Self Improvement Daily Podcast

Josh Perry has a special past that involves a stint as a professional BMX athlete, multiple brain tumors, and now a career in health and wellness coaching. Josh has undergone an unbelievable transformation from then to get to where he is now, and in the interview I asked him the one piece of advice he would give to someone else looking to make their own life shift.

Finding purpose is powerful, but it’s not only about finding your one purpose in life, but also finding purpose in the small tasks you’re doing. As long as you are satisfied with the results you’re generating and the contributions you’re making, that’s a life worth pursuing and a life with purpose.

Why is it that we lose sight of the beauty that is our own uniqueness? We are all capable of our own unique contribution to this world, yet we find ourselves regressing to the mean and finding ways to meet the expectations of others.  We can live our lives convincing ourselves that we want what someone else has, when in reality it’s probably not the best fit for you because you’re a different person. That’s a sad situation to deal with due to the fact that you’ll never be able to realize your full individual potential.  

This reminds me of a Dr. Seuss quote, “Today you are you, that is truer than true, there is no one alive that is youer than you.”  Our uniqueness should be welcomed and appreciated, not only out of acceptance for who we are, but for that intangible quality that only we have to offer.  Coming from diverse backgrounds, with varying world views and independent perspectives, no two people are the same and no one sees the same situation like you do.  That is your superpower!

Remember that classic senior quote, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”  It just goes to show that we’ve been hearing about this our whole lives, and it’s time we took a step back to really internalize that.  Believing in our hearts that we have a purpose and a role in this world no one else can fill, is enough motivation to get up and do something about it. I encourage you to celebrate yourself, everything you are, and everything you have to offer.

Sexuality is a very important part of our lives that deserves open discussion just like anything else.This message is delivered by Julianne Vacarro, a woman pioneering this new wave of sexual acceptance, and while her message is catered for women, but it’s also a lesson for anyone.

Julianne’s highlights that sex and sexuality is a very natural and effective mechanism for personal expression, and if we don’t allow ourselves to tap into that, then we aren’t allowing ourselves to show up fully in everything else we do.

I must preface this subject by saying I am no expert, and it’s necessary to acknowledge that because it is a very important issue that often requires professional help. It’s about processing serious negative emotions.

We all have them and in one way or another can relate. Whether that emotion is anger, sadness, embarrassment, or shame, you must get yourself out of that negative thought pattern to move through it. One thing I am trying to learn more about is the role of gratitude in this situation. All pain and suffering is relative to others, and if we take a position of gratitude, it can discredit the emotions we are feeling because we are trying to compare them to someone else’s. But, be careful because this added perspective could be more of a defense mechanism than true emotional processing. It is okay to embrace your feelings even though you know others may have it worse. Try not to reject the way that you feel because you are trying to add perspective to your situation. In my opinion, there is a time and place for different phases in this recovery process, and gratitude definitely plays a role, but not at the expense of allowing yourself to feel the emotion.

There is no general technique that works for all people. Each episode is unique to the individual and their environment. Some recommendations include a combination of catharsis (or a large emotional release), self-love, and perspective, others involve intentional introspection and identification. What’s important is to give yourself the space and resources to feel better. Our mental health is very important and we need to be more okay having that conversation in all areas of our lives. And there is zero shame in seeking professional help, I’ve done it myself. 

Lean into the process that feels right for you and restore trust in yourself that you are capable of finding your center, whatever that might be or mean!

Let’s talk diet! And there’s no one better to talk about it with than Ms. Gina B. Gina is a sought after dietitian, public speaker, and body health expert. This message is something we can all relate to. Gina shares 3 things that can help us decide what to do when we are faced with head hunger.

This thought applies beyond weight loss, and more generally into healthy life choices. Now that we know what head hunger is, we can be more careful to not let it influence our eating habits. Gina’s 3 step process is fast, emotional, and craving.

I did it! Another 30 day challenge complete. This one was about self-love, and the challenge was to write three things you like about yourself every day for 30 consecutive days.  

