Episode Transcript:

Polly Mertens: 0:21

Hey superstars, welcome back Polly here.

Samantha Pruitt: 0:24

And Sam. We are currently in La Quinta California, taping in studio. Today, girl, what are we gonna talk about? We’re gonna talk about the I am awesome challenge. Yes, we are the I am awesome challenge, our first challenge launch for the year 2024. Many to come, many to come, but let’s talk about what this 30-day challenge is, shall we?

Polly Mertens: 0:47

You are no stranger to 30 day challenge. So, yep, let us hear what you have in store. We both have a little something we’re gonna add to this.

Samantha Pruitt: 0:56

So yeah, before we assign challenges to the audience. Let’s even discuss, you and I, why we feel a 30-day challenge is valuable and maybe for someone who’s never done it before, why should they consider it? What do you think about these challenges? Why are we doing them? So I think they’re important to.

Polly Mertens: 1:16

You know a couple reasons. One is, you know, depending on where you are in your life or what’s going on in your life, if you’re working with new coach, you know you might work with them and they, you know, set up a whole plan or something. But if you’re on your own and it’s like you know, I just want that, like ugh, like I need something, you know, if it’s a new year or you’re just feeling kind of flat or maybe your fitness has kind of plateaued, it’s like I just want ugh, like a little bump, if you will. So who?

Samantha Pruitt: 1:42

doesn’t feel that in January. Okay, I mean, that’s kind of the time when people are most motivated to do some sort of habit change or lifestyle change.

Polly Mertens: 1:52

For sure, for sure. So you know it can be for a beginner. You know it’s like oh, I want to take on something new, something different, but I don’t know if I want to take on the whole piece of it.

Samantha Pruitt: 2:02

Let me try A new year’s resolution. No, Let me try it.

Polly Mertens: 2:05

Well, we know that those are just statistically, that’s yeah, don’t even look at this as a resolution. So 30-day is like an entree. It’s an on ramp, it’s a, you know, get some momentum going in the direction of something. Maybe it’s something you’re like it’s a big elephant, it’s like, oh my god, you know, like I’m like looking at taking on an Ironman, like what the hell? Yes, but can I break that down into what can I do in the next 30 days? So I think 30-day challenges are a great way to get some momentum going in the direction of something that’s important to you. Or it could also be. I mean, some people may need to stop doing some things that aren’t healthy for that, so it could be building a new habit.

Samantha Pruitt: 2:43

It also could be breaking an old habit, exactly and I think they’re incredibly valuable, these little nuggets, these 30-day chunks of challenges, because habit change is very challenging. Our lives are busy, they’re hectic, but we all every human that I know have something that they would like to see different in their life, something change. You know, it doesn’t always have to be a physical pursuit. It can be mental, spiritual, relationship, whatever some aspect of their life where they’d like to see a change.

Polly Mertens: 3:17

This is the easiest way to start and we have an idea for what we want this first one to be of the new year, and so we’re inviting you guys in with us, we’re taking it on and we want to take it on as a community and really share this as well. So you know, our name is Everyday Awesome Project Like we’re all about awesome.

Polly Mertens: 3:39

So we thought about this like how can we help people find, feel, grow, experience awesome in their everyday right and about themselves? Like the freaking challenge is called, I am awesome To be clear.

Samantha Pruitt: 3:53

This challenge is called I am awesome and the fun thing. Well, many fun things about us, but one of the many fun things about us is our yin and yang styles of how we do things. So there’s actually two challenge opportunities. So there isn’t a human listening who would not be able to say I can do that one or that one. Polly’s resonates with me more, sam’s resonates with me more, whatever, pick one or pick both Go.

Polly Mertens: 4:22

Let it go down, yeah, yeah, so you can go with us.

Samantha Pruitt: 4:25

Mine is a little more physical, yours is a little more mental, emotional, spiritual, but it’s so fun that we have these two opportunities for people, and that’s really what it is. It’s an opportunity for personal growth, for sure.

Polly Mertens: 4:38

I would love, just so that people who maybe have never in their life which is just shocking in today’s world but had never done a 30 day challenge or never done anything like this yeah, it’s possible. Do you have an example of something either you’ve done with people or yourself where what was something that you did that you took on for 30 days and how did it go and what was the outcome? Or that you coach some people through? You know like you’ve done these. I think you’ve done physical challenges with people before.

Samantha Pruitt: 5:06

Yeah, and so a lot of mine because of my own personal life experience and then background is around doing activity based challenges or nutritionally based challenges, or even recovery, so sleep and things of that nature, making the body feel better, which, of course, makes the brain feel better. Yeah, so a lot of my stuff is in that wheelhouse. But working with businesses, corporations, doctors, same thing, because maybe there is something going on in the business space that we want to change and we would implement a 30 day challenge for them or their team. But when I’m in the room, you’re pretty much not going to get away without doing some kind of physical activity, because to me it is the foundation, this body that I have is the foundation for my success in every arena of my life. So if the body feels good, the brain feels good, I’m functioning at a higher level and ultimately, I can reach my full potential in whatever my goals and path is.

