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Carvana is in the business of driving you happy, and with the widest selection of used cars under $20,000, you're bound to find a car that'll put a smile on your face. They even offer customizable financing so you can plan your down and monthly payments to shop thousands of affordable vehicles 100% online. Download the app or visit carvana.com. Availability may vary by market. It is the last episode. Of 2021. I feel. Emotional. In a good way. Like, what a great year we had. What a great ******* year. We spent a lot of time together. We we talked about a lot, we discussed a lot. I overshared. Week after week. About my life and my life experiences and you guys showed up and you listened and you hung out with me. And. It was truly a great year and I'm very grateful for all of you that. Listened throughout this year, even if this is the first episode of Anything goes that you've ever listened to. You're still a part of what made this year great. So thank you. I really appreciate all of you guys and your support. This year it means the world to me and it is so crazy that. This podcast has become what it's become, and I am. So grateful that I could. Just punch a wall in a good way. You know that feeling when you're like, ah, I'm like so. Happy about this. That I almost want to, like, be violent for some reason. Like that's how I feel. So anyway, I'm just so grateful and I just had to start this episode off by giving you all a big thank you. So because this is the last episode of 2021. I thought it was appropriate to make this episode about. Going into the new year. How we can make 2022? A great year. Because. I'm ready for a solid year, and I know some of you might be saying, Emma, please shut the **** **. You're going to jinx it. And now 2022 is going to be disgusting and terrible because you're jinxing it. And that's bad luck. But I really you know what? I don't mess with all that anymore. Because. We need to start manifesting in planning and being proactive. Now. In mid-december. So that this next year can be incredible because I think we need to put a little bit of extra work in because of what we've been through this year with pandemic and. Social media algorithms becoming even more addictive than they've ever been before and. The world seeming to be crumbling every day. More and more in different assorted ways, like I feel like we need to. Be more proactive now than we ever have before to make next year a great year. You know, for ourselves personally what happens on a world level. Is out of our control, but there are things that we can do to make next year really. Awesome. I think we just need to try a little bit harder than we ever have before. And that's why this is the first year. Possibly in my life that I am actually making New Year's resolutions. I never ever have believed in New Year's resolutions because. My mindset has always been. You know, if I want to change something, I'll change it. In the moment that I decide that something needs to be changed, if that makes sense, like why wait, right? Well. This year something dawned on me. Uh, when it comes to New Year's resolutions and it's that. New Year's resolutions don't have to be. Necessarily something that you've been wanting to change for a while? The the. Act of creating New Year's resolutions forces you to think about all the different ways that you could make your life better. And. You might not normally have that thought otherwise. Does that make sense? Oh my God, me saying does that make sense? Just reminded me of. Someone tweeted me or wrote in my podcast reviews and was like, can you stop saying, does that make sense? And you know what I mean. And so now I'm very conscious of when I say that. But also. I can't help it. Like, those are my filler words of choice. And like, I just, it's unavoidable. I'm just going to continue to say, does that make sense? And you know what I mean after everything that I say, because it is such a habit and it's so ingrained into my DNA that I can't stop anyway. In life, it's so easy to fall into a routine and become kind of complacent with the way that things are, but when New Year's comes around. And it's time to make resolutions. And the simple act of trying to make New Year's resolutions for yourself. Can help you discover. Things in your life that you want to change. You see them saying. **** I said that again. *** **** it. OK anyway. So this year I'm doing New Year's resolutions. This year I am doing them for the first time in my life. So let me go through what my New Year's resolutions are this year. OK, #1I? Want to continue cooking, but I want. To cook at least two new recipes every week. Like completely new recipes that I've never cooked before. Twice a week. I don't know. I really want to be good at cooking. Like, that's something I really want to be good at, and over this past year I cooked quite a bit. But not that. Seriously. Next year I want to really get into cooking and really. Grow my skill set. And there's no better way to do that than to cook new recipes, so. Two new recipes a week next. I want to exercise in nature more. Because. When I exercise, I usually exercise indoors, which is so weird. I used to go on runs outside, but then I kind of stopped doing that because I kept getting scared that I was going to get hit by a car because I was running on the sidewalk and it just, like, wasn't safe. So I started exercising at the gym or in workout classes once those things opened back up. And. I enjoy those things. But. I really want to get into going on more hikes, going on more runs outside. Maybe even doing yoga outside stuff like that, because I think that. That would make exercise even more beneficial for me because exercise is good for you because it helps you release. Endorphins in your body which make you feel good but also it helps keep your body healthy so that you can. Feel more energized throughout your day and you don't get tired from as much stuff. It helps you go to sleep at night because when you expend all that energy exercising, it helps you fall asleep at night. There are so many benefits to exercise. It even helps. I have IBS. Irritable bowel syndrome and exercising helps with my stomach pain. From that, you know, like there are infinite. Infinite benefits to exercise, but it would be even more