The #1 Happiness Mistake Most Women Make
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Have you ever put off your happiness, thinking you'll finally feel joy when you achieve that next big goal? Let's talk about why this common trap might be holding you back from truly enjoying life.
In this episode of Embrace Your Real, we’re diving deep into why so many women delay their happiness, chasing after unrealistic goals.
We’ll also discuss how to embrace your awesome self, find joy in the little things, and set achievable goals that actually make you happy. Learn to shift your mindset, savor life’s simple pleasures, and celebrate every small win along the way. Together, we’ll create habits that bring more joy into your day and help you feel genuinely fulfilled.
I also discuss:
(00:00) Finding Happiness in the Present
(02:28) Embracing Imperfection for Happiness
(09:27) Embracing Authenticity for True Beauty
and more!
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Transcript:
[00:00:00] 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 a real. Let's get it. Let's go. You. [00:00:23]
[00:00:33] Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Podcast. Today's bonus episode. We are talking all about the number one happiness mistake that most women make. And I think that it's it's oh my gosh, this is the thing that I hear all the time is I will be happy when I will be happy, when I lose the weight, I'll be happy when I get the job. I'll be happy when I make more money. I'll be happy when I buy the house, when I get engaged, when I have a kid, when I do this, when I go there, when, when, when, when, when. And this list goes on and on and on. It's an endless cycle of deferred happiness tied to these future achievements or milestones. But really, the unfortunate truth about life is that there is no magical point of arrival when it comes to happiness. Like you're never going to find that moment in your life where you can say, I am here. I can be happy now, forever, and I'm never not going to be happy. And this means that you are really, you know, you're delaying yourself from being happy along the way, and you're never going to experience what it actually feels like to be happy. And I don't want that for you. I don't want you to feel like you're never going to be able to experience happiness along the way. I want you to let go of this notion that happiness is there and instead find happiness here. And so how do you find and how do you be happy in the process of getting to where you want to be? That's what we're going to be talking about in today's episode. And really, no matter the goal that you're trying to reach, the adversity that you're facing, the struggles that you're, you know, now working to overcome and the solutions that you're looking for, you can still be happy right now. You can and should be happy right now. Happiness does not have any prerequisites, right? It's not something that lies in the future. It's not contingent on certain conditions being met. It's something that you can experience right now if you make the conscious choice to look at your life, life through fresh eyes, through a fresh lens. And so here are kind of some ways to start experiencing happiness right now. Number one, you have to embrace imperfection. Life is inherently unpredictable. It's imperfect and waiting for everything to be perfect before allowing yourself to be happy is a recipe for perpetual dissatisfaction. Instead, you have to learn to accept and appreciate the imperfections in your life so that you can experience happiness right now, right? One of the most important things about imperfections is that mistakes and setbacks are a natural part of life. And so instead of viewing them as failures, you have to see them as opportunities to learn and grow. And this shift in perspective can reduce stress and increase your resilience. Another kind of important thing about imperfection is that we are all imperfect. No one on this earth is perfect, and I think that it's easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, especially in this day and age in social media. But remember that every single person's journey is unique, and what you see online is oftentimes this curated highlight reel. So I want you to focus on your own progress, celebrate your own achievements, no matter how small they seem. Number two, I want you to create glimmers of joy in your everyday life. So, for example, you've built maybe this small routine that has brought you kind of a taste of happiness. How you start your routine and how you start your day can really set the tone for the rest of the day or the rest of your week. And so I want you to do something that makes you feel good, whether that's enjoying a cup of coffee, whether that's stretching, whether that's praying, whether that's journaling, listening to music, going for a walk, spending moments of quietness and stillness, whatever it is, and however short it is, or however long it is, really savor that moment and feel the joy that is within that moment. I also don't want you to forget to really savor the small glimmers of happiness throughout your day. So enjoying the taste of that favorite snack, or honoring your body with movement outside or inside, enjoying that feeling of a warm shower or a hot bath, or the good conversation with a loved one. Those are little moments throughout your