Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the self worth podcast with me, Jaclyn Steele. This is the last episode of 2022. This has been one of the fastest years of my life. My son is 10 and a half months old as of the recording of this podcast, and I'm feeling grateful. I'm feeling astounded, I'm feeling a little tired. I'm sure you're feeling a mix of those things as well. But I'm really looking forward to sharing what I'm about to share with you because it's a different approach to the usual years and wrap up. Today's content in Episode 140 is centered on bing, bing, that word is such a beautiful word. It's like sing songy. Right. But before I dive in a few business things I want to take care of. I took a spontaneous break from podcasting the past couple of weeks. For those of you that checked in on me, thank you. Thank you, I see your hearts, and I appreciate it. We have had company on and off for the last month and a half. And my whole family came down with a bug during Thanksgiving week. So I've just been kind of taxed. And to create this podcast I like to be filled up and inspired and full of energy and high vibrational vibes. And I need a little time and space to do that. And I haven't really had those things recently. So instead of a hammering out more content that is half baked, I told my podcast editor Terry to just hold off for a minute. Your time is valuable. And you meaning you my listeners, your time is valuable. And I'm honored that you spend it with me. So I want to make sure that the content I share with you weekly, is highly valuable. Second thing, this podcast is coming back for season four. Okay, it is coming back for season four, I will be taking a break in January to plan and write and get inspired and get re energized. But during the month of January, we will be resharing the four most listened to episodes of 2022. So there will still be content coming out but it will be recycled. And those episodes based on how many times you guys listen to them. That's why I'm choosing to use those because I feel like they're what what will be the right term like homeruns and worth listening to again, so please continue tuning in. That content that is popular will be resurrected, then new episodes fresh brand new episodes will start dropping at the beginning of February. I also have some additional ideas and things I would like to bring to an add on to the podcast. But those things are still marinating in my mind, which is why I need January to refresh and right. So I don't want to share them yet. If you have something you want or desire from self worth, from this podcast, please reach out to me on Instagram at Jaclyn Steele. And let me know, as I'm planning content for next year hearing from you helps me tailor that content to what will be the most valuable for you. Okay, last couple of things. If you haven't joined sacred rebel affirmations yet, please do. The number to do so is in the show notes, text to that number, opt in and then type sacred and you will automatically receive my sporadic uplifting texts. I love creating the content for those. I feel like they land in your inboxes right when they need to. And they're just meant to lift you up weekly. Also, if you haven't opted in for my newsletter, the scoop, please do that as well. I share high vibe and uplifting stuff in there as well as incredible product discounts that are exclusive to my community. And then lastly, if you love this podcast, it is making a difference in your life. If it's making a difference in your day, please leave a review. Our community is growing and you sharing your thoughts and sharing the podcast makes a huge difference. It also means the world to me to hear from you. Alright, let's dive into today's content which is just be to prep for 2023. In the last two seasons of this podcast, I have done a big goal planning episode each year. They are the last episodes of each season if you want to reference those and I am so proud of that work. I spent a lot of time on those episodes. I think there is a lot of good information in them. But this year, I wanted to do something different. I have felt more often than not this year, overwhelmed by the information coming at me. So often it has felt like a tidal wave that leaves me struggling to breathe and feeling so lost in content and information and people's feelings and people's opinions, cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It hasn't felt helpful, and it hasn't felt life affirming. So when I was thinking about how to add value to the end of your year, I naturally asked myself, well, what would expand and uplift me during this time. So I crafted this content not only for you, but for me, because I felt the overwhelming urge to just be to be on social media less to be in the moment more, I just spent a couple of days in Sedona with my mom and my brother, and my stepdad, and my husband and my son. And I barely looked at my phone, and it was so refreshing to be still and quiet and present in line, instead of reaching for my phone and getting lost. We've all been there. Were waiting in line to check out somewhere or doing whatever. And we know it's going to be a minute. So we pull out our phones and we get lost in our phones. What about just being quiet and still and present. And in the moment, instead of diving into something else. I've wanted to pause in my car. Before moving on to the next thing, right? I read a book by John Eldridge. I