April 8, 2025 • 11 mins
The 3 questions you could ask yourself to cultivate your mental garden this spring:
For Weed and rock removal- What is getting in the way or growing over what I want to grow?
To Loosen and till the soil- What am I holding onto that is making growth hard because I don't want to change or it seems scary?
For adding nutrients- Where am I needing some encouragement or inspiration?
If you're feeling like it, answer all three questions, but my challenge is to just answer one. And with that answer, do something to cultivate your own mental garden this week.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brittany (00:00):
Hey mama.
(00:03):
Welcome to the Inside Out Mamaspodcast.
I'm Brittany Turley, mom of six,and I know what it's like to
feel stuck and overwhelmedtrying to be the perfect mom,
but everything changed for mewhen I learned that small
changes on the inside can bringbig results on the outside.
Each week I will share simple,yet powerful inside shifts or
(00:25):
outside tips that can transformyour approach to mothering,
helping you thrive from theinside out.
Ready to ditch the mom guilt andenjoy this season of life.
You are in the right place.
It's spring, the time of yearwhen things are coming to life
again.
I love this time of year.
(00:47):
I love all the seasons fordifferent reasons, but I think I
get a little more excited inSpring just because of all the
new growth.
Also because I like to gardenand as a gardener, it's an
exciting time as you prepareyour beds and your pots and your
ground for planting and juststart dreaming and looking
forward to all the things thatyou will grow.
(01:08):
This year.
When I was.
Going through college eachsummer.
When I came home, I worked at agarden center and it just really
made my love for plants andgrowing things take off.
And it was just so fun to beconstantly around growth,
working there.
(01:28):
So when I had a house of my own,I was excited to put a garden
in.
I love gardening, all plants,but I think growing food is
especially rewarding'cause youget.
Growth, and you also get yummythings to eat, but whether you
like flowers or food to get tothe growth point, there are
(01:49):
things that have to be done toprepare.
The gardening word for that iscultivate.
So the definition of cultivateis to prepare.
It is also to foster the growthof, so when we're talking about
gardening, when we cultivate forgardening, we are preparing the
(02:09):
ground.
We are working the soil so thatthings are ready for planting
seeds.
This usually involves.
Three things, removing weeds androcks, loosening the dirt or
tilling the ground, and thenadding nutrients like compost.
So this week as I was thinkingabout cultivating my garden beds
(02:33):
in preparation for plantingsoon.
I started thinking about how wecan apply this to our minds.
What if this spring we alsocultivated our minds.
What if we removed the weeds andloosened to the dirt and added
nutrients?
What would that do for ourgrowth?
(02:54):
So today, I'm gonna just diveinto that a little bit with the
gardening analogy.
If we're cultivating our mental.
Ground.
The first thing we would do wasremove the weeds or rocks.
This would be like letting go ofunhelpful thoughts.
Maybe you're holding ontoresentments or those resentments
(03:17):
are getting in the way.
Maybe Removing distractions andremoving doubts.
So a question we could askourself to remove the weeds from
our mental garden would be whatis getting in the way or growing
over What I want to grow?
Before I had kids, I reallyenjoyed exercising.
(03:39):
I enjoyed it to stay in shape.
I enjoyed it to be physicallystrong, to do fun activities.
I liked to do like mountainbiking and hiking.
I enjoyed it for the mentalrelief that it was.
I can't tell you how many goodruns I got out of bad
boyfriends, and I just lovedhaving that be a part of my
(04:04):
every day.
The mental stimulation and thephysical stimulation of
exercising every day I felt likewas something really good for
me.
But when I started having kids,it became a lot harder to
exercise.
I still wanted to exercise, butI will let my mothering and my
(04:25):
household responsibilities getin the way of doing that.
I thought me wanting to exercisewas being selfish because I
wanted to exercise to lose babyweight, and because I enjoyed it
and because it helped me.
And so I had this thought thatit was a selfish thing and that
maybe it wasn't the best thingfor my family because it was
(04:46):
just really serving me.
Like I'm just thinking ofmyself.
I'm not thinking about my kidsor what needs to happen here at
our home.
I'm prioritizing myself over theimportant things, and I had
these thoughts about me as a momexercising that were really
getting in the way of me beingable to exercise.
(05:08):
But thankfully it didn't take melong to realize that that
thought was a weed and it had togo.
