Amy's got 4 things for you that are all different...but with a similar 'better quality of life' vibe inside each thing.
FIRST THING: There is one hobby in particular that you need to take up that leads to more happiness....also there's a hobby of sorts you want to eliminate from your life because it's not healthy....you might be doing it and don't even realize it.
SECOND THING: The 10 worst sleep mistakes according to experts.
THIRD THING: Things you can do to turn your bad day around!
FOURTH THING: A meditation from Amy's cousin, Amanda Rieger Green (and host of Soul Sessions podcast) that is an easy 5 minutes. Enjoy!
4 Things Gratitude Journal (all proceeds to education in Haiti)
The 'Walking Meditation' from Pass Around the Smile
Call and leave a voicemail: 877-207-2077
Email: 4ThingsWithAmyBrown@gmail.com
HOST: Amy Brown // RadioAmy.com // @RadioAmy
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Good level, okay level cast up road thing, little food
for yourself life. Oh it's pretty bad.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey, it's pretty beautiful than beautiful.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
For that for a little more exciting course, said he can.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
You're kicking with full thing.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
With Amy Brown, Happy Thursday.
Speaker 5 (00:33):
Four Things Amy here and I got an OG style
episode for you. And if you're brand new here and
you have no idea what OG style is. Well, when
the podcast first started back in like twenty eighteen or so,
we did four totally different things every episode. That was
the idea behind it, and as it evolved, it didn't
always break things up into four things.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And sometimes we go back and do OG.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
Style, which is today's episode, and you'll hear Walker Hayes
saying first thing, second thing, and that breaks everything up,
which she sings the theme song at the beginning too.
And something fun that I'm going to hit him up
about is coming up with a new theme song. We've
got some changes that are coming to the podcast as
we evolve a little bit more. And something fun. I
(01:19):
think you're really gonna love it. I look forward to
your feedback on it. But hopefully have a new song
and sort of a new chapter for the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Speaking of Walker.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
I saw him perform last night at an event that
the CMA Foundation put on to honor music teachers. It
was a really special event, lots of artists performing and
talking about the impact that music teachers had on their
lives and their career, the trajectory of their life, even
moving to Nashville becoming an artist. And Walker performed a
(01:50):
song he wrote called If Father Time had a Daughter,
and it is the sweetest song I had never heard it.
I was at a table full of some men that
have daughters, big old guys. I wouldn't really see them
getting emotional, but as the song continued, I saw them
get out their cell phones and start to record Walker
because they wanted to capture the song.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And I looked up.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
They've got tears in their eyes, and it was a
really special moment. So if you're a dad listening you've
got daughters, check out this song. If you are a daughter,
check it out. Send it to your dad. If you're
a wife, a mom, whatever, send it to the father
of your children. So shout out to Walker for that.
And we're going to get into hobbies and hate following.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
For the first thing. We're also going to talk about
sleep mistakes.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
According to experts, I have the worst ones, and we
need to stop committing them because sleep is so important.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
But I went through the list and I was like, oh, whoops,
I do that. I do that, I do that.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Third thing is how to turn a bad day around.
And the fourth thing a meditation. Don't forget to follow,
subscribe whatever it looks like for you. Wherever you listen
to the podcast, you can do that, you can review,
you can send us emails four things with Amy Brown
at gmail dot com, and you can also call us
and leave us a voicemail. Eight seven seven two oh
(03:04):
seven two oh seven seven. All right, let's get started first, right, Yeah,
all right, So I'm going to talk about hate following.
This could be a hobby that you are participating in
and you don't even realize it. Now, after I tell
you about hate following, I'm going to share with you
a hobby that can make you happier, because hate following
(03:27):
definitely does not. But I did see the happy hobby
situation multiple times this week. I saw articles when I
was on social media, when I was searching news prep
for the Bobby Bone Show, and I was like, oh,
this could be worth noting because this type of hobby
might be something we could all do, and maybe it's
just the nudge you need to finally do it. I
(03:47):
will give you a hint. Therapy Cat has already started
something like this, and who knew she was onto something.
So hate following is a thing. Again. We may not
know that we're doing it, but it's a social media
habit that we fall into. If you follow people with
perfect photos or someone who posts offensive political things that
you don't agree with, you might be hate following. A
(04:09):
behavioral psychologist named Denise Dudley was talking about how you
don't know you're doing this destructive behavior, but when you
hate follow, you're secretly hoping for a politically incorrect slip
up or a bad hair day to make yourself feel
a little bit better about your own life. And sometimes
we hate follow people who seem to have it all
(04:30):
just to remind ourselves why we don't like them. And
the problem with that is hate following creates stress, anxiety,
low self esteem, or even depression. So experts suggest to
unfollow the people who fit the category and move on.
I will say that I went through my feed and
I couldn't say one hundred percent I was hate following.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But when I.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Used some of this article to like assess, like do
I really like this person? Do I align with this person?
