7 Question to Ask Yourself for a Mentally Healthy 2022
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Real talk: We don’t prioritize our mental health enough. And you know what? It’s nearly impossible to reach our physical goals when we aren’t in a healthy place mentally. That’s why prioritizing our mental health is JUST AS IMPORTANT as our physical health. In this episode, I have 7 questions I want you to start asking yourself about everything in your life. When you do, it will help you realize where your mental health is suffering and how you can make it healthier this year.
If you are ready to start off 2022 in your healthies, most vibrant self - I want to invite you to join the Honor Your Body Challenge! We kick off this challenge on Monday, January 17th and I want to do this alongside you!
This 4-week challenge, is a fabulous way to kickstart the New Year as you intentionally honor your body through 3 key areas of your health: movement, nutrition and mindset for the next 30 days.
Spots are limited, so be sure to get on the waiting list and you’ll be first in line to sign up on January 3rd, 2022!
Head to honoryourbodychallenge.com to get on the waiting list today!
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go
Real talk. When we don't prioritize our mental health, it can be nearly impossible to reach our physical goals, especially when we are not in a healthy place mentally. And so that's why I believe that prioritizing our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Obviously prioritizing your spiritual health is important as well. But in this episode, I have seven questions that I want you to start asking yourself about everything in your life, because when you do, I think that it will help you realize where you are struggling mentally, so that you can take the steps needed to make 2022 your healthiest year yet.
But before I do, I want to share something really exciting that's happening. So from now, from this date until mid-January, I will be picking one of you guys every single week who leaves a review on the podcast to give you a free entry into our next Honor Your Body challenge that starts on January 17th. Again, for every single person that leaves a review between now and January 17th, I will be picking one of you guys every single week. So be sure to screenshot your review and send it to me in a DM. These are reviews on Apple Podcasts. If you have an apple device, it could even be a computer. Maybe you have an Android phone, but if you have a Mac computer, or if you have an iPad, you can get on Apple Podcast, be sure to type in, Embrace Your Real, and then you can leave a rating interview. And that is all you have to do to be entered to win to get a free entry into the challenge that starts on January 17th. So thank you guys in advance for doing that. The reviews truly do help us out so much in growing the podcast and spreading the message of embracing your real and just empowering women to live their authentic selves. So thank you in advance.
Okay. So let's dive into these seven questions. Question number one. Is it true? A lot of times we make assumptions. We don't know the whole story. We fill in the blanks with a made up story. That actually isn't true. Someone isn't texting you back right away. So you automatically think that they're ignoring you. Your boss or your employer doesn't applaud you for the project that you did, so you automatically think that you're not doing a good job. If someone is short with you, you automatically think that they're mad at you. We don't actually know that this is the truth though. We are assuming this to be the truth. Maybe they didn't text you back because they're trying to meet a deadline or they didn't see the text yet. Or maybe your boss didn't applaud you because they have 100 other things that they're doing at the moment. Or maybe someone was short with you because they're having a bad day or maybe they're projecting it on us.
Instead of making assumptions. We need to just ask for the truth. Hey, is everything okay? Hey, was that project that I submitted what you were looking for? Is there any feedback that you have for me? Hey, did I upset you as something that I did? Hey, is there something that I can approve upon or, hey, how are you actually doing? Those are simple questions that we can ask if we believe something else to be true. And that is going to actually help us get the truth, get the full truth so that we can stop making the assumptions.
Question number two, is it helpful? We get a lot of unsolicited advice and criticism, especially on the internet. And a lot of it, quite frankly, is not productive. They are from people who should not be sticking their noses in our business. They don't know us. They don't know our full story. They don't know the actual situation, but regardless of what they know and don't know it's not their place. And when people give you unsolicited advice or criticism, we need to ask ourselves what their intention is. Are they actually trying to help you? Do they mean well? Do they actually care? What role in your life do they play? What credibility do they have? The truth is some people are just trying to make themselves feel better about themselves, or they're trying to bring you down to their level, or they're likely envious of you and your life and they're not happy in their own life, so they're trying to make other people feel how they are feeling.