So for me, I had to get rid ofthe weed, thought that
exercising was selfish and.
Not serving my family.
The next thing we do when we'recultivating our garden is to
(05:31):
loosen the dirt.
We do that so the roots can groweasily, so water can get into
the soil down further and isn'tjust staying on the surface.
And we can liken this to openingup our minds and our hearts and
being willing to change even ifit's uncomfortable.
(05:52):
You can actually plant seeds inhard ground.
You just poke a hole in and thenput the seed in there, but it's
just a lot harder for them togrow.
In fact, as I've been growingcarrots, I've been adding sand
to my soil because here the soilis a lot harder because I was
noticing that my carrots weren'tgetting very long because the
ground was just too hard forthem to grow deep and long.
(06:14):
So loosening up the dirt for mycarrots was actually really
important for them So a questionto ask yourself to loosen the
dirt in your mental garden wouldbe What am I holding onto that
is making growth hard because Idon't want to change, or it
seems scary.
This could look like beingwilling to let go of judgments
(06:36):
of yourself or others or yourkids.
This could look like allowingyourself to try new things, even
if it might not work out.
This could.
Be letting go of the idea thatsomething can only be done one
way.
My hardened soil was holdingonto the way I used to work out
(06:58):
and not wanting that to change.
I used to be able to work out onmy own.
It was my own time, and I'd gofor a run or I'd do workout
videos or I'd do just workout athome.
but when I opened up my mind tochange, I discovered ways I
could work out and still be themom I wanted to be.
(07:19):
I became okay with the fact thatit would take longer to get
myself ready and my kids readyfor me to workout.
Then I would actually get to dothe workout.
That one actually took a whilefor me to be okay with, but.
It was a reality.
I also realized that I could gofor a run with them and a
jogger, so I wasn't limited toevenings when my husband was
(07:41):
available to be with the kids soI could go for a run that was
different than how I did itbefore, but I got actually a
better workout because now I waspushing some weight.
I also discovered that I caninclude my kids in my workout by
doing a workout video at homethat they could follow along
with.
And that not only was that goodfor me, it was good for them
(08:04):
'cause I was modeling, takinggood care of my body and it was
good for them to get theirwiggles out for as long as they
followed along.
The final thing to do whencultivating a garden is adding
nutrients like compost to makethe soil richer, to feed it.
(08:24):
For a mental garden.
This could look like feedingyour mind encouragement.
A question you could askyourself is, where am I needing
some encouragement orinspiration?
You could think about areas thatmaybe are hard or painful to
think about and how you couldadd encouragement or inspiration
there.
(08:45):
Maybe you ask a friend for helpon.
Getting encouragement or askthem for encouragement or find
some inspiring media to helpyou, a book, a podcast, a quote.
Things really changed for mewhen I realized that I was worth
investing time into caring formyself and also that me.
(09:10):
Being healthy, physically andmentally was more valuable to my
family than having me availableto them all the time and not
taking care of myself.
So I added the nutrient ofencouraging and being proud of
myself for taking time to takecare of me, which also benefited
(09:30):
my family.
As we are mentally cultivating,we are preparing our mind and
our heart to grow.
We might be growing somethingnew this year, like a new habit,
a new idea, or a new belief.
By cultivating our minds, weallow growth to happen.
(09:52):
Now because I believe smallchanges on the inside bring big
results on the outside.
Each week on my podcast, I'mgoing to give you a small change
challenge, something small thatyou could do throughout the week
if you choose, that could end upbringing big results to your
life.
So the small change challengefor this week is to answer one
of the three mental cultivatingquestions.
(10:15):
The mental cultivating questionsare what is getting in the way
or growing over what I want togrow?
What am I holding onto that ismaking growth hard'cause I don't
want to change, or it seemsscary.
Where am I needing someencouragement or inspiration?
(10:37):
If you're feeling like it,answer all three questions, but
my challenge is to just answerone.
And with that answer, dosomething to cultivate your own
mental garden this week.
I will put these questions inthe show notes if you're like me
and need a visual to refer backto.
You can look there to see thesethree questions.
(10:59):
Remember, small changes on theinside.
Bring big results on theoutside.
Thank you for joining me foranother episode of Inside Out
Mamas.
My hope is that our timetogether inspires more feelings
of peace, confidence, and joy inyour mama journey.
Be sure to subscribe so younever miss a show.