beneficial and even better. If I would go outside to exercise. Because then I'd also be getting my daily fresh air at the same time, so exercising outdoors is another one. Another resolution I have is that I want to scale back. How much stuff that I own like? I want to get rid of a bunch of clothes. I want to get rid of the stuff that I've been holding on to for years. I wanna do a big clean out in the beginning of 2022. I'm talking about massive. I'm talking about. Insanity. I'm talking about bags and bags and bags full of clothes I want to be left with. Only. A little bit of clothes I don't wanna be left with. A closet packed full of clothes after my closet clean out. I wanna have nothing left. I mean, not nothing left, but I I want to get rid of. A lot and. I kind of want to keep it that way. I want to have more of a minimalist approach, not really because minimalist is kind of extreme, but. Let's say there's a spectrum from minimalist. To. Maximalist when it comes to. Material items that you own. On that scale, I want to lean more towards the minimalist side. I'm not going to be a full minimalist, OK? Where I only have one shirt and one pair of jeans and one pair of shoes. It's unrealistic for me, but I want to really scale back the stuff that I own because I feel like the amount of clutter I have in my life from. All of the shopping that I do and all of the things that I've accumulated over the years. It makes me anxious. Having all of this stuff in my environment makes me anxious and makes me feel overwhelmed and I want to really, really. Change that this year because I've, you know, kind of tried to change it. I've tried to do little closet cleanouts, but I've never taken it that seriously. And my execution on cleaning out my closet. And the rest of my belongings has never been thorough enough. I've never really worked hard enough at it. And so this year I'm going to make that a priority, to clean out my closet, clean out all of the **** that I own. And then after I cleaned it out, leave it that way, OK, that is a huge goal for me. Next I want to lower my phone usage in computer usage even more. I. Have improved a lot on the frequency in which I use my phone and recently I deleted my entire tick tock account. I deleted the app a few months back so that I wouldn't be tempted to ever go on it again, but I decided I wanted to be as far away from that app as possible due to its addictive and scary qualities. And toxic qualities. And so I deleted the whole app. And my whole account. Yesterday and it felt so good. And I deleted Snapchat. I deleted. That's it. I have all the other ones. But I want to lower my phone usage even more because I'm doing pretty good. You know, my screen time is like 5 hours a day. That's not too bad. But I want to lower it even more, like I want to lower it to like 2 1/2 hours a day. I don't know if that's realistic. But that would be great. And listen, I still am going to enjoy using social media apps. And I'm still going to enjoy, you know, using the features that my phone has to offer. But I want to continue to. Cut it back. And use it as minimal. I can per day because. Honestly cutting back your phone usage. Is one of the best things that you can do for your mental state, truly. And. I stand by that. So. I'm really going to be cutting back on that screen time. Hopefully we'll see. We'll see what I can do. I made my goal 2 1/2 hours per day and I know I'm not going to get there immediately, but I want to slowly peel back. Minutes every day until I reach. A screen time of two hours and 30 minutes a day? We'll see. If it's possible. I'll try. And last but not least I. Really, really need to stop being so mean to myself all the time because. I love being mean to myself. It is where I feel most comfortable and I've found. This out through some self discovery like. I am such a bully to myself constantly. I am constantly saying mean and negative things towards myself and I. Asked myself why? And. The reason why I'm so mean to myself is because it's a defense mechanism, right? Like if I'm mean to myself. Constantly, then, when anyone else tries to say something mean to me. It won't matter because I'm already meaner to myself, so nothing that anyone can say is meaner than what I say to myself and. Listen. This may be an effective defense mechanism, but let me tell you, it makes me miserable and. Because they became aware recently. Of this habit. That I made of being really mean to myself. I think that. Over 2022. Because I'm aware of this, I can work on. Changing the way that I speak to myself and being more kind and more forgiving to myself. In treating myself like I'm my own friend rather than I'm my own worst enemy, so that's another thing I'm going to be working on. I also want to read more books. I'd like to read a book a month this year. That's something that I think I can accomplish. If it was anymore than that, I would get overwhelmed. But one book a month because books. Really? Really. Enhance your life. They're relaxing and they're entertaining, but they also. Help grow your vocabulary. Help grow your knowledge about stuff. There's pretty much no negative side effects to reading and. I'm reading a lot of classic books and I want to continue to read classic books this year, because although new books and stuff like that can be awesome, my dad told me that I should start by reading. A bunch of classic books, because that will. Kind of show me what a good book is, right? And also. It'll teach me how to read more difficult styles of books and then from there once I get. Really good at reading, right? Then I can expand and start reading other things. But he did recommend that I start out with classic books, so. There's that, and those are my New Year's resolutions. If you don't have any and you're like. I don't know what to do. Steal some of mine? Steal some of mine? The thing about New Year's resolutions is that. It's easy to put everything down on paper and say, oh, this is what I'm going to do this year. But it's a whole nother thing to actually execute them. And so the key to creating a New Year's resolution, that's actually going to last. Is to #1, not make it. Extremely difficult. Like, make it something that's approachable and relatively simple. Like reading one book per month? That's not that hard. You know, even if I just read a short