A lot of times these people and this criticism is not helpful, and so you need to take everything that they say with a grain of salt. Let it in one ear and let it go out the other, or turn the other cheek. It's just not worth listening to or spending our time and energy trying to dissect everything that they're saying. Now, if it is someone that plays a significant role in your life, maybe there is some truth to what they're saying, but ask the question so that you can get down to the root of it, to see if there is growth in some area of your life that can happen and their criticism can be helpful towards that.
Question number three, is it necessary? Many of us, myself included, have too much clutter in our lives. And you know what clutter does, it equals stress. And that can also equal overwhelm, complexity, and anxiety. Sometimes we add more to our lives to cover up things that we don't want to address. We buy more clothes because we feel self conscious in our body, but are more clothes actually going to give you more confidence? Yeah, it could help a bit, but it's not the solution to the lack of confidence that you have. Is a new car actually going to make you feel more validated? Is an expensive handbag, actually going to make you feel more important? I'm not saying that you can't buy or have nice things. But what I am saying is that these are not necessary. They're not going to actually change how we view ourselves. They're just going to put Band-Aids on it.
So of course you can buy the things if you want things, but don't buy them thinking that they're going to make you feel a certain way, because trust me, when I say that things will always give you a false sense of worth and confidence and it will always be fleeting. So the next time that you want to spend money on something, ask yourself, is this really necessary? And this can be a great question going into the new year, especially maybe this is a time that you spend the first weekend of the new year going through your closet or going through parts of your house that you just know there are unnecessary things. I know for me, I just cleaned out my entire closet and it just feels so nice knowing that the only clothes that I have in my closet are ones that make me feel good, the ones that make me feel comfortable and confident and everything else is gone. I don't need it. I don't need the excess of clothes because it only clutters my mind even more and truly less is more.
I'm telling you, one of my girlfriends, she lives in a tiny house. I've always admired her so much just because they don't have a lot of things. They lived in like a 700 square foot house for so long. And they just recently moved into a bigger house that's 1100 square feet. And it's just so inspiring to me to see that they live and thrive on not a lot of stuff, but the stuff that they have are things that they absolutely love. They're not just getting random things because they don't, quite frankly, have the space for it. And also they have recognized that you don't have to have tons and tons and tons of things. That's not going to bring you more confidence. In fact, it's going to likely give you more overwhelm, give you more complexity to your life or more anxiety.
Question number four, is it worth it? I know this kind of sounds similar to question number three, but it's a little bit different context. I want you to start asking yourself whatever you're stressing about. Is it worth it? Is it worth picking a fight with your significant other or your mother or whoever it is? Is it worth it? Is it worth putting any energy to something that you actually don't care about or something that you don't feel called to do? Is it worth it? Start thinking about the outcome before you take action. Because if it's not actually worth it, you shouldn't be wasting your energy on it from the beginning. For example, what is the outcome of picking a fight with your husband? Whatever small thing you're stressing about what is the outcome that you're trying to achieve? Now in James chapter 1, verse 19 and 20, James says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry for man's. Anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."
And this verse really speaks of anger that erupts when our egos are bruised, like I'm hurt, or my opinions are not being heard. But when injustice and sin occur, of course we should become angry because others are being hurt, but we should not just become angry or let our ego run our mouth when we fail to win an argument, or when we feel offended or neglected. Remember this, selfish anger never helps anyone. So ask yourself, is it worth it? Is it worth trying to get the last say? It's not worth it.
Question number five, is it kind? Here's some real talk, not everything is about you. I know. I know. But we need to take others into consideration. God calls us to put others before ourself. So before you act on something, ask yourself, is it kind? Is it kind talking about your coworker or someone in your life behind their back? Is it kind canceling on your friend last minute, knowing that they already prepared for something or they already cleared their schedule? Is it kind offering unsolicited advice or criticism because your ego is trying to feel better about yourself? Before you take any action you need to ask yourself, is it kind? If not, try to figure out how you can do whatever you want to do in the most kind way.
If you want people to be more kind to you, you need to be kind to them. And Jesus calls us to love one another. In John chapter 13, verse 34, he says, "A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another." Just remember this, that love is more than simple warm feelings. It's an attitude that reveals itself in action. How can we love others as Jesus loves us? By helping when it's not convenient, by giving when it hurts, devoting energy to others' welfare, rather than your own, by absorbing hurts from others without complaining or fighting back, this kind of love is hard to do. And that's why people notice when you do it and know you are empowered by a supernatural source. So yes, being kind is important. But beyond that, are you loving these people? Are you truly loving them? Are you truly putting them first as God calls us to do?
