You Do You: Why You’re the Real Authority on Your Wellbeing

In our last post we explored how the ropes and nots of limiting beliefs can hold you back from reaching your personal goals. Let’s build on that topic and talk about why it’s so important that you do you. With all the hype about diet and exercise, it’s easy to defer your genius extraordinaire (aka inner wisdom) to experts who supposedly ‘know better’.

It’s completely understandable to value advice from others about the best way to lose weight, feel great and get the body you've always wanted. Where it gets tricky is when you stop synthesizing and digesting the chatter in your news feed and react like a bee to honey. Information overload can lead to confusion and even the dreaded analysis paralysis. Our genius extraordinaire doesn’t bode well with the cold shoulder. When silenced she often makes her voice heard through symptoms like unwanted weight, emotional eating and digestive distress.

Hi, I’m Jenn and I’m a Physical Procrastinator

Symptoms aside, there’s an even greater risk to treading on the bleeding edge of wellness. We can get so wrapped up in the life we expect to live instead of the life we expect to love. It happened to me. I was so tightly bound, even Harry Houdini wouldn't know how to set me free.

Our super-human exercise culture made it easy for me to prioritize my gym schedule over my bucket list. I was lured by the rush, the challenge, and the feel-good chemistry often promised by intense cardio. Not only was stress still waiting for me in the locker room, so was the likelihood that the next day would be much the same as the last.

Sometimes the Universe delivers a wakeup call like a swift kick in the barera (my Aunt Biddie’s word for bum, buttocks, booty, arse). For me, the blow came about seven years ago as I anxiously awaited results from a bevy of neurological tests to find out if I had Multiple Sclerosis. At the time I suffered from relentless back and crippling body pain. As I flipped through old photo albums of past accomplishments and faded smiles I started to mourn my potentially premature death.

The possible diagnosis reminded me of a close childhood friend, Missy, who passed away in her twenties from the disease. A rock star athlete, she found herself confined to a wheelchair until her ultimate passing. Through tearful eyes and heart clenching fear neither a promise nor an apology were left unsaid as I pleaded with the Universe in fear of too few tomorrows.

Thankfully the Universe cashed in those promises in exchange for an all clear diagnosis. With a deep sigh of relief and heaps of gratitude it was time to knock my ever demanding workout regimen off its pedestal with my newfound perspective. I traded in my personal best on the treadmill for a new set of accomplishments that keep going just like the Energizer Bunny:

Resigned from my uberly stressful job as a management consultant
Circumnavigated the globe solo (yaaass, 18 countries + a few repeats)
Taught English in Thailand
Moved from Miami to Los Angeles (with relo paid, bam!)
Broke into the entertainment industry without an inside hookup
Started my own business

I can't lie. The first step was a doozy, like free falling off a cliff. As with anything new it took some practice to stay true to my dreams, and with that practice the newness of change became less scary and part of my daily routine. So let’s save you a night of tears sprawled out in a sea of photo albums on your living room floor, shall we?

Give Your Mind and Body the Floor: Can We Get a Mic Check Please?

The point of this spiel isn’t to make you feel less than or sounds great but I could never do anything like that. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what’s on your bucket list as long as it’s YOURS. And let’s not get ahead of ourselves with designing tomorrow when we’re not sure what’s going on today.

First, let's listen to what your guru extraordinaire has to say. It's part of the Embodhied Philosophy. Embodhied is a single-word mantra that's more than a mission or vision. It's a way of living: Be in the body and awaken the mind to enlightenment. Because there's more to life than diet and exercise, and more to who we are as eaters than what we put in our mouth.

Feel resistant? Then consider yourself double-dog dared. Why the ultimate challenge? Because your resistance speaks volumes. What can I say, I wouldn't be a very good coach if I didn't point that out.

Mind-Body Exercise: Amplify Your Inner Guru Extraordinaire

Level: All levels
Equipment: Pen and paper
Reps: Two Letters
Letter #1: Write a letter to your Self from your Body
Letter #2: Write a letter to your Body from your Self
Muscles Worked: Your intuition and body wisdom
Proper Form: Find a quiet and comfortable position for at least 20-30 minutes. Be honest, write without judgement and give yourself permission to be uncensored. Short, long, statements or paragraphs. It doesn’t matter.
Tips: No matter what you find, be curious, gentle and accepting of yourself. It never feels good when someone regrets divulging a secret to their BFF and this is kind of the same thing. Your handwriting might look different between letters as may your tone or choice of words. Whatever it is, it’s you and exactly what you need to hear.
Tough Love: Now get that pen and give me two! I know your type, I used to be you.
Elevate Your Experience: Read each letter aloud to yourself.

Cooldown: Take three deep breaths and immerse yourself in gratitude for ‘going there’. Most importantly, listen to what you heard. Be open to changes that came up or reinforce the positivities that your letters revealed.

I’m Dying To Know What Happened, Please Share

I promise, no crickets, I’ll personally respond to each and every post. If you prefer phone chats over online chats, remember there are free Clarity Calls in July when you join our mailing list. No matter how we talk, let's connect.