August 29, 2024 • 28 mins
Ever wondered why some routines propel you forward while others feel like a chore? Discover the secret sauce to creating personalized routines that truly unlock your potential. We promise you'll walk away with practical tools to tailor your daily habits to align with your unique goals and values. Listen in as we dissect why rigid routines often fail and how starting small, even with just five minutes a day dedicated to a daunting goal, can build momentum and confidence over time.
Reconstructing your life during vulnerable times isn't just possible—it's essential. In this episode of Pocketful of Mojo, I share personal stories of incorporating joyful activities like Pilates and dance parties to lay a strong foundation for my day. Learn why protecting time for self-care and treating routine deviations with grace is crucial for mental and emotional well-being. We also explore the concept of "zipper merging" in both driving and life, emphasizing the need for mindfulness and intention. Your routines should not be burdens; they should inspire and uplift you, ensuring they align with your values and personal goals without becoming overwhelming. Tune in to find out how you can make your routines work for you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to Pocketful of Mojo, where you're, you and
I'm, steph, and we tune in hereto tap into some Mojo.
Well, what do you mean?
What's mojo?
You see, mojo is thatunshakable feeling of confidence
, booming self-worth.
Like you're an unstoppableforce of nature, and I'm here to
(00:33):
show you how you can have thatfeeling every single day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking timeevery day, at least most of the
day, possibly to an annoyingdegree, but hey, it wasn't
always this way.
And not to flex, but I've hadbreakdowns on multiple
(00:56):
continents and in two languages,but by paying attention and
living with more intention,paying attention and living with
more intention.
I've curated a self-love firstaid kit full of amazing tools
that help me out of life's moststicky and stressful situations,
and I do so with grace andself-care.
And I'm not here to gatekeep.
(01:17):
In fact, I'm on a mission tohelp you tap into your best
stuff and remember that you haveeverything you need to live
life on your own terms.
So settle in.
We are here for some positivechange.
So let's dig in to where yourmojo beats the road.
In today's episode, I'm going toreview our mantra for the week,
(01:40):
and then we're going to go anddig into today's main topic,
which is routines friend or foe,and plot twist.
We're taking it on the roadagain, this time with better
audio.
Thanks for hanging in there,folks.
So you stick around and I'mgoing to make sure that you're
glad that you did.
(02:01):
Let's get started with today'smantra and get tuned in, tapped
in and turned on.
Hello, hello, hello and welcome.
This is the 32nd episode ofPocketful of Mojo.
Once again, I'm Steph, how youdoing?
(02:23):
I'm your mojo maven, your soulsister, your emotional Sherpa,
and I'm so glad you're here.
I'm here to reflect yourawesomeness and your potential
back to you.
So let's settle in.
Let's start by digging intotoday's mantra, and that mantra
is my routines, help me growinto my potential.
(02:44):
Ooh, this mantra is locked andloaded for today's topic, so
let's unpack it together, shallwe?
My routines, help me grow intomy potential.
Your routines, that's right,they're yours.
You get to decide what they are.
So often we get bombarded withgurus and experts that prescribe
(03:06):
to us what a good daily routineor morning or exercise routine
can look like, and then we getso defeated and frustrated when
they don't work out the way thatwe want them to.
You know why?
Because you're not them.
Newsflash, babe what's good forthe goose is not always good
for the gander.
And these all come to usbecause we have a shared desire
(03:29):
for an end result.
But maybe the formula justisn't right.
This is your chance to takeback ownership of your routine
and make sure that it's workingfor you.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Routines are designed to helpyou, not add more to your to-do
list or make you feel like shit,and so often that ends up being
(03:53):
the case with routines, whichjust makes your routine feel
like your enemy.
A good routine is rooted in you, your goals, your values,
what's important to you.
So you gotta ask yourself whatis my goal here, how do I want
to feel, where do I want to goand how do I want to get there?
(04:14):
So figuring out what works foryou may take a bit of trial and
error.
So making sure that yourapproach is flexible and
adaptable will give you thepermission you need to design a
routine that serves your goalsin all aspects.
A routine that makes you feellike you're doing something for
the sake of doing something hasmissed the point entirely.
(04:36):
A good routine should propelyou forward and contribute to
your goals.
The goal is not the routine.
Write that down.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Growth is dynamic.
Growth means that you are inconstant motion by learning,
paying attention, settingintention, measuring success and
(05:00):
making sure that there arecheckpoints so that the desired
end result is the driving force.
In this exercise, sometimes weset routines in place for
comfort, for security, forpredictability.
We know what we want to get outof a routine, but it's
important to remember why we aredoing these activities.
The spirit and the energy thatwe bring to everything we do
(05:24):
matters.
Routines are no different, soit's natural to assume that, as
you leverage your routines tomove yourself and your goals
forward, it's paramount that youallow some flexibility and
adaptability to your routines togrow with you, and as you do
that, you're going to be able topoint out and identify the
(05:45):
things that need a tweak fromtime to time.
There are no rules here, myfriend, so the key ingredient to
a good routine is that it worksfor you and not the other way
around.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Your potential is limitless andI truly mean this and believe
(06:08):
it with every fiber of my being.
You can do anything, but youcan't do everything.
