Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi Emily, welcome to
the podcast, hello, hello, this
happens to be my sister.
This is the amazing.
Emily was Buckwalter, now RothBuckwalter likes to be called.
I'm so grateful for you comingon to share your experience.
(00:20):
I was honored to have her inearly morning habit.
She went through the programand I'm excited to hear your
perspective.
Everyone's experience is sounique and I think it speaks to
what I hope is the flexibilityof the program and the ability
to personalize it to your stageand phase of life.
(00:42):
And to start, I would love tohear what initially appealed to
you about early morning habitwhen you were reading through
the website and the program.
What initially was like yeah,if I could do this, that would
be great.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, I think for me,
one of the things that is
unique about it is how it's soholistic, you could say, in the
sense that it's like from yourvery first, the way you
incorporate almost like minipodcast episodes at the start of
every week to kind of kick offthe week from the very first one
(01:23):
, just understanding like wow,this is also interconnected and
you're addressing every elementof health here.
So this isn't just an exerciseprogram, it isn't just an
organization program, it isn'tjust a sleep program, it isn't
just a food program or a dietprogram.
(01:44):
It's taking every piece ofphysical health and then also
applying it to mental andspiritual health.
So here's a plan to practicegratitude.
Here's a plan to practice, youknow, addressing emotional
intelligence and that you canconnect.
(02:05):
You know me addressing myemotional intelligence also to
like how much water I'm drinkinga day and bring it like all in
one place and that's like thewhole picture of me and my
health, not just you know thislike, oh, if you do this one
thing, you know like you're ableto address the complexity kind
of of the overall health picture, and I think the fact that you
(02:28):
are coming from three degrees inthe medical field, it gives so
much more credence to whatyou're saying because you have
literally poured years of yourlife into studying the
functionality of the human body,and so you're not just you know
someone who listens to onepodcast episode about you, know
(02:51):
the impact of sleep on the humanbody, but, like you, have
dedicated years of your life tounderstanding the
interconnectedness of the humanbody, and so I think that
uniquely qualifies what you'resaying at the beginning of each
of those weeks.
And knowing that about you, andthen seeing the layout of your
(03:12):
program, I thought that wasreally appealing, and I think
that for me, is a big draw onsomething unique that your
program has to offer.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I appreciate that.
Was there one element of theprogram specifically for those
who are not familiar with earlymorning habit?
It can sound very daunting,because early some people are
like, oh Lord, have mercy,that's not happening for me.
Some people hear morning andagain they're like not a morning
person.
And then they hear habit andthey're like forget it, I'm out.
(03:44):
So tell me, in your experience,what about the program
especially resonated with you?
Was there something that youwanted to get out of it?
Going into it and then you werein it and you were like, oh,
actually I got more of this outof it.
What?
What would you say?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
out of it.
What would you say?
Well, I think one of the thingsfor me and this is kind of
going to be unique for mebecause I'm your sister, but I
think one of the specific thingswas seeing how you change your
life and so, like the element of, oh, I've seen a not morning
person, do this and stick withit.
For I mean, how long now yearshave you been practicing?
Speaker 1 (04:33):
I mean it's been,
yeah, well, yeah, five years,
five and a half years.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, almost to a
point where it's hard for me to
remember when you weren't anearly morning person and so,
like I know that you say that,but in as kind of a part of the
program, but just like for methe specific witnessing of it
working so well for you andseeing here is truly a person
(05:02):
who needs a ton of sleep, who,in my life growing up experience
, was not an early morningperson.
I'll be a disciplined personbut not an early morning person.
And to see you take yourdiscipline, nature and create,
recreate sort of your lifeschedule, like I knew that it
(05:23):
worked because I saw it workwith you already, and so I think
I have a really unique draw.
I have a really unique specificthing, um, and that was um,
witnessing it already happening.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Um yeah, so there's, there'sproof.
If anyone doubts that I amactually not a morning person,
it's true, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And she does live by
this, like I know that this is
something you've been living byfaithfully and so, seeing that
that was a habit, you know, fiveyears stuck like, not just like
.
Oh, this was a phase she hadfor a little bit.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
So yeah, and now
she's making money on it.
