You are listening to The Overthinker's Guide to Joy, episode 112. This is the one
where we're going to talk about how to manifest your best year yet. Let's dive in.
This is a podcast for overthinkers, overdoers, and overachievers who are tired of
feeling over anxious and just want to feel better. I'm your host, certified life
coach, Jackie de Crinis.
Hey there, welcome back. If you're listening to this in real time, today is New
Year's Day. And New Year's, as everyone knows, is a chance to reset, refocus,
and realign with what matters the most. Now for decades, people have been making New
Year's resolutions. I'm gonna lose weight, I'm gonna quit smoking, I'm gonna quit
drinking, I'm gonna start saving money, I'm gonna eat less sugar, I'm going to fill
in the blank. Now, as I've said for the last few years on this podcast and in my
annual New Year's blog post, I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. However,
I am a huge fan of goals for the new year. You might be saying potato -potato,
but I think there's a lot of energy behind words. And for me, goals just feel like
a kinder, gentler, more attainable thing than resolutions because resolutions feel very
finite to me. They feel black and white, pass or fail. So when we fall off the
proverbial wagon, whether that's having a cocktail after saying we're not going to
drink or a cookie after we're saying we're giving up sugar this year or buying the
shoes that we don't really need after saying we're going to save some money, it's
like we've given up for the year because we've already, quote, "blown it." But I
don't want people to give up because they are human and had a moment of weakness
or because they've taken a momentary detour. So that's why I prefer goals. It's more
elastic. It's more forgiving. It's more generous and buoyant.
And a number of years ago, another trend started. And that was, "What's your word
for the year?" And I really like this one. Well, it's hard to sometimes narrow an
entire emotion or pick just one adjective. I like the idea that we have this mental
exercise to have to think about. About what you want to embody for your year.
Whether that's energy, spirit, feeling, something you want to become, convey,
or just transmit. So last year my word was growth. I wanted to do something that
scared me a little bit, but also moved me forward. So for me, the word growth
embodied that. And this is why I committed to the goal of writing my book,
The Overthinker's Guide to Joy, a handbook for overthinkers, people -pleasers, and
perfectionists. It took me several months to write it and several months to edit it.
And I was admittedly paralyzed by so much doubt in the process because it was
scary. It was scary to finally commit to something that I had wanted to do for
decades. And it was scary to finally commit it to literally paper. And dare I say,
I did a lot of thinking as I was writing, and my perfectionistic tendencies were
showing up big time before I was willing to publish it. But when it was all said
and done, I finally published it last October, and I felt a true sense of growth,
along with fear, trepidation, and panic. But the feedback and the reviews have been
really amazing, And I'm proud of myself, regardless of it. I'm proud of myself that
I did that thing that I said I was going to do, even though it was super scary.
And I have to tell you, as my audience, I have so appreciated every single note,
comment, review you've left. And I'm so flattered when I hear people say, I loved
it so much, I bought it for friends and relatives. That makes me feel so good. But
I will admit, while I was focused on writing and editing and publishing that book,
and definitely working outside of my comfort zone, it was all very uncomfortable.
I found myself having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and I was constantly
thinking about the book. And now that it's done, I've had some time and space away
from it. But also, I'm coming up on a new year. And so I've been doing a lot of
thinking, okay, last year's word was growth, and you wanted to write this book.
What's this year going to be about? And I thought, you know what, I think this
year is about being or embodying more calm. And while I love the concept of picking
one word to set the attention of my being for the whole year, I don't think it
encompasses it enough. So I thought about expanding this year to Amantra. Now,
Amantra can absolutely just be one word. It can even be a sound, but it can also
be a statement. And I was reading something a few weeks ago when I saw this quote,
"Com is a superpower." It kind of stopped me in my tracks in a totally good way.
Calm is a superpower. I just liked it and it really resonated.
And I've often been told that I have a calming presence when I coach and I know
that I'm very calm in a crisis. But in my everyday life, am I really calm?
I think I'm a lot of things. I'm organized and I'm practical, I'm pragmatic, I'm
reliable, and I'm resilient. But I don't think calm, at least not internally,
is something I embody. I have a racy mind, it's why I wrote the book, it's why I
have this podcast, it's why I relate so profoundly to so many of my clients. And I
think that calm is sort of an afterthought for me, or something that I have to be
conscious of to embody. So I've been spending a lot of time repeating that same
mantra. Calm is a superpower. And seeing if I can practice it throughout my day,
not just when I coach, not just when I do my podcast, not just when I have to be
calm, but being more conscious of choosing to be calm. Like when I'm running late,
or when someone cuts me off in traffic, or when someone is being defensive or
confrontational, or when I'm annoyed because I've been on hold forever and then
suddenly the line goes dead, which actually happened today about six times when I
tried to make an appointment for my car to be serviced, or when I'm nervous about
playing in a tennis or pickleball tournament, or when my golf game is not going as
planned and I'm three -putting every hole. Whether it's tennis, pickleball, or golf, I
often hear myself muttering things like, why can't I hit that shot? Or groaning
loudly. Or yelling at myself, or calling myself an idiot, or a moron. Yes, it's in
a joking manner, but with some serious intention, because it turns out my own words
are my biggest distraction. And what I've noticed is that when I remember my mantra,
Calm is a superpower. I start showing up differently. I start playing better.
I don't mean kind of better notably better When I practice my mantra before every
shot, I'm more focused and my body's more relaxed So this experiment taught me that
calm isn't just about sports or playing better. It's about living better It's about
growing up as my best self in every situation. And I'm not suggesting that this is
the right word for you or even the right mantra for you. I'm just giving you an
example for me. But I was listening to one of my friends, Jamie Berman, a
manifestation coach who I had on my podcast a few months ago. And she reminded me
of using I statements or I am statements as a way of supercharging your intentions
for manifestation. Things like I'm confident, I'm beautiful,
I'm healthy, I'm rich, I'm happy, I'm grateful, I'm in demand,
I'm worthy, I am courageous. By the way, none of these have to be true for you to
say them. But by simply saying them out loud or in your head or writing them down
and reading them every single day you will become what you think because words are
powerful. We become what we hear, we become what we repeat and we become what we
believe. So why not believe that you're all the wonderful things you want to be,
or maybe already are, and just need a reminder. It is scientifically proven that
affirmations have a positive psychological impact. They rewire negative self -talk and
cultivate a mindset of possibility. Here's some other examples. I am capable of
achieving my goals. I am Attracting opportunities that align with my values.
I am calm and resilient in all situations. You might choose to write down four or
five of these kind of statements, and then practice reading them daily.
Manifestation isn't magic. It's a combination of focus, belief, and intentional effort,
and These tools work together to help keep you aligned and moving forward. As we
step into this new year, remember your thoughts shape your reality. Choose words and
actions that reflect the person you're becoming or want to become. And you don't
have to do this alone. We'll make it a partnership for 2025. A year of clarity,
confidence, and calm. I offer personalized coaching sessions where we explore what
matters to you the most and create a plan to bring it to life. So you can book
your free call with me by going to my website at jackiedecrinis.com. I would love
to help you manifest your best year yet. So have fun with finding your word of the
year or your mantras and I look forward to connecting with you soon. And as always,
I thank you for listening. I look forward to talking to you next time. Happy, happy
New Year, and bye for now.
If you would like to learn more about working with me as a coach, you can connect
with me through my website at jackiedecrinis.com