So leverage the power ofroutines to serve you and your
potential, even if that meansstepping outside of your comfort
zone.
One of the best routines I everstarted began with simply
putting five minutes a daytowards a huge, scary goal.
(06:31):
That's it five minutes.
Some days that was all I hadthe courage to do, but over time
I was able to build momentumwhich gave me confidence and
motivation to maybe put in 10,15, 20 minutes towards my goal.
And you know what?
Now my big, scary goal hasbloomed into my full-time
(06:52):
passion.
But I had to start from where Iwas, and now you have all the
tidbits so that you can too.
Where will you start?
Mojarrino, the secret to yourfuture is hidden in your routine
.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
(07:16):
And now over to ourcorrespondent on the road,
safely and hands-free, thanks toher new lapel mic.
Ladies and gentlemen, andeveryone in between, your Mojo
Maven Steph on the Road.
Okay, I hope this is working.
(07:54):
We're doing it again.
This is Mojo on the Road andwe're talking about routines,
routines, routines friend or foe.
This is what we're here todecide and I don't think this
has to be a debate.
I don't know if I feel superstrongly to like, be like it's
(08:16):
all one thing.
I think it can be both.
When I think about routines, Ithink about when I used to work
at Starbucks.
We had these things calledrepeatable routines, and it was
the way for us as, like amulti-store operation, we were
trying to get the same endresult every time.
And that's where routines comein really handy.
(08:38):
It takes a big task, it breaksit down to little tasks and it's
repeatable and it's designed Ithink routines are designed to
be efficient and effective andyou can count on it, and so it
serves a really good purposewhen you want a repeatable end
result and you want to be ableto count on it.
(08:59):
So it's almost like a routine,is like a formula.
And when I come back to thetheme of like friend or foe well
, how could that be bad?
Well, I'm here to discuss andunpack a little bit of the idea
that routines may be limitingour potential.
So how do we take the idea of aroutine and break it down in
(09:26):
such a way that it can be ourfriend without limiting our
potential, without limitingourselves and our mindset?
Because I think sometimes whathappens when we get into a
routine is that it can turn intoa rut if we're not paying
attention, if we're not beingmindful, if we're not paying
attention, if we're not beingmindful, if we're not connecting
our routine to our goal right,like I think about my morning
(09:51):
routine that I need to do abetter job of.
Well, my morning routine is notthe problem, it's my night
routine.
I have no problem executing mymorning routine, but my night
routine is big time getting inmy way.
So you know, we we sometimesfall into routines without
(10:12):
meaning to like, if we're notpaying attention, we could just
find ourselves like oh well,when I finished dinner, I I do
the dishes and then I watch TVand then I fall asleep in front
of the TV.
Like I do the dishes and then Iwatch TV and then I fall asleep
in front of the TV, and I dothat every single night.
That may or may not be the storyfor you, but the question is is
that serving you?
Is that helping you?
Is that aligned with your goalsand where you want to go?
(10:33):
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe that's how you exerciseyour downtime.
But this conversation is reallydesigned for us to be able to
start asking these questions Aremy, are my routines working for
(10:56):
me?
Are my routines limiting me?
Because I think that there'salso like for me.
I love structure.
You give me some type of planstructured.
I love checking boxes, I lovedoing things in order.
But that's got.
It's got to be centered onsomething that I really want to
do, because the danger is to getstuck in your routine and have
your routine not serve you.
(11:17):
And when I was putting my lifeback together slowly and I was
still kind of in my zombie stateof grief, I honestly couldn't
make a plan for tomorrow or nextweek, like that's how.
I was just really reallyvulnerable and really in a
(11:39):
cocooning stage.
So making short term plans,medium term plans, I it was just
beyond my capacity, and so Istarted to collect things that
made me happy.
I started to just collectthings that I liked to do and it
started really simple.
I mean, it started with doingthe crossword.
I liked doing the crosswordevery day and so I would do the
(12:02):
crossword, like while I wasgetting dinner ready, and then I
found that that wasn't whywould I take something that I
really want to do and likemultitask my way around it Like.
That didn't make sense.
So my routine of doing thecrossword while I was making
dinner didn't serve me becausethat activity of doing the
(12:25):
crossword wasn't in the rightplace.
It was the right activity.
It just wasn't in the righttime of day because I wasn't
able to start it and finish itin one sitting.
I would have to, like, get upand, you know, flip the burgers
or turn on the oven or whateverit was.
It wasn't uninterrupted, itwasn't protected.
So I added something to myroutine but I didn't protect it.
(12:47):
So then I figured out to put allthe things that I do for myself
at the top of the day, and thiswas a really big aha moment in
being able to develop and craftmy own morning routine simply by
paying attention to things thatmade me feel how I wanted to
(13:08):
feel.
So I broke it down into likemind, body, soul.
For my mind, I do the crosswordand the Sudoku.
For my body, I do Pilates or agood old-fashioned dance party
and those are so fun.
And so doing that meditation,doing that visualization, and I
(13:28):
found that it doesn't have to bea big production.
I can simply go downstairs, sitcrisscross applesauce on my
couch, look out the front windowand just let that be my
meditation, just sit in my bodyfor five minutes, 10 minutes, 30
minutes, whatever I feel calledto.
