Women's Network February 2019 | Page 23

mindset side, your skills or knowledge, the colour of your eyes, your intellect, your courage? Know you are human, so perfection is unattainable. Celebrate You are unique yet in a connected world of shared experiences. It’s natural for values to shift and change over time, as you explore the world and experience life. This is also the reason festive times and family gatherings can be so stressful. Some expect the family dynamics to be embedded in rock and everyone to play the personae they had as children. You have a choice whether to play the game or allow who you are now to shine through. Either way, you risk feeling disconnected, misunderstood, isolated, but not even families can be expected to accept you as you are now, if you don’t show them. Love is accepting others for who they really are. Love and celebrate the authentic you. You can create a Friendship Family with like-minded friends if you wish. 4. Celebrate your body. It’s the only one you have, and it will be with you from birth to death, so treat it well. Sure it can have parts replaced or adjusted, but there’s pain both physical and financial in those options. Remember it is just the external representation of you, but it is not YOU. Loving your body is essential for mental well-being. You don’t need to love the excess storage of fat you might be lugging around, just the optimum body shape for you underneath. Celebrating the inner you is the key to releasing any excess fat storage. your progress Only eat when you are hungry for food, and stop eating when the hunger disappears. If you feel full, you’ve eaten too much. Feeling energised and balanced is the sign you want. Next time you start thinking of food, check in with yourself that your body is hungry for food, not water, or love, confidence, rest, connection, movement, comfort, entertainment etc. There are healthier ways to satisfy these other needs, so you can keep eating purely for the purpose it was intended. Listen to your body’s needs and if it ‘needs’ high sugar or high fat food, then that’s a sign it’s not really hungry for food. 5. Celebrate your purpose. Your purpose is simply to be the very best YOU possible. That means polishing your own natural talents to shine on the world, lighting the way for others less gifted in those talents. Remember, ‘the world’, can be your own local connections, not the Earth’s whole population. So relax, take that pressure off yourself and enjoy celebrating YOU as the year rolls in, and throughout the years to come. Cheers! AUTHOR SUE LESTER Growing Content Pty Ltd Mindset & Identity Expert http://www.suelester.com Women’s Network Magazine 23