How do I feel after I watch this person? And
then I thought, oh, sometimes when maybe they mess up
or it seems like their life isn't as perfect as
I thought? Do I feel a little bit better about
my own life when I see that happen? And I
(05:12):
was able to answer yes to that. So being honest here,
I unfollowed someone that fit that category. So make sure
you're not hate following. I didn't realize I was doing it,
and experts say a lot of people are doing it,
and yeah, we don't even realize it. Now on to
more positive hobby news. Taking up arts and crafts could
be a game changer in your happiness. So if you
(05:35):
want to lower cortisol levels and have overall better well being,
simply take up an arts and crafts hobby.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
See therapy cat. She's been onto this with her painting.
Like if you go over to her house at her
kitchen table, she just has this whole arts and crafts
been in the corner now and then on the table
she'll just have a blank canvas and some paint so
she can bust it out at any time. But it
doesn't have to even be as common implicated as paint
and a canvas and all the things like you can
(06:03):
just draw if you want to. Doctor Helen Keyes, a
cognitive psychologist, just released a new study talking about this,
and she said that engaging with arts and crafts is
accessible and affordable, and options such as knitting and drawing
require very little tools and can be so engaging and
creatively fulfilling. And people in the study reported more happiness,
(06:27):
better life satisfaction, and sense of lives being worthwhile if
they were participating in an arts and craft project. So, guys,
this is really simple. I think we can all do this.
And you know, I was talking about that event I
went to last night for music teachers and hearing all
the stories and seeing all the kids play their instruments.
(06:48):
I got a little annoyed at my mom that she
let me quit piano when I was a kid. And
I was encouraged though that even at forty three, I
could start taking piano lessons, make that a hobby.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
It's not going to be guitar for me.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
I took lessons several years ago, and my fingers hurt
so bad, Like, I just don't know that that's gonna
be a thing for me. But piano I think I
could get into. And I looked up some of the
benefits of playing piano. Stress management came up, creativity in
the brain, improve coordination, self esteem, improves concentration, enhanced memory,
(07:23):
math improvement. I mean, the list goes on, improved mental health, neuroplasticity, focus,
goal setting, cultural enrichment.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Why would my mom take me out of that?
Speaker 5 (07:33):
So now at forty three, because I have a keyboard
at my house, I don't have a piano, but I
do think I could start taking some piano lessons and
add that to my hobby belt. But if you have
ADHD like me, you know that we like to start
a lot of hobbies and not necessarily complete them. But
I'm working on that maybe this could be something that
I follow through with and I do. And so I'm
(07:54):
gonna get my arts and crafts a little section at
my house set up, and I'm gonna get my little
keyboard set up. And these are to be some hobbies
that are going to add to my life. And I
still want to add my garden to my backyard too,
which I've gardened before, and I loved that so much
that I can't wait to bring it back. All right,
(08:15):
we all want good sleep, and some of these mistakes
are so basic you know you're doing them. We've heard
all time and time again. But I appreciate a reminder
every now and again to stop doing some of these things.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
And maybe some of them will be new to you.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
But the Guardian put together the ten were sleep mistakes
according to experts, and at number one is not knowing
how much sleep you really need now. I think I
need around eight. Seven to nine is typically the recommendation.
But here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
If we get too much.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Sleep, we may not be on our a game. You
may be moody, you may find it hard to focus,
so you could be oversleeping, if that's even possible. I
feel like most of us are sleep deprived. But you
may not need as much you're getting, or you may
even be underestimating it. You may think, I know I'm
good on five to six hours, but really you need
(09:07):
to strive for seven or eight if you could get there,
and it could be a game changer in your mood
and your focus. So this is where a journal comes
in handy. If you want to really get into it
to know kind of how you're feeling, which I think
a journal would be good for this next one too,
eating too much or too little before bed, so you
can assess how you feel, because if you eat too much,
(09:27):
things like indigestion and heartburn come into play. But if
you're feeling hungry, that can keep you up screens before bed.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
We all know this is bad. I know it hurt
it a million times.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
But for some reason I watched Emily and Paris last
night before bed and turned off my screen and just
closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
And we need to not do that.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
We got to put our phones down, turn the TV off,
and give ourselves some space from the blue light. Yeah,
that's one thing, but it's the stimulation that can also
be keeping us up. Of course, then I was thinking
about Paris and the outfits and their relationship and how
I want to watch the next episode. So yeah, there's
other stimulation happening in our brain when we're watching a show,
(10:08):
not winding down. It's important to have at least thirty
to sixty minutes of a wind down time before closing
your eyes. Napping too much and naps are fine. I
think they're great, but we hear more and more we've
got to try to limit them to twenty thirty minutes
so that they don't keep us up at night spending
too much time awake in bed. The more time you
spend in bed not sleeping, the more your body gets
(10:31):
used to it. So if you're not sleeping, get out
of bed. Not getting enough sleep on weeknights, do not
assume that you can catch up on sleep over the weekend.