But that's protected time.
(13:50):
And when I did all theseactivities, at the end of my day
, it was really easy to talkmyself out of it.
It was really easy to be like,oh, I've done too much today, I
don't have time for this, Idon't have the energy for this.
To be like, oh, I've done toomuch today, I don't have time
for this, I don't have theenergy for this.
So I'm sending myself themessage that I don't have time
for my own wellness routine.
Oh.
So that quickly got shifted andI said let's do this at the top
(14:13):
of the day.
Let's start the day withintention, with the wind at my
back, set up for success, and Iget to actively show myself that
what's important to me mattersmost.
So that's what's getting mybest energy, it's what's getting
my first energy.
And what I found out was thatthat gave me more energy to then
(14:36):
go and do the things that Ineeded to do, whether it was for
other people or to work on myown projects or whatever it was.
I was able to do whatever thosethings was from a place of
being grounded, aligned, charged, tuned in, tapped in, turned on
.
And that was a huge gamechanger, because from there I
(14:58):
was able to navigate problemsolving from sturdier footing
and be able to see things alittle bit more clearly, because
I had already kind of scratchedthat itch.
I wasn't chasing it anymore.
I didn't spend my day waitingfor my me time to come.
I filled my cup first, at thetop of the day, and boy do I
(15:21):
ever wish I'd learned that 10,15 years ago.
So I think routines can befriend and foe as long as we do
it with intention and mindfully.
And the great part about thisis that there's no rules.
You get to make it up.
Sure, I'll let you go ahead.
Oh, he waved.
Yay, oh, that's a goodWinnipegger.
(15:42):
See, zipper merging works aslong as everybody's paying
attention.
Zipper merging and routines allmastered with intention and by
paying attention.
So yeah, routines can be friendand foe.
(16:06):
Because another little sneakypart about routines is that if
they don't go according to plan,or let's say you skip a day
without engaging in your routine, that's when your self-talk
really gets tested and that'swhere your ability to navigate
the deviation from the plan.
That's going to put yourself-love to the test, because
(16:29):
if we're not treating thesevariations with grace, we can
end up being really hard onourselves, and I would hate to
think that you're, you know,committed to this vision, vision
but putting all the pressure onyour routines to solve the
problem.
I just had a great conversationwith someone about.
You know, there's doing thething for the sake of doing the
(16:52):
thing, but the second that itbecomes like an item to check
off your to-do list.
You've kind of missed the point.
So if you're going on a mentalhealth walk and you're like I
need to go on my mental healthwalk, I have to go on my.
Okay, great, I'm doing mymental health walk.
Great, I've done my mentalhealth walk.
How come I still have mentalhealth issues?
(17:13):
Well, I say this with love, dearfriend, what were you hoping to
get out of the mental healthwalk?
Right, it's about going into itmindfully.
It's.
I'm going to take this mentalhealth walk to give myself some
space to breathe.
It's about taking the thoughtand extending it into an
intention.
I am taking this mental healthwalk so that I can slow down and
(17:38):
get back to my natural, normalrhythm, so that I can regulate
my nervous system so that I cango through life with more ease
and peace, so that I can showmyself some self-love and grace.
Right like, if we're notactively participating in these
kinds of thoughts and intentions, actively and having these
(18:01):
kinds of conversations withourselves, then ticking the box
of going on a walk for 20minutes is going to do jack shit
for your mental health.
So it's about the thing, butit's about.
It's about the what, but it'show we combine the what and the
how there's some real magic inthat potion and how we put it
(18:25):
all together and how we go aboutdoing the thing, how you go
about doing your routine,because a routine is intended to
serve you, my friend.
It is there and it is designednot for you to be a slave to it,
but for it to truly serve you.
So I guess what I want to do isthrow it out to you to be like
(18:47):
to reflect on your routines.
What are your routines?
Are they still there?
Because it's just simply theway we've always done it.
So this is a chance for us tointerrogate our reality, to ask
some questions.
Yeah, yeah, sure, you canchange lanes in the middle of an
intersection yeah, that's athing.
All right.
Uh-oh, construction Okay, I'mgoing to put the windows up.
(19:10):
Hopefully it doesn't sound likejackhammering, because you've
gone through enough.
Audio nonsense.
Hopefully that's all good.
Audio nonsense, hopefullythat's all good.
So, when it comes back to theroutines and it's time to
interrogate them, look at them,because here's the beauty.
There's no rules.
(19:30):
Well, the rule is whateverworks for you is the right
routine, and maybe the routineis every morning you get up and
you decide what your routine is.
But this is a process, it's anevolution, but it comes with
asking those really greatquestions what lights me up,
what makes me feel unstoppable,what makes me feel lighter, what
(19:55):
makes me feel inspired?
These are the things that wewant to begin to incorporate
into our routines, becausethat's going to be the fuel that
allows our inspiration to guideour actions, which allows us to
achieve our goals.
Whatever those goals are, thismethod and this systemology
(20:18):
applies whether your goal is toget the big promotion, or your
goal is to start your ownbusiness, or if your goal is to
go back to school.
