishing habits.

Whether we are trying to change our habits around food or any other behaviour or pattern, we can be more assured of achieving our desired change if we approach it gradually with small, consistent steps. And be committed to holding ourselves in compassion when we don't "succeed" every day.

And for the curious amongst you, I actually did quit smoking in 2001 and gave up sugar in 2010. And I am up to 45 to 60 minutes 6 days a week on the exercise bike. So change is possible if we can do it from a place of self-love instead of self judgement.

As we slide quickly into a new year, I am reminding myself daily to focus on the things that bring me gratitude. Some days there are many and other days, it might take a bit of searching. But even on tough days, a sprinkling of gratitude helps change our emotions, energy and how we see our lives unfolding.

I always find it helpful to have some post it notes around asking what I am grateful for in the moment. Even if I am holding some less than peaceful thoughts, emotions or expectations in the moment, it helps me gain perspective on what's going on and connects me to my foundation of self care. And of course some tapping and EFT helps me to acknowledge what's going on in the moment and then I can tap to process the stuck energy and move through it to a new level of awareness and empowerment.

It really is true. Gratitude enables our heart to tell a better story.

This weekend, I am grateful for some new ferments waiting to be tasted, and for some sprouts to bring some fresh green into our snowy days.

What are you grateful for today?

Did the Holidays bring out your Secret Snacker?

Is She Still Snacking but not Getting What She Really Needs?

FREE Webinar
Are you:

Overwhelmed? Out of control?
Constantly irritated and anxious?
Using food to manage your stress?
Feeling guilty about what you're eating?
Can't seem to let go of those comforting treats?
Stuck in a rut of emotional eating and self judgement and not getting anywhere?

Did you know that inflammation in our gut is at the source of stress, anxiety and eating habits we wish we could change?

Join me for a FREE Webinar on Tuesday, February 8 at 7 pm Atlantic to learn how you can break out of the rut of stress and emotional eating and give some LOVE and Nourishment to that secret snacker.

Message me and I will send you a zoom link

georgia@energyfortransformation.com

Put some |LIFE in Your Diet!

This is a 12-video course and ebook that brings information and recipes on how to add high-energy living foods to your diet.

We learn about living nutrition, how to support your microbiome and how living foods can bring more energy and balance into your life. And we have recipes and demonstrations on how to make various ferments and grow some sprouts.

I am offering this as a Holiday and New Year Special for $26. Learn more at: www.energyfortransformation.com/food-for-transformation/put-some-life-in-your-diet/

Email me at georgia@energyfortransformaiton.com to organize purchase and delivery.

Tapping Essentials for Stress Relief

Learn how you can create calm in the moment! This is a free monthly webinar introducing Conscious EFT.

Dates and times: first Monday of the month...

Monday, February 7 at 7pm Atlantic

In these 45 minute sessions, you will:

learn about EFT/Tapping and how it works
experience how tapping can ease stress and tension in the space of a few moments
take home three tapping tools you can use yourself every day.

Please email me to register and I'll send you the Zoom link.

As we move into a fresh new year, I am once again offering my flagship program. This is a 7 week program starting Tuesday, February 22.

Tap into a New Relationship with Food

Are you using food to manage stress?
Are you over- or under-nourished or skipping meals?
Are you confused by all the conflicting information on the “perfect” diet?
Did you know that the saying “you are what you eat” can set us up for failure?

I can't wait to start this program, we learn so much and have a lot of fun as we support each other in making changes that work for us. Bring a friend and save!

Click here for more Information!

Nourishing Comfort

It’s Salsa Season!

Do You Want Fries with That?

Zucchini Fritters

Tending Our Gardens