(11:19):
And if you're ready to takethese insights even deeper, head
over to brittany turleycoaching.com to check out my
digital workshop.
Designed to help you reducedaily mom overwhelm without
adding to your to-do list.
Thanks for listening.
And remember, small changes onthe inside, bring big results on
the outside.
Hey mama.
(00:03):
Welcome to the Inside Out Mamaspodcast.
I'm Brittany Turley, mom of six,and I know what it's like to
feel stuck and overwhelmedtrying to be the perfect mom,
but everything changed for mewhen I learned that small
changes on the inside can bringbig results on the outside.
Each week I will share simple,yet powerful inside shifts or
(00:25):
outside tips that can transformyour approach to mothering,
helping you thrive from theinside out.
Ready to ditch the mom guilt andenjoy this season of life.
You are in the right place.
It's spring, the time of yearwhen things are coming to life
again.
I love this time of year.
(00:47):
I love all the seasons fordifferent reasons, but I think I
get a little more excited inSpring just because of all the
new growth.
Also because I like to gardenand as a gardener, it's an
exciting time as you prepareyour beds and your pots and your
ground for planting and juststart dreaming and looking
forward to all the things thatyou will grow.
(01:08):
This year.
When I was.
Going through college eachsummer.
When I came home, I worked at agarden center and it just really
made my love for plants andgrowing things take off.
And it was just so fun to beconstantly around growth,
working there.
(01:28):
So when I had a house of my own,I was excited to put a garden
in.
I love gardening, all plants,but I think growing food is
especially rewarding'cause youget.
Growth, and you also get yummythings to eat, but whether you
like flowers or food to get tothe growth point, there are
(01:49):
things that have to be done toprepare.
The gardening word for that iscultivate.
So the definition of cultivateis to prepare.
It is also to foster the growthof, so when we're talking about
gardening, when we cultivate forgardening, we are preparing the
(02:09):
ground.
We are working the soil so thatthings are ready for planting
seeds.
This usually involves.
Three things, removing weeds androcks, loosening the dirt or
tilling the ground, and thenadding nutrients like compost.
So this week as I was thinkingabout cultivating my garden beds
(02:33):
in preparation for plantingsoon.
I started thinking about how wecan apply this to our minds.
What if this spring we alsocultivated our minds.
What if we removed the weeds andloosened to the dirt and added
nutrients?
What would that do for ourgrowth?
(02:54):
So today, I'm gonna just diveinto that a little bit with the
gardening analogy.
If we're cultivating our mental.
Ground.
The first thing we would do wasremove the weeds or rocks.
This would be like letting go ofunhelpful thoughts.
Maybe you're holding ontoresentments or those resentments
(03:17):
are getting in the way.
Maybe Removing distractions andremoving doubts.
So a question we could askourself to remove the weeds from
our mental garden would be whatis getting in the way or growing
over What I want to grow?
Before I had kids, I reallyenjoyed exercising.
(03:39):
I enjoyed it to stay in shape.
I enjoyed it to be physicallystrong, to do fun activities.
I liked to do like mountainbiking and hiking.
I enjoyed it for the mentalrelief that it was.
I can't tell you how many goodruns I got out of bad
boyfriends, and I just lovedhaving that be a part of my
(04:04):
every day.
The mental stimulation and thephysical stimulation of
exercising every day I felt likewas something really good for
me.
But when I started having kids,it became a lot harder to
exercise.
I still wanted to exercise, butI will let my mothering and my
(04:25):
household responsibilities getin the way of doing that.
I thought me wanting to exercisewas being selfish because I
wanted to exercise to lose babyweight, and because I enjoyed it
and because it helped me.
And so I had this thought thatit was a selfish thing and that
maybe it wasn't the best thingfor my family because it was
(04:46):
just really serving me.
Like I'm just thinking ofmyself.
I'm not thinking about my kidsor what needs to happen here at
our home.
I'm prioritizing myself over theimportant things, and I had
these thoughts about me as a momexercising that were really
getting in the way of me beingable to exercise.
(05:08):
But thankfully it didn't take melong to realize that that
thought was a weed and it had togo.
So for me, I had to get rid ofthe weed, thought that
exercising was selfish and.
Not serving my family.
The next thing we do when we'recultivating our garden is to
(05:31):
loosen the dirt.
We do that so the roots can groweasily, so water can get into
the soil down further and isn'tjust staying on the surface.