forget the title. It's escaping my brain at the moment. But he talked about the pause and the importance of the pause. And how just taking a few deep breaths in your car before transitioning into the meeting or transitioning to home. And allowing yourself to come back into your body to be present how grounding that is, and how important it is to simply drink a few sips of my coffee in the morning, and be still before pulling out my journal, or reading my book or going into a meditation. In the last week or so when I've been crafting this content and thinking about being and what that looks like in real life, I realize how often I'm rushing to do the next thing. I sit down with my coffee in the morning, my rise coffee, by the way, because I'm really, really low on caffeine. I drink about half a cup every day. But I sit down with my coffee. And I immediately am like, okay, well what do I need to do, I should bring up my journal I should be reading I should be doing something. And guys, we don't always have to be doing something. And sometimes the best thing we can do is to simply be it allows our nervous systems to calm down. It allows us to get re inspired, it leaves some space for creativity, for joy, for spontaneity. We need to be so that we can grow, we need to be so that we can be productive. We cannot be productive 24/7 with no breaks with no pouring back in to our own cups. We must slow down. And for me right now that means taking in less information. Right? Not so many podcasts, not so many books. I love podcasts. I love books, I love movies, I love I love documentaries, all of those things. But right now, I need to rest and recharge and listen to what my soul is wanting to say to me. And that requires me to take a step back and to take in less information that is fighting for my attention, right? It's so easy in our world to get caught up to feel like we need to be more productive and 10x everything and have our goals perfectly laid out so we can be sure to achieve them. None of those things are bad, my friends, none of them. But they have a tendency to make us feel like we are on the proverbial hamster wheel, year in year out. How do we get better, make more money, get in better shape, do more more, more, more, more more. Can you relate? I know I can. And for a moment, as we head into Christmas and the New Year. I'm giving myself permission to pause and simply be doesn't mean I'm going to sit on my couch all day. I still have to wrap presents and I'm still going to cook and take care of my son and do all of those things. But it's those moments in between that I'm so used to filling up with something, whether that be reading or a podcast, or calling someone or whatever, that I am claiming, again for myself, to think, to be in silence, to do nothing for a little bit, to read a novel because I felt drawn to it, to watch old Christmas movies, because they make me feel a sense of Christmas spirit and peace. And it's just fun moments to look at my son and sit with him in front of the washing machine because he is enthralled by the spinning. He crawled into our laundry room the other day, and my first instinct was to pick him up and bring him back into where he has all of his toys. And then I realized he's enthralled by watching the laundry spinning. What if I just sit here for a few minutes with him, and allow him to enjoy it. And we had so much fun, he was smiling and giggling and looking back at me and he was just so excited. And I would have missed that. If I was rushing to the next thing. I don't want to miss those moments. Historically, I'll admit, I'm not so good at being, I have a tendency to get really caught up in doing. I'm a doer. Right. And I know so many of you can relate to that. Normally, when I sit down at the end of the night to and I'm doing this and quote, relax, I immediately think of five more things I need to do and get up and do them. Do you do this to about you? The problem is, we need rest. There is nothing wrong with doing and accomplishing and having big goals. Those are great things. But we also need downtime to ensure we are working our butts off for things we actually want. Right? We need to recalibrate we need to make sure we're aligned we need to make sure our hard work is moving us in a direction we actually want to live in. I was listening to her name is Danielle Laporte, I love her. And it was an Instagram real. And she was talking about how the last two years since the pandemic started. So many of us our nervous systems are just so taxed, our adrenal glands are so taxed, we need to take a step back and allow ourselves some time to heal some time to rebalance. My healer banya says that most humans have it backwards. We think we have to do stuff in order to have the stuff we need in order to be in the life we imagined for ourselves. So the order that most humans take is do have B, she said the opposite, though, is actually much more effective. Instead of do have B we must be have and then do. She says that we must be right now who we want to be right now. Then we will have what we need in order to know what we must do. Next, doing is the least important. I'm going to say that again. Doing is the least important being is the most important. So what does being look like I'll just go off of what it looks like for me right now. And then I would encourage you to make a list of what it looks like for you. For me, it's allowing myself time to rest really