book. Reading one book per month is something that I can. Digest like that's it. That's a concept that I can digest. Reading five books a month is something I cannot digest. That would be a stretch. That would be a chore you know it's about. Making New Year's resolutions that aren't an impossible chore. And the other way to look at New Year's resolutions is instead of, you know, being super regimented with yourself and super strict with yourself about accomplishing these resolutions, look at it in a way like I'm just planting the seed in my own brain. And if I fail? It's not that big of a deal, I'm just going to do my best at accomplishing these resolutions and. Even if I don't succeed. In the way that I imagined I would. Just by attempting. To. Work on these New Year's resolutions left me in a better spot than I would have been otherwise, for example. Let's use. My resolution about cooking. For example, let's say I only end up cooking 2 new recipes per month instead of two new recipes per week because I just couldn't handle doing 2 new recipes per week. OK, well, even though I didn't perfectly accomplish my New Year's resolution. I ended up in a better spot than I would have been otherwise because I still was cooking new recipes. Maybe not as frequently as I had planned or wanted to, but I still did it a little bit and. That still helped me learn more about cooking, and I still know more about cooking than I would if I wasn't cooking those two new recipes per month. And would I have maybe known more if I would have cooked 2 new recipes per week? Maybe, but that wasn't feasible. And so. I found something that I could do which is 2 per month. And that's OK, it's about. Being easy on yourself and adjusting your resolutions throughout the year. To make them doable for you. And not taking it that seriously. I think when you take it too seriously, that's actually when it ends up failing, when you just think of New Year's resolutions as something to hold in the back of your head. And apply when you feel necessary and when you have the energy to do so. And if it doesn't workout, it doesn't workout. And that's OK. You're actually more likely to succeed at them and. That's that. OK, so if I were to host a live radio show and I could play any music I wanted. I would honestly probably have the time of my Life OK, but I'll admit I would probably end up playing. Just sad music. I don't know what it is about me, but I love sad music, OK? And so I'd probably end up playing. A lot of sad music. Specifically for the people who are listening in the car by themselves. That want to shed a tear in a good way? 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Somebody said I want to start journaling daily. The thing about. Adding something into your routine daily. Is that? It can easily become a part of your routine. You just have to be disciplined, OK? Set a time every day. Let's say it's after school or after work at 5:00 PM. Set a time every day that you're going to journal and put an alarm on your phone that says Journal at 5:00 PM. And just start. Doing it every day at that time. I think that the key to making something a part of your daily routine is to do it every day at the same time for a month straight. And then after that you're good. Like it's going to be a part of your routine. You're not even going to need to set an alarm anymore. And you'll be in a really good spot. I recommend that you don't. Take any days off for the first month. Force yourself to do it every single day, even if you don't feel like it. Even if you know you're so tired after school or work and you're just ****** *** and you just want to lay in bed and watch TV and not think about anything, but you also know that you, you know, have to journal at 5:00 PM. And it's ******* you off. You have to journal at 5:00 PM because you don't want to. Force yourself to do it anyway, because you can do it and just write for 5 minutes, you know, just write for 5 minutes, write for two minutes. Just don't. Not do it. That's. That's the key, because I think the problem is. If you give yourself a day off with something like that. It'll just throw you off of the. Routine. You know you got to do it every day for 30 days. And see what happens. And I can almost guarantee you it'll be become a part of your routine. Somebody said. I wanna delete. Snapchat. Delete Snapchat. Delete it right now. Don't even wait until the new year starts. Delete it right now. I am such a strong pusher of deleting apps that no longer serve you. And you know what's crazy is how easy it is to adjust to your life without said app that was toxic in your life. A few months back, I deleted Tik T.O.K off of my phone. And I was really addicted to Tik T.O.K before I deleted it. I was going on Tik T.O.K for three to five hours a day and I didn't even realize that I was doing it. Not only that, but Tik T.O.K has a lot of negativity on it. And so I was seeing all of this negative content. For five hours a day, and yeah, there was some fun stuff on Tik T.O.K. Don't get me wrong, I learned some stuff on Tik T.O.K. I learned a bunch about cooking on Tik T.O.K. I saw funny videos. They made me laugh on Tik T.O.K, but I also saw negative toxic evil videos on Tik T.O.K that made my brain feel like it was rotting through my ears. And I was simply wasting too much time on it because it's so incredibly addictive. That I could not. Remove it. Just a little bit from my routine. I had to cut it out completely from my daily routine because. It was too addictive. I couldn't find a balance with it. You know, it would be great if I just went on Tik T.O.K for 15 minutes a day, but no, you know, I couldn't. Cut it down like I had to. Cut it out completely because. It was far too addictive and far too toxic for me. And I expected it to be tough for me to adjust to my life without Tik T.O.K because I was spending so much time on Tik T.O.K every day. And I was seeing such an influx of information every single day through Tik T.O.K. I had anxiety thinking about what my life would be like without the information that I was getting daily on Tik T.O.K, news flash. I adjusted to my life without Tiktok within a week, and I became so used to not having it after a week that I couldn't even remember what it was like having tick tock on my phone. And I didn't miss it at all. And I was better for it. And