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August 31, 2025 • 22 mins
Elijah spends this episode talking about the importance of wellness. Be sure to tune in.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to The Elijah Winfrey Show, a space for inspiration, impact,
and community connection. Each week, Elijah shares the latest on
his work in the community, answers listener questions, and reflects
on the week that was, from acts of kindness to
real conversations that matter. This is where purpose meets positivity.

(00:22):
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Here's your host,
Elijah Winfrey.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hello, folks, and welcome to a very special episode of
The Elijah Winfrey Show. I truly hope that your weekend
it's gotten off to a good start, or it is
winding down, actually, but I hope that it has been fun.
It has been rewarding. You've had some time to reflect
on where you are and the things that you accomplish

(00:53):
and the things that you want to accomplish moving forward.
It is going to be a beautiful day here in
the Pacific Northwest. We're gonna get a good stretch of
weather here, and I'm excited about that. Love to get
out and walk and catch up with friends on you know,
their work in the community as well as my own.
So I hope that you are having an enjoyable Sunday.

(01:18):
I call it self care Sunday. I know I didn't originally,
I didn't coin that phrase, but I like it and
I use it. Listen today's shows. It's a special show,
and I'm going to try to implement more of these
types of shows into my work. This is all about

(01:40):
wellness today. Back in July, I did a show centered
around wellness, and you know, I decided to host another
one today, And you know, I hope that you enjoy it,
you share it, and I hope that it helps someone
listening to the show, or someone in the community that

(02:02):
you know that is in need of you know, this episode.
You know, we often talk about community kindness and the
work we do for others. We do it a lot,
but today, specifically, I want to focus on something we
don't talk about enough, and that's wellness. It's not just

(02:26):
an exercise. It's not just about eating right. In my opinion,
wellness it's about the way you carry yourself, the way
you breathe, the way you speak when no one else
is around. How do you talk to yourself, how do
you get yourself motivated? How do you deal with things
that fill your mind with stress and you need to

(02:50):
desperately get away. I want to share some thoughts and
some tools and some encouragement for all of us who
are learning about wellness and how to walk in wellness
every single day. It is a process. You know. I
currently do a lot of meditating. I've started walking a
ton thanks to Gerald Donaldson. I did a seven mile

(03:12):
walk with him this morning. We get out and walk
around five point thirty six am. I know for some
of you that is way too early, and I get that,
but you know, he and I I think it's because
of our past military service. We were up. I don't
sleep really well anyway, but we get out and you know,

(03:35):
we kind of get things off our chests, you know,
good and bad, and we kind of reset ourselves as
we get ready to tackle the week ahead. And so
walking has been really good to me. I try to
do about five, six, sometimes seven miles like today. I
try to incorporate that a lot into my wellness journey.

(03:59):
And I also work on my mindset. And you know,
that's where I really want to start right now. I
believe well and it starts in the mirror. It starts
with making peace with yourself. If you can't look at
your reflection and find some peace somewhere, right, everything else

(04:19):
feels heavier. But if you can't find that peace, then
it continues to add that stress. So I try to
have self talks quite a bit about my expectations and
not comparing myself to anyone, not thinking about old wounds
that I know that I am going to have to

(04:40):
deal with slowly but surely, And it's helped. And I
want to ask you to ask yourself right now, are
you being kind to yourself? Am I being kind to me?
Am I comparing my journey to somebody else's high life?

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Real?

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Am I being patient with the person in the mirror.
A lot of times we get on social media and
we start comparing somebody else's life to our life, And
I think sometimes we don't realize those images and videos
are just seconds in time. And maybe I don't know

(05:24):
for a fact, but maybe that's part of their journey
of getting that out, some of it, not all of it.
But I think wellness begins when we stop running from
who we are and start owning it. And I've had
to do that a lot in my life. Every scar,

(05:46):
every setback, every victory, no matter how big or how small,
it's all part of the story. And your story matters
my friend, it does. Doesn't matter what anyone tells you.
It matters, you know. Oftentimes, you know, I find myself

(06:08):
really struggling with my lack of sleep and nightmares every night.
And you know, there was a time where I was
beginning to give up. I really was. But I had
to remind myself of who I am, what I'm trying
to do with my life, how valuable I am to
the community. And those conversations are tough conversations, but I

(06:38):
think and being honest with myself, I realized that I
have more courage stored up in that, you know, in
that memory of mine than I think. And having those
self talks when I'm having a nightmare, when I'm waking
up from a nightmare, does a world of good. Right.