Sleeping in once or twice is not going to completely
make up for you burning the candle at both ends
Monday through Friday, keeping an inconsistent sleep schedule. I'm guilty
of this one big time. Our bodies have a hard
(10:52):
time adjusting, So that's another reason that sleeping in on
weekends is not ideal. But I just haven't been able
to even be insistant on the weeknights lately. Too much
caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine takes eight hours to metabolize, so
a cup of coffee at three pm could still be
keeping you up at ten pm, and alcohol might make
(11:15):
you feel tired, but you end up getting a worse
night's sleep, and then finally worrying about sleep it can
be a self fulfilling prophecy. You lie there worrying that
you won't fall asleep, so you don't, and if you
need to get up for a while and maybe try
again later, that's okay. You've just got to do your
best to relax. Maybe a warm shower, a nighttime bath
(11:39):
with some epsom salt, maybe take some magnesium before you
go to bed to help prepare your body for sleep.
So there you go, the ten worst sleep mistakes that
we're all likely making according to experts.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Here we got good thing.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
If I'm having a bad day, I like to figure
out ways to turn it around. And there is something
really simple for adults that can work. Like this. Whole
survey was taken talking about how this one thing can
turn a bad day around. But first I want to
talk about something that I did for my kids, which
my kids are doing great right now. I love that
as a parent, but school gets them down at times.
(12:25):
You know, there's academic struggles and different friendship things that
pop up. So I put together a list of things
that they can say to themselves on hard days, and
I wrote them out on a note card and I
stuck them on the mirror in their bathroom so that
way they can see these little mantras and have them
in their back pocket if they need them. And these
will work for adults too. But this is just something
(12:47):
I put together for my kids. Things to say to
yourself on a hard day. This is not my whole story.
I have faced challenges before and overcome them. It's okay
to ask for help when I need it. No one
has it all figured out. So that might be a
little something that you can make for your kids or
(13:08):
even for yourself. But if you're into coffee, just know
that this whole study was done and it found that
a good cup of coffee is really powerful. It can
turn a bad day into a really good day. And
I can sort of agree with that. Or it contributes
to me having a bad day if I don't have
my morning ritual with my coffee, just something is a
(13:30):
little bit off.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
But I was trying to think of other.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Ways or tools or things that I use to turn
my day around if it is not going the way
I wanted to or I'm feeling negative. Gratitude is at
the top of the list. That is a big one
for me. I started practicing gratitude several years ago and
it was a game changer. I love practicing gratitude. I
(13:54):
can instantly feel a difference. Sometimes I just have to
do it mentally in my mind because I'm not a
place where I can journal. But for me, pen to
paper gratitude is my preferred method and very impactful for me.
Which if you are one of the one in four
Americans that have already started Christmas shopping, I highly recommend
(14:16):
you check out the Four Things Gratitude journal because one
hundred percent of proceeds go to education in Haiti, so
it's a win win gift. Or if you're not Christmas
shopping but you want to start a gratitude practice, or
you like cute journals, then you can hit up four
Things dot com and check those out. I'll link them
in the show notes as well. But in addition to gratitude,
(14:36):
just getting outside going for a quick walk in nature
always helps me. Calling a friend, doing like a cold
shower is really helpful, or cryotherapy or something like that.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And another big thing.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
For me would be meditation when it comes to turning
my day around. I have been doing this walking meditation
that is amazing. It's only ten minutes long. I walk
the dog, I do the ten minute meditation. Obviously your
eyes are open, but part of it is you observe
things around you and the trees and the sky or
water if you're near water. I've noticed things in my
(15:12):
neighborhood that I've never paid attention to before. And some
mornings I'm doing this before the Bobby Bone Show, like
a quick ten minute walk with my dog, and it
is still dark outside, but I'm seeing certain stars and
the moon, and I'm getting curious. I'm like, wait, I
wonder what star that is. It's really bright. It's just
this warm feeling. I can't explain. But I found this
(15:35):
walking meditation by just typing in walking meditation into the search.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Thing on the iHeart app.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
But wherever you listen to podcasts, you can just type
that in and someone's going to have one loaded up
for you. But I'll link this one in the show
notes because I've been loving it. I don't even know
her at all. She's got an accent. I don't know
if she's from New Zealand or Australia, but her name
is Chloe Massey and her podcast is called Pass Around
the Smile and the walking Meditation that I found of hers.