This will always apply, becausewhat I talk about with mojo
mastery is all about buildingyour toolbox to be able to
navigate your life, and I'm nothere to say that everybody's
(20:40):
life needs to look the same Aucontraire, mon frere.
But your life should look likewhatever you want it to look
like, and hopefully these arethe tools and methodologies and
practical tips that you cancontinue to weave into your day
toto-day, because it's not aboutblowing up your life in order
(21:01):
to find happiness that's not howit works but it is a little bit
about peeling away the parts ofyou that aren't working for you
.
So bringing routines into theconversation allows us to put
our routines under themicroscope for a minute and not
judge it as good or bad, butsimply ask the question is this
(21:22):
serving me?
Could this serve me better?
What am I missing?
What am I doing for the sake ofdoing, and what?
If I let this go?
I'll have a little bit moreroom to add something that maybe
serves me a little better,maybe propels me forward a
little bit faster, without anyextra hard work, because more
(21:43):
isn't necessarily more.
So maybe your routines are toojam-packed, and taking that one
thing away allows you tonavigate your routine with a
little bit more balance andallows you to feel like you've
completed your routine becausethere's just the right amount of
things on there.
(22:07):
I have a five-step morningroutine and my commitment and my
agreement that I make withmyself is my best days.
I do all five things, but Idon't do anything else unless
I've done at least three of them.
Because we need to be able togive ourselves some flexibility
and adaptability, because thelast thing I want is for you to
go through this routine processand then you come across a day
(22:27):
where you can't get it done andthen you beat yourself up about
it.
That's not the point, my friend.
We need to be able to know thata routine is rigid and life is
not, so being able to have theheads up and see it coming that
yeah, there's going to be daysthat I don't get to do my
(22:49):
routine, and the answer to thatis that's okay, god willing,
there will be a chance to do itagain tomorrow.
And so when we let ourselvesoff the hook and we don't put
all of our eggs in that basket,it kind of lets us navigate life
(23:09):
with a little less stress and alittle more freedom and a
little more forgiveness and alittle bit more self-compassion,
because nobody's going to cometo you and take away your gold
star because you didn't do yourroutine today A hundred percent.
What you can do is giveyourself a gold star for not
doing the routine and notbeating yourself up about it.
(23:31):
Make that part of the goal.
I really struggled with myPilates routine for a while
there.
So I just made the goal tomyself well, I can skip one day,
but I can't skip two days in arow.
And that gave me a little bitof wiggle room to navigate and
really tune into my body and saydo I want to do this today, yes
or no?
Because that's what it's allabout.
(23:53):
It's about honoring yourself,your body, and we know that that
is not a static state.
There's going to be ups,there's going to be downs.
So knowing that and givingourselves the forgiveness and
the permission to be able tonavigate it, because we are
doing what we are living life onour own terms, my friends.
(24:13):
And so routines are there tohelp us steady the ship a little
bit.
Make sure that our compass isalways pointed in the direction
of our values and our goals, butwe know that there's going to
be waves that we don't seecoming.
So make sure that your routinesare adaptable and flexible, but
that comes with you and how youtalk to yourself about these
(24:36):
routines, self about theseroutines.
So I would love to hear moreabout your routines, what you
find successful things, littleaha moments of things that
you've added to your routinesthat have really made a big
difference to you.
I'm dying to hear what thoseare.
So I'm going to wrap this up,but I would love to hear from
you I'm going to shoot it backto myself in the studio where
(24:58):
we're going to wrap up thisepisode but I really appreciate
you tuning in to Mojo on theRoad.
It's been a slice and I can'twait to talk to you next week
when we talk about balance.
Ooh, hot topic balance Is it amyth or is it the secret sauce?
So I got lots of juicy thingsto talk about with balance.
(25:18):
Make sure you tune in next weekand, by all means, if this is
the kind of stuff you like tosink your teeth into and want to
talk more about oh man, have Igot something exciting coming up
for you?
I am currently developing themojo method.
This is the first time I'vesaid it out loud on the airwaves
, so you heard it here first.
(25:40):
It is going to be agroundbreaking, game-changing
course that is going to beavailable, so please stay tuned.
Keep your eyes and ear ballsopen.
I'm going to have a specialepisode dedicated to what that's
going to be all about, so ifyou're curious, stick around.
I got lots more to share withyou.
(26:01):
So thank you so much for comingon this road trip with me.
It's been a blast.
Oh, and look at that, just fornostalgic sake somebody else
changed lanes in the middle ofan intersection.
Aw, isn't that sweet.
At least I got a wave, allright, toodalooaroo, ciao for
now.
And that was pocket full ofMojo Road Trip Edition.
(26:39):
Tune in next week to see if wedo it again.
But seriously, thank you somuch for tuning in and I hope
that this has helped you tapinto some of that mojo of yours.
You're worth it, baby, and nowyou've got the soundtrack in
your head.
That knows that too.
When you feel like your mojocould use a tune-up, I've come
up with a lot of ways that wecould do this again sometime.
(27:01):
If you like to read, I've got aweekly blog.
Sign up today and you'll alsoget a weekly mojo magazine.
That will be the best thing inyour inbox all week.
If Instagram is where you gofor your inspo.
You can also find me there aswell.
I got mantras, I got liveconnects and some insights that
(27:21):
look you know just pretty.