(07:02):
It's almost like I'm having therapy sessions with myself, and
I'm not afraid to, you know, speak loudly in the mirror.
Sometimes sometimes you have to, in a real kind of way,
be loud with yourself. So I encourage you all to

(07:25):
do that and to take stock in that, because it
really does work as far as my body goes. You know,
when I work out, I don't do it for anyone, right,
I'm not chasing perfection. It's about gratitude. I'm thankful that
I have the ability to use that as a vehicle

(07:49):
in my journey of wellness. It's a pick me up right.
Every walk, every stretch, every push up, it's me saying
thank you to my body for carrying me this far.
And I think we all sometimes think we think that
we're superhuman and we can just push through these things.

(08:11):
But those moments of clarity when I'm when I'm working out,
they bring me joy. They helped me come some very
large obstacles. Sometimes I'm emotional as I'm working out, which
is why I like to work out in the privacy
of my own home. I do go to the gym
from time to time, but you know, sometimes you reach

(08:35):
pinnacles in your workout where things come out of you
and you get emotional. So I'm thankful that I'm able
to wake up every day and stretch and do my
sit ups and push ups and free weights and and
give thanks that you know, I'm able to process things

(08:56):
and move throughout the day or get ready to attack
the day. And you don't need hours in the gym,
that's the truth. You don't. You don't need expensive equipment either.
We have a peloton love peloton and we use it passionately.
I may not ride the bike every day, but I'm

(09:16):
doing floor exercises, I'm taking walks, I'm on the treadmill,
and it comes down to consistency. Ten minutes a day,
five minutes a day. That's it. And you can call
it like a movement snack, like a quick walk, or
some stretches, maybe even dancing in the living room. I

(09:39):
do that from time to time as well. It's healing,
it's wellness, and the goal isn't to look like someone else.
I don't want to be a bodybuilder. Even though I
model for companies, I'm not trying to be this standout,
standalone model. Not why I took the gig. It's part

(10:04):
of the wellness journey. I can be me, be free,
let go and where the things that I want to wear.
I'm not trying to imitate anybody else. The goal in
all of this is to honor the body You've been given,
the good, the bad, and you have to remember wellness

(10:29):
is not a punishment, it's appreciation. Part of my wellness
journey is I teach golf to students that I know
that are really aspiring to be pro golfer someday, or
get a scholarship, go to college, and use that to

(10:53):
create other platforms for them to be successful. This radio
show is part of my wellness journey. I love talking
to you every week. I love that you all tune in.
I'm not doing it to be the number one show
you know on iHeart or Apple or wherever you download
my podcast. I'm not doing it for that. I'm not

(11:13):
competing with anybody. I'm sharing my moment. It helps me,
It gets things out in the open, and I enjoy it.
I also know that wellness isn't a solo act either.

(11:36):
It's a team effort. It's community, it's kindness. Everything that
I've accomplished in my life, I hadn't done it by myself.
I've had people who have been who are very close
to me, who have pushed me, who've guided me, who've
given me solid advice, who have critiqued me along the way,
good and bad, and they've led. They've always led with love.

(12:03):
When I started my nonprofit, I thought I was, you know,
just giving back, doing something good for the community. But
what I was doing, what I realized was I was
healing too. I love service. It's about service for me.

(12:24):
Servicing others lightens something that's heavy on the inside. And
I remind myself of that each time I'm in the community,
whether I'm mentoring a kid, or I'm sitting down with
a family, or I'm on a zoom call with a family,
I remind myself that this is also healing too. And

(12:53):
as I say that, I want to remind all of you,
and this is important. Find your people. Find a group
that lifts you up but also holds you accountable, and
they celebrate the wins and they're there for you and

(13:15):
the losses. And if you can't find someone, be the
one who starts it. What I've learned is wellness grows
when it's shared. So find your people. Doesn't have to

(13:37):
be eight or nine people. It could be two or three,
it could be one. But find someone who's honest with you,
holds you accountable, celebrates the wins and losses. Find those people.
They're out there. We all have them. We all have them.