Samantha Pruitt: 6:08

So an example of a 30 day challenge would be perhaps I was skipping breakfast all the time, which I did this for many years. A I was trying to lose weight, which is this is absolutely what you don’t do, but I didn’t know at the time. So skipping the morning meal and going on about my workout, my regiment and then my work life and all the family life activities. So I set a personal challenge for myself to consume some calories in the morning, before I start my day. And it’s really sounds so simple to make a change like that, but it is not simple and that’s why it takes 30 days before it actually feels like a natural activity, right? So I would set my food out the night before, I would prepare things, I would do all the things to set myself up for success, make myself little notes, set a timer on my phone, all of those little things, tips and tricks to make sure I would actually facilitate that simple goal. What about you?

Polly Mertens: 7:08

Well, I was just going to say, and I think we should come back to some of those- tips and tricks. Yeah, I think people could benefit from some of the things that we’ve learned and you know, as a habit and success coach myself really helping people either break or start habits. You know there’s a longer jam.

Samantha Pruitt: 7:25

That’s my jam. That’s definitely my and you have done well, never mind 30 day. You do like massive challenges that are much more complicated than that.

Polly Mertens: 7:35

Yeah, like I remember one time I wrote on my blog I was fascinated with the book. I think it’s Gretchen Rubin who wrote the Happiness Project.

Samantha Pruitt: 7:42

Yeah.

Polly Mertens: 7:42

Yeah, and I read that I was so lit up after reading that book I was like I’m going to do this, you know. And so basically it was her breaking down monthly thing, figuring out what made her happy, and then every month she would do something along those lines. So she had these little mini 30 day challenges, if you will. 30 days, I’m learning how to cook. 30 days I’m writing letters, thank you letters or whatever they were, and so I did that and I wrote about it in a blog years ago.

Samantha Pruitt: 8:07

So 12 joy bombs. So once a month there was a joy bomb, but boom, it was great, it was great.

Polly Mertens: 8:12

And so I mean, in terms of building momentum, I love, you know, having a word of the year or themes of the month, things like that. Like it’s so focusing for the mind to like get their head around. Okay, this is what I’m up to right now, right, and as you do that, as you give the mind context, like I am awesome. I mean yours is physical. Mind is going to be more. You know mental retraining, you know that daily self talk, it gives the mind something to focus on. It’s like, oh, hey, ding, ding, ding, ding, this is what you want to be paying attention to for the next 30 days or the rest of your life, whichever. But it sets the mind on a core. So it’s out there looking for things, looking for and in this case I mean, come on, who doesn’t need more reminders of our awesomeness? Right, like there’s a lot of things of our self.

Polly Mertens: 8:56

you know that little, two million year old, the million brain of yours is not about getting up and you know reminding you, unless you train it, that you’re awesome. So, yeah, that’s what we’re up to. So I would say you know, that was one example. Definitely in training modes, like you said, you know I’ve had fitness challenges of 90 days and I did 75 hard before. If you don’t know what that is, that’s a great one. If you want to take on something more than one thing, but take on like 10 at a time, I don’t feel crazy making a minute lady.

Samantha Pruitt: 9:25

So, to be clear, this is January and our audience would like an on ramp to this amazing journey. We’re going to take them on for the entire year together and beyond, but let’s get started with this 30 day, shall we?

Polly Mertens: 9:39

And I want to say a little bit of the why. To is like laced inside of each one of these is, you know, we really believe in the. How your life feels is better than how it looks. So this is not just more to do. It’s my favorite thing in the world. This is how to feel better, yeah, like you’re not asking people to do movement every day just because, like, you need something else to do, or like, hey, you know, it’s not a punishment, exactly.

Polly Mertens: 10:05

It’s a reward, exactly, and it’s meant, I would say, for us to bring more joy and more satisfaction, more juj, more awesomeness to their life. You know and feel that in their bodies, in their in themselves. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt: 10:20

So tell me about it, this is the first of many challenges, so let’s get started.

Polly Mertens: 10:24

Tell me about y’all ready for this Some?

Samantha Pruitt: 10:26

Da da da da, da, da da da da, da da da da. Thank you the two, okay. So Sam here and my 30 day. I am awesome. Challenge is a 5K a day, boom, Okay, what is that? A 5K is a walk or run or hike. It’s 6,250 steps. So, to be clear, it’s 6,250 steps. That’s not a lot. I was gonna say that sounds like a lot. No, it isn’t a lot because it’s recommended from our governmental authorities that everybody do a 10,000 a day step regimen towards health.

Polly Mertens: 11:06

Is that your favorite surgeon general? I know you’re in love with him.