My experience was interesting, and just to preface it all, not as ground-shifting or life-changing as you’d expect. But, it could be great for you, and that’s exactly why I want to share about it! To start, I wrote down things that were really generic. “I like my routines”, “I like my work ethic”, “I like my enthusiasm”. Although it made me feel good, it wasn’t anything I wasn’t already aware of. Over time, it got narrower in scope, and what I noticed was, it turned into an opportunity to reflect on the previous day and the characteristic traits I displayed that I was proud of. It served as an interesting combination of gratitude and self-acknowledgement all wrapped into one. “I like how I handle rejection”, “I like how I make time for calls”, “I like how I am in the habit of reading before bed”.

One thing I wish I did differently is I wish I focused more on the physical parts of myself. I think that could have been a really helpful part of the exercise because that is often where people, including myself, fail to do the work and reflect.

At the end of the 30 days, I went through all of the nice things I wrote down about myself, and it did make for a heart-warming moment because the validation behind 90 compliments is hard to deny.

Again, this wasn’t life-changing for me, although I did enjoy it. I’m not jumping to start all over again, but I will consider doing it once a year moving forward. This could be exactly what you’re looking for, and by taking two minutes a day to appreciate yourself, you might come upon a whole new version of you that you were refusing to acknowledge.

“Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try”. Do we know why this is? It’s because every thing that happens once started as nothing. It started as zero. Everything in life requires a first step which leads to inertia and building into a steady momentum.  

Every accomplishment starts with a beginning, but what about the rest? When is it that we make the decision try? To me it happens in two different settings.

The first setting is pretty obvious. It’s at the origin, or the start.  We make some decisions that takes us from inaction to action, and that transition is the decision to try.  The second setting is a bit more overlooked, and even more interesting.  It’s the moment when we fully commit . How many times have we started something and then not backed it up with our actions? Those are the situations where we’re convincing ourselves we’re trying, but we really haven’t started trying yet. Great things can’t happen until you commit to the result you want.

This thought pairs really well with a quote I learned from my mentor, Mike Sherbakov, taken from the novel, As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen. Allen stated,“The greatest achievement was at first, for a time, a dream”.  So, that’s the start. Identifying the dream and what you want to achieve, so you can turn that dream into a reality. “Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try”. Go all in on that dream and make it happen! Knowing that we have the power to turn our dreams into a reality is definitely something worth smiling about!

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a time when you were in physical pain? It was a pretty bad memory right? It might have been so significant that you still carry trauma from that event. Well, perhaps we can begin to look at pain from a different angle. Dr. Jen Esquer, a doctor in physical therapist and body health expert was recently featured in a Self Improvement Sit Down, and had this to say on the topic.

While Jen focused on the value of physical pain, the same thought applies to emotional pain. The fact that something hurt you means that you need to take note of the event. Pain is your body’s way of communicating that you should avoid whatever happened to cause it, whether that’s physical or emotional. Let’s be grateful for those signals so that we can continue to optimize our beliefs, behaviors, and processes as we experiment with what works for us in our lives.

I was camping with my girlfriend and some friends and we were working on packing everything up. I received directions from one person that I then needed to relay to another person, and when I had successfully done that I took a moment to think about what had just happened. I can’t remember all of the specifics, but it had something to do with packing the car and the order of events we were about to take. The communication was completely impromptu, not prepared at all, but very effective.

A few things I did in that communication,was I catered the message to be most pertinent to the receiver. I also gave them a reason why what I was about to tell them was important. I answered their follow up questions before they needed to ask it, and I shared a clear plan that they felt comfortable moving forward in their role.

The things I just listed, I didn’t think about them. I didn’t brainstorm the different elements I wanted to include in the message and think it through. It all came out naturally as part of the way I communicate, which I believe comes from years of leadership experience.

Taking that moment to step back and realize the nuances of my own communication style was really rewarding. Not only was it validating to see the progress I’ve made and my skill in practice, but it gave me a renewed confidence to be assertive in similar future situations. And the best part is it all happened subconsciously!