Manch Talk

Carla Gericke kicks off Manch Talk by saying goodbye to co-host Tammy, and then delves into steps you can take to stick to your New Year’s resolutions. Carla shares her own tips on how she stays healthy and happy as she transitions into her new role as a successful real estate agent, with almost $4 Million in sales. Contact her at Carla (at) Porcupine Real Estate (dot) com.

Here is what I wrote for 2024, and I’m going to do a critical self-audit [LIKE THIS] now.

“Not to brag, by which I mean, to brag, but I lost 2.75 inches around my waist last year, which for an almost 52 year-old, menopausal woman, is… not bad. [MY WAIST GOT FATTER IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS OF 2024 AS MY REAL ESTATE CAREER KICKED OFF–ALMOST $4 MILLION IN DEALS!]

This year, it’s all about that free hanging time. 90 seconds is the goal. 48 seconds is my current best. [I GOT UP TO 59 SECONDS, AND THEN I SIMPLY STOPPED PRIORITIZING THIS, BOO!]

My mantra: I’m in my prime!

But, to be honest, this year has kicked off kind of MEH. [SAME FOR 2025 BUT IN BETTER, WIDER HEALTH lol]

Both Louis and I are just recovering from The Current Fever Thing. My anemia exhausts me, as in it is very difficult to even function after 8pm, which obviously isn’t optimal. Getting this sorted out is a priority for 2024.

Another vast and unchartered territory for me to wade into this year is organizing my clothing situation… Hah! Even just writing that made my palms sweat.

As I’ve been working through childhood issues and become more self-actualized, I have discovered that buying clothes was one of the only “independent” things I could control as a child.

Buying new clothes for boarding school was a “treat” bestowed upon us by our parents, who, sorry Ma and Pa, but I am going to say it, used this “benevolence” as a way to assuage their guilt for leaving us in boarding school while they went gallivanting across the globe.

Choosing my own clothes came to represent both being “grown-up and independent”–“Look at the Big Girl picking her own clothes!” (I was 10) AND it was closely tied to a total lack of control (few children CHOOSE boarding school), resulting, I now see, in me developing a bit of a clingy relationship with my clothing collection.

In journaling last year, I processed some of the excuses I’ve used to avoid doing The Purge (by which I mean, “Deal with your clothes” has been on my goal list for at least 2 years, le sigh).

Many of my excuses boil down to: But what if I need this [knee-length embroidered puff skirt] one day?

Now, this isn’t an insignificant concern, especially when considering after losing the 50+ lbs I’d put on thanks to the S.A.D., a destroyed biome, and too much wine, I was thrilled to rediscover an entire “skinnier” wardrobe awaiting me again.

But now that I have kept the weight off for 5+ years and regained much of my health, maybe it is time to let go of the extra shit, including clothes, that don’t serve me anymore?

I only recently learned “hoarding” can be a childhood trauma response. I’m not a hoarder–I’ve moved too much in life for that–but it is difficult for me to just toss stuff… [ASIDE: AS I READ THIS, MADE VERY LITTLE PROGRESS, OR RATHER, MANAGED TO SPREAD THE CLOTHING PROBLEM FROM 2 LOCATIONS TO… 5? BUT IN MY DEFENSE, I HAVE THROWN SOME STUFF OUT, I HAVE KEPT UP WITH THE JOURNALLING, I WROTE “LEARN TO CULL THINGS THAT DON’T SERVE YOU” AS RECENTLY AS THIS WEEK, AND, AND I THINK THIS IS A BIG DEAL, I ALSO REALIZED THAT THE WHOLE CLOTHES THINGS DOESN’T REALLY BOTHER ME. LIKE, I DON’T PERCEIVE IT AS SOMETHING IN ME THAT NEEDS ‘FIXING,’ OR THAT IS ‘SLOPPY,’ OR ‘DISORGANIZED’. IN FACT, I TURNED IT AROUND IN MY HEAD, WHAT IT MEANS IS I NEED BETTER ORGANIZING TOOLS AND A BIG MASTER CLOSET. HEH.]

But once I made this connection between my inability to throw things away and my past, I have developed a hack: I have become very mindful of the process of throwing things away…

Whether it’s a bill or an old pen, I let my hand hover over the trash can and I take a moment to focus on a sense of joy and freedom in physically letting go. [I DID KEEP THIS PRACTICE UP ALL YEAR. MINDFULLY FOCUSED ON THE ACT OF THROWING SOMETHING AWAY.]

This morning, as the stack of Xmas cards I was grateful to receive last year slid from my fingers, I thought, Yes, more of this… More letting go! [TOSSED THIS YEAR’S TWO DAYS AGO WITH A MENTAL NOTE OF: ‘GOOD GIRL.’]

Do you have a similar challenge in your life that you want to address this year? Something you want to change, where you might identify a physical step that can start to help to underscore the habit you are trying to develop?

What do YOU want to let go of in 2024? And how can I help?” [DITTO FOR 2025! HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y’ALL!]