Samantha Pruitt: 11:09

I’m in love with the surgeon general. He’s freaking fabulous. He’s awesome. 6,250 steps a day, so never mind that it’s a 5K a day, okay. So here is the goal Okay, to accumulate 5K worth of steps walking running In a 24 hour period In a 24 hour period, okay. Every day for 30 days, okay, okay, so you can accumulate that, however. That works for you. Some people do have these step counters. They’re all about those things. Some people have watches. Whatever they’ve got, it doesn’t need to be that every day I go out and run.

Polly Mertens: 11:48

Now what if they don’t have a step counter thingy? Mm-hmm, do they? Are there apps? Are there free apps?

Samantha Pruitt: 11:52

Yeah, on your phone. Everybody has a phone, so they could just carry their phone and that would tell them there are plenty free apps for that they can download. You know, it doesn’t need to be complex, good, and it also doesn’t need to be kicking your own ass. Okay, this is not the fastest 5k you can run every day. Again, this is not a punishment. Yeah, we are here to incorporate daily movement that feels good.

Polly Mertens: 12:16

And has you at the end saying I’m awesome.

Polly Mertens: 12:19

Yes, we’re reinforcing like I can stick to a habit. I can do this and I can commit something to myself. It may be a little hard to fit in, it may not be feeling good. You know the weather might not be so good. You know there’s all the things. You know when you step. You know when I did 75 heart and it’s like one of the things is you have to do an outside workout every day for 75 days and it was starting in January. It’s like, oh, that’s fun.

Polly Mertens: 12:43

What are the chances there’s gonna be some rain Pretty likely or snow. For some people snow, snow, exactly. So I would say, remember there’s a joy factor here, cuz one of the things you talked about is like don’t do the same loop every freaking day. I mean, some people maybe that is joy, I don’t know Like they’re, like the rarely is that joyful.

Samantha Pruitt: 13:00

Yeah, okay, it’s gonna become a death march at some point, so I don’t advise that. I want to see a variety of places, that people are going directions, that they’re moving, a varied terrain and also varied intensities. So that’s a big thing. People are always like, well, what kind of intensity, what heart rate zone should it be, and all these things again. Keep it simple. This is not something we need to over complicate. It needs to feel good. If you feel like today you really need to bust tail and like workout some anxiety, some stress, some aggression perhaps, and you want to go do your fastest 5k that day, that’s great.

Polly Mertens: 13:40

Or do more. Yeah, you can certainly you know, this is like just hey, this is a baseline If you’re not already doing. You know, 3k a day or sorry, 5k a day, 6,250 steps, like that’s what you’re just trying to hit right. And you know I’ve done these, I’ve done challenges like this and you know what, sometimes I’m in an airport. You’re not exactly walking around.

Polly Mertens: 13:58

That’s right, I have walked miles inside of airports to meet my minimums, right, yeah, the other thing I want to add to this too just part of that joy factor is, as you said, you know you can do the same loop every day, right, but I have a high need for variety, so I would lose track of that. But I would say, like, what can you notice that’s new? Like, if you go a different route, can you notice the flowers or the houses or the cars or the people or what’s new in that environment? Maybe you need to slow down to see or hear. Yeah, it doesn’t matter how fast Now can they do it? Do they have to do it all at the same time? Like you have to go out for five miles or so you know, five days You’ve got 24 hours.

Samantha Pruitt: 14:41

So they can do it.

Polly Mertens: 14:42

You’ve got some in their kitchen.

Samantha Pruitt: 14:43

Yeah, you know they’re walking around the house cleaning their house Three times 1k, or excuse me if it’s three times one mile, right Like, however, they need to slice it and dice, it is not a problem.

Polly Mertens: 14:53

Yeah, slip out the office 15 minutes, go knock out 15 minutes. I would come back Exactly, cool, cool. Now what if people are already like that’s not very challenging.

Samantha Pruitt: 15:03

Yeah, so there’s some people. I know a few of you who are already doing this, or maybe more than this. You know some of them intimately, so that’s a different conversation. I would still love for you to do this challenge with us, but we’ve got a couple opportunities for you. So one could be that you take what you’re doing now and maybe you’re kind of stuck in a rut, and so doing a 10% increase to what you’re currently doing sounds like a fun challenge and sounds joyful to you. You might fit into that bucket. You might be the person who needs to settle down a little bit and do something different. I’m not raising my own hand, but I should. Maybe I need to be doing a swim or a yoga or some other type of activity, not just running, going hard in the gym, cycling and doing those kind of things. Maybe I need to mix it up. So those are also opportunities.

Polly Mertens: 15:55

And counting that towards your awesome count, you know. So it’s like I’m spending more time on myself.