It's again a ten minute one. It's a walking meditation
(16:05):
for manifestation, positive energy, and gratitude, and I love it.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Speaking of meditations, the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Fourth thing coming up next, I'll go ahead and set
it up here, so after Walker goes fourth thing, the
meditation will just start. But this is one that I
did with my cousin Amanda, Amanda Riga Green. She also
has a podcast called Soul Sessions, which I just had
this idea pop into my head. I feel like I
need to link up Amanda with this Chloe Massy person
(16:35):
because I feel like they could have a really cool
podcast conversation on each other's podcasts. So I'm just giving
you all some insight into my brain right now and
how it works because a lot of times I'm talking
and that I have all these other thoughts that are
happening at the exact same time and it doesn't really
slow down.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
So I'm letting you in on that.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
And I'm gonna probably need to do a ten minute
walking meditation after I record this to just reset my brain,
reset my body, to go be with my kids tonight
and have some intentional time with them. But this meditation
is something that Amanda and I recorded together. It's her
leading it. I think it was last year sometime and
(17:13):
we released it just on its own, little five minute thing,
like a little bonus episode that went up. But I'm
attaching it here because I think some of you may
need it today, right now, in this moment. You can
take five minutes, You can pause what you're doing, and
you can do this meditation. I often hear before I'm
listening to meditations from different people or anybody, when they
talk about meditation, they say people complain about time, and
(17:36):
they say, listen, if you were saying I don't have
five minutes to meditate, I don't have ten. I don't
even have thirty. I don't If you're someone saying that,
then you are someone that needs it.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
You need the meditation. So there you go.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I just called you out.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
If you were just telling yourself you don't have the time,
well guess what you do. And if you need to
keep doing something else and you can't close your eyes,
don't you can continue doing what you need to do.
Sometimes even just taking in the words and what they're
saying and pausing some of your thoughts and having different
mantras that are being shared can impact your day. Do
what's going to work for you. I do highly encourage
(18:13):
you to take the time to sit with your eyes
closed when you can, and mix in some of the
walking meditations as well. But if you need to continue
on with your day, do it. I think the only
time you can get a little iffy is if you're
trying to do some sort of meditation that could potentially
make you a little sleepy and you're driving or something
that's not recommended. There's some that I've pulled up before
(18:35):
that even have a warning do not drive or operate
heavy machinery while doing this meditation, because it may take
your brain into a calm space that doesn't allow you
to focus and pay attention on what's going on, or
even worse, could cause you to get drowsy and fall asleep.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
So this is five minutes.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
Hope you enjoy it, have the day you need to have,
and I'll see you on Tuesday for the fifth thing
with Kat. All right, here's the meditation.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Fourth thing.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Wherever you are, find a comfortable seat or lying down,
taking a deep inhale to start through your nose, fill
your body with oxygen, open your mouth, audible sigh of
reliefs Again, deep inhale, filling your lungs, creating space in
(19:49):
the body in hell longer than you want. Old exhale,
big release. One more deep inhalation, oxygenating your entire body,
your entire being, maybe even allowing it to expand beyond
(20:10):
your body. Hold hold, exhale, release, now, beginning to tense
your body up from the tips of your toes, through
your ankles, your legs, your knees, your fist, your arms,
your chest, your shoulders, your jaw, your head. Hold hold, hold, release,
(20:35):
feeling the energy leave your body, the sensations. Let's repeat
this two more times. Tense up, tense up, tighter, tighter,
bringing together fear, pain, aggravation, disease, discomfort, tighter, tighter, tighter, release,
allowing everything to fluidly relax into your body, around your
(20:58):
body more time. Tense, tense, bringing in anything that is
causing you discomfort, pain, aggravation. Bring it all together, cultivate it,
culminate it, exhale, release, relax, let it go, send it
out into the universe. If you need to shake your hands,
(21:18):
gently move your body a little bit, it's okay. Let
the body know it has permission to fully relax. Bringing
your hand now one hand, the left hand to the belly,
the right hand to the chest, gently feeling the rhythms
(21:43):
of your own breath. Maybe you can feel your heart
beat or your belly gently rise and fall. Relax your jaw,
release the tongue from the roof of the mouth, literally
giving the body permission to relax, to be in a receptive,
(22:08):
calm state. The mind the ability to shut down some
of the chatter, creating time and space for yourself in
your mind's eye, the empowered voice in your head repeat
after me today. I am available for love.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Today. I'm available for peace today. I'm available for healing today.
I'm available for joy today. I'm available for happiness today.
(22:58):
I'm available for kindness today. I'm available for generosity today.
I'm available for security today. I'm available for fun today.
