I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a new year!
I love the idea of ringing in a brand new year.
It brings with it, new possibilities. Hope. Excitement. A clean slate.

I have no doubt that we all want 2013 to be – EPIC. Am I right?
A big area of my life where I have a deep desire for epic-ness, lies in my personal quest to “get right” with food (and to have radically awesome health).
It’s a quest that has taken me the better part of 10 +years. So to say that I’ve been ready for an “A-Ha” moment, is an understatement.

I’m sure you can relate on some level to this desire for “rightness” with food.
So many women (and even some men) that I know, have an unhealthy relationship with what they eat.
I have friends who count calories (to the decimal point).

As I write this, I personally know more than 25 people who are all on assorted cleanses right now.
What motivates this insatiable desire for “wellness”?

I know for me, it’s about feeling better. Physically. And also emotionally.
I’ve always used food as a Band-Aid for emotional reasons. I don’t eat just to satiate hunger.
I use it to pacify. To allay fears. To avoid pain. To not deal with family during the holidays. To pretend that I’m not worried about my finances. Etc. Etc. Etc.
I don’t have an actual eating disorder.
I just LOVE food.
And foods loves me right back.
Sometimes a little too much.

In this pursuit of getting right with my eating habits, I stumbled upon a truth that was so mind-blowing, so powerful that it quite literally shifted everything for me.
This simple truth stopped me in my tracks.
And so I of course, wanted to share it with you.

The truth is this. . .

YOU. ARE. ALREADY. ALRIGHT.

No amount of cleansing, diets, special eating regiments will “fix” your relationship with food.
Because really, you are already ok. You are all right. Just as you are.
I know this might sound, “woo-woo”. Or like this “power of positive thinking” stuff might work for other people, but not for you.
I thought the same thing every time I heard someone say, “You’re perfect just the way you are”.
Ugh. Spare me.

But you know what?
They were 100% spot on.
I just wasn’t ready to hear it. Yet.

What helped this simple truth sink in?
Lots and lots (and lots) of self-inquiry.
Deep-sea soul diving.
Asking. Searching. Seeking.
Being open.
Breathing.

And honestly, one of the biggest pieces I had to learn (and am still learning) – is to STOP judging.
Myself.
And others.

We need to start living from a place of power.
We need to begin taking responsibility for the part we play in NOT getting right.
Not with food, but with ourselves.

Because the reality is, we have to get right with our soul. And from there, everything else will not-so-magically fall into place.

Over the course of the last few years, I’ve repeatedly asked myself these five questions.
The answers varied and often, were all over the place.
Sometimes, I could only find one-word answers.
But I’m convinced that setting aside the time for self-inquiry, finally led to a true shift in my relationship not just with food, but also with life itself.

What am I not looking at in my life?
What pain am I avoiding or hole am I trying to fill?
Where in my life do I feel less than?
What do I need to get right with (deep down)?
How can I be more loving, accepting and non-judgmental towards myself?
What is one thing I can do right now, that would make me feel A-mazing? (*then go do it!)

I encourage you to spend some QT with yourself and answer these questions.
Answer them honestly.
Revisit them often.
And notice the small shifts that occur just from spending quality soul-time with yourself.
Get right with your soul. And you’ll get right with your food.

Cheers to a new year – and a new (more soul-full) you in 2013!

xo Stephanie

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Stephanie Watanabe is a trusted advisor + mentor to filmmakers, musicians, lifestyle brands and creative solopreneurs — who have a dream project or brilliant idea but no clue how to get it off the ground and into the world.

She is also the founder of The Girl Who Knows, a digital inspiration gallery — a curated whirl of whimsy, wonder & wicked-awesome discoveries. It’s there that she muses on life, love, beauty, vision and who makes the best super-luxe body balms (for the record it’s these). Stephanie is a true renaissance woman, having produced + planned events and weddings, managed a luxury spa + yoga studio and co-founded three companies by the age of 30.  She is a multi-passionate, multi-talented entrepreneur who has a fondness for hot cocoa, rock ‘n roll, Eric Ripert, The Goonies and obscure fashion magazines.

Web :: http://www.thegirlwhoknows.com
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