We women are masters of change.

We’re also masters of beating ourselves up daily. Self-improvement is one thing, but self abuse is quite another.

Here are five things every woman needs to give up, leave behind and drop.

1. Waiting for Mr./Mrs. right to come along before making major life plans.

Too often I hear clients say they’re waiting to buy that house, take that trip, or invest in something big until they’ve found their partner. Putting  life on hold for a future possibility isn’t a safe bet and it dishonors our life dreams.

2. Over achieving.

It’s time we become over overing anything. Let’s be honest here. Aren’t we exhausted?  Whatever happened to showing up, doing our best and then leaving the rest up to trusting life?

Have you ever tried to catch a bug in a swimming pool?  The more you go after it, the farther it seems to float away. Pull back a bit in life and let life flow to you.

3. Over Yes’ing.

“No is a complete sentence.” ~ Anne Lamott 

Pepper this new year with fertile no’s.  

The more we honor our time and our energy, the more we have to give to those we really care about. Over extending ourselves repeatedly leads to burnout, which leads me to the next one…

4. Care-taking.

Unless you have a child under the age of 18, your #1 care taking priority should be the person in the mirror.

When we care-take our friends, our partners and our clients beyond normal polite and gracious human treatment we set ourselves up as a martyr, and most times the people we’re care taking didn’t ask for it and don’t appreciate it.

When we lean back a bit, we empower those around us to take care of themselves.

 5. Date debt.

I’m betting you know exactly what I mean before I even explain it.

Spending money on new clothes, over spending on grooming and treating every date as a special event is hard on your cashflow. Save hard earned bucks until the new bloke or lass has proven themselves to be a keeper. Then take that cash saved and buy yourself something sexy (or invest in something fabulous).

Putting life on hold for some future promise, over achieving, over yes’ing, care taking and date debt are so last year.

Let’s march into the future empowered, abundant and energized.

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Author: Tamara Star

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: Courtney Emery/Flickr