Letting go of regrets

Let’s be honest, fearLESS friends – we all have regrets. Some of us have more than others but we all have them. Today is the first step in your journey to rid yourself of this excess baggage. How, you ask? Simple, but not always easy, as my mentor Dr. Ming Wu would say. Here I have laid out a few simple steps to kickstart you into action. It is time to embrace life, to be in the moment and to experience less sorrow and more joy. Reboot you! Forget the past at the door. Change your routine and how you see things and your life will change for the better.

Here we go!

#1. Each morning when you wake up, before your mind starts racing to your to do list or all the bills piling up, before you trip over a toy or step in the cat puke that you heard take place at 2 a.m. but chose to ignore, just take a deep breath, stretch and say thank you. Simple, right? Start your day with gratitude and it will be easier to revisit that place in the hours that come if they are to become challenging as they often do.

#2. Once you are sitting up , grab yourself a large glass of water (morning hydration is huge) and now it’s time to jot down a few notes in your journal. I refer to these as my morning pages. * Yes, full disclosure I have done The Artist’s Way several times and this is where my morning pages began. However I was always a journal writer. Morning pages are basically a place to just empty the mind and pour it out on to the page. It doesn’t have to make sense, it can be gibberish, it can be in list format, long or short. This exercise helps to ground you and it often sparks creative ideas for projects both current and in the future. You can also use stickers, colored pencils, or whatever gets your creative juices going to jazz up your morning pages journal.

#3. Try to incorporate a short daily meditation practice into your day. This can be done sitting down, through movement like qigong and tai chi, laying down or standing in horse stance. I also use cooking as a form of mindful meditation “cooking with chi.” Vine: Cooking With Chi

#4. Enjoying a fresh organic juice or smoothie is also a great way to start the morning and adding a gluten free and veg/vegan option is even better. I am a big foodie and I love to experiment with foods that will align my mind, body and spirit with the positive goals I want to transpire for the day.

#5. Every time you pass a mirror, say something positive about yourself either out loud or silently. One of my favorite teachers, Louise Hay, says to use mirror work daily and repeat to yourself “I love you, I really love you”while looking into your own eyes. This might be too difficult for some at first. Be kind to yourself and do what feels right for you. The idea is simple, be kind and loving to yourself instead of critical and cruel. Treat yourself with the love, compassion and respect that you would give to another. You deserve it!

I believe these simple five steps can begin to get you onto the right path towards feeling more grounded and joyful. The key is to be mindful of just how wonderful the present moment is, and to recognize that the past is the past and there is nothing that can change it now. We accept it, learn from it and move forward. When things come up from the past acknowledge it, feel it and then let it go. We are all here for a reason and we need these lessons in order to grow. Self care starts with gratitude, grounding, silence, creative expression, movement and healthy food. Let’s start there, fearLESS friends, and keep moving toward a brighter day full of possibilities.

What do you do each day to live in the present?

*Come join me on my Wordpress blog too!

Best, Kim