Cleaning up old ways of thinking can increase better happiness, reduce stress, and give us those all-around good feelings we crave!
Finding deeper happiness will be more important than ever in 2022. How do you do it? Easy, you can begin working on setting your New Year’s Resolutions using Reflection, Emotional House Cleaning, Emotional Awareness, and Goal Setting as your tools. Start yourself on the path to better happiness by coming up with your New Year’s resolution ideas right now.
Over the last two years, we’ve learned new ways to move forward in life. Each time we thought we were clear from the chaos – boom, something else popped up. Emotions ran the gamut from deep worry to optimism and back and forth again. It’s important to reflect on the good things you’ve accomplished in your everyday life. It’s okay to give yourself room to reflect on the obstacles of the past two years. It certainly has been a lot!
As you shift your focus on the future, know that gratitude and mindfulness will help you move ahead. But even more important is formulating a new plan on how you can empower yourself and gain more happiness. Your job is to figure out what needs to go and what needs to stay. Start by setting a rough list of goals using the techniques of Emotional House Cleaning, Emotional Awareness, and Goal Setting. Think of this as clearing out and making room for happiness and well-being.
Step 1: Reflect, Rest…Rewrite your story
To begin the clearing process, find a quiet place, listen to nature, or put on a relaxing playlist like ocean waves. Allow yourself the space to daydream, drifting in and out of relaxation and reflection. Think of this as a bit of “procrastination time” before the work begins. Find a place of calm to ground yourself before you actually start cleaning out the closet of emotional junk.
If you find your mind wandering and becoming anxious and concerned about what the future holds, consciously shift your mindset. Find a joyful memory, possibly a beautiful place you visited when you were traveling. Think about a walk on the beach, the smiling face of a friend, or your favorite four-legged creature – connect to whatever wells up happiness and ease in your body. There are many ways you can touch into happiness. Expanding happiness is one of the first steps in cleaning out emotional baggage.
Finding quiet makes it’s easier to make friends with yourself
In those quiet times, you may begin to see reoccurring thought patterns that keep coming up again and again. It’s only in those quiet moments where we can hear our inner voice and become aware of the constant chatter in our minds. Oftentimes it is called the Monkey Mind. If it’s helpful, tap into the idea of becoming a peaceful warrior – unshakable against all odds, obstacles, and annoyances, yet perfectly calm and relaxed as you move through the practice.
As humans, it is impossible to know good without bad, warmth without cold, joy without sorrow. It can be hard to face old ways of thinking and identities that no longer serve you, but it is one way to move forward. What is keeping you stuck? Where do you need to apply Emotional House Cleaning techniques?
Permission granted to release that which is not serving you…
Let’s face it, many of us are attached to the past; our memories and habits give great comfort at times. Take a pause to reflect. Moving into unknown territory can be difficult.
Somewhere within those uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and emotions are clues. Use those clues to shift forward. Possibly something moves inside you – or you simply make the conscious decision not to go down those old roads that take you to the same destination over and over again. Releasing these old behaviors, limiting beliefs, and identifications helps you see new possibilities manifest.
Step 2: Crafting Your New Years Resolution – Let’s do the work
Reflection #1: Finding the goodness inside
The first step is to honor the good things you’ve done for yourself and for others. Remember, we are vibrational beings; good feelings keep us lifted. By tapping into that feel-good vibration, you can lift yourself up and accomplish many things. Write down good things you did for others and yourself this past year.
Savor it. Tap into the sights, the sounds, the people who were there, and all the good feelings that arose. Now let’s look forward.
“The simple act of intentionally noticing afresh what the world around you looks, sounds, and feels like can help you remember that there are good, pleasurable things all around, if you take a little time to pay attention.” Dr. Laurie Santos
Reflection #2: Take inventory
Using Emotional House Cleaning as a tool challenges us to get specific.
What do you need to work on? Assign a number of importance to the following statements.