(23:24):
I'm available for ease today. I'm available for fill in
your blank Today.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I am available to receive all the gifts that God's
wondrous universe has to give me. Releasing your hands, coming
into your mind's eye, finding stillness, finding peace, smiling at
(24:01):
the time and the space you've cultivated in your mind, body, spirit,
knowing that you were taking steps toward greater healing, clarity, happiness,
and alignment. Deep inhale to come back to your body,
(24:22):
Back to your breath, Open your mouth, audible sigh two
more times inhale, oxygenating the body, sending life force.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
In exhale, release.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
One more deep breath, filling the body with oxygen, light, air,
sending it.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Out beyond your body.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Now exhale release, coming back into this space, into your
own presence, and ready to begin again again. Wherever you are,
I must stay, I must stay.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
H
Good level, okay level cast up road thing, little food
for yourself life. Oh it's pretty bad.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey, it's pretty beautiful than beautiful.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
For that for a little more exciting course, said he can.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
You're kicking with full thing.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
With Amy Brown, Happy Thursday.
Speaker 5 (00:33):
Four Things Amy here and I got an OG style
episode for you. And if you're brand new here and
you have no idea what OG style is. Well, when
the podcast first started back in like twenty eighteen or so,
we did four totally different things every episode. That was
the idea behind it, and as it evolved, it didn't
always break things up into four things.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
And sometimes we go back and do OG.
Speaker 5 (00:57):
Style, which is today's episode, and you'll hear Walker Hayes
saying first thing, second thing, and that breaks everything up,
which she sings the theme song at the beginning too.
And something fun that I'm going to hit him up
about is coming up with a new theme song. We've
got some changes that are coming to the podcast as
we evolve a little bit more. And something fun. I
(01:19):
think you're really gonna love it. I look forward to
your feedback on it. But hopefully have a new song
and sort of a new chapter for the podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Speaking of Walker.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
I saw him perform last night at an event that
the CMA Foundation put on to honor music teachers. It
was a really special event, lots of artists performing and
talking about the impact that music teachers had on their
lives and their career, the trajectory of their life, even
moving to Nashville becoming an artist. And Walker performed a
(01:50):
song he wrote called If Father Time had a Daughter,
and it is the sweetest song I had never heard it.
I was at a table full of some men that
have daughters, big old guys. I wouldn't really see them
getting emotional, but as the song continued, I saw them
get out their cell phones and start to record Walker
because they wanted to capture the song.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
And I looked up.
Speaker 5 (02:11):
They've got tears in their eyes, and it was a
really special moment. So if you're a dad listening you've
got daughters, check out this song. If you are a daughter,
check it out. Send it to your dad. If you're
a wife, a mom, whatever, send it to the father
of your children. So shout out to Walker for that.
And we're going to get into hobbies and hate following.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
For the first thing. We're also going to talk about
sleep mistakes.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
According to experts, I have the worst ones, and we
need to stop committing them because sleep is so important.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
But I went through the list and I was like, oh, whoops,
I do that. I do that, I do that.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
Third thing is how to turn a bad day around.
And the fourth thing a meditation. Don't forget to follow,
subscribe whatever it looks like for you. Wherever you listen
to the podcast, you can do that, you can review,
you can send us emails four things with Amy Brown
at gmail dot com, and you can also call us
and leave us a voicemail. Eight seven seven two oh
(03:04):
seven two oh seven seven. All right, let's get started first, right, Yeah,
all right, So I'm going to talk about hate following.
This could be a hobby that you are participating in
and you don't even realize it. Now, after I tell
you about hate following, I'm going to share with you
a hobby that can make you happier, because hate following
(03:27):
definitely does not. But I did see the happy hobby
situation multiple times this week. I saw articles when I
was on social media, when I was searching news prep
for the Bobby Bone Show, and I was like, oh,
this could be worth noting because this type of hobby
might be something we could all do, and maybe it's
just the nudge you need to finally do it. I
(03:47):
will give you a hint. Therapy Cat has already started
something like this, and who knew she was onto something.
So hate following is a thing. Again. We may not
know that we're doing it, but it's a social media
habit that we fall into. If you follow people with
perfect photos or someone who posts offensive political things that
you don't agree with, you might be hate following. A
(04:09):
behavioral psychologist named Denise Dudley was talking about how you
don't know you're doing this destructive behavior, but when you
hate follow, you're secretly hoping for a politically incorrect slip
up or a bad hair day to make yourself feel
a little bit better about your own life. And sometimes
we hate follow people who seem to have it all
(04:30):
just to remind ourselves why we don't like them. And
the problem with that is hate following creates stress, anxiety,
low self esteem, or even depression. So experts suggest to
unfollow the people who fit the category and move on.
I will say that I went through my feed and
I couldn't say one hundred percent I was hate following.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
But when I.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Used some of this article to like assess, like do
I really like this person? Do I align with this person?
How do I feel after I watch this person? And
then I thought, oh, sometimes when maybe they mess up
or it seems like their life isn't as perfect as
I thought? Do I feel a little bit better about
my own life when I see that happen? And I
(05:12):
was able to answer yes to that. So being honest here,
I unfollowed someone that fit that category. So make sure
you're not hate following. I didn't realize I was doing it,
and experts say a lot of people are doing it,
and yeah, we don't even realize it. Now on to
more positive hobby news. Taking up arts and crafts could
be a game changer in your happiness. So if you
(05:35):
want to lower cortisol levels and have overall better well being,
simply take up an arts and crafts hobby.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:43):
See therapy cat. She's been onto this with her painting.