That's right.
Yeah, I appreciate, yeah, no, Iappreciate that it's not just a
money making scheme.
It has actually transformed mylife.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah, this is
actually something I've seen you
use to completely switch howyou live out your life, and so,
yeah, it isn't just like this,like um thing.
You just started for the sakeof this program.
You were already doing that andthen you built the program out
of.
Maybe I could help other peoplewith this.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Yeah, I love that
perspective.
Thank you for that.
What in the program for you wasthe most impactful, like when
you walked away from the initialsix weeks?
Was there one element thatespecially stood out to you as
impactful, especially for yourstage and phase of life?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, two things come
to my mind right away.
Well, I will say I loved thelittle like podcast episodes at
the beginning of the week.
I think with some money buy-in,it's like okay, I'm forcing
myself to sit down and take inall the information, like really
maximize what I've put intothis program.
And so I'm really going to hearall this out, try to pull
(07:14):
things away from it.
And I think the sleep one.
As far as which one, reallythere was some ones.
As a teacher, here I am, I'm inmy kingdom, right here in my
classroom.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
With all the skulls
in the back.
I love that she's a Spanishteacher.
She doesn't normally just haveskulls.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
So I think that for
me, just hearing about, like how
much sleep is impacting allthose other elements of your
life seemingly unrelated, suchas like mental health even or
yeah, not that like like we knowthey're connected, but to hear
(07:54):
you really break it down, thatwas the most impactful takeaway
for me of information.
And then the most impactfulthings I would say as far as
like practical actions wereknowing that I can work out in
the morning, like knowing thatfor the six week program, every
day of those six weeks, like Iwas able to and you know, I'm a
teacher, like I said so my Ihave to be here at school by 7am
(08:15):
and that is when my workdaystarts, so I don't have the
luxury of like a 9am or aflexible schedule start time.
So that means I am waking up at5 am to make a full workout
happen before my teacher daystarts, and so I always just
assume that's not an optionthat's on the table for me.
And now this program empoweredme to know that, like that is
(08:36):
something that I can do, I amcapable of that and I was
capable of doing it well.
And so you know that issomething that I don't think
I've never tried.
I can honestly say, my wholelife.
I've never tried toconsistently do morning workouts
.
I've maybe done, you know gosh,five to ten morning workouts in
(08:57):
my whole life, just on, likecertain situations, situations.
And so being able just to knowthat it's something I'm capable
of was something that I tookaway from me, specifically with
the workout piece, because I'vealways thought of myself as an
after work workout person.
But now I know I can be abefore work workout person too
and that I can still do.
I think I always thought thatthe quality of my exercise would
(09:19):
suffer, but it didn't.
And then the other piece wouldbe some of the journaling
prompts.
One of the things that you saidis to like start out your
journaling is like what is thething weighing at the forefront
of my mind, and I think youdescribed it as like if you zone
out for a second, what's thatthing your mind, like
(09:42):
subconsciously, is attaching toright now, like what's and that
for me was really cool cook.
To kind of like address, tolike sit down at the beginning
of the day and almost thinkabout the day before, or even
that morning already, and likewhen I was full of my workout
and my brain was turned offwhile my body worked.
What did my brain attach to?
What was that random thingthat's been slipping in my mind
as I brush my teeth and thenlike actually writing out OK,
(10:05):
and I feel this way, which meansat the core level, I have an
anxiety about this.
So it's a fear.
Or at the core level, oh, I'mactually sad about something
that I didn't even.
I didn't even I wasn't feelingsad.
But as I take the time toaddress this thing, I'm
realizing and then pairing thatwith the gratitude things.
You know it doesn't sound likeyou're walking out with just the
(10:26):
negatives.
So then putting OK, butmeanwhile, something positive my
mind has been drifting torecently is just like, wow, how
cool that X, Y or Z I reallyliked those prompts.
Again, like journaling isn'tnecessarily something new to me.
A quiet time to start my day, atime of prayer those aren't new
things, but those specific waysof approaching that time were
(10:50):
really helpful with pinpointinghow to pray or what to kind of
like meditate on for myself thatday, or a goal that I could
work on for myself.
