How to Feel Your Best
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Do you even remember the last time you actually felt good? I think many of us have forgotten what it feels like to not be tired, stressed, overwhelmed, bloated, and rundown all the time. Unfortunately, it’s just become our new normal. But, we need to realize that what we are feeling in this current moment, whether that be tired, bloated, unhappy, or whatever feeling it may be, is our reaction to something else. We’re not going to be tired for no reason, we’re not going to be bloated for no reason, and we’re not going to be unhappy for no reason. Something is causing us to feel this way. And in this episode, I give you a 3-step guide that will help you figure it out what makes you feel your best and what makes you feel your worst.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real, with me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip 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.
Hello and welcome back to the Embrace Your Real podcast. I'm so grateful that you are spending some time with me today. Now, I had a recent request from somebody on Instagram if I could do a podcast episode on how to feel your best. And I thought that, "Man, this is such a great topic. All of us, who doesn't want to feel better every single day?" So in this bonus episode, I thought I would share a super simple three step process that is absolutely going to bulletproof for making you feel your best daily. But first, I want to share the review of the day, because you guys know I love doing this. I love reading your reviews.
This says, "The first and only podcast. Julie, I have never been the girl that could listen to a podcast because I prefer music over hearing someone talk. But I cannot get enough of this podcast. I can't wait for Monday and Thursday every week. My heart and mind needed this so much, and I share it with every single woman I know, because every woman needs this. You are down to earth and real, giving all shapes and sizes of women great advice for truly loving themselves. I find myself giving the same advice and using your words to encourage and lift up my girlfriends. Thank you so much for sharing the absolute best and most imperfect parts of yourself with so many. I love you and all you're setting out to do."
Thank you so much for the review. So heartfelt. I love it. I love reading your reviews. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast on Apple Podcasts, it takes less than 60 seconds. All you've got to do is press pause, scroll all the way down when you're on the Apple Podcast app, and you'll see the area to rate and review it. Thank you so much in advance. If you do, screenshot it, send it to me in a DM, and I will personally respond back to you.
Okay, so step number one of the three step process: you've got to start observing how things make you feel. Like so often we live in our lives without ever being in tune with why we're feeling the way that we're feeling. And we think being tired just means that we're tired, or we think that being bloated just means that we're bloated, or being unmotivated just means that we're unmotivated, or whatever the feeling may be. Like we'll say things like, "I'm just super tired this week," or "I'm super bloated this week," without ever stopping to think why.
Why this week? Why this week do we feel tired? Why this week do we feel bloated, or whatever it may be? Everything stems from something. So what you're feeling is the reaction to something else. So you're not just going to be tired for no reason, or you're not just going to be bloated for no reason. There's something causing you to feel this way that you need to figure out. So you might be like, "That's great, but how do I go about doing that?" You've got to start questioning yourself. If you feel tired, ask yourself, "What did I do differently today, or did I have a really draining conversation, or how many hours of sleep did I get, or did I eat something different? Do I have a deficiency in certain vitamins, or have I not eaten enough carbs, or am I not staying hydrated?"
There's always a root to every single thing, and so I need you to rack your brain on all those reasons as to why you could be tired, and then start addressing those things. Like make sure you're getting enough sleep. Make sure you're drinking enough water. Make sure you're eating enough carbs. Remember to take the multivitamin. Remember to surround yourself with people that are not just draining you all day long. You've got to find certain things that lift you up. You've got to find certain things that fill you, right?
In the same way, yes, we're here on this earth to give people our gift and to serve people in the best version of ourself. But key word being the best version of ourself. In order for that to happen, we've got to know what actually makes us feel good. To touch on feeling bloated, certain foods can cause this. I know for me, cauliflower does not sit well with me. I can not have cauliflower. I cannot have onions. And I've just figured that out over time of me feeling like crap after I've eaten out or after I've had a certain meal, and then ask myself, "Oh, that's why," and making the connection between how I ate and how I was feeling. Right?