Like if you go over to her house at her
kitchen table, she just has this whole arts and crafts
been in the corner now and then on the table
she'll just have a blank canvas and some paint so
she can bust it out at any time. But it
doesn't have to even be as common implicated as paint
and a canvas and all the things like you can
(06:03):
just draw if you want to. Doctor Helen Keyes, a
cognitive psychologist, just released a new study talking about this,
and she said that engaging with arts and crafts is
accessible and affordable, and options such as knitting and drawing
require very little tools and can be so engaging and
creatively fulfilling. And people in the study reported more happiness,
(06:27):
better life satisfaction, and sense of lives being worthwhile if
they were participating in an arts and craft project. So, guys,
this is really simple. I think we can all do this.
And you know, I was talking about that event I
went to last night for music teachers and hearing all
the stories and seeing all the kids play their instruments.
(06:48):
I got a little annoyed at my mom that she
let me quit piano when I was a kid. And
I was encouraged though that even at forty three, I
could start taking piano lessons, make that a hobby.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
It's not going to be guitar for me.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
I took lessons several years ago, and my fingers hurt
so bad, Like, I just don't know that that's gonna
be a thing for me. But piano I think I
could get into. And I looked up some of the
benefits of playing piano. Stress management came up, creativity in
the brain, improve coordination, self esteem, improves concentration, enhanced memory,
(07:23):
math improvement. I mean, the list goes on, improved mental health, neuroplasticity, focus,
goal setting, cultural enrichment.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Why would my mom take me out of that?
Speaker 5 (07:33):
So now at forty three, because I have a keyboard
at my house, I don't have a piano, but I
do think I could start taking some piano lessons and
add that to my hobby belt. But if you have
ADHD like me, you know that we like to start
a lot of hobbies and not necessarily complete them. But
I'm working on that maybe this could be something that
I follow through with and I do. And so I'm
(07:54):
gonna get my arts and crafts a little section at
my house set up, and I'm gonna get my little
keyboard set up. And these are to be some hobbies
that are going to add to my life. And I
still want to add my garden to my backyard too,
which I've gardened before, and I loved that so much
that I can't wait to bring it back. All right,
(08:15):
we all want good sleep, and some of these mistakes
are so basic you know you're doing them. We've heard
all time and time again. But I appreciate a reminder
every now and again to stop doing some of these things.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
And maybe some of them will be new to you.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
But the Guardian put together the ten were sleep mistakes
according to experts, and at number one is not knowing
how much sleep you really need now. I think I
need around eight. Seven to nine is typically the recommendation.
But here's the deal.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
If we get too much.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Sleep, we may not be on our a game. You
may be moody, you may find it hard to focus,
so you could be oversleeping, if that's even possible. I
feel like most of us are sleep deprived. But you
may not need as much you're getting, or you may
even be underestimating it. You may think, I know I'm
good on five to six hours, but really you need
(09:07):
to strive for seven or eight if you could get there,
and it could be a game changer in your mood
and your focus. So this is where a journal comes
in handy. If you want to really get into it
to know kind of how you're feeling, which I think
a journal would be good for this next one too,
eating too much or too little before bed, so you
can assess how you feel, because if you eat too much,
(09:27):
things like indigestion and heartburn come into play. But if
you're feeling hungry, that can keep you up screens before bed.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
We all know this is bad. I know it hurt
it a million times.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
But for some reason I watched Emily and Paris last
night before bed and turned off my screen and just
closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
And we need to not do that.
Speaker 5 (09:46):
We got to put our phones down, turn the TV off,
and give ourselves some space from the blue light. Yeah,
that's one thing, but it's the stimulation that can also
be keeping us up. Of course, then I was thinking
about Paris and the outfits and their relationship and how
I want to watch the next episode. So yeah, there's
other stimulation happening in our brain when we're watching a show,
(10:08):
not winding down. It's important to have at least thirty
to sixty minutes of a wind down time before closing
your eyes. Napping too much and naps are fine. I
think they're great, but we hear more and more we've
got to try to limit them to twenty thirty minutes
so that they don't keep us up at night spending
too much time awake in bed. The more time you
spend in bed not sleeping, the more your body gets
(10:31):
used to it. So if you're not sleeping, get out
of bed. Not getting enough sleep on weeknights, do not
assume that you can catch up on sleep over the weekend.