And yeah, it actually led to anew goal of mine, which is
identifying all of my coreinsecurities and finding ways to
(11:12):
pray over them and address them, and it all goes back to Look
at her go.
It all goes back to me justaddressing, like, what's
something that my mind, likewhen zoned out, subconsciously
attaches to, and realizing howoften it's something I can
eventually trace back to aninsecurity of some sort and kind
of like I don't even think ofmyself as a person who lacks
(11:34):
confidence and yet look at that.
So yeah, definitely helping meto pinpoint productivity with
that morning time, because whenyou're doing it and you're so
tired, it's your 5.30 am brain.
It's easy to like just becauseyou checked off the box doesn't
mean it was productive.
So like, don't look to just putin the time, look to actually
(11:56):
be changed with that time.
And I think, giving mesomething really specific to do,
not just like write out somegeneric prayer or just like have
a quiet meditation on nothingNot that there's not spaces for
those things, but it reallyhelped me, I think.
I think intentionality would bethe word, like use that time
with intentionality.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I love that and you
know what you talked about.
For those of you guys listeningand watching.
One of the things that weaddress in the program in that
week on Emotionally IntelligentGratitude is that at the heart
of most of our uncomfortableemotions is actually fear and,
like Emily was saying, withinsecurity.
And so I mean not shockingly mysister's taking it to another
(12:39):
level in her life, which isamazing.
But it is this idea of givingwomen a guide to use that time
in a way that is not onlyscripturally based but
scientifically backed, to startyour day being still before the
Lord, but then also using thegifts and the knowledge that we
(13:03):
have about the body and evenjust the science of the brain,
and rewiring some of thoseinsecurities and fears in a way
that's very countercultural,because we're actually
addressing them and facing themand that is not really what
we're being told to do or,frankly, even what we naturally
are inclined to do, but then,like you said, we're covering it
(13:26):
with gratitude and ultimatelywith God's word and prayer.
So I love that, I love thatperspective.
I'm curious if a friend wasconsidering the program.
So she's onearlymorninghabitcom, she's
hearing what you're saying, shegoes to the website, she's
checking it out, but she'sconcerned about the time
(13:47):
investment, the financialinvestment or maybe, more
importantly, the potential lossof sleep, because she's already
tired.
What would you say to her?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Um, I think, I think,
as far as the financial
investment, it's so many thingsin one place.
So, like, are you alreadysubscribing to some kind of you
know, video, workouts or gymmembership?
You can eliminate that andreplace it with this.
It actually fulfills that need.
Are you already subscribed tosome kind of, like mindfulness
(14:24):
app?
Or or have you paid for?
Like, do you pay for um, likebooks about um, health and
living and that kind of stuff,and like you're already putting
money into these things?
I would say, uh, recipe booksor um, you know, how much are
you paying for um health?
You paying for health andlifestyle books or recipe books?
(14:46):
Or like, if you just want toput all those things in one
place, but you step back andtake the time to think about it,
you're already spending moneyon those things and this allows
you to put all those things inone place An app that helps you
track all of it.
So, like, what are you payingfor?
As far as like, helping youwith organization strategies?
(15:06):
You know it's not that.
These are things you've beenunwilling to put money on before
, and my husband and I, when weput money on stuff like this,
our take on it is always thatyour physical well-being is an
investment that's more importantthan your financial investments
.
Not that you don't obviously beirresponsible with your
(15:30):
financial investments, but likethis is ultimately your
spiritual well-being first andforemost most important
investment you can make, andthen, secondly, your mental
health and thirdly, second andthird, your mental and physical
health, which are sointerconnected you almost can't
separate them.
And so what?
Like there is no thing moreworth giving something a shot
(15:53):
with your money and your time.
And so I would say you knowthere are a lot more stupid
things.
You've probably spent that sameamount of money on that you
could very easily eliminate.
You've probably spent that sameamount of money on that you
could very easily eliminate, andyou're already spending money
on those things that this appprovides.
So you know it is somethingthat you have.
(16:18):
Clearly, you know that we knowis worth the money.
So, yeah, all that to say, Ithink the time investment piece
and the sleep quantity piece, Ithink it's not you can't think
of it as I'm losing time butrather I'm making better use of
the time when I'm beingproductive.