(1 most desirable – 10 least desirable)
Start each item with the words, “I need to…”
____ Reset my go-to emotional response if it’s not serving me well.
____ Clear out emotional baggage by identifying what is toxic in my life.
____ Listen better to my inner voice/intuition – what is calling to me?
____ Let go of the past and learn to live in the present moment.
____ Be aware of any imbalanced relationships causing me disharmony.
____ Set a long-term goal to achieve before next summer. Something FUN!
____ Invest in self-care: Meditate more, exercise regularly, take time for me.
____ Schedule more time to be social and find connections with new people.
____ Get better sleep and relax more without distraction, ie: limiting TV / Social.
____ Eat Healthier: Plan meals, do food prep weekly, reduce sugar, and add greens.
Circle your 3 highest ranked selections. Move to the next step.
Step 3: Tighten up, Tap in and Live at a Higher Vibration
Journal Prompt: Choose a long-term goal or smaller goals you’ve had in mind but haven’t had the time, money, or the inclination to commit and achieve but really want to work on in the New Year. Take your top-ranked 1, 2, 3 “I need to..” selection and expand on why. Go deep in your discovery. The more specific you can get the better.
Activity Prompt 1: Happiness – Choose from the list below
Increase Happiness in your life by choosing to do one of the three options below. Or come up with your own ideas. Write down what you’ll do to raise your happiness levels (in detail) then plan how you will execute your Happiness Lifting Do-GOOD Activities.
- Write letters and mail them telling your loved ones telling them why they are important to you.
- Volunteer: Help someone or do something like cleaning up the environment. Get active to raise your personal happiness scale.
- Donate to a good cause: FoodBank, Meals on Wheels, Social Equality, or Literacy Programs.
- Or better yet, give your time to help people in need.
Activity Prompt 2: Emotions are your Guide
Next up, learn how your emotions guide your feeling and actions. Look at the list below. Where are you on the scale most of the time? Label your emotions when you notice those feelings in your body. Emotions are at the core of feeling good, and feeling good is at the heart of getting what we want to manifest. The closer you are to the emotions at the top of the Abraham Hicks Emotional Guidance Scale, the more open life becomes. When you feel uplifted and open your path forward to creating lasting resolutions or routines can take hold.
The Abraham-Hicks Emotional Guidance Scale:
Joy / Appreciation / Empowerment / Freedom / Love
Passion
Enthusiasm / Eagerness / Happiness
Positive Expectation / Belief
Optimism
Hopefulness
Contentment
Boredom
Pessimism
Frustration / Irritation / Impatience
Overwhelm (feeling overwhelmed)
Disappointment
Doubt
Worry
Blame
Discouragement
Anger
Revenge
Hatred/Rage
Jealousy
Insecurity / Guilt / Unworthiness
Fear / Grief / Desperation / Despair/ Powerlessness
Step 4: Out with the old and in with the new
Now that you’ve done a little Emotional Inventory it’s time to put a plan into action.
- Write down your goals. What do you wish for?
- Craft a plan on how to get to your goals? Be specific.
- Tell your friends about your plan.
- Figure out all the good things that will happen if you make some desired changes.
- Figure out what obstacles will get in your way and plan how to deal with those obstacles.
Take about 15 minutes to investigate what came up when you went through the list above.
- How were your thoughts: scattered or focused?
- Did you notice any repeating thought patterns?
- Did you have a mental movie playing in your head with you as the lead character?
- Contemplate what your goals could mean for you going forward?
- Allow yourself some space to develop these ideas over the next few weeks.
- Remember, the resolution setting process is ongoing. Consider this draft #1. Mull it over.
- Come up with draft #2 before you write down your final resolutions.
Step 5: Ring in the New Year with Self Discovery and a Plan to Empower Yourself
Putting together a plan as the basis for your New Year’s Resolutions may sound like a daunting task. But remember, your plan does not have to come together overnight. In fact, working on it a bit at a time, then making revisions could be the way to go! Cleaning up old ways of thinking, increasing better happiness, reducing stress, and finding those overall good feelings takes work and reflection!
It’s okay and probably likely you will start and stall a few times on the path to a better life forward. Be confident – a shift will occur, but it takes finding yourself again and again. Simply give your ideas space. Set your intentions. Add your goals. Relax into a state of emotional happiness and self-compassion. Embrace your journey to find happiness to empower your life.
Happy New Year! Happy New YOU!
Chris – The Happy Mama Lama
Let me know in the comments – what you’ll be working on this year? Did you do anything to increase happiness? How did you like the Emotional Scale? Does the idea of Emotional House Cleaning resonate with you? If you have a story idea, we would love to hear from you!