more recently, I deleted my whole account so that I never even get tempted to redownload that ****. I'm never. Ever. Ever going to have a tick tock again? Same thing with Snapchat. I deleted my Snapchat account and I deleted the app off my phone because it just wasn't serving me anymore, you know? And it was causing more harm than it was causing good, right? I know that there's fear that you'll be missing out on something if you delete an app. Off your phone, but I can guarantee that that's not the case. You won't miss it. If an app is causing you more harm than it's. Doing good. There's no reason to have it. Now, I still have social media apps on my phone. I have the YouTube app. I have the Pinterest app, I have the Instagram app because those apps. When used properly. Don't. Really bother me. You know, they actually are really helpful for me. I use all of those apps for cooking inspiration, home decor inspiration, fashion inspiration, you know, educational purposes. Like I use all those apps for good and so I don't feel the need to delete them, but. Tick Tock and Snapchat for me were like 2 apps that I just. Hated and they were making me unhappy so I deleted them and you can do the same. And I can guarantee you, you won't be missing out on anything. Somebody said I want to try to eat a vegetable or a fruit daily. This is so great because I used to never eat fruits or vegetables for so long. Like. Probably up until I was like. 15 or 16 I just didn't eat. Fruits or vegetables. It was very rare that I would eat fruits or vegetables. And. It was because. I had trained my taste buds to like not like them. You know what I mean? I kinda. Had trained my body to. Be unfamiliar with fruits and vegetables. And so when I would see them, they didn't look appetizing to me. Like I didn't feel excited about eating fruits or vegetables because my taste buds were. Used to other things, right? But a part of getting older is realizing, oh **** you know, I need to be eating a healthy, balanced diet because. That actually has a lot more to do with my general health than I thought. Oh ****. Umm. I need to add in more. Nutritious foods into my diet. So you have that realization right at some point. Based on my experience when it comes to diversifying the types of foods that you're eating, and especially adding in fruits and vegetables. It can be hard in the beginning because your body's not going to crave fruits or vegetables. When you haven't eaten them in God knows how long, and all of a sudden you're going to try to eat them, you know your body doesn't want them. You don't crave them. They don't sound good to you. And so in the beginning it's really hard to integrate them. But what I found was so useful. Is. To just find ways that fruits and vegetables can taste good to me, OK? I really love roasted brussel sprouts. So like I just think that they taste really good and I always have my whole life. So I started roasting brussel sprouts for myself. Just so that I could have a vegetable in the fridge I started. Learning how to make salads that actually taste good and aren't ******. At restaurants. I would try to order. Meals that have. A lot of vegetables in them because restaurants know what the **** they're doing and know how to make vegetables taste good. So I would use my restaurant experiences as a time for me to eat vegetables. Because they make them taste good. So for me, when I went from not eating any fruits or vegetables to eating fruits or vegetables, the key was to find ways to make them taste good to me. And then. To eat them as often as possible and. Overtime. My body I I can't explain it, but overtime my body. Reprogrammed itself and started to enjoy and crave vegetables and fruits for the first time in my life I've never craved. Or been excited about fruits or vegetables, but now? I act like my my. Body like craves them. It was just hard for the first few months, you know it it it was like. The first few months I was kind of forcing it. I was kind of forcing myself to eat fruits and vegetables. For more like medicinal purposes, I was like, OK, this is just healthy. For me, it was almost like taking a vitamin. But then as I started integrating more fruits and vegetables into my diet and eating them more frequently, over time I started to love them. And then it became easy. It was like, OK, this is actually like, great, like now I finally enjoy them. It just. Took a few months of reprogramming my, you know, body to like vegetables and fruits again, you know, but once I did, it's so rewarding because now. I look forward to these types of foods and. It's easy to have them as a part of my diet, right? I recommend that you make a Pinterest board with recipes. Umm. That are rich in fruits and veggies. And find stuff that looks good, you know, and try to make them or have your mom make them for you, whoever. And even if you're like, oh, I don't wanna cook. Get some carrots in a dip that you like. You know, and eat raw uncooked carrots in a dip that you like. That can be great, you know, like, even just that. There's so many ways that you can do it. You can spice up things like apples and bananas by adding peanut butter on top. You can spice up eating things like berries by drizzling some dark chocolate on top. There's so many ways that you can make fruits and vegetables enjoyable. You just have to, number one, get a little bit creative and #2. Be patient with the fact that your body's not gonna crave them immediately, but overtime your body will learn to love them. Somebody said. I want to get more sleep this year. I think that the best thing. That you can do for sleep because I have really. Really improved my sleep schedule and my sleep patterns this year over 2021. I really fixed my sleep. Situation. And. What I did? Was that? Number one, I stopped going on my phone and computer as much before bed. I still do it sometimes, but. I stopped doing it as much and I will pick up a book instead, or I'll listen to a sleep meditation instead. Because that stuff makes you tired. You know, like reading a book, listening to a sleep meditation with your eyes closed makes you tired. It makes it easier to fall asleep quicker. I also started waking up earlier and I started forcing myself to wake up earlier like I would set an alarm for seven and be like Emma, you're waking up at 7 and that's the end of