And we can liken this to openingup our minds and our hearts and
being willing to change even ifit's uncomfortable.
(05:52):
You can actually plant seeds inhard ground.
You just poke a hole in and thenput the seed in there, but it's
just a lot harder for them togrow.
In fact, as I've been growingcarrots, I've been adding sand
to my soil because here the soilis a lot harder because I was
noticing that my carrots weren'tgetting very long because the
ground was just too hard forthem to grow deep and long.
(06:14):
So loosening up the dirt for mycarrots was actually really
important for them So a questionto ask yourself to loosen the
dirt in your mental garden wouldbe What am I holding onto that
is making growth hard because Idon't want to change, or it
seems scary.
This could look like beingwilling to let go of judgments
(06:36):
of yourself or others or yourkids.
This could look like allowingyourself to try new things, even
if it might not work out.
This could.
Be letting go of the idea thatsomething can only be done one
way.
My hardened soil was holdingonto the way I used to work out
(06:58):
and not wanting that to change.
I used to be able to work out onmy own.
It was my own time, and I'd gofor a run or I'd do workout
videos or I'd do just workout athome.
but when I opened up my mind tochange, I discovered ways I
could work out and still be themom I wanted to be.
(07:19):
I became okay with the fact thatit would take longer to get
myself ready and my kids readyfor me to workout.
Then I would actually get to dothe workout.
That one actually took a whilefor me to be okay with, but.
It was a reality.
I also realized that I could gofor a run with them and a
jogger, so I wasn't limited toevenings when my husband was
(07:41):
available to be with the kids soI could go for a run that was
different than how I did itbefore, but I got actually a
better workout because now I waspushing some weight.
I also discovered that I caninclude my kids in my workout by
doing a workout video at homethat they could follow along
with.
And that not only was that goodfor me, it was good for them
(08:04):
'cause I was modeling, takinggood care of my body and it was
good for them to get theirwiggles out for as long as they
followed along.
The final thing to do whencultivating a garden is adding
nutrients like compost to makethe soil richer, to feed it.
(08:24):
For a mental garden.
This could look like feedingyour mind encouragement.
A question you could askyourself is, where am I needing
some encouragement orinspiration?
You could think about areas thatmaybe are hard or painful to
think about and how you couldadd encouragement or inspiration
there.
(08:45):
Maybe you ask a friend for helpon.
Getting encouragement or askthem for encouragement or find
some inspiring media to helpyou, a book, a podcast, a quote.
Things really changed for mewhen I realized that I was worth
investing time into caring formyself and also that me.
(09:10):
Being healthy, physically andmentally was more valuable to my
family than having me availableto them all the time and not
taking care of myself.
So I added the nutrient ofencouraging and being proud of
myself for taking time to takecare of me, which also benefited
(09:30):
my family.
As we are mentally cultivating,we are preparing our mind and
our heart to grow.
We might be growing somethingnew this year, like a new habit,
a new idea, or a new belief.
By cultivating our minds, weallow growth to happen.
(09:52):
Now because I believe smallchanges on the inside bring big
results on the outside.
Each week on my podcast, I'mgoing to give you a small change
challenge, something small thatyou could do throughout the week
if you choose, that could end upbringing big results to your
life.
So the small change challengefor this week is to answer one
of the three mental cultivatingquestions.
(10:15):
The mental cultivating questionsare what is getting in the way
or growing over what I want togrow?
What am I holding onto that ismaking growth hard'cause I don't
want to change, or it seemsscary.
Where am I needing someencouragement or inspiration?
(10:37):
If you're feeling like it,answer all three questions, but
my challenge is to just answerone.
And with that answer, dosomething to cultivate your own
mental garden this week.
I will put these questions inthe show notes if you're like me
and need a visual to refer backto.
You can look there to see thesethree questions.
(10:59):
Remember, small changes on theinside.
Bring big results on theoutside.
Thank you for joining me foranother episode of Inside Out
Mamas.
My hope is that our timetogether inspires more feelings
of peace, confidence, and joy inyour mama journey.
Be sure to subscribe so younever miss a show.
(11:19):
And if you're ready to takethese insights even deeper, head
over to brittany turleycoaching.com to check out my
digital workshop.
Designed to help you reducedaily mom overwhelm without
adding to your to-do list.
Thanks for listening.
And remember, small changes onthe inside, bring big results on
the outside.
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