This month’s theme starts as the hangover from our lofty dreams of ridiculous unattainable resolutions begins and the holiday decorations are coming down. If you’re feeling that weight today, grab a tea or coffee. We’re going to sort through the pile together. Right now it may be a reflex to mutter to ourselves how pointless resolutions are and how goals are unattainable and meant for those “other people.” But wait. Instead of spiraling into epic proportions that we regret later how about we do something different? This is the absolutely perfect time to make our soft exit. Right now the acknowledgement can be made of the “clutter” being carried on from 2025 and leave it behind. It isn’t just physical clutter but the mental clutter that is going to be detrimental and hold us back from accomplishing or even existing in 2026. We aren’t just moving on; we’re choosing what to carry. We are embarking on an act of self-love leading to empowerment.
Just Imagine
Imagine life like a huge laundry pile; our habits, beliefs, and stuff only have so many places to go in the dressers and closets of life. Right now we have a choice to stand back from the laundry pile and decide on how we are going to tackle it. By acknowledging the habits and beliefs we are essentially at the washing stage. Contemplating what we can control, what we cannot, and then deciding on action for the future is the drying stage. Now at folding we decide. What can be folded into the dresser, what can be given away, and what can be donated. Just like folding away the last of the holiday laundry, we have to decide which parts of 2025 are worth keeping in the drawer and which ones are just taking up space.
The habit of checking in on the news and feeling that existential crisis, pressure, and freak outs; creating to-do lists that are beyond unrealistic that always make me feel like i am a failure; getting into the same arguments day in and out with my kids about doing chores; the habit of taking five minutes to play a game that turns into an hour; the one more episode habit that leaves dreams of bedtime in the dust; the act of letting myself continue the spiral of nonsense when I know right at the cusp that it is about to happen.
The beliefs that I thought of as a teen that now are haunting me still, thinking of how I am behind schedule of everyone else; the “shoulds” of where I should be in life by now or what I should have learned already. Or the physical clutter as I try to hold onto a childhood for each of my children that is changing. The boxes from moves ago that I still haven’t gone through. I’m still processing all of this myself, but what I know for sure is that I cannot continue living under this much “laundry” while continuing my own growth and development. I showed you my laundry pile so, what is in your laundry pile?
At this point how do you pick a day to start again or start a new strategy of life? Letting go of not just the past year but the past in general of the things that are stifling the creativity, oomph, and dreaming inner self? Deciding to take a soft exit on all that clutter is powerful.
The Starting Point is Forgiveness
One part of letting go, a soft exit, or boxing up that laundry to donate is forgiveness. I am learning the hard way (and after wasting a lot of time) that forgiveness is the first step to literally everything. I have to forgive the choices I made to develop bad habits and keep them going for so long. Forgive myself for the lack of knowledge that I could have or did not develop because I was crippled by my own doubt in myself. But the thing about forgiveness is just like anything worth doing is a lot of work and not a quick fix. I am learning that it is a continuous thing. It is an every day thing. It is a choice. It is choosing to forgive. It is literally like a daily sweep or desk tidy that takes place at different moments of the day. By doing that maintenance that I don’t like to do I am literally “space-clearing” for new energy to be able to come in. As the days go by the forgiveness isn’t being put in the same place; every single time is a new experience, an act of love.
Whether you were loved and supported or not this is the moment where you take the pen from the author of your story and give it to yourself. Accepting and forgiving yourself for letting someone or something else write your story so far. An empowering act that isn’t just fluff on a screen or a page. Forgiveness takes many forms. It can be a statement said out loud, a physical act of meditating or being present while making a new choice and accepting the previous choices made, It can be a brain dump on a piece of paper or a thought written that I can burn in a safe space. Thinking like a sweater I want to buy… how can I buy it if I literally do not have anywhere to put it at home? The closet and dresser need to have old things and things that do not fit taken out so that we can get that new pair of pants or a pack of socks. It is something that I think is left out of the idea of adulting is that it isn’t magic and we don’t just figure it out. We actually have to make different choices and learn how to figure things out.
It Isn’t Easy But Worth It
Once the space is made which isn’t overnight or instant we have the energy and space required for nature, community, and the passion to have places to exist. Forgiveness is a powerful act of self-love – it’s not necessarily something you like to do, but something you just do to keep your own heart clear. And when we look at the big scheme of things, whether we are watching the news or even choosing to avoid it, there’s a realization that the world needs a whole lot more love.
That love has to start with us, in the quiet moments of our own lives. The act of folding that laundry gives us space to gain new perspectives and tackle the challenges of life in a new way. Choosing to spend some time in nature (even if it is just a walk in the neighbourhood) gives us a chance to take a step out of life and just exist as a complete accepted person. Choosing to give involved in our community like joining a class, volunteering, or picking up garbage while we walk our dog; gives us a chance to contribute to our own local society while rippling outwards spreading in it’s own act of love while also giving us a unique recharge. Choosing to discover a new hobby or creative outlet (or even revisiting a creative hobby we enjoyed as a child) is an act of empowerment as we “waste” time creating in the world. Don’t you think there is enough “destroying” going on? Each choice is the way we pour that love back into the world.
You Have The Power To Grab That Pen!
This is the moment where you take the pen from the “author” of your past and give it back to yourself. 2026 is a fresh page, but we don’t have to rush to fill it. For today, just focus on the relief of letting go. What is one small way you can show yourself love this evening? Do not try to make lofty projections for yourself right now. Just breath and accept where you are right this second. You are choosing to let go, to make a soft exit from that which is no longer serving you. It will not happen overnight. It is one small step every day, every action, and every choice that you are making. Bad habits or disarming beliefs do not disappear from one inspirational blog post. They disappear with hard work, a whole lot of love, and the act of developing different habits for yourself. Start small. Start tiny. But start. Go to bed ten minutes earlier. Schedule in that work out or walk. Set an alarm for a spontaneous dance party every day. Decide to say “You are awesome,” or “I love you,” every time you see yourself in the mirror. Choose one thing to start building on. May this be the sign you were looking for and the diving board into that pile of “laundry” that you needed.
Warmly, Fabulously Positive