it, you know? And for a few months I was waking up at 7. Every single day and it was really hard. It was really hard because I was exhausted. But overtime, waking up at 7 became easier and easier, and going to sleep at night at a reasonable hour became easier and easier because. Slowly but surely, my sleep schedule was adjusting to me waking up at 7:00, and then naturally I started to want to go to bed earlier at around 10:30 and. It all fell into place, I think that. The thing that really helped me was waking up earlier and forcing myself to do it, even if it meant that I only got 5 hours of sleep. It was. Necessary because it it was the you know. Thing that trained my body. To wake up earlier. And in. Result of that. Going to bed earlier. It's definitely hard at first. But it gets a lot easier overtime. Clothes are one of the many ways that we express ourselves and we're constantly switching up our wardrobes. To reflect our interests and styles. But one thing that is a little bit more difficult to switch up is our glasses. Until now, because now with pair eyewear. You can have a different frame every day, OK? With pair eyewear, you start with a chic pair of glasses, right? That look great just by themselves, but they have a special secret. Which is that they have at little. Magnet inside so you can snap on. A cool frame on top of your existing glasses. 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Just visitdrinkcircle.com/emma that's drinkcirkul.com/emma to get this limited time offer today. Again, that's drinkcircle.com/emma. Somebody said. I want to be able to let go of things that don't serve me anymore this year. I think the best way to do this and I know that. I do this a lot like this is a piece of advice that I give a lot, but I don't care because it's true. It's so helpful when. Dealing with things in life that are more abstract, for example. Determining what things in life don't serve you anymore, or determining you know what steps you want to take next in your life to make your life even better, or. What you're looking for in a relationship or a friendship, when you're trying to workout things like that that are more abstract, they're more figments of your imagination. It's so helpful to write them down and do a journal or write them down into your phone, notes on your phone, writing things down. Puts them out into the universe and like makes them exist in a tangible way and. It's so incredibly helpful O. I recommend that you go into a notebook, or you go into the notes app of your phone and you write down all of the things that don't serve you anymore in your life. And just by simply doing that. You're really nailing it into your head what things you want to let go of in your life, and it's almost like it's planting a subliminal seed in your brain that's solid in there. Once you write something down. It becomes solid in your head. And it's almost like by writing down what you want to remove from your life that isn't serving you, you're planting a solid seed in your brain that can then sprout and grow overtime. And naturally, you'll be more inclined to remove these things in your life that no longer serve you. Whereas if you just let them stay in your mind and you just let them ruminate in your mind, they're less likely to get done because they're just floating around your mind. They're not rooted in your brain like. When you write something down and it plants a solid seed in your brain, you know thoughts are constantly just floating through our heads freely. And if you want something to become a priority and you want something to be at the front of your mind and be rooted there. You need to make it tangible somehow, and writing in a journal is a great way to do that. Somebody said I want to stop obsessing over men. It's a very broad resolution, but that's basically all that I do. You know, it's funny because I used to do this. I've always done this my whole life. Up until more recently I have always used. Boys as. A huge distraction. Huge distraction. Like, people always thought they're like, wow, Emma is actually quite boy crazy. Like, growing up, I was always kind of what the adults would call boy crazy. And at the time, I didn't understand why. I was like, I don't get why I always have to have a crush on someone. Why? You know, I'm constantly thinking about boys all day, from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. Why? Why? I didn't understand why. But. Within the past year or so, you know, two years even that's kind of stopped. And. I didn't really even notice it stopping, but once it stopped I was able to realize why I was doing it. Your brain loves distractions because. They allow you to have an escape from your problems for a second, and boys or girls, whoever you're attracted to, romantic interests in general are. A great distraction, you know. They give you a little break from. The harsh reality of your life, you know, if you can sit in class and Daydream about what it would be like if you got to hold hands with. The hot guy in your class. That's a great distraction. And distractions are fine. But if they overtake your mind and they become all that you think about, then you might need to, you know. Change things around. I think what helped me stop obsessing over boys was to find new things to obsess over instead that were a little bit more productive, right? Obsessing over boys doesn't really get you anywhere. It's not very productive. Obsessing over books or obsessing over? A hobby that you're really into, like playing an instrument or. Sewing or knitting or writing or. Whatever it may be cooking. Obsessing over those things. Is a lot more productive and so. You need to find something to be obsessed with. That falls into those categories and in turn. You'll stop obsessing over boys as much because you'll be more focused on yourself and. The hobbies and activities that you're now newly obsessing over, but also when you obsess over things like hobbies and. Books and learning stuff about. Literally anything. You can literally learn about anything and it's going to be useful, OK? There's nothing. Off limits when it comes to learning. No matter what interests you, it's probably useful to know about anyways. Once you shift your focus to being obsessed with. Things that actually enhance your life. Not only. Will you stop feeling the need