How To Overcome Your Holiday Negative Self Talk
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The holiday season is now over, and we’re all transitioning back to our “normal”. As our reflections start to sink in, negative self-talk and feelings of disappointment of our bodies may arise. That’s why in this episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast, I am sharing five steps on how to deal with that negative self-talk.
What I discussed:
Acknowledge your thoughts without judgment.
Once you hear what you're saying to yourself, really try to respond to your thoughts with compassion.
When those thoughts arise, really try to look at them from an outside perspective.
remind yourself that just because you're thinking these things, that actually does not mean that they are true.
Respond to yourself with understanding.
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 212: My Thought on Body Acceptance
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Transcript:
Hey. Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal 5 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 you and their bonus episode. I think when the holiday season is over and by now, you know, January 5th, when the podcast, this podcast is coming out, people are starting to go home, things are starting to get back to quote unquote, normal, maybe not totally normal yet, but we start to really kind of reflect over the holidays. And I feel like this is when things start to really sink in, like all the quote damage that we think we did, especially when it comes to our health and fitness. We're bloated, we feel out of shape. We've gained so much weight, yada, yada, yada. You guys know what I'm talking about. I feel like this is really when the negative self-talk starts to arise and we feel bad about our bodies and we're talking bad about our bodies and we're thinking all these negative things. And so this is why in today's episode I wanted to kind of give you five steps on how to deal with that negative self-talk.
But before we dive in, I wanted to share this review comes from Mikayla Lack 16. She gave a five star review and said, Love, love, love. I absolutely love this podcast. I struggled with my body image and weight for pretty much my whole adolescent and adult life. I found Julie on TikTok and I started doing some of the workouts and eventually joined a movement with Julie and started listening to the podcast. Julie's so uplifting, but it's also real and practical advice, not just for health, but life in general. Thank you for all that you do. I am so grateful that you found me on TikTok. We've got Pinterest. We've got TikTok. TikTok is another place that I have just been able to connect with so many incredible women every single day. So thank you, guys. Shout out to my TikTok crew. I love you guys. You're amazing. And I'm also just so grateful that you are listening to the podcast, that you're honoring your body through utilizing the movement with Julie workouts... Like I am just so proud of you. Keep it up. Cannot wait to see what happens in 2023 and where you are by the end of this year.
Okay, so let's dive into the five steps to overcoming that negative self-talk about the holiday season, about your holiday body, all of that.
Number one, it's really important to acknowledge your thoughts without judgment. So many times we hear that we need to get rid of our self-talk. Well, yes, that's true. It's really going to be hard to get rid of all of it. And there's still going to be times where it pops up from time to time. Right. And what's important is that we know how to properly deal with those thoughts when they do arise.
And this is why we need to learn how to acknowledge our thoughts without judgment. Right. It's important to pay attention to what you're thinking. And this means when something comes up, you're taking a moment to notice your thoughts as they arise without trying to change or suppress them. Instead, really try to listen to yourself and really hear what you're saying to yourself. Which leads me to number two.
Once you hear what you're saying to yourself, it's important that you respond to your thoughts with compassion. So instead of judging or criticizing your thoughts, I need you to try to respond to them with kindness and understanding. This could even involve acknowledging that your thoughts are a normal part of the human experience and reminding yourself that everyone has negative thoughts from time to time.
But number three, when these thoughts arise, you should also try looking at them from outside of your perspective. So imagine that you're sitting down with your best friend who's telling you, "Oh my gosh, I did X, Y and Z. I feel so fat. I am so fat." How would you respond to that? If you're sitting at a coffee and your girlfriend just keeps going off on this, you would not agree with them. You would say, "no, you don't", "no, you aren't".
You would respond to them by telling them they're beautiful or "Oh my gosh, girl, what are you thinking? Like, you're crazy" right? So in the same way that we respond to the people that we love when they say these things, we say, absolutely not. You might feel like that, but that's not how you are. You might be thinking that, but that's not who you are. You have to respond to yourself the way that you would respond to your best friend or your loved one. With compassion, with just a different perspective. Right. And I know that it's hard to get outside of our own head. It really is. But it's so important. Like I think I've talked about this before, but the thoughts that go through my mind sometimes when they come up, I immediately ask myself, "Would I ever say that to my seven year old niece?" And 9.999999999 times out of ten? It's absolutely not. I would not say that to her. And if I cannot and will not and would never say that to her, then why am I being so harsh to myself? Why am I saying these things to myself?
Or if you're a mom and you have a daughter, would you ever sit and stare at your daughter and say, "You're so fat, look at you, you're such a bum. Look at you." No. You love your daughter so much, that would break your heart.
And so why are you so harsh on yourself?
We need to think about that. And it's honestly always a gut punch. Every single time I find myself thinking these negative things, I really try to measure it and ask myself that question. And, you know, 9.999 times out of ten, I'm like, oh, my gosh, I would never say that. Why am I saying that to myself? And so it's important that you remember that.
Number four, remind yourself that just because you might think these things, that actually doesn't mean that they're true. You have to remember that our thoughts are not the reality. Let me say that again. Our thoughts are not the reality. I know someone needs to hear that. I know I need to hear that on a regular basis. And so I'm really trying to do the best that I can, or everyone makes mistakes or I know that I'm not the only one who overindulged over the holidays and really try to switch the perspective and say, you know, I might have missed, you know, a week of workouts or a month of workouts, but I had some awesome memories and really try to redirect those thoughts and and look at it from a different perspective and acknowledge. Yes, acknowledge the things that you could have done differently. Yes. Acknowledge maybe there were times that you, you know, totally, completely just skipped out on everything and you really could have done better. That's okay. I think it's important to have honest criticism in our life, but you have to remember that everyone has flaws, everyone makes mistakes, you're human. And instead of dwelling on your flaws, instead of dwelling on the mistakes, really try to focus on what you learned, focus on the memories and focus on what you can improve on in the future.
So let me recap those five things. Number one, acknowledge your thoughts without judgment. Number two, once you hear what you're saying to yourself, really try to respond to your thoughts with compassion. Three. When those thoughts arise, really try to look at them from an outside perspective. Number four, remind yourself that just because you're thinking these things, that actually does not mean that they are true. And lastly, number five, respond to yourself with understanding.
If you love this episode, I know you also love episode 212. "My thoughts on Body Acceptance." I think many of us think it's impossible to accept our bodies the way that they are because we don't actually know what body acceptance actually looks like. And so that's why I do a deep dive into body acceptance in episode 212. I will link it in the show notes that you can easily go, listen, if you have a friend, a coworker or sister or someone in your life that you feel like could really benefit from this specific episode or this podcast in general, I just ask that you share it out with them. Also, if you haven't already left a rating interview, you can scooch over to Apple Podcasts and type in Embrace Your Real.
First, make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. It's that plus sign in the top right corner. And lastly, once you're on that page, if you could scroll down and leave a rating interview, it would absolutely mean the world to me and my team. We love hearing from you. I would love to hear your aha moments or how this podcast is helping you in any way. So you can again go to Apple Podcasts, type in, Embrace Your Real, make sure you subscribed and then leave a rating interview. It really does. Bless us. Thank you in advance. I love you so much. I mean it. And I'll talk to you in the next few minutes.
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 lot better. 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 the real because you're worth it.