So you can find me at mostdefinitely.
And finally, if you're anaction taker, then the seven day
mojo makeover is for you.
You're going to want to grab itnow, before prices go up.
All these cool links are easilyfound in the show notes, so go
have a look.
You're here anyway.
I've got so much great stuff toshare with you guys, so make
(27:45):
sure you tune in next week anduntil then, stay classy, stay
kind.
Ciao.
For now you.
Welcome to Pocketful of Mojo, where you're, you and
I'm, steph, and we tune in hereto tap into some Mojo.
Well, what do you mean?
What's mojo?
You see, mojo is thatunshakable feeling of confidence
, booming self-worth.
Like you're an unstoppableforce of nature, and I'm here to
(00:33):
show you how you can have thatfeeling every single day.
You see, I think I've crackedthe code to being happy.
I'm happy all the freaking timeevery day, at least most of the
day, possibly to an annoyingdegree, but hey, it wasn't
always this way.
And not to flex, but I've hadbreakdowns on multiple
(00:56):
continents and in two languages,but by paying attention and
living with more intention,paying attention and living with
more intention.
I've curated a self-love firstaid kit full of amazing tools
that help me out of life's moststicky and stressful situations,
and I do so with grace andself-care.
And I'm not here to gatekeep.
(01:17):
In fact, I'm on a mission tohelp you tap into your best
stuff and remember that you haveeverything you need to live
life on your own terms.
So settle in.
We are here for some positivechange.
So let's dig in to where yourmojo beats the road.
In today's episode, I'm going toreview our mantra for the week,
(01:40):
and then we're going to go anddig into today's main topic,
which is routines friend or foe,and plot twist.
We're taking it on the roadagain, this time with better
audio.
Thanks for hanging in there,folks.
So you stick around and I'mgoing to make sure that you're
glad that you did.
(02:01):
Let's get started with today'smantra and get tuned in, tapped
in and turned on.
Hello, hello, hello and welcome.
This is the 32nd episode ofPocketful of Mojo.
Once again, I'm Steph, how youdoing?
(02:23):
I'm your mojo maven, your soulsister, your emotional Sherpa,
and I'm so glad you're here.
I'm here to reflect yourawesomeness and your potential
back to you.
So let's settle in.
Let's start by digging intotoday's mantra, and that mantra
is my routines, help me growinto my potential.
(02:44):
Ooh, this mantra is locked andloaded for today's topic, so
let's unpack it together, shallwe?
My routines, help me grow intomy potential.
Your routines, that's right,they're yours.
You get to decide what they are.
So often we get bombarded withgurus and experts that prescribe
(03:06):
to us what a good daily routineor morning or exercise routine
can look like, and then we getso defeated and frustrated when
they don't work out the way thatwe want them to.
You know why?
Because you're not them.
Newsflash, babe what's good forthe goose is not always good
for the gander.
And these all come to usbecause we have a shared desire
(03:29):
for an end result.
But maybe the formula justisn't right.
This is your chance to takeback ownership of your routine
and make sure that it's workingfor you.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Routines are designed to helpyou, not add more to your to-do
list or make you feel like shit,and so often that ends up being
(03:53):
the case with routines, whichjust makes your routine feel
like your enemy.
A good routine is rooted in you, your goals, your values,
what's important to you.
So you gotta ask yourself whatis my goal here, how do I want
to feel, where do I want to goand how do I want to get there?
(04:14):
So figuring out what works foryou may take a bit of trial and
error.
So making sure that yourapproach is flexible and
adaptable will give you thepermission you need to design a
routine that serves your goalsin all aspects.
A routine that makes you feellike you're doing something for
the sake of doing something hasmissed the point entirely.
(04:36):
A good routine should propelyou forward and contribute to
your goals.
The goal is not the routine.
Write that down.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Growth is dynamic.
Growth means that you are inconstant motion by learning,
paying attention, settingintention, measuring success and
(05:00):
making sure that there arecheckpoints so that the desired
end result is the driving force.
In this exercise, sometimes weset routines in place for
comfort, for security, forpredictability.
We know what we want to get outof a routine, but it's
important to remember why we aredoing these activities.
The spirit and the energy thatwe bring to everything we do
(05:24):
matters.
Routines are no different, soit's natural to assume that, as
you leverage your routines tomove yourself and your goals
forward, it's paramount that youallow some flexibility and
adaptability to your routines togrow with you, and as you do
that, you're going to be able topoint out and identify the
(05:45):
things that need a tweak fromtime to time.
There are no rules here, myfriend, so the key ingredient to
a good routine is that it worksfor you and not the other way
around.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
Your potential is limitless andI truly mean this and believe
(06:08):
it with every fiber of my being.
You can do anything, but youcan't do everything.
So leverage the power ofroutines to serve you and your
potential, even if that meansstepping outside of your comfort
zone.
One of the best routines I everstarted began with simply
putting five minutes a daytowards a huge, scary goal.
(06:31):
That's it five minutes.
Some days that was all I hadthe courage to do, but over time
I was able to build momentumwhich gave me confidence and
motivation to maybe put in 10,15, 20 minutes towards my goal.
And you know what?
Now my big, scary goal hasbloomed into my full-time
(06:52):
passion.