to use others as a distraction because you've found distraction within your own life? But also. You won't find yourself in these terrible situations that come from being obsessed with romantic interests. When you're obsessed with romantic interests in your life, you end up attracting a lot of ****** ones. And that's really unfortunate and it's a huge waste of time. So. If you can stop being. So consumed. By romantic interests and you can shift that focus into things that enhance your life then. You're going to be in a way better spot all around. Somebody said I want to exercise more. Exercise. Is. Such a great part. Of. A balanced life. But the only way that it's doable is if you enjoy it. You have to enjoy it. And I. Know that that's like advice that everybody gives, but it's genuinely so true. Like. If you don't like. Your exercise routine and it's too hard and it's too uncomfortable and it's too tedious. It's not going to stick. And it also doesn't need to be like that. Like exercise doesn't need to be. Painful and. Extreme. You know what I mean? It can be. Going on. A2 hour walk a few times a week going on a really long walk. That's a great form of exercise. It could be doing Pilates classes with your friends. And afterwards, you know you and your friends can go and get coffee and it's fun and cute. Like it can be something that's fun for you, but you just have to figure that out and try a bunch of stuff. Try going on a jog outside, try doing yoga, try going on a 2 hour walk. Try a bunch of stuff. And then pick whichever one is your favorite. Like for me, I'm I like running right now for some reason. I don't know why, I don't know how it happened. And so and so. You know, I try to run as frequently as I can, but sometimes I hate running and I'm like, I actually really don't ever want to ******* do this again. I hate running. It sucks and it's not exciting to me. Then I don't run and I do something else, like more recently. I did a yoga class because I wasn't in the mood to run, but I wanted to exercise. And. I hated the yoga class. I'm never gonna do yoga again. But listen, at least I tried it. It's all about trial and error. Adapt your workout routine to your life at the given moment and figure out something that. You'll enjoy doing that. Is also active. You could even do something like. Rock climbing or hiking or. Ice skating like find something that you. Enjoy doing that just also happens to be physical because the benefits of exercise are huge. I mean, they're huge in my own life I've seen. So much. Benefit from consistently exercising in my life, but. It won't become a part of your daily routine unless you enjoy it so. It just takes a lot of trial and error and being open minded to types of exercise that you can do and trying everything. Somebody said. The number one thing I want to do this year is take care of my mental health better. It's so hard to take care of yourself like I I think it's so easy to take care of other people. Like if someone staying with me at my house, for example, it's so easy for me to cook and clean for them and, you know, to pick up something for them at the store and to talk to them and be nice to them. It's so easy for me to take care of someone else. But when it comes to taking care of myself, I just couldn't care less. I think that this is another scenario when whipping out a journal in writing down. Different ways that you can take care of your mental health better is going to be very helpful because again, as I said earlier, it plants that seed in your brain. And it roots it in there so that it can grow. Over time. Some ways that you can prioritize your mental health better is by dedicating one day per week. To a day for yourself where you get to do whatever you want. If you want to lay in bed all day, you lay in bed all day. If you want to go out and go window shopping by yourself, you can do that if you want to. Hang out with a friend and go get lunch. You can do that like leave one day a week completely to yourself, or you get to do whatever you want. Recharge recenter yourself. That is extremely helpful, and I actually think I want to start doing that, dedicating one day per week to doing whatever I want. No work. No stuff that's, you know, tedious. In frustrating, just a day to recharge completely. I think that that's so great and I'm going to start doing that. I think I'm going to start doing that on Sundays. I think it would be really good for me and. I think it would really help me. Center myself every week. But also. When you write down in your journal other ways that you can. Better your mental health this year. Be open to things like. Saying positive affirmations to myself, you know, meditating a few times a week. Journaling a few times a week. Going out to lunch with friends that make me feel fulfilled a few times a week. Be open to everything that could possibly help you feel. Better and could help you recharge throughout the week. But write it all down. I really swear writing it down will really help. Somebody said I want to be better at saving money. I really think that the best way to save money is to set a budget for yourself that. Is set in stone and never changes OK. When it comes to spending money, applying a structure. Is pretty much the only way that it's possible, because otherwise you don't have control over it. Keep track. Of how much you're spending? For one month on food. Fun stuff like. Getting your nails done, going shopping, getting drinks with friends, whatever. And necessary costs of living. So, like, make one month, tally up all of that. How much you spend on fun stuff, necessary stuff. And food. And then. Create a budget for yourself based on those numbers. Say OK, I'm only allowed to spend. $70.00 a month on fun stuff. $200.00 a month on necessary stuff. And $150.00 a month on food, set a budget for yourself. And stick to it. Because The thing is, if you set a budget for yourself and you create some structure, it'll force you. To be more thoughtful about every individual purchase that you make. Instead of just making purchases and it just disappearing into the abyss of your conscience, you know, if you're holding yourself accountable. You will inevitably be smarter about the way that you spend. Next, somebody said I want to brush my teeth twice a day. And keep up with my hygiene. I totally understand