Polly Mertens: 16:03

Right and so whatever that looks like might be stretching. I mean, some people just breathe through the stretching like, get knocked out the 45 minute workout or the hour run or whatever, and oh, I don’t need to take care of those muscles, they’ll just sort of sort that out. So for them it’s find something. So I would say, like, between where you are. So take an assessment of whatever fitness you’re looking like right now. If it’s plateaued, if it’s kind of just mediocre or you’re sort of like in a rut In 30 days, what would you like to see differently? Right, that would bring you more feelings of I am awesome and then work towards that. So, and maybe it’s something that you grow. So maybe you do, you know one more minute a day, or maybe you cut back, like you said. So if you’re doing you’re maxing out at 30 miles a week or something crazy and you’re at fitness, maybe you need to pull it back by 10% as well and focus.

Samantha Pruitt: 16:59

And spend that time doing something different. Yeah, invest in yourself in a different way. So if movement is your thing, right? Yeah, look for other opportunities to invest if you really enjoy moving your body. We’re not discouraging you, of course, but there’s so many different ways to move your body. Yeah, so many different ways to move your body.

Polly Mertens: 17:18

So get outside your comfort zone is what this is about. For those of you that already have a lot of movement that are doing daily, you know, sweat sessions or whatever it’s, what else can I do to enjoy? Maybe it’s bringing more joy to the movement you’re already doing yeah, being more present with it. What could you do to have more fun with it? Could you invite some friends along with you? Something, change up where you’re doing it.

Samantha Pruitt: 17:39

Well, I’m glad you brought up friends Because there’s so much science out there and there’s tons. We’ll link stuff down in the show notes about things you can read and stuff you can check out studies. There’s a lot of scientific research. A good book that I read a while ago I’ll reference the Joy of Movement Kelly. Sorry, mcgonagall, she’s got some really fun stuff in there about movement. That’s what the whole book is about and Joy of Movement. But something really interesting is the scientific research that’s done on how movement changes your brain. Chemicals shifts your hormones, and there’s actually a scientific term that you utilized called Hope Molecules. That’s what the scientific researchers are calling it Hormones in the blood that help to relieve stress, of course, make you more resilient to stress, but they change your body in a way. They chemically change your body in a way that makes you want to connect, find community, bond with others and it actually increases your life satisfaction.

Polly Mertens: 18:47

Well, you know that what that reminds me of speaking of hormones and chemicals. So I learned and it wasn’t in her book, but in somewhere along the way about the power. I was like why do I enjoy going on hikes with my girlfriends?

Samantha Pruitt: 18:59

or people in general, why?

Polly Mertens: 19:01

do. I just like talking and hiking with people. So I’m not like why is that a thing for me? And it’s because when women are connecting, like when we’re talking, serotonin is released in our brain let alone walking, talking, talking and hiking.

Polly Mertens: 19:15

So that’s exactly it. So you get these serotonin happy drugs floating around in our body. So, absolutely so, do any of this. Maybe that’s part of what their challenge needs to be to bring more joy to their daily exercise is do it with a friend every so often, you know it doesn’t have to be seven days a week. Your exercise.

Samantha Pruitt: 19:33

Well, movement is how humanity evolves. So, to be clear, it’s like how we as humans, as a species since we’re talking to you now learn to not only survive but to thrive in community, right. The whole hunter, gatherer this is how we all got here right, and it started because they moved their bodies in order to first survive and then, ultimately, to thrive and, to, you know, build civilization in tribes. A really interesting thing, too, is about this whole runner’s high that everybody talks about. I’m sure you’ve experienced that, and it’s not just for runners, right? People moving their body consistently over time all experience this, irrelevant of what the activity is. So it doesn’t have to be runner specific. But part of the new science that I thought is super fascinating is these endocannabinoids that are produced naturally by the body. So that is technically a buzz that’s coming from within our own body, that allows us to feel good, and it’s only produced when the body is moving, isn’t this?

Samantha Pruitt: 20:38

fascinating, absolutely, I mean yeah, there’s just so much stuff out there reasons to be doing movement. It’s not about weight loss, even though that can be a result. We’re really talking about people building community, building their own bodies, building their own brains and feeling good because they’re awesome.

Polly Mertens: 20:59

Absolutely, and I think we talked in our emotional fitness podcast and if you haven’t listened to that, feel free to go have a listen to that but one of the keys to emotional fitness is you’re doing your emotions with your physical, with your physiology. Are you hunched over, slouched over? Are you cramped up on the couch with a glass of wine at night? That’s not very physiologically healthy for the body. Are you moving things like that? So you’re doing your emotions. So the more movement you have and your body is literally a medicine cabinet it’s constantly able to produce the whole plethora of chemicals in the body through movement, through thought, all of this. So 5K a day, 6250 steps Too easy, too easy. Let’s do it. That’s if you’re not getting that level right now, if you are getting that or more 10% increase if you so choose and that makes sense.

Samantha Pruitt: 21:59

Otherwise, step back, evaluate what you’re doing and perhaps you need to spend 10% or 5K of that weekly mileage, for example, doing something different.

Polly Mertens: 22:11

So be honest with yourself.

Samantha Pruitt: 22:13

I’m speaking to you all.

Polly Mertens: 22:15

Yeah, you know who we’re talking to, so raising my hand.