But I had to start from where Iwas, and now you have all the
tidbits so that you can too.
Where will you start?
Mojarrino, the secret to yourfuture is hidden in your routine
.
My routines help me grow intomy potential.
(07:16):
And now over to ourcorrespondent on the road,
safely and hands-free, thanks toher new lapel mic.
Ladies and gentlemen, andeveryone in between, your Mojo
Maven Steph on the Road.
Okay, I hope this is working.
(07:54):
We're doing it again.
This is Mojo on the Road andwe're talking about routines,
routines, routines friend or foe.
This is what we're here todecide and I don't think this
has to be a debate.
I don't know if I feel superstrongly to like, be like it's
(08:16):
all one thing.
I think it can be both.
When I think about routines, Ithink about when I used to work
at Starbucks.
We had these things calledrepeatable routines, and it was
the way for us as, like amulti-store operation, we were
trying to get the same endresult every time.
And that's where routines comein really handy.
(08:38):
It takes a big task, it breaksit down to little tasks and it's
repeatable and it's designed Ithink routines are designed to
be efficient and effective andyou can count on it, and so it
serves a really good purposewhen you want a repeatable end
result and you want to be ableto count on it.
(08:59):
So it's almost like a routine,is like a formula.
And when I come back to thetheme of like friend or foe well
, how could that be bad?
Well, I'm here to discuss andunpack a little bit of the idea
that routines may be limitingour potential.
So how do we take the idea of aroutine and break it down in
(09:26):
such a way that it can be ourfriend without limiting our
potential, without limitingourselves and our mindset?
Because I think sometimes whathappens when we get into a
routine is that it can turn intoa rut if we're not paying
attention, if we're not beingmindful, if we're not paying
attention, if we're not beingmindful, if we're not connecting
our routine to our goal right,like I think about my morning
(09:51):
routine that I need to do abetter job of.
Well, my morning routine is notthe problem, it's my night
routine.
I have no problem executing mymorning routine, but my night
routine is big time getting inmy way.
So you know, we we sometimesfall into routines without
(10:12):
meaning to like, if we're notpaying attention, we could just
find ourselves like oh well,when I finished dinner, I I do
the dishes and then I watch TVand then I fall asleep in front
of the TV.
Like I do the dishes and then Iwatch TV and then I fall asleep
in front of the TV, and I dothat every single night.
That may or may not be the storyfor you, but the question is is
that serving you?
Is that helping you?
Is that aligned with your goalsand where you want to go?
(10:33):
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe that's how you exerciseyour downtime.
But this conversation is reallydesigned for us to be able to
start asking these questions Aremy, are my routines working for
(10:56):
me?
Are my routines limiting me?
Because I think that there'salso like for me.
I love structure.
You give me some type of planstructured.
I love checking boxes, I lovedoing things in order.
But that's got.
It's got to be centered onsomething that I really want to
do, because the danger is to getstuck in your routine and have
your routine not serve you.
(11:17):
And when I was putting my lifeback together slowly and I was
still kind of in my zombie stateof grief, I honestly couldn't
make a plan for tomorrow or nextweek, like that's how.
I was just really reallyvulnerable and really in a
(11:39):
cocooning stage.
So making short term plans,medium term plans, I it was just
beyond my capacity, and so Istarted to collect things that
made me happy.
I started to just collectthings that I liked to do and it
started really simple.
I mean, it started with doingthe crossword.
I liked doing the crosswordevery day and so I would do the
(12:02):
crossword, like while I wasgetting dinner ready, and then I
found that that wasn't whywould I take something that I
really want to do and likemultitask my way around it Like.
That didn't make sense.
So my routine of doing thecrossword while I was making
dinner didn't serve me becausethat activity of doing the
(12:25):
crossword wasn't in the rightplace.
It was the right activity.
It just wasn't in the righttime of day because I wasn't
able to start it and finish itin one sitting.
I would have to, like, get upand, you know, flip the burgers
or turn on the oven or whateverit was.
It wasn't uninterrupted, itwasn't protected.
So I added something to myroutine but I didn't protect it.
(12:47):
So then I figured out to put allthe things that I do for myself
at the top of the day, and thiswas a really big aha moment in
being able to develop and craftmy own morning routine simply by
paying attention to things thatmade me feel how I wanted to
(13:08):
feel.
So I broke it down into likemind, body, soul.
For my mind, I do the crosswordand the Sudoku.
For my body, I do Pilates or agood old-fashioned dance party
and those are so fun.
And so doing that meditation,doing that visualization, and I
(13:28):
found that it doesn't have to bea big production.
I can simply go downstairs, sitcrisscross applesauce on my
couch, look out the front windowand just let that be my
meditation, just sit in my bodyfor five minutes, 10 minutes, 30
minutes, whatever I feel calledto.
But that's protected time.
(13:50):
And when I did all theseactivities, at the end of my day
, it was really easy to talkmyself out of it.
It was really easy to be like,oh, I've done too much today, I
don't have time for this, Idon't have the energy for this.
To be like, oh, I've done toomuch today, I don't have time
for this, I don't have theenergy for this.
So I'm sending myself themessage that I don't have time
for my own wellness routine.
