Hi guys! Welcome to the 92nd episode of the Wildly Successful lifestyle podcast! If you haven’t shared an episode with your friends yet, this will be a good one to share because for a lot of people this time of year is hard and especially this year. And the information is evergreen, for those of you that don’t know what that means, it means it applies no matter what time of year you are listening to this episode so listen in and if you love it, maybe think about taking that extra step and scrolling down to give a 5 star rating…..
It’s 2020 right now and Getting ready for the holidays is a little different this year isn’t it?
If we think about it, It’s always a little different from the previous year, isn’t it? Nothing stays the same. Maybe we added a new family member or lost a family member and so the dynamics of our tradition changed a bit or maybe even a lot. If we really think about it, change is pretty consistent. In fact it’s the main consistency in life….you can count on it. Things are going to change. Things are going to be good and then they will be tough and then they will be good again. If it’s tough right now, this too shall pass.
2020 has taught me that nothing is permanent. Nothing bad is permanent, but then nothing good is permanent either. Why did I go and have to say that? It may seem a little bit negative, but that’s just because we tend to like things to stay the same, especially if they are good. We have been programmed to crave comfort and predictability. We were put on this earth to have new experiences though. We are here to create and enjoy life. We are here to grow and learn and inspire and be inspired. The events of this year and the things we are dealing with will pass. It may not seem like it but they will. But you know what? Sometimes a change up is good. It makes us either appreciate what we had or realize maybe we didn’t love that tradition so much anymore and so we are glad it changed. Maybe it makes us start a new tradition. If you dig deep, you can find something good that has come from the change up. Maybe your holiday is a little more intimate. Maybe it REALLY makes you appreciate the traditions that you may have taken for granted.
Or maybe you’re lonely and you aren’t sure when that is going to end. Loneliness is an emotion that most people feel at one point or another, so if you are feeling lonely, you aren’t alone…. There have been times in my life when I have been in a group of people I enjoyed and still felt lonely. The reason? Because my thoughts were on something other than the present…something I was missing. Often it isn’t the lonely feeling that is so distressing, it is the thought that we are always going to be lonely that is the most distressing. But you know what? This too shall pass. You aren’t always going to have that emotion. And listen, if you are feeling loneliness that is devastating and feels like depression and you can’t kick it, ask for help. If you don’t feel comfortable talking with someone in person about your feelings, go online to www.betterhelp.com. They have been highly recommended by people for being an online option for mental health help and remember, this is a form of self love. There is no shame in needing a little help here and there. We all do and getting it is a sign of strength, not weakness. Another proven way to work through loneliness is to reach out and help someone less fortunate than you are, because more than likely there is someone who has it worse. Maybe an elderly neighbor…could you drop off fresh cookies or a plant? What about Fostering dog or cat that needs a home? Could you clean out your closet and drop clothes off at a homeless shelter? How about donating money to an abused women’s shelter? These are just a couple ideas… and another thing…It could also be a hormone imbalance, Ive been pretty open about my experience with hormone imbalance. I am so grateful to have realized that my feelings of unhappiness and loneliness were a hormone imbalance and now I don’t have that problem anymore because I regularly have bio-identical pellets to balance my hormones, if you think this may be a problem, listen to episode 63 with Dr. Richard Pearson. It feels really really good to know there are things you can do to make the emotion of loneliness or any negative emotion feel less powerful. Remember you control your thoughts, which control your emotions so becoming more aware of our thoughts is super helpful.
So yes, life changes. Life is full of ups and downs. What can we do to give ourselves a little help for riding the waves? Not all of us are optimistic by nature. One of the things I’m super grateful for every day is that I am optimistic by nature. But when I was facing hormone issues, I can remember sitting on my back steps and thinking to myself that it wouldn’t matter if I was sitting in my own personal beach house with the sun shining and all my family around..I would not be happy right now.. That was very abnormal for me. So during that time when I wasn’t feeling naturally joyful, I did A LOT of soul searching and I realized that I could help myself quite a bit by what I focus on, what I read, What I watch and who I surround myself with. Have you been realizing that too? Each of us has the ability, no matter our nature, to be happier depending on what we are taking in. Reminds me of a story I heard this week. There was an Old Cherokee grandfather and he was teaching his grandson a life lesson one day. He tells his grandson that there is a battle going on inside all of us. He says “My son, the battle is between two wolves that live inside us” One is evil, it is anger, jealousy, sorrow, regret, self pity, greed, arrogance, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. The grandson is listening intently and he thinks about this statement for a while, then asks “Grandpa, which wolf wins?” The grandfather replies “The one you feed”.
I know if I start my day with a positive podcast, meditation, grateful journaling and exercise that I will give myself the foundation of a productive, happy day. There may be things that come up that day that aren’t great but feeding my good wolf in the morning will help keep him alive and thriving. I also know that if I give into my primitive brain’s addiction to drama and negativity by starting my day listening or reading the latest political drama or whatever the latest negative news of the week is, I know that I could get sucked in and go down a rabbit hole of the injustices of the world…but you know what? What wolf am I feeding when I do that?
So this week my challenge to you is to be cognizant of your thoughts which lead to your emotions and if you think you have a hormone issue or a deeper issue get help. And mostly every single thing you read, listen to, watch and every person with whom you spend your time…ask yourself which wolf am I feeding? I love you guys and I’ll talk to you in a few days.