Samantha Pruitt: 22:19

Yes.

Polly Mertens: 22:20

So find what that level is for you, commit to that and again reiterating at the end of the 30 days, you’re like I’m awesome. You check the box off every single day. Whatever it is doing more, doing less, doing something, changing it up, doing it in a different location but feeling good about yourself is the goal.

Samantha Pruitt: 22:37

We will remind them at the end how they’re going to express this. I want to hear about your challenge.

Polly Mertens: 22:42

Okay, so yours is physical, mine is a little physical component, but it’s more kind of the mental, emotional, so as a hypnotherapist and certified in neurolinguistic programming and not to go too deep into science. So we’ll just keep it high level here, but we are kind of nerds on this, aren’t we? Yeah, I was so fascinated. It’s really great learning all this stuff. So mine is daily self-talk right, and so it’s committing to yourself and talking to yourself and guess what you’re saying? I am awesome.

Samantha Pruitt: 23:13

I am awesome, Like it’s that easy. Why do people you think people are talking to themselves? What are they saying out there, Pauli, oh?

Polly Mertens: 23:19

well, so what’s happening is and this is a little woo-woo, but you are the observer of your thoughts. If you really step back, you’re the one who’s listening to your own thoughts. Thoughts are just like thought bubbles they’re happening, they’re going on inside your head. Something goes on outside in the world and your mind says something, and you hear it. Well, you’re the one, you’re the ultimate observer, back in there, right?

Polly Mertens: 23:44

So your self-talklong list you know, there’s a whole story we can go into about self-talk and where it all comes from and la-la-la. We’re not going to go into that today, but just know that it’s largely programming right. So we can. Most of us grow up with a lot of negative programming from our childhood. We don’t have to go into why it’s there, but it’s there okay. And so this challenge is for us to reprogram ourselves, be intentional about what we are saying to ourselves.

Polly Mertens: 24:13

I remember when I did this with myself the very first time and I was working with a hypnotherapist because I wasn’t a hypnotherapist Yet, yeah, but before I was working with my hypnotherapist and she shared this with me and I came back to her I think it was like 30 days, 60 days later, I’m like my mind is actually telling me I’m amazing, because mine was, I’m amazing back then years ago and she’s like, wow, and I was like this stuff works. It was great. So here’s the challenge. So there’s a speaking component, there’s a writing component and I’ll say seeing or an environmental component. So the speaking component is basically you saying out loud to yourself I am awesome. That’s it, simple. Some people, that might be hard.

Samantha Pruitt: 24:58

How would I remember to even?

Polly Mertens: 24:59

say that Right. Well, we can go into the minors and like when do I say it?

Samantha Pruitt: 25:04

Maybe by day 31, it would automatically be there, but on day one.

Polly Mertens: 25:07

Yeah. So there definitely needs to be some structure to this. So I want to give you guys the opportunity to invest in yourselves five minutes a day. Five minutes a day, so the first component is speaking, so it’s just saying out loud so that your own ears can hear it, because the way that the two parts of your you guys have largely heard, there’s two big chunks of your brain, the conscious and subconscious right. Let’s just call it that. So the conscious part is prefrontal cortex. That’s the part that’s setting your goals out there in front, telling you like where you want to go in life. Call that the captain, captain of the ship, here’s where we’re going, guys. The crew, the subconscious mind, is like tell us where we’re going, captain. So if I’m saying to myself, I suck, I procrastinate, I’m not good enough, I can’t do that, you know, I don’t know who do you think you are right? All this negative self-talk? The crew is like Roger, that will bring you more of that.

Polly Mertens: 26:01

We will actually manifest that in your life. It’s there’s all kinds of stuff we could talk about.

Polly Mertens: 26:07

So the crew just listens and deploys, just listens and they take no initiative unless it’s spoken to them or, I’ll say in a minute, written to them.

Polly Mertens: 26:16

So you really and you know, maybe this is a good time for a tangent I kind of want to say this.

Polly Mertens: 26:21

So I was listening to this one research study where they actually took football players I believe they were in the NFL, might have been collegiate, what doesn’t matter, but college football players and this coach worked with a neuroscientist and actually found that he was able to transform the performance of his team in a season dramatically I forget what the uptick in number of wins and stuff like that was simply by having his team not say out loud anything negative. Just on the field, they were not allowed to say negative things like you dropped that ball or that sucked, or you know, critiquing each other, critiquing themselves, especially Shaming, blaming, all that stuff. So that was just not allowed, just not saying it out loud. It’s amazing, you know, I find a lot of people I don’t know if you have these people in your life but they just walk around complaining about this, complaining about Right. They are just feeding that more to the subconscious. It’s like what do you want me to do?

Samantha Pruitt: 27:20

Oh, they’re putting that energy out into the universe, and into themselves, and into themselves. If you want to be in a bubble.