Oh.
So that quickly got shifted andI said let's do this at the top
(14:13):
of the day.
Let's start the day withintention, with the wind at my
back, set up for success, and Iget to actively show myself that
what's important to me mattersmost.
So that's what's getting mybest energy, it's what's getting
my first energy.
And what I found out was thatthat gave me more energy to then
(14:36):
go and do the things that Ineeded to do, whether it was for
other people or to work on myown projects or whatever it was.
I was able to do whatever thosethings was from a place of
being grounded, aligned, charged, tuned in, tapped in, turned on
.
And that was a huge gamechanger, because from there I
(14:58):
was able to navigate problemsolving from sturdier footing
and be able to see things alittle bit more clearly, because
I had already kind of scratchedthat itch.
I wasn't chasing it anymore.
I didn't spend my day waitingfor my me time to come.
I filled my cup first, at thetop of the day, and boy do I
(15:21):
ever wish I'd learned that 10,15 years ago.
So I think routines can befriend and foe as long as we do
it with intention and mindfully.
And the great part about thisis that there's no rules.
You get to make it up.
Sure, I'll let you go ahead.
Oh, he waved.
Yay, oh, that's a goodWinnipegger.
(15:42):
See, zipper merging works aslong as everybody's paying
attention.
Zipper merging and routines allmastered with intention and by
paying attention.
So yeah, routines can be friendand foe.
(16:06):
Because another little sneakypart about routines is that if
they don't go according to plan,or let's say you skip a day
without engaging in your routine, that's when your self-talk
really gets tested and that'swhere your ability to navigate
the deviation from the plan.
That's going to put yourself-love to the test, because
(16:29):
if we're not treating thesevariations with grace, we can
end up being really hard onourselves, and I would hate to
think that you're, you know,committed to this vision, vision
but putting all the pressure onyour routines to solve the
problem.
I just had a great conversationwith someone about.
You know, there's doing thething for the sake of doing the
(16:52):
thing, but the second that itbecomes like an item to check
off your to-do list.
You've kind of missed the point.
So if you're going on a mentalhealth walk and you're like I
need to go on my mental healthwalk, I have to go on my.
Okay, great, I'm doing mymental health walk.
Great, I've done my mentalhealth walk.
How come I still have mentalhealth issues?
(17:13):
Well, I say this with love, dearfriend, what were you hoping to
get out of the mental healthwalk?
Right, it's about going into itmindfully.
It's.
I'm going to take this mentalhealth walk to give myself some
space to breathe.
It's about taking the thoughtand extending it into an
intention.
I am taking this mental healthwalk so that I can slow down and
(17:38):
get back to my natural, normalrhythm, so that I can regulate
my nervous system so that I cango through life with more ease
and peace, so that I can showmyself some self-love and grace.
Right like, if we're notactively participating in these
kinds of thoughts and intentions, actively and having these
(18:01):
kinds of conversations withourselves, then ticking the box
of going on a walk for 20minutes is going to do jack shit
for your mental health.
So it's about the thing, butit's about.
It's about the what, but it'show we combine the what and the
how there's some real magic inthat potion and how we put it
(18:25):
all together and how we go aboutdoing the thing, how you go
about doing your routine,because a routine is intended to
serve you, my friend.
It is there and it is designednot for you to be a slave to it,
but for it to truly serve you.
So I guess what I want to do isthrow it out to you to be like
(18:47):
to reflect on your routines.
What are your routines?
Are they still there?
Because it's just simply theway we've always done it.
So this is a chance for us tointerrogate our reality, to ask
some questions.
Yeah, yeah, sure, you canchange lanes in the middle of an
intersection yeah, that's athing.
All right.
Uh-oh, construction Okay, I'mgoing to put the windows up.
(19:10):
Hopefully it doesn't sound likejackhammering, because you've
gone through enough.
Audio nonsense.
Hopefully that's all good.
Audio nonsense, hopefullythat's all good.
So, when it comes back to theroutines and it's time to
interrogate them, look at them,because here's the beauty.
There's no rules.
(19:30):
Well, the rule is whateverworks for you is the right
routine, and maybe the routineis every morning you get up and
you decide what your routine is.
But this is a process, it's anevolution, but it comes with
asking those really greatquestions what lights me up,
what makes me feel unstoppable,what makes me feel lighter, what
(19:55):
makes me feel inspired?
These are the things that wewant to begin to incorporate
into our routines, becausethat's going to be the fuel that
allows our inspiration to guideour actions, which allows us to
achieve our goals.
Whatever those goals are, thismethod and this systemology
(20:18):
applies whether your goal is toget the big promotion, or your
goal is to start your ownbusiness, or if your goal is to
go back to school.
This will always apply, becausewhat I talk about with mojo
mastery is all about buildingyour toolbox to be able to
navigate your life, and I'm nothere to say that everybody's
(20:40):
life needs to look the same Aucontraire, mon frere.
But your life should look likewhatever you want it to look
like, and hopefully these arethe tools and methodologies and
practical tips that you cancontinue to weave into your day
toto-day, because it's not aboutblowing up your life in order
(21:01):
to find happiness that's not howit works but it is a little bit
about peeling away the parts ofyou that aren't working for you
.