And so I also think so many people have gone so long feeling bad, that they don't even know what it's like to feel good or what makes them feel good. So if that's you, I need you to write down all the things that you can think about that make you feel good. Implement them into your life, and after two weeks observe the difference in how you feel and continue to make adjustments from there. I've talked about this before, but your life is a constant process. It's a constant season that's ever evolving and ever changing as you change and evolve.
And the more and more you become in tune with who you are and who you want to be, and where you're currently at, and making that distinction, you'll see, "Okay, this is step B, step C," and so on and so forth to get to where you want to be. But you've got to take the time to ask yourself. And I know it might sound like a silly question, like, "Hey, I'm just taking time for me to get to know myself." But in reality, 95% of the population, they don't even know themselves. That's why they're constantly looking for things that put a bandaid fix on something, when they just need to go a little bit deeper and figure out the root issue.
Step number two is to say no to everything that makes you feel bad. And I actually have a saying that I have adopted over the years. That is always saying no first. So if an opportunity comes up, if something comes up, I always like to say no first. And that's not to discredit opportunities, or to turn an ear or an eye to things coming my way. It gives the opportunity to ask myself, "Is this something that is going to make me feel good? Is this bringing me in the right direction?" Because I think so often in today's society, we want to be a yes man. Right? We want to constantly say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
And then we wonder why we're so tired. We wonder why we're so frustrated. We wonder why we are lacking in passion. And it's because we're saying yes to so many things, hoping that one of those 100 yeses will give us everything that we need. And that's just not the case. So I always encourage you to say no first and kind of measure it. Ask yourself. Give yourself a time window, whether that's an hour, or today, or it's a week, where you really think about it. It's not like you say no and then don't think about it to really ask yourself, "Is this an opportunity that I want to pursue?" But take that time, and be intentional, and get to know yourself more.
That's why it's so important to establish those goals and intentions so that you know if you have an opportunity on the table for you, you can ask yourself and measure the opportunity with where you want to go, and ask yourself if that's going to help you get there. And then step three is say yes to everything that makes you feel good and that gets you closer to your goals, right? I know this may sound super simple and straightforward, but in reality, it's a lot harder to do. Like before you eat something, or do something, or watch something, or whatever it is, start asking yourself how it will make you feel.
Is the answer good? If yes, go for it. If the answer is, "Yes, it's going to bring me closer to my goals," do it, by all means. If it's going to grow you and stretch you, and if it is outside your comfort zone, do it. But if the answer is, "No, this is distracting me. No, this is not making me feel good. No, this is overwhelming me and in a negative way," then you just need to take that moment and say, "No." Tell yourself, "I have the dignity in this because I believe in myself. And I believe that I have places to go, and I have people to impact and things to do in this life."
And we are here for such a short time. And it's so important that you go towards the things that make you feel good, and you go away from the things that make you feel bad. Start saying no to things first, and measure it. Right? Saying no to things is so much easier when you take into consideration how you'll feel, what your goals are, and especially once you start putting yourself constantly in that, right? You start constantly aligning yourself.
If you have a goal, a fitness goal, a health and fitness goal, constantly start aligning yourself. You constantly start changing your schedule, and your actions start aligning towards your goals. It's a lot easier to say no because you're in the groove of feeling better and better and better, and you don't want to compromise that. You don't want to compromise you on your journey of that. So when you realize that nothing compares and nothing is better than feeling good, and feeling accomplished, and feeling like you're on the right path, it's a lot easier to say no. So I want to encourage you to just start questioning why you're feeling the way that you're feeling. Start saying no to everything first, like really say no, and then allow yourself the opportunity to say yes if it is something that's going to make you feel good.
I know that if you enjoyed this episode, you will also enjoy episode 24, "Seven Ways to Get Back on Track." I think these seven ways will really help you kickstart your journey towards feeling good. Again, I've linked it in the show notes so you can easily go listen now. Thank you so much for tuning in. If this message encouraged, inspired, or sparked something in you, I would love to hear. Be sure to screenshot it, post it up on your story. Tag me, @julieaedbetter. Send it to a friend. If you're listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, the three dots, you'll be able to easily click that. It will copy a link. You can either send it in a text message or post it up on your social feeds for people to listen. And I will talk to you guys in the next episode.
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, @juliealedbetter, Yes, it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts 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.