Polly Mertens: 27:29

Well, we technically are, I mean like it’s how we talk to ourselves, so I am awesome. Is what you want to be saying to yourself?

Polly Mertens: 27:36

Five minutes a day Be the captain, be the captain, own it Right. So be deliberate about it. I would say you know one of the things that I often hear and I’ve coached people with you know habit change and affirmations and incantations, whatever you want to call. This is the time to do it like. If you want to have a Key time, or a pivotal time is when you’re already feeling good, like you’re gonna naturally feel good, say hey, I’m awesome, look at me, I did that right. Leverage those times, like lean on that time to, to stay those, and if there’s times of the day when you are not feeling super.

Samantha Pruitt: 28:10

Stuck in traffic not feeling it your spouse yeah, go on. Yeah, or it’s right before. Right before bed, she, I forgot to do my five.

Polly Mertens: 28:18

You know I forgot to do my five minutes of I am awesome. So in those moments where we don’t find ourselves feeling particularly awesome, that’s okay. You can build bridges to that right and so and this is a lot of the work of habits and you know, especially like for me. I’ll just give you the example of my bulimia. So when I had 20 years of bulimia under my belt and my history saying I’m non-bulimic, that day, every it was like that’s a lie, like you got to be kidding me yesterday, you, you were bulimic yesterday.

Samantha Pruitt: 28:49

Yeah, and we’re not into the the BS Situation where people are trying to convince themselves of something that’s not reality.

Polly Mertens: 28:55

You are trying to grow into that, though you are coming, yes, so bridge languages.

Samantha Pruitt: 29:00

Okay, right.

Polly Mertens: 29:01

So building bridges. So for me it was I’m becoming non-believing, I’m I’m learning how to be non-belimic, I’m on my way to being bulimia free things like that, right. So that’s what my language and myself talk look like at that time. So for this, find ways to feel a little bit of your awesomeness like I’m becoming awesome.

Samantha Pruitt: 29:19

I’m on the path to awesome.

Polly Mertens: 29:21

Yeah, I’m, I’m awesome at times. You know I was awesome this morning. I’m not feeling so awesome right now, but don’t say that alone. But just, you know, say, find the awesome that you can find the bridge where I’m coming. Yeah, mm-hmm becoming awesome, more and more, more awesome. And then that, those times when you absolutely feel in the body there is just resistance to that, I mean, come on, you see how my shoulders went up hey.

Polly Mertens: 29:43

Yeah, I mean your body is sending you a signal. So one thing is to notice those are actually signals from your body that you probably have something to unpack. You know, as a coach, right, we do a lot of, because we’re humans, we got to unload, so we’re carrying. So that signal from your body, that saying I am awesome, is like resistance. You just you can’t get the words out or you just feel either hesitation or constraint or something in your body. That is probably a moment for you to say, like where’s that coming from? Just be gentle with yourself, and maybe not in that moment, but just kind of exploring, contemplating why is you know what’s there, right? So what’s underlying that? It’s a gift, it’s truly a gift from you to you if you can unpack it and approach it. So Don’t go at it when it’s, you know, a brick wall. I would say you know, if you got a brick wall, come at it another time of day right.

Polly Mertens: 30:41

Use bridge language when you’re not totally feeling the awesome and when you are feeling good already. Leverage those times like turn that I’m feeling like an eight into a ten to a twelve to a twenty by, you know, repeating yourself I’m awesome and stacking on top of that. If you want to do both of our challenges, do this to movement, like I do mine in the morning going out on the walks. You know I’ll walk around the neighborhood Early when nobody’s around and not scaring dogs, if you will, and I’ll say I’m awesome and I’m throwing my hands in the air. I’m like patting my chest. You know what about reading this? Yes, so that’s the other one. So the writing okay, so great work.

Samantha Pruitt: 31:22

Sometimes you are kind of embarrassed to say it, saying it out loud.

Polly Mertens: 31:26

Well, this is not something you’re saying to anyone else right. But I get that. You know, for some people, saying positive things to themselves isn’t something that they’re yet comfortable with, so they have.

Samantha Pruitt: 31:36

That’s why this is a challenge long enough, yet it’s only January.

Polly Mertens: 31:41

That’s why we call this a challenge, because we get that.

Samantha Pruitt: 31:43

You know, it may not why we call this the everyday awesome project because we’re a project together.

Polly Mertens: 31:52

So so for the writing portion, not to go too much into handwriting analysis, although there’s a lot there. That is Amazing how your hand I mean, if you’ve never heard of handwriting analysis you know like they do this in court cases they literally can see when people are lying, you know. That’s part of the study of this. Vamala Rogers I’ll say she has got some great books. If anybody wants to learn in anything in handwriting analysis but Writing I am awesome. As a part of this as well as part of your five minutes, absolutely acceptable because If you, if you’ve never seen this, but what we often, what we see, we tend to believe Okay, right, so yeah, seeing I am awesome. And then you’re actually in the process. Two parts of your brain are working to Create that pen to paper. Now, this isn’t like type it, this is hand writing.