the struggle with keeping up with your hygiene, especially when you're going through a depressive episode, like on a normal day when I'm feeling great. Brushing my teeth twice a day and showering is like easy, but for some reason when I'm in a really bad spot. That stuff seems close to impossible. I think that. When you're in a really low spot and you really can't. Get yourself. To take care of yourself as you normally do. Set alarms on your phone. One at 8:00 AM to brush teeth once. One at 9:00 AM to shower. And then another one at 9:00 PM to brush your teeth the last time, like set alarms on your phone. To remind you and force you to go do it. And it might seem extreme, but when you're in a spot where keeping up with your hygiene is hard. It's hard. And you'll forget and you'll push it off, but if you set alarms. On your phone to remind you, violently, that it's time to do these things. You're far more likely to do them. So set a repeat alarm on your phone and. I I really think that that will help. We're talking about Macy's again. My favorite one stop shop in such a beloved friend to anything goes. Macy's is the best because it really has something for everyone in every occasion. Whether it's clothes, HomeGoods, cooking Ware, whatever it may be, Macy's has something for you in the spirit of everybody having their own individual Macy's shopping experience. They're making us feel like true VIP's for the next couple of weeks because Macy's VIP sale has arrived just in time to get everything you need to cozy up this fall. From September 23rd to October 3rd, get 30% off regular sale and clearance items plus. 15% off beauty. And again, outside of beauty, that's 30% off. Pretty much everything from clothing, shoes and handbags to home decor and appliances. It's happening at Macy's. You want to know what I'm going to get? I'm going to get scarves because I really want to have a scarf. I live in California. It's only cold for like 3 months here, and it's not even that cold. Like it never snows, but I need to be leaning into the winter. Entire this year, because last year I wasn't going hard enough. So I will be picking up a few things from Macy's if you need to get some stuff for fallcheckoutmacys.com, that's macys.com. You'll find what you need. I can guarantee you that. That's the sound of another sale on Shopify, the all-in-one commerce platform to start, run and grow your business. Shopify has the tools and resources that make it easy for any business to succeed from down the street to around the globe. Reach customers online and across social networks with an ever growing suite of channel integrations and apps including Facebook, Instagram, Tik, T.O.K, Pinterest and more. Plus gain insights as you grow with detailed reporting of conversion rates, profit margins and beyond Shopify. Those entrepreneurs the resources once reserved for big business so upstarts, startups, and established businesses alike can sell everywhere. Synchronize your online and in person sales and effortlessly stay informed. This is the possibility powered by Shopify. Go to shopify.com/odysseypodcast all lowercase to start your free trial and Get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features. Grow your business with Shopify today by visiting shopify.com/odyssey podcast right now. Let's shopify.com/odysseypodcast. Somebody said I want to get better at sticking to a routine. There is nothing better for this than a planner. I personally love paper planners. Because I I just like the physical feeling of writing down things in a planner. But you know, you can also use Google Calendar or Apple calendar or the calendar on your iPhone if you have an iPhone you know, like. Find a calendar of some sort and. Set out 15 minutes every morning to writing out a schedule for the day and planning out your day. And put everything on that schedule, from brushing your teeth to making lunch. To responding to emails, whatever it may be. Put everything on that schedule everything. And the thing that's so useful about writing a schedule and having a schedule down in paper. Is that? When you check something off. Of your schedule, you get a little dopamine rush. And it makes you feel good, you know to check something off. It inspires you. To get everything done that's on your list. And. Overtime. Following a schedule every day with a solid routine will become. Easier and easier. And I really think that it's the only way. To stick to a routine. I really do. I don't know. When I don't use a planner for a few months, like, I kind of lose myself. I don't know, like writing down my plans for the day really, really holds me accountable and makes me want to do them. And it makes me want to stick to that routine, you know? I'll put **** on my routine like. Cook breakfast at this time. Get ready for the day at this time. Exercise at this time. You know and it it. It holds me accountable and it actually makes me more excited about it to write it all down. Somebody said I want to compliment myself at least once a day. This is so great and so important. But it's also a hard thing to remember to do. And I think the best way to remember to do it is to associate it with an act that you do every day, for example. Let's say you tell yourself, OK, every day I'm going to compliment myself before I brush my teeth in the morning. Then every day when you go to brush your teeth, which is inevitable, it's inevitable that you're going to brush your teeth every day, or at least almost every day as long as you're in. A mentally stable enough spot to take care of your hygiene. Brushing your teeth should be a pretty consistent part of your day-to-day life, right? So associating your daily compliment with your daily teeth brushing is a great way to remember to do it. Make it a habit to do it right before you brush your teeth and then every time you go to brush your teeth, which is something that you're going to do anyway, you remember, OK, I need to compliment myself. And that's a strategy that's very helpful if you want to integrate certain habits into your life. Like, let's say you want to start reading every day. Make it a habit that. When you tuck yourself into bed immediately, you read for 20 minutes. That's the first thing you do when you get in bed at night before you go to sleep is you read for 20 minutes and if you need to, you know, respond