Eliminate Don’t Quit

I was having a conversation Sunday with one of my friends and we were talking about our 2014 plans and how excited we were for the New Year! She told me her theme was all about health and we talked about what that meant to her.

Everything from spiritual health, physical health and yes, the dreaded habits most of us have, or had in our lives at some point in time. You know, sugar, diet soda, living beyond our means, watching too much TV, negative thinking, smoking, drinking, not working out and the list goes on.

She told me all the wonderful things she had on her plan and then she said, “I’m gonna quit smoking.” I could feel her energy over the phone; how overwhelming it felt to her, the anxiety she was feeling and all the emotions that go along with breaking a habit that has that much power over you.

I immediately said, “Don’t QUIT smoking, ELIMINATE smoking! If you eliminate smoking, you are doing it to serve a bigger purpose in your life!” I could see the light bulb go on and the “ahhhhh” radiate over the phone.

She said, “I have such a sense of relief and if I look at it that way, I can do it!” Think about those two words… eliminate vs. quit. How do they make you feel? For me personally, when I hear quit it doesn’t make me feel good, nobody wants to be a quitter!

Eliminate takes on a whole new meaning for me, it says I can do this, I’m evolving, I’m growing and it empowers me! I have a choice to eliminate something in my life that no longer serves me.

For some, it might be a little overwhelming, eliminating something as big as smoking, so baby step it. Start with eliminating salt, candy or dairy. When you feel empowered, you’ll be ready for the next habit, thought, thing or person to eliminate.

I developed this process for myself years ago when I eliminated New Year’s resolutions! A little shift in words can make a significant difference in your mindset and yield extraordinary results! What will you be eliminating in 2014?

What tools and resources do you need to become your own eliminator? Cheers to you and what you decide to eliminate in 2014! You can do it, I know you can! Let’s do this!