Sleeping in once or twice is not going to completely
make up for you burning the candle at both ends
Monday through Friday, keeping an inconsistent sleep schedule. I'm guilty
of this one big time. Our bodies have a hard
(10:52):
time adjusting, So that's another reason that sleeping in on
weekends is not ideal. But I just haven't been able
to even be insistant on the weeknights lately. Too much
caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine takes eight hours to metabolize, so
a cup of coffee at three pm could still be
keeping you up at ten pm, and alcohol might make
(11:15):
you feel tired, but you end up getting a worse
night's sleep, and then finally worrying about sleep it can
be a self fulfilling prophecy. You lie there worrying that
you won't fall asleep, so you don't, and if you
need to get up for a while and maybe try
again later, that's okay. You've just got to do your
best to relax. Maybe a warm shower, a nighttime bath
(11:39):
with some epsom salt, maybe take some magnesium before you
go to bed to help prepare your body for sleep.
So there you go, the ten worst sleep mistakes that
we're all likely making according to experts.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Here we got good thing.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
If I'm having a bad day, I like to figure
out ways to turn it around. And there is something
really simple for adults that can work. Like this. Whole
survey was taken talking about how this one thing can
turn a bad day around. But first I want to
talk about something that I did for my kids, which
my kids are doing great right now. I love that
as a parent, but school gets them down at times.
(12:25):
You know, there's academic struggles and different friendship things that
pop up. So I put together a list of things
that they can say to themselves on hard days, and
I wrote them out on a note card and I
stuck them on the mirror in their bathroom so that
way they can see these little mantras and have them
in their back pocket if they need them. And these
will work for adults too. But this is just something
(12:47):
I put together for my kids. Things to say to
yourself on a hard day. This is not my whole story.
I have faced challenges before and overcome them. It's okay
to ask for help when I need it. No one
has it all figured out. So that might be a
little something that you can make for your kids or
(13:08):
even for yourself. But if you're into coffee, just know
that this whole study was done and it found that
a good cup of coffee is really powerful. It can
turn a bad day into a really good day. And
I can sort of agree with that. Or it contributes
to me having a bad day if I don't have
my morning ritual with my coffee, just something is a
(13:30):
little bit off.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
But I was trying to think of other.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Ways or tools or things that I use to turn
my day around if it is not going the way
I wanted to or I'm feeling negative. Gratitude is at
the top of the list. That is a big one
for me. I started practicing gratitude several years ago and
it was a game changer. I love practicing gratitude. I
(13:54):
can instantly feel a difference. Sometimes I just have to
do it mentally in my mind because I'm not a
place where I can journal. But for me, pen to
paper gratitude is my preferred method and very impactful for me.
Which if you are one of the one in four
Americans that have already started Christmas shopping, I highly recommend
(14:16):
you check out the Four Things Gratitude journal because one
hundred percent of proceeds go to education in Haiti, so
it's a win win gift. Or if you're not Christmas
shopping but you want to start a gratitude practice, or
you like cute journals, then you can hit up four
Things dot com and check those out. I'll link them
in the show notes as well. But in addition to gratitude,
(14:36):
just getting outside going for a quick walk in nature
always helps me. Calling a friend, doing like a cold
shower is really helpful, or cryotherapy or something like that.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
And another big thing.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
For me would be meditation when it comes to turning
my day around. I have been doing this walking meditation
that is amazing. It's only ten minutes long. I walk
the dog, I do the ten minute meditation. Obviously your
eyes are open, but part of it is you observe
things around you and the trees and the sky or
water if you're near water. I've noticed things in my
(15:12):
neighborhood that I've never paid attention to before. And some
mornings I'm doing this before the Bobby Bone Show, like
a quick ten minute walk with my dog, and it
is still dark outside, but I'm seeing certain stars and
the moon, and I'm getting curious. I'm like, wait, I
wonder what star that is. It's really bright. It's just
this warm feeling. I can't explain. But I found this
(15:35):
walking meditation by just typing in walking meditation into the search.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Thing on the iHeart app.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
But wherever you listen to podcasts, you can just type
that in and someone's going to have one loaded up
for you. But I'll link this one in the show
notes because I've been loving it. I don't even know
her at all. She's got an accent. I don't know
if she's from New Zealand or Australia, but her name
is Chloe Massey and her podcast is called Pass Around
the Smile and the walking Meditation that I found of hers.
It's again a ten minute one. It's a walking meditation
(16:05):
for manifestation, positive energy, and gratitude, and I love it.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
Speaking of meditations, the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Fourth thing coming up next, I'll go ahead and set
it up here, so after Walker goes fourth thing, the
meditation will just start. But this is one that I
did with my cousin Amanda, Amanda Riga Green. She also
has a podcast called Soul Sessions, which I just had
this idea pop into my head. I feel like I
need to link up Amanda with this Chloe Massy person
(16:35):
because I feel like they could have a really cool
podcast conversation on each other's podcasts. So I'm just giving
you all some insight into my brain right now and
how it works because a lot of times I'm talking
and that I have all these other thoughts that are
happening at the exact same time and it doesn't really
slow down.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
So I'm letting you in on that.