And so you know, instead of.
So maybe it does mean I have togo to bed a little bit earlier,
(16:40):
but I'm cutting out of timethat I was just like doom
scrolling on my phone anyways,and so now I was taught by this
program, you know, to keep thephone downstairs and instead of
spending a half hour to an houron the TV in my bedroom or on my
phone in my bedroom, I just goto sleep right away.
I realize I'm actually betteroff without those things and I'm
(17:03):
using I'm waking up earlier inthe morning and using that time
I was wasting at night to knockout a bunch of to-do list items,
and now I'm actually freed withmy evenings to do other things
I want to be doing withouthaving to go to bed later.
So I think it's you're notlosing, losing time in your day.
You're reinvesting it into, uh,more productive use of your
(17:27):
time, more making your time morevaluable for your mind and your
body really, and your spirityeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And for those of you
listening, you're like about the
sleep thing.
Uh, the second second to theemotionally intelligent
gratitude module, the sleeptransformation has actually been
the second mosttransformational element for
community members who go throughthe program, meaning most
(17:58):
people come out sleeping better.
So if you are wrestling withsleep, then this is actually
probably the perfect program foryou.
Don't be scared by the earlymorning part, because who cares
to get up earlier if you'resleeping better?
Right, yeah, right.
Who cares about the time on theclock if you're sleeping better
and actually feeling moreenergized?
(18:18):
So I appreciate thatperspective.
Um, if you could describe howyou felt, or your morning felt,
in one word before early morninghabit as compared to the
transformation that youexperienced after morning early
morning habit.
In one word, what would it be?
(18:40):
So, for example, as you'rethinking about words in your
head, mine would be from chaosto calm.
So I'm putting you on the spot.
But what comes to mind for you?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Um, I think for me,
my word for before would be
wasted and my word for afterwould be maximized.
So I think, all the timeshitting the snooze button, the
time spent scrolling socialmedia when I was just living out
(19:16):
my mornings before this program, and then realizing like, oh
wait, I actually just lost ahalf hour to other things I
could have been doing with mymorning, including sleeping, if
I just snooze less, I sleep more.
If I scroll less, I read more,I have more time, actually
intentionally, you know,preparing for my day, and so I
(19:39):
think I just felt more like, wow, I really I took advantage of
the time that I did have before.
You know me as a teacher.
Like getting my head in theright space is I can tell, even
just in my level of patiencewith kids, how well I slept or
how well I used my morning tolike set up for the day and set
(20:01):
my priorities.
So if I, if I don't have that,it will actually follow me
through the whole day.
I don't really get a whole lotof quiet time to myself here,
and so I've got to takeadvantage of it when I do have
it and you know I'm not a mother, but I am in charge of 130
angsty preteens every day, andso I know that parenthood
(20:24):
feeling of oh, I don't get thatjust like time of peace to
myself.
And now I have to also bepatient with all these needy
like younger humans who are tosome degree dependent on me or
that I am in charge of in thismoment, and so I would say I
know yours is targeted reallyfor young mothers, but I think
(20:46):
it works equally well,especially for women in the
field of education, for similarreasons.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
I love that.
So your transformation.
Words again are what to what?
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Wasted to maximized.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Love that Wasted to
maximized.
Love that Wasted to maximizedLadies.
We would love to have you joinearly morning habit.
It's not just a routine, it's arevival.
We're getting t-shirts printedthat says just that.
But if you want to join earlymorning habit, you can check it
out.
There's a link in the shownotes today.
This is a referral link ofEmily's.
(21:26):
Click on it to sign up for theprogram.
As a thank you, she is going toget a referral reward as a gift
and just a thank you forsharing her story.
Such an honor to have you inthe program.
It was so sweet.
I promise I did notspecifically pull my family into
it.
I was so honored when they werelike sign up, sign up.
(21:49):
So it was just that much morespecial to have people in my
life that I've done life with inthis program and being able to
authentically share thesestrategies and hear how it's
affecting your lives has beenreally extra special for me.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
So grateful for you.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Yes, yes, thank you
for having me.
It's been a pleasure.