So bringing routines into theconversation allows us to put
our routines under themicroscope for a minute and not
judge it as good or bad, butsimply ask the question is this
(21:22):
serving me?
Could this serve me better?
What am I missing?
What am I doing for the sake ofdoing, and what?
If I let this go?
I'll have a little bit moreroom to add something that maybe
serves me a little better,maybe propels me forward a
little bit faster, without anyextra hard work, because more
(21:43):
isn't necessarily more.
So maybe your routines are toojam-packed, and taking that one
thing away allows you tonavigate your routine with a
little bit more balance andallows you to feel like you've
completed your routine becausethere's just the right amount of
things on there.
(22:07):
I have a five-step morningroutine and my commitment and my
agreement that I make withmyself is my best days.
I do all five things, but Idon't do anything else unless
I've done at least three of them.
Because we need to be able togive ourselves some flexibility
and adaptability, because thelast thing I want is for you to
go through this routine processand then you come across a day
(22:27):
where you can't get it done andthen you beat yourself up about
it.
That's not the point, my friend.
We need to be able to know thata routine is rigid and life is
not, so being able to have theheads up and see it coming that
yeah, there's going to be daysthat I don't get to do my
(22:49):
routine, and the answer to thatis that's okay, god willing,
there will be a chance to do itagain tomorrow.
And so when we let ourselvesoff the hook and we don't put
all of our eggs in that basket,it kind of lets us navigate life
(23:09):
with a little less stress and alittle more freedom and a
little more forgiveness and alittle bit more self-compassion,
because nobody's going to cometo you and take away your gold
star because you didn't do yourroutine today A hundred percent.
What you can do is giveyourself a gold star for not
doing the routine and notbeating yourself up about it.
(23:31):
Make that part of the goal.
I really struggled with myPilates routine for a while
there.
So I just made the goal tomyself well, I can skip one day,
but I can't skip two days in arow.
And that gave me a little bitof wiggle room to navigate and
really tune into my body and saydo I want to do this today, yes
or no?
Because that's what it's allabout.
(23:53):
It's about honoring yourself,your body, and we know that that
is not a static state.
There's going to be ups,there's going to be downs.
So knowing that and givingourselves the forgiveness and
the permission to be able tonavigate it, because we are
doing what we are living life onour own terms, my friends.
(24:13):
And so routines are there tohelp us steady the ship a little
bit.
Make sure that our compass isalways pointed in the direction
of our values and our goals, butwe know that there's going to
be waves that we don't seecoming.
So make sure that your routinesare adaptable and flexible, but
that comes with you and how youtalk to yourself about these
(24:36):
routines, self about theseroutines.
So I would love to hear moreabout your routines, what you
find successful things, littleaha moments of things that
you've added to your routinesthat have really made a big
difference to you.
I'm dying to hear what thoseare.
So I'm going to wrap this up,but I would love to hear from
you I'm going to shoot it backto myself in the studio where
(24:58):
we're going to wrap up thisepisode but I really appreciate
you tuning in to Mojo on theRoad.
It's been a slice and I can'twait to talk to you next week
when we talk about balance.
Ooh, hot topic balance Is it amyth or is it the secret sauce?
So I got lots of juicy thingsto talk about with balance.
(25:18):
Make sure you tune in next weekand, by all means, if this is
the kind of stuff you like tosink your teeth into and want to
talk more about oh man, have Igot something exciting coming up
for you?
I am currently developing themojo method.
This is the first time I'vesaid it out loud on the airwaves
, so you heard it here first.
(25:40):
It is going to be agroundbreaking, game-changing
course that is going to beavailable, so please stay tuned.
Keep your eyes and ear ballsopen.
I'm going to have a specialepisode dedicated to what that's
going to be all about, so ifyou're curious, stick around.
I got lots more to share withyou.
(26:01):
So thank you so much for comingon this road trip with me.
It's been a blast.
Oh, and look at that, just fornostalgic sake somebody else
changed lanes in the middle ofan intersection.
Aw, isn't that sweet.
At least I got a wave, allright, toodalooaroo, ciao for
now.
And that was pocket full ofMojo Road Trip Edition.
(26:39):
Tune in next week to see if wedo it again.
But seriously, thank you somuch for tuning in and I hope
that this has helped you tapinto some of that mojo of yours.
You're worth it, baby, and nowyou've got the soundtrack in
your head.
That knows that too.
When you feel like your mojocould use a tune-up, I've come
up with a lot of ways that wecould do this again sometime.
(27:01):
If you like to read, I've got aweekly blog.
Sign up today and you'll alsoget a weekly mojo magazine.
That will be the best thing inyour inbox all week.
If Instagram is where you gofor your inspo.
You can also find me there aswell.
I got mantras, I got liveconnects and some insights that
(27:21):
look you know just pretty.
So you can find me at mostdefinitely.
And finally, if you're anaction taker, then the seven day
mojo makeover is for you.
You're going to want to grab itnow, before prices go up.
All these cool links are easilyfound in the show notes, so go
have a look.
You're here anyway.
I've got so much great stuff toshare with you guys, so make
(27:45):
sure you tune in next week anduntil then, stay classy, stay
kind.
Ciao.
For now you.
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