Six steps to healthy growth in 2020

Forget about dieting, becoming a better person or increasing your finances. Instead, healthy growth means focusing on being more you, this year. It’s not only a lot more fun, but also healthier, more sustainable and more rewarding—while incidentally bringing you the enhanced well-being, abundance or fulfillment you may be seeking. What works for you may not work for anyone else, and creating alignment with your unique needs, desires and gifts will generate far more positive outcomes than any logical goal-setting strategy, while positively programming your subconscious to spontaneously connect you with the people, situations and opportunities that best support you in being powerfully you.

There are six very effective ways to figure out what being more you means—and how to be that:

1. Make space. Whether you de-clutter your home/office, let go of friends or acquaintances that are no longer a healthy ‘fit’ for you, or take time out of your busy schedule to process things and just be, making space acts as a powerful magnet for new things to come into your life. Deciding what to keep and what to discard also helps you to get clearer about your values and what you want, which takes you one step closer to being more you.
2. Acknowledge what is. Make a list of everything you achieved last year, and you’ll probably find that you achieved far more than you’ve given yourself credit for. We often focus on what still remains to be done, rather than on what we’ve already achieved, which tells our subconscious that we’re not good enough because we haven’t yet fully realized our goals. By discounting or minimizing our achievements, we diminish our self-worth, thereby effectively saying NO to any more ‘deliveries’ from the universe. By acknowledging and validating ourselves for all that we have done, however, we transmit a more magnetic message: that we are growing/moving forward, that we are worthy of recognition and fulfillment, and that we are open to receiving more because we’ve said YES to the good we’ve already created.
3. Find your creative core—and get creative! My husband is a talented artist who thinks in visionary terms, setting himself many lofty goals that he often strives to realize by applying the strategies he learned in business. Yet when he remembers that he is, at heart, an artist, he also remembers that art is his most powerful doorway to being himself—and, consequently, to finding answers, insights and fulfillment. Find your doorway—some kind of creative activity that enables you to express or find more of yourself. Exploring your innate creativity is an essential part of discovering who you are, and the most rewarding way to activate and express the power of you.
4. Trust that you’re taken care of. You can only ever learn trust in the face of uncertainty (you can’t master it if you live a cosy, safe, predictable life). So every challenge represents an opportunity for you to trust—that you deserve to be treated respectfully, that your views/feelings/opinions are valid, that it’s safe to be authentically you, and that you’re always taken care of—provided you take care of you and stay true to you and your values. It’s not about blindly trusting others; it’s about trusting your own intuition and allowing it to guide you. That may be hard to do, if you’re afraid that people won’t like the real you. Yet not being you means living a lie, which is guaranteed to ultimately backfire, bringing you more of what you don’t want and setting you up for unhealthy compromises. Only by trusting that it’s safe to be you can you begin to experience the power of being you. And being authentically you is the only way to be seen for who you truly are and, consequently, to connect with your ideal partner, job or situation.  When you commit to doing that, the whole universe conspires to support you.
5. Embody ease. If you’re struggling to create—or figure out—what you want, start practising ease. Don’t wait for it to come to you in the form of a lottery win or a knight in shining armour. The art of living an easy life comes from embracing ease in the midst of struggle or hardship. For me, going away on holiday generates more clients and opportunities than if I’d stayed at home, diligently trying to make those things happen. By demonstrating healthy self-worth, I attract more of what I want, without trying. Since struggle is usually the result of low self-worth or a fear of not being good enough (which can lead to fear-based decisions), you can create more ease by refusing to get caught up in any drama. You can remain calm in an apparent crisis (looking instead for the lesson or blessing it might hold); you can slow down and do things mindfully; you can say “no” to over-extending yourself so you have time for you; and you can start affirming that things are easy, envisioning them coming to you effortlessly. Life can’t get easier if you’re addicted to doing things the hard way. But if you make a conscious effort to embody ease, you’ll discover parts of you that got buried beneath your belief that life is hard—and things will magically start to flow.
6. Feed yourself. If you want to perform optimally, with a clear mind, balanced emotions and a positive outlook, you must feed yourself healthy food that suits your particular body. Find the fuel that works for you, rather than following a particular diet. A blend of whole foods rich in healthy fats, good-quality proteins and minimal carbohydrates is what works best for me, whereas vegetarianism leaves me weak and wobbly. This may be the most important decision you make, in terms of being more you, since your food affects every single cell in your body. Feed your brain with organic whole foods and oils; feed your lungs, heart and emotional core by exercising aerobically every day; feed your heart by connecting with supportive, loving friends; feed your spirit by being in nature; and feed your mind by connecting with positive, uplifting people who support you in discovering, expressing and being more you.