Speaker 5 (16:52):
And I'm gonna probably need to do a ten minute
walking meditation after I record this to just reset my brain,
reset my body, to go be with my kids tonight
and have some intentional time with them. But this meditation
is something that Amanda and I recorded together. It's her
leading it. I think it was last year sometime and
(17:13):
we released it just on its own, little five minute thing,
like a little bonus episode that went up. But I'm
attaching it here because I think some of you may
need it today, right now, in this moment. You can
take five minutes, You can pause what you're doing, and
you can do this meditation. I often hear before I'm
listening to meditations from different people or anybody, when they
talk about meditation, they say people complain about time, and
(17:36):
they say, listen, if you were saying I don't have
five minutes to meditate, I don't have ten. I don't
even have thirty. I don't If you're someone saying that,
then you are someone that needs it.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
You need the meditation. So there you go.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
I just called you out.
Speaker 5 (17:50):
If you were just telling yourself you don't have the time,
well guess what you do. And if you need to
keep doing something else and you can't close your eyes,
don't you can continue doing what you need to do.
Sometimes even just taking in the words and what they're
saying and pausing some of your thoughts and having different
mantras that are being shared can impact your day. Do
what's going to work for you. I do highly encourage
(18:13):
you to take the time to sit with your eyes
closed when you can, and mix in some of the
walking meditations as well. But if you need to continue
on with your day, do it. I think the only
time you can get a little iffy is if you're
trying to do some sort of meditation that could potentially
make you a little sleepy and you're driving or something
that's not recommended. There's some that I've pulled up before
(18:35):
that even have a warning do not drive or operate
heavy machinery while doing this meditation, because it may take
your brain into a calm space that doesn't allow you
to focus and pay attention on what's going on, or
even worse, could cause you to get drowsy and fall asleep.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
So this is five minutes.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
Hope you enjoy it, have the day you need to have,
and I'll see you on Tuesday for the fifth thing
with Kat. All right, here's the meditation.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Fourth thing.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Wherever you are, find a comfortable seat or lying down,
taking a deep inhale to start through your nose, fill
your body with oxygen, open your mouth, audible sigh of
reliefs Again, deep inhale, filling your lungs, creating space in
(19:49):
the body in hell longer than you want. Old exhale,
big release. One more deep inhalation, oxygenating your entire body,
your entire being, maybe even allowing it to expand beyond
(20:10):
your body. Hold hold, exhale, release, now, beginning to tense
your body up from the tips of your toes, through
your ankles, your legs, your knees, your fist, your arms,
your chest, your shoulders, your jaw, your head. Hold hold, hold, release,
(20:35):
feeling the energy leave your body, the sensations. Let's repeat
this two more times. Tense up, tense up, tighter, tighter,
bringing together fear, pain, aggravation, disease, discomfort, tighter, tighter, tighter, release,
allowing everything to fluidly relax into your body, around your
(20:58):
body more time. Tense, tense, bringing in anything that is
causing you discomfort, pain, aggravation. Bring it all together, cultivate it,
culminate it, exhale, release, relax, let it go, send it
out into the universe. If you need to shake your hands,
(21:18):
gently move your body a little bit, it's okay. Let
the body know it has permission to fully relax. Bringing
your hand now one hand, the left hand to the belly,
the right hand to the chest, gently feeling the rhythms
(21:43):
of your own breath. Maybe you can feel your heart
beat or your belly gently rise and fall. Relax your jaw,
release the tongue from the roof of the mouth, literally
giving the body permission to relax, to be in a receptive,
(22:08):
calm state. The mind the ability to shut down some
of the chatter, creating time and space for yourself in
your mind's eye, the empowered voice in your head repeat
after me today. I am available for love.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Today. I'm available for peace today. I'm available for healing today.
I'm available for joy today. I'm available for happiness today.
(22:58):
I'm available for kindness today. I'm available for generosity today.
I'm available for security today. I'm available for fun today.
(23:24):
I'm available for ease today. I'm available for fill in
your blank Today.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
I am available to receive all the gifts that God's
wondrous universe has to give me. Releasing your hands, coming
into your mind's eye, finding stillness, finding peace, smiling at
(24:01):
the time and the space you've cultivated in your mind, body, spirit,
knowing that you were taking steps toward greater healing, clarity, happiness,
and alignment. Deep inhale to come back to your body,
(24:22):
Back to your breath, Open your mouth, audible sigh two
more times inhale, oxygenating the body, sending life force.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
In exhale, release.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
One more deep breath, filling the body with oxygen, light, air,
sending it.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Out beyond your body.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Now exhale release, coming back into this space, into your
own presence, and ready to begin again again. Wherever you are,
I must stay, I must stay.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
H
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