rest deep breaths, heart rate slowing activities, sleeping deeply. time in nature, reading and listening to books, homemade meals that nourish my body and soul. I traded my more aggressive workouts recently for 40 minute walks. This isn't forever but it feels so good for right now. Having this time outside and letting myself move my body without there being much to it has been so nice. It's allowing my mind to unwind to I feel ideas popping up and the conundrums working themselves out. So I'm still moving my body and meeting my daily calorie burning goals right, but in a way that feels very gentle and rare. restorative, I'm listening less, to feedback loops online. And in the media, I'm just checking out for a while. And guess what, nobody misses me. And I don't miss anybody. In those feedback loops, it's just too much. I'm listening less to podcasts. So I can hone in on my own heart. And what it is saying, I love podcasts are so valuable. But sometimes I over listen, and there's just too much information coming at me. And I can't decipher what is best for me versus what I feel like I need to do, based on what this person is telling me. I'm spending less time on social media, and more time doing nothing for a few minutes a day, those moments where I would reach for my phone and get on Instagram, I'm just letting it be for a while. In fact, I turned my phone off last night. And how crazy is it that that seems like such a radical act to so many of us. But I just checked out. And it was wonderful. I'm listening to music I love just for the sheer pleasure. When was the last time you listened to the music you love, just for the pleasure of it. Not because you were driving somewhere or whatever you just tuned in and allowed your heart to be happy listening to something you love listening to. I'm also journaling a bit more, writing a bit more and letting my thoughts unravel. It's so easy to skip over the things that take time that don't seem to bring us results immediately. But journaling is one of those things that over the course of a week, a month, a year, several years, you realize it's shaping your entire life, shaping your thought system, your mindset being it's really so simple. You don't have to do anything. And for those of us who are type A and feeling intimidated by that, I get it because I've been there. And I still am there often. I would encourage you, if you feel led to try this being thing to start by whipping out your journal and writing. Let your thoughts freely flow without judgment and see what comes up. You'll be amazed at what is in there waiting to be released. It often will point you in the direction of how to be next to your soul is so wise, you have all the answers already inside of you. They're waiting to be on Earth. And in today's landscape, we are conditioned to doubt that fact, we are encouraged to look for the answers outside of us. And that puts us into the habit of constantly consuming more information. Right? reading, listening, taking in information, watching documentaries, watching the media, watching Instagram, whatever. These aren't bad things. But when is enough enough. When do we get the time to allow our systems to marinate on these ideas and implement them. It's okay to press pause and let all this information sink in and take root. It's okay to take a minute for yourself. Take a week, take a month take however long you need to reset. You are allowed to have times when you are not productive. In fact, this has been my experience, seemingly unproductive times when used wisely. Almost always result in way more productivity later because your brain and your body and your soul are rejuvenated. There's such a thing as brain fatigue and decision fatigue. Those are real things. We need rest. Our bodies need physical rest. Bears hibernate in the winter, we need time to go inward and pause. I want to do a point of clarification. I just said seemingly unproductive times when used wisely, almost always result in a way in way more productivity later. And what I mean by used wisely when we are being that doesn't mean we are sitting in front of the TV all day resting, and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes in order to get to a place of truly being, we have to turn our brains off for a while, couple days, maybe one day, maybe it's an hour, and watch something stupid or whatever. There's nothing wrong with that. But true being is a state of awareness. And it's a state of presence. And so that's what I mean, by using the time wisely. It's not filling it up with what we think are relaxing activities, unless those activities are going to be bringing you closer and closer to center. This pause that I'm speaking of, is so necessary for so many reasons. It renews us, it gives us energy. And if we are quiet enough, it will naturally tell us what our souls are longing for. And that golden information can inform the way we approach our next year. So as you prep for 2023, consider allowing yourself some space and grace to simply be, you may find that it leads to your most expansive year yet, because it has the power to intuitively inform your next steps in a way that feels heart centered, instead of standard centered. I want to wish you and yours, so much love and joy and peace and being this holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. And thank you for listening. And I look so forward to sharing so much more heart centered content with you in 2023