Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 597 of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! Im Heidi and I am a trained Interior Designer and also a Certified Life Coach. This podcast is a passion project created out of a deep desire to make the world a more beautiful place, which starts with each one of us on the inside. How we think and how we act matters in not only our life but our entire network which expands to places we may never know about but it expands nonetheless. So I am glad you are here because together we can send really good inspiring things into the world. I heard someone ask the question once that if what you think and what you do expanded 10 fold would it make the world a better place? I have never forgotten that because we influence those around us and they in turn influence those around them and it goes on and on. So what are you putting out into the world? It’s a wonderful question to ponder. I strive to be the best that I can be, that’s really how we affect change. If you want to change the world, start with the reflection in the mirror. That’s the biggest change you can make and it expands from there.
My mom sent me a text the other day. It was kind of out of the blue. At first I didn’t understand and then she sent another text right after that explained the first one. So the first text said “what have you done with my daughter? There’s a strange girl living in the house right next to me”
Confusing right? Then the second text said. “She’s given up sprite, she’s walking in her driveway and cutting back on sugar!”
Ok NOW I understood! My big sister is making small changes that if continued will change the entire trajectory of her life. Now as much as I would like to take credit for it, she’s doing that all on her own. Now, since her husband died, she has spent a lot of time with me and Eric, my husband. We just all spent the entire weekend together in Chicago and it was so wonderful. So I know that has an effect because she sees the choices we make and I know it encourages her to at least consider her own choices because that’s how it works, right? But we don’t get credit for what she’s doing because she’s the one DOING it. I didn’t do anything. But spending time around people who have really good habits rubs off! Now total transparency. It can rub off the other way too. When I spend a lot of time with my big sister and my parents I notice when I get back home I have to sort of wean myself back into all MY good habits because my mom usually makes cookies or we go out and eat pizza and those are not things I want to make a habit because that’s a trajectory change for me too so I let myself partake a bit but I work to get back to my regular good eating and exercise habits as soon as I can. And it’s not without a little bit of pain, so I have to ignore the desire to stop and get something sweet because my body is craving. Once I ignore it a couple times I get right back to my normal routine and feel so much better when I do. A couple desserts on vacation doesn’t have to mean a complete derail of your good habits but it can if you’re not careful.
Eric and I had been on a cruise years ago and you know there’s food everywhere all day long so it’s very easy to partake which we did. Once we got back we noticed that we were at lunch and all of a sudden we were looking at the desserts and wanting them at lunch!!! That is not a habit we can pick up if we want to be happy, healthy and fit! So we just say no even though we want it but eventually after a little pain of craving without answering it then the craving gets quieter and quieter until it’s not a problem at all.
A little bit of discipline goes a long way in the trajectory of your life. You don’t have to be 100% disciplined all the time, you just have to know what your good habits are and always know and make those good habits are your norm, it’s ok to veer a bit but get right back on that trajectory that leads to happy, healthy you.
Think about it. Have you ever done a run and then look at your path that you took afterwards on your phone? You can see the ultimate goal is that end point but also maybe you took a side street to add a little mileage but got right back on your original path. It looks like a little blip that didn’t affect your trajectory at all. That’s how we have to think about the times we “mess up”. I say mess up because that’s what my brain tells me I do when I spend a weekend in Chicago eating cookie dough and drinking martinis. I’m not coming home and continuing that even though I want to at first. I’m going to go right back to my good habits because that’s the trajectory I choose. I choose to be healthy mentally and physically and I can’t do that eating cookie dough and drinking martinis every day, it’s not possible for me so I go through a day or two of longing and withdrawals and then those cravings go quiet and I feel amazing again with my normal healthy routine.
It’s really all about habit patterns. We can sidetrack a bit but sidetrack too much and you are now on a different trajectory for your life and it’s not the ending you want.
My big sister told me she wanted to make all those changes because she saw how difficult it is for my aunt to get around and that’s not how she wants to be when she gets older. She felt like Her old trajectory of no exercise and lots of sugar wasn’t working for her anymore so she changed it. And if these new healthy habits becomes her norm, her whole life will change for the better.
We all want to live a life that feels amazing. Our habits will dictate that more than anything we do. Not our blips, our habits. Maybe you’re on an extended blip right now and you want to get back to your normal healthy good habits, there’s only one person that can do it and it may be a little uncomfortable at first but that doesn’t last long…the energy and empowerment and happiness you feel from picking right back up on your good habits is worth that little bit of discomfort. And there are things you can do to make it easier for yourself. Like for me I DO NOT keep sugar in the house. It’s too tempting. For my husband, if we’ve been on vacation and he comes home wanting that little nightly glass of wine or two he keeps the FRE non alcohol wine in the wine fridge and that’s what he drinks to replace that glass of wine he wants. Eventually it’s not a problem.
Living a Wildly successful fulfilling life doesn’t mean you have to be 100% disciplined at all times, it means a MAJORITY of the time you have good clean healthy habits and when you veer off you get right back on that path, even though it might feel a little uncomfortable for a minute. I like to say you gotta pay to play and when I eat sugar, my body starts wanting sugar until I ignore the craving and it goes quiet. It works every time.
The goal is excellence not perfection. What does excellence mean to you? Is there an area where your trajectory is taking you somewhere that isn’t going to end well? Consider it a blip, maybe it’s an extended blip. Doesn’t matter, Meet yourself where you are but love yourself enough to change that trajectory. In all honesty, You already know what needs to be done, be like Mike and JUST DO IT.
Share this with someone who’s trajectory might need a small shift. I love you guys! I’ll talk to you in a few days!