day, little pockets throughout your day I want you to pay attention to. And those are little things that add up and they create this greater sense of overall happiness. And most importantly, I want you to take the time to do the things that you love, like the bigger things that you love. Make time for hobbies and activities that truly bring you joy, whether that's painting or hiking or dancing, or just engaging in activities that can provide this sense of fulfillment and happiness. Number three set small, realistic goals. So it's super important, yes, to have these big aspirations. But you also need to make sure that you're breaking them down into these small, realistic and achievable and attainable goals. When you break them down into these small, manageable steps and celebrate your progress along the way, it's easier to feel the sense of a complete. That brings you the greater feeling of happiness, right? This approach really helps you to stay motivated and enjoy the journey, rather than fixating solely on the end result. When you can stop fixating on solely that end result, you realize you don't have to wait to experience happiness. I actually did an entire podcast episode on this. If you want to learn more, it's kind of an OG episode. Episode 86 seven Steps to Setting and Actually Achieving and Reaching Your Goals. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes so that you can easily go check that out, but that's going to be super helpful for you in terms of just setting these small, realistic goals. And last but not least, gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. When you are able to acknowledge the blessings and the blessings upon blessings, upon blessings in your life, you realize that you have so much more than maybe you initially thought. Because here's the thing it is so easy to focus on what isn't good and what is causing us unhappiness. And that's why it needs to be a daily practice to focus on what is good and what you are grateful for in that moment. Because here's the thing it is impossible to be unhappy when you realize all the things that you have to be grateful for. When you are grateful, you realize you don't need to lose the weight. You don't need to get that job. You don't need to make more money or buy the house. Get engaged. Whatever it is that you think you need to make you more happy. When you have gratitude in your life and you recognize all the many blessings that you have in your life, you realize how quickly those other things fade away, right? Yes, you can still want other things, but not having them yet doesn't take away from the happiness that your experience and can experience right now. For all of the beautiful things that you already have in your life. So I want to challenge you. And this is something that I will share an episode that I do kind of like a whole breakdown on my gratitude practice, but I want to challenge you to write down, at very minimum, three things that you are grateful for every single day, every single day. Write it down, state them out loud. And I want this to be a daily habitual practice. This practice will really help you to shift your focus from what you're lacking to what you already have, which can create a sense of contentment and appreciation. Like I said, I did an entire episode on this. It's episode 192 The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice. So I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below. If you are wanting to learn more. Just about gratitude in general, I again, it's going to be a game changer for you if you haven't already done it. Or maybe you did, and then you kind of got out of the practice of it. I want to encourage you to get back into the practice of it, because it can be a total game changer. All right. So let me kind of sum up what I talked about. Happiness is not a destination to be reached at some future point. It's a journey. It's a way of being in the moment and cultivating this present moment mentality, letting go of the notion that unhappiness is really letting go, of the notion that happiness is found there, and instead choosing to find it here. That's going to help you open up yourself to a richer, more fulfilling life. And remember to look at your life through fresh eyes. Embrace the present moment. Cultivate joy in everyday experiences. And when you do, you will open yourself up to the most beautiful, happy and fulfilled life again. The two episodes that I mentioned in today's episode, episode 86 seven Steps to Setting and Actually Achieving Your Goals, as well as episode 192 The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice. I will link both of those in the show notes below, but I hope that you found this helpful. I hope that this was just the encouragement that you needed. Maybe you're struggling with just finding joy. I guess I want that for you. I want you to find joy. I want you to find contentment in your life, and I know that you can when you are focused on the right things. I love you so dang much. I made it, and I'll talk to you in the next one. [00:09:15]
[00:09:23] I love you to 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 within 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. [00:09:57]
[00:09:57] With one last thought. [00:09:58]
[00:09:59] 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 real because you're worth it if you. [00:09:59]