Polly Mertens: 32:40

You have to use your own hand If you can remember how to like handwriting not not typing it on a phone or typing it, you know, in a computer. This is handwriting, like on a post-it note or post a note, or just in a journal, or I don’t care where.

Samantha Pruitt: 32:53

I like post-it notes everywhere.

Polly Mertens: 32:55

Well, that’s the other one, okay, so speaking writing, and the next one is seeing or putting them in your environment. Okay so having is part of helping people create these habits right. We’ve got this on On on ramp, these runways. We’re trying to help people like reinforce this. So I would say, grab like five or six post-it notes. Okay, right out, I am awesome. Mm-hmm and post them around your car, your bedroom, mm-hmm. Your mirror in your bathroom.

Polly Mertens: 33:23

Yes anywhere that you feel like it put them when you’re sitting on the pooper put it right there. Reminding yourself you’re doing great Mm-hmm, so putting them in your environment. Those reminders are just support for new habits right Nice the one caveat to that is, Over time the mind and the brain do tend to Sort of put into the background things that it sees too often right.

Polly Mertens: 33:46

So, like we can mistest, or you know, stacks of paper on our office, how do we do that? Because the mind just goes oh yeah, that’s been there for six months, don’t need to do anything with that ignore right. So maybe once a week grab that post-it notes. All of them around your house car.

Polly Mertens: 33:59

We’re gonna circulate just move them around a little bit, change the colors, something like that. Have fun with it. Okay, and then the last thing this is, I think, our group thing is the sharing right. So, you know, I Would say that the greatest gift that we can give to people is, you know, telling them that we think they’re awesome, right?

Samantha Pruitt: 34:20

So you know I love doing that. I Think one of my things will be spending the whole year going around and telling people, they’re awesome. Yeah, and I’m sure you do that already, and then seeing what their responses.

Polly Mertens: 34:33

Absolutely, and you know find, if this is something that you’re up to and you feel like you would benefit from this, who in your life do you love enough that you would want them to benefit from this too? And tell them that you’re gonna do this, they like, hey, why don’t you join me in this challenge? Let’s be accountability partners. Let’s say it to each other I don’t know or I want to be like silly about this. Let’s like, yeah, call me every day and tell me, tell.

Polly Mertens: 34:54

DM me or let me tell you hey, I’m awesome exactly like that person like yeah, you are, that’s fun right.

Samantha Pruitt: 35:01

I love that.

Polly Mertens: 35:02

So share it with a friend, get some accountability, get some support and spread this like, yes, like these are little love bombs little love, gifts that you know, other people helping other people do this and then prove their self-talk.

Samantha Pruitt: 35:14

Well, we can’t put these two challenges out there without giving our audience some tips and tricks. Because you are habit formation Queen, let’s talk about how to really help people fulfill this 30-day challenge Tips and tricks.

Polly Mertens: 35:33

Yeah, so off the cuff. So we’re keeping the daily self-talk to five minutes. I would say that is your minimum.

Samantha Pruitt: 35:40

So that could be a minute five times a day.

Polly Mertens: 35:43

It could be a minute five times a day. Okay, I’d be five minutes once a day. Okay, I would find if you don’t have five minutes for your life, then you don’t have much of a life, right?

Samantha Pruitt: 35:52

So like gift yourself this if you don’t have five minutes for your life, you are bs-ing yourself and us.

Polly Mertens: 35:57

Yes, Not what else you’re lying about other things.

Samantha Pruitt: 36:00

We’re not having it.

Polly Mertens: 36:01

Yeah, I’ll find you, don’t forget that so Five minutes a day, okay, I would say grow this like when I first told you like hey, I think people should do this for five minutes, you’re like that’s not enough, you should do it, you know, ten times a day. I’m like, okay, in the world of habit we grow into those things, right. So I can tell you too many times people want to learn how to meditate and they go. I’m gonna meditate an hour a day from zero.

Samantha Pruitt: 36:22

Oh, I believe. So now I have done all. Yeah, see why I’m still not.

Polly Mertens: 36:29

Anyway, so five minutes a day, yeah like if you’re like, after two weeks you’re like I love this. Okay, I’m totally digging this. I’m gonna do it twice a day, I’m gonna do it three times a day. What have you? It’s your challenge. But do it five minutes a day minimum, right, right? It so doable. Yes, totally doable. So that’s it. The other thing with habits very much so is if you can link it to another habit you already have.

Samantha Pruitt: 36:52

Oh, we all have you like my coffee, your coffee, have it Okay you can do, like, how would I link it?

Polly Mertens: 36:57

What do you mean? So you’re making your coffee or you’re waiting in line for your coffee to be made. Do your home, do it, do your challenge right then and there okay. Or you’re enjoying your coffee and in between coffee Sips, you’re doing it right. You’re brushing your teeth in the morning, you’re brushing your teeth at night. Right, there’s things that you’re doing. You’re checking your phone for something, whatever. You’re making dinner. Things that you’re already doing.