to some emails. In bed as well, or you need to finish up some homework or something in bed. You can do that stuff after you read make it. The first thing that you do when you get into bed? Associate a new habit that you wanna adopt with an old habit that's inevitable and is. Going to happen without fail every day. Somebody said I want to make puzzles and play board games more often. Me too. Me ******* too. I made a puzzle the other day. And it was so enjoyable, like. It's really hard to motivate yourself to do simple things like play games and do puzzles because it seems like so pointless. But it's such a great thing for your mind, and I think the best way to. Motivate yourself to do these things is to #1. Incorporate your friends, incorporate your family. Do it with people. Get excited about the concept of playing games and doing puzzles and, you know, eating a cheese board. Like, get excited about that stuff with people that you love, because that will motivate you way more. And also try to like plan to do it maybe once or twice a month. Like plan a game night with your friends twice a month. Plan it out. Hold yourself accountable to making it happen, because doing stuff like that is so fulfilling for some reason. Somebody said I want to be more spontaneous and go out more. I didn't really enjoy the years that you're supposed to go crazy with your friends, so I want to make the most of it right now. Do it. And don't feel bad about it. I used to feel really guilty when I would enjoy myself with my friends, like I would feel like I'm wasting my time, you know? I'm being so unproductive. As long as the people that you're hanging out with. Are good people. And as long as you guys are doing things that are relatively productive. Even if that's trying a new restaurant or cooking together or playing board games, as long as you guys aren't doing anything toxic. Hanging out with your friends and having fun and enjoying yourself. Is a part of a balanced life, and that's something that I'm trying to reintegrate back into my life because. I kind of removed all of that stuff from my life and it's time to bring it back in. So I want to do the same thing. I want to be more spontaneous and go out more as well. And. I think the key to that is just to not feel guilty. And also to reach out Oh my God, yesterday for the first time. For the first time in years possibly. Two years now? That's too long. For the first time in a year, I would say I actually reached out to a friend or to some friends. That. I've been wanting to hang out with for a while, but I just was always like, like we're not super, super close and like asking them to hang out makes me kind of anxious. And also I don't really need to hang out with people. I'm fine on my own. And you know, it's easier to just not ask people to hang out. I actually. Reached out. To friends in ask them to hang out. I never do that and you know, I was nervous, but. It felt really good. And now? I'm excited because I'm going to hang out with them soon and it's going to be fun. It's just about getting the courage to ask and I can guarantee that. Like. Most people are pretty excited to get it. Sorry, I just was mixing my matcha. Excuse me. Matcha is so good anyway. I. Was so nervous and uncomfortable to ask them, but once I did, I realized they're actually excited too. Like, this is a win all around. Everybody wins. Like I can guarantee that they're going to be excited to hear from you, and if they're not, **** them and text someone else. And if you're in a phase in your life where. You don't really have friends, or you don't really have people that you are inspired to be friends with. Hang out with your family. Go do something fun with a family member. Text one of your cousins that you haven't seen in a few months. And go to lunch with them. You know, get creative. And do stuff that. Seems stupid, and by that I mean. Go bowling. Go. Sit on Santa's lap at the mall. Like, do **** **** like that with your friends. Be random. Be spontaneous. It feels really good. And last but not least, somebody said I want to start baking and cooking more. Let me tell you, cooking and baking over this past year has been one of my favorite things that I've gotten myself into. I've. Really fall in love with it. And the thing about it that's so great is that. In order to cook, you have to be present. You know you have to be present. You have to be focused. In the act of being focused on. Cooking or baking? Is meditative and it's so therapeutic and it's also great because. When you learn how to cook and bake. Not only do you have yummy food to feed yourself, but you also have yummy food to feed people that you love and care about and over this past year. Cooking for people has become a huge like way that I show love to people and. There's really nothing I love more than. Inviting over people that I love. Cooking for them and then eating with them like there's there's actually not a more rewarding feeling. And so I really encourage you to start cooking and baking more. And if you're struggling to motivate to do it just for yourself because you're like, well, I don't really care. Like, I can just, you know, warm up something in the microwave. I don't need to cook for myself. Cook for others. That's a really great, great way. That's a really great way to motivate yourself to cook. And bake is if. You know that you're going to be giving it to somebody that you care about. You guys. Get into cooking and baking. You won't regret it. It's so great. Anyway, that's all I got for today. I'm gonna miss you guys. I'm taking a few weeks off of the podcast. Just to kind of relax and. Think and experience life for what it is. You know, like I I just want to take some time off of just everything. For a bit, because I I haven't really done that in a long time. And so. There will be no podcast for the next few weeks, but I will be coming back in 2022 with a raging vengeance and I'm so excited for another year of hanging out with you guys every week and talking about pressing topics and. It's going to be great, so. Yeah. I'll see you guys after the break. I hope that you have an amazing few weeks. I will miss you, but we'll be back soon. And thank you again for all of the love and support this year. It means the world to me. I can't thank you enough and. We will talk. Soon. Love you guys.