Question number six. Ask yourself, is this making you stronger? Hard things in our life will come. It's not if, but when. Oftentimes when we go through hardships, we can easily allow the storm to take us over and ultimately distract us from what we should be doing. I want to remind you that when trials or hardships or unexpected problems arise, God is with you and the problems you face can and will make you stronger, both in your faith and as a person.
When it comes to this question, I'm reminded of the story in Genesis chapter 35, verse 10, when God says to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob, your name is Israel. So he named him Israel." And in that passage, God actually reminded Jacob of his new name, Israel, which meant he struggles with God. And although Jacob's life in the Bible was littered with difficulties and trials, his new name was a tribute to his desire to stay close to God despite life's disappointments. I believe that many people think that Christianity should offer a problem free life, but consequently as life gets tough, they draw back disappointed. Instead though we are called to be determined to prevail with God through life's storms. Like I said at the beginning, it's not if, but when hard things come. Remember this, that problems and difficulties are painful, but they are inevitable. So you might as well see them as an opportunity for growth. You cannot prevail with God unless you have troubles to prevail over. The answer to this question, is it making you stronger, can always be yes if you seek God for wisdom in the midst of hardships and ask him to show you the purpose of the problem or hardship in a new light and a new perspective.
And question number seven, is it encouraging and growth into your life? So kind of along with question, number six, you can ask yourself, is this inviting growth? And oftentimes the answer is yes, but on a different note in your life, think about the relationships that you have or the daily habits that you do, or the weekend choices that you're making, or the decisions that you're making over and over and over again. Ask yourselves and measure those things to this question, is it encouraging and inviting growth into my life? Are the relationships that you have in your life, are they inviting you and encouraging to grow deeper in your life? Are the daily habits inviting or encouraging you to grow further in your life? Are the weekend choices inviting or encouraging you to grow in your life and are the decisions that you're making regularly, are they decisions that are encouraging you to grow?
I think that this is a really great question to ask yourself constantly, because we oftentimes waste our time on things that are not taking us anywhere, or we are staying in a relationship to that we know is toxic, or we know is not giving us growth, or we're doing daily habits that we know deep down are not serving us. They're not allowing us to grow in our life mentally or spiritually or relationally. And so if that's the case, you have to ask yourself, why are you doing it? So that is a great question to ask when it comes to just overall becoming more mentally strong and more mentally prepared.
So just to recap on those seven questions, question number one, is it true? Question number two, is it helpful? Question number three, is it necessary? Question number four, is it worth it? Question number five, is it kind? Question number six, is it making you stronger? And question number seven, is it encouraging or inviting growth into your life? Now, as we head into the new year, I know that a lot of us are going to be thinking about these things. How can we become mentally more strong or how can we become physically more strong? And so if you are ready to start out 2022 in your healthiest, most vibrant self, I want to invite you to join the Honor Your Body challenge. We kick off this challenge on Monday, January 17th, and I want to do this alongside of you.
This four week challenge is a fabulous way to kickstart the new year as you intentionally honor your body in the three key areas of your health, movement, nutrition, and mindset. Remember that spots are limited for all of my challenges. So be sure to get on the waiting list so that you can be the first in line to sign up on January 3rd, 2022 when enrollment opens. You can head over to honoryourbodychallenge.com to get on the waiting list today. If you're listening to this message after January 3rd, but before January 17th, you can go to honoryourbodychallenge.com to see if spots are still available so that you can sign up to join us in this challenge.
I hope that this episode was helpful for you. I hope that it gave you some food for thought as we head into the new year, I would love to know how this message spoke to you. So you can screenshot this. You can post it up on your Instagram story, be sure to tag me, Julie A. Ledbetter and tag Embrace Your Real on Instagram so that we can connect directly to you. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. And I will talk to you in the next one.
All right, sister, that's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so, Julie A. Ledbetter. Yes. It's with a A in the middle, for that daily post workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart and check. The second thing. Be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcast, to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.