(13:58):
Now I'm going to share a few more tools that
I use throughout my wellness journey. I love journaling. I do.
In the beginning, when I started that process, I didn't
think i'd like it very much, but my goodness, I
love it. And I don't always write with a pen

(14:21):
and paper. Sometimes I have an app on my phone.
I'll either speak it into the app or I'll type
it into the app. Something positive, something kind that I've seen,
that's happened in front of me, or something that I've done.
I try to remind myself of those things, so as
I in my day, those thoughts come flooding back to me,

(14:45):
and as you journal. It didn't have to be like
eight paragraphs. It doesn't. It can be just three lines,
three lines, write down what you're proud of, what you've learned,

(15:08):
and what's one thing you're grateful for. That's it. That's
It doesn't have to be long or drawn out if
you don't want it to be. Number two detox from
social media. Sometimes wellness means turning off the noise. You

(15:29):
don't need to check or scroll, just pull back the scrolling,
the comparative they're comparing, the negativity. You have to remember
it's okay to unplug. The world will be there when
you get back, and I do that from time to time.

(15:52):
Number three have a morning reset as you wake up
and you get ready to attack the day. Ask yourself else,
does the way I start my mourning set me up
to win or to chase the day? Does the way

(16:13):
I start my morning set me up to win or
to chase the day? Throw in a stretch. Some people
like to pray in the morning. Throw in a prayer,
use a word of affirmation, right, but set the tone
you'd be surprised. Lead with love. Those are three things

(16:39):
that I try to do every day. Do they work
every day? No? But I still do it right because
there's consistency in the positivity that I see from doing that.
And that's my plan and I stick to it whether
the day is successful or not. Now, before I close

(17:04):
the show today, I just I want you to remember,
wellness is not about being perfect. Let me say that again.
Wellness is not about being perfect. It's about being present.

(17:27):
It's about progress, not pressure. Sometimes we use the word
perfect a lot. I'm guilty of that, and I'm working
hard on trying to eliminate that in my vocabulary. But
it's about being present with yourself in your environment and

(17:49):
making progress small steps at a time, and not putting
pressure on yourself to succeed right away. We live in
a world now where it's instant gratification, they want it
now or not at all. Be patient with yourself and
don't put any added pressure where it's not needed and

(18:13):
it doesn't belong. As you leave the show today, I
want you to carry this with you. You are worthy
of rest, you are worthy of joy, and you are
worthy of peace. Always remember that pour into yourself, because

(18:42):
the more you give yourself, the more you'll have to
give to the world. It starts with you. So let's
make wellness not something, not just something we do, but
it's who we are. It's who we are. You've taken

(19:12):
time today to listen to me talk about wellness, and
I really appreciate that. That's part of the process. We've
done it. And on this self care Sunday, I encourage
you find a moment to kick back, relax and reset
and refocus. Don't be in such a hurry for the

(19:38):
next day. Enjoy the moment. It's okay to think about goals.
It's also okay to rest, let that sit in your mind.
It's okay to rest. I want to thank you all

(19:59):
for tuning in today. As always, I am very appreciative
of all the listeners and I can't begin to tell
you how impactful you all have been in supporting the

(20:20):
show and supporting me. I get tons of emails, positive
emails about the show and about the way you feel
about me as a person. And some of you I've
never met, but you say the kindest things. That's part
of my wellness journey. This show you so thank you.

(20:48):
When you get a moment today or tomorrow, be sure
to check in on your family and friends. Be kind,
put a smile on someone's face. It doesn't take a
lot of energy to do that at all. Thank you

(21:10):
for listening to The Elijah Winfrey Show. Please be sure
to download this show whatever you download your favorite podcast.
Until next week, Take care, God bless Bye bye
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