Samantha Pruitt: 37:21

I expect everybody who has a phone which is obviously everybody listening to this To have on their screensaver. I am awesome, that’s amazing, fantastic.

Polly Mertens: 37:31

Yes, yes, so that it doesn’t have to be out in the quote physical world. It can be on your phone, it can be on your computer. Yes, and you know when I’ve had other challenges that I’ve done with myself Sometimes I’ll set up five reminders through the day. So like you know you can do like little alerts you actually on your iPhone. You can change the title from alarm. Yes, you know, you can say what I’ve been.

Polly Mertens: 37:52

Wherever you want, just say I am so my first one in the morning is you’re amazing, like that’s what my alarm says in the morning when I click off, like of course it does. Of course it does, yeah, with lots of little hearts and you know, unicorns.

Samantha Pruitt: 38:04

I have it say random things like let’s do this with like a flame, and all these.

Polly Mertens: 38:09

I’m a scary no, scary in a good way. I love it. So Fine, fine, fine reminders. Find ways of building in structure you know, and I would say, for your movement thing too, pre-plan that, like plan that on the weekend or plan that either every morning. What am I gonna do it today? Like Don’t just wait in the last minute.

Samantha Pruitt: 38:28

Okay, so I’ve been at this. You know moving the body thing, Radical trains it. Yeah, now we’re going on. Next year will be 25 years celebration to actually understanding my real life, but we’re discovering and then slowly implementing and understanding my real life. I still put out my Run gear, workout gear, shoes and stuff the night before. I still do that. Yeah, going on 25 years later. Well, that’s about the habit of success.

Polly Mertens: 38:56

That’s how you get it. Hell’s, yeah, yeah. So what you know you’re, you know we’re human, come on, do all the things you need to do.

Samantha Pruitt: 39:03

Don’t think that you know I don’t have the motivation, all these stories we tell ourselves. Right, if I am really disciplined, I wouldn’t need reminders.

Polly Mertens: 39:13

Come on, we’re human in here and I think too, you know, 30 days people like this is easy, no problem. There are gonna, like I told you about the airport, right, there’s times where your, your life is happening. Things are going on like how are you so? You know, as I knew, that airport trip was going, you know what’s happening. It’s like, okay, I’m doing some laps in the airport, right. So say to yourself like you’re gonna have times where things are gonna interrupt this life, interrupts us right.

Polly Mertens: 39:40

Your best laid plans. Think about it in advance. Except, I know I’ve got this wedding on Sunday. Boy, I’m gonna be like from the morning till night. I don’t know what. It’s your own wedding, holy cow.

Samantha Pruitt: 39:51

Oh, then you’re definitely gonna get a 5k and this is not a problem, and you should definitely be saying I am awesome Many times on your wedding day, If you can recall that right. You know, I do, I’m awesome, I’m awesome.

Polly Mertens: 40:03

Work it into the vows for sure. So so you know, give it a little forethought each day will help. Or for the week in advance, like, okay, what’s going on this week? Do I have any travel plans? Yeah, do I have any? You know, a day full of meetings. How am I gonna get this in? Do I need to break it up into four, 15s, if I’m doing an hour, whatever it is?

Samantha Pruitt: 40:20

So we have two challenges that can do the Polly or the Sam challenge, or both, or both, because you’re a total badass and then super fun is. We want them to share that with us. So, to be clear, we want to have conversation with our audience any and all the humans. We want to hear from them. We’re all about that piece right of building this everyday awesome community. So we would like them to post on their social and tag us. That’s a given. They can do it every day. They can do it many times a day, as much as they want. Post and tag, post and tag utilizing the hashtag. I am awesome big surprise, I am not Not. You are awesome. To be clear, listener. I am awesome proclaiming it to the world and to us. We will be watching and witnessing and high-flying you. Hell yeah, and in addition to that, we will be looking For some great stories. So we will be looking for people who are doing these challenges when we can actually have them on our podcast and feature their story. What I can’t wait to?

Polly Mertens: 41:28

hunt them down super fun. So Share this. I mean, this is really meant to build momentum in your own life and that of the people around you. I have a feeling you know people will see what you’re up to and they’ll be like what the hell are you doing? Let’s just what the I am awesome all the time, yeah. And then you’ll have an opportunity to tell them Well, I’m doing this thing for myself. You might want to do it too.

Samantha Pruitt: 41:47

And if anyone gives you grief, please send them our way. I will personally call them or send a message. Explaining why we’re doing this, for sure together sure.

Polly Mertens: 41:57

Okay, very good.

Samantha Pruitt: 41:59

Remember beautiful humans.

Polly Mertens: 42:00

How your life feels is far more important than how it looks, and every day is an opportunity to find your awesome.

Samantha Pruitt: 42:08

All right, let’s do this challenge Woohoo.