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The Truth About Motivation
17 Plays7 days ago
Dr. Autumn challenges conventional wisdom about motivation, revealing that it's often a result of action rather than its catalyst. She explores how our decision-making is shaped by emotions, hormones, and physical states, offering practical strategies to align our choices with long-term goals. By understanding the complex interplay between brain and body, listeners learn to make better decisions even when motivation seems elusive.
Intro and Outro Music Credit: Savage by Beat Mekanik, Free Music Archive, License type: CC BY
Please visit: www.autumnswain.com
Contact: autumn@thealignedleader.org
IG: @drautumnswain
FB: Autumn Alena Swain
Referenced in this episode:
DrLeaf.com, Podcast: Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess
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Transcript
Introduction to Dr. Autumn and Her Mission
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello there. I'm Dr. Autumn, leadership consultant, wellness coach, author, and I'm incredibly grateful to be your host of the Align Living podcast.
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm here to equip you with the tools, inspiration, and practical tips necessary to lead a life of wholeness and pursue greater Shalom in your life and that of your families, teams, and communities. My mission is to empower you to lead from a place of holistic wellbeing.
00:00:39
Speaker
It's time to say peace out to the fatigue, fog, and frustration of living in a place that lacks abundant wellbeing. Join me as we embark on a comprehensive exploration of spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic wellbeing, all within the comforting embrace of one podcast.
00:01:09
Speaker
Hey good people, Dr. Autumn here and welcome back to the Align Living Podcast.
Challenges in Decision Making and Goal Setting
00:01:15
Speaker
I am so excited to have the opportunity to chat with you today about the mystery behind motivation because think about it. We all want to make the right choices in moving us from where we are to where we want to be. like Our desires to make good choices, not bad ones, but why does this continue to be such a struggle? like New Year's is here, and you know most of you probably established some goals, and I've talked about this before, but the reality is a very small percentage of people actually follow through on those goals. and Why do we set goals in the first place? Because we have some desires and the only way to make those desires as a reality is to master decision making. And ah what's really fascinating, and I totally nerd it out on this, but what is the science behind making good choices versus bad choices? Like, you know, sometimes we want to do something and we just don't do it. We make the wrong choice. Like what are all the components?
00:02:13
Speaker
that play a role in that. No, that's super fascinating. And um I think by the end of this episode, you will want to nerd out on this a little bit with me because this is just the start of a series. And so I'm really looking forward to sharing with you some of what I know and some of what I have learned. um Because, you know, with motivation, what's so interesting is sometimes we feel like that's the missing link.
00:02:38
Speaker
right? um And we just need some more motivation that will help us make the right choices. But what if we're completely looking in the wrong direction for direction? What if motivation isn't really the missing key here, but really understanding the things that we need to do to help us make good choices and good decisions? So um I'm really looking forward to diving in um on this with you because think about it, like One of the reasons I started this Align Living podcast is I knew upfront it isn't going to be the most, um, you know, entertaining and sexiest, do you know, information out there on the market. But what it is is it plays an essential role in your fulfillment, your capacity, your quality of life, all the things that
Holistic Wellbeing and Action-Oriented Motivation
00:03:24
Speaker
you want. You want to feel rested and energized and, um,
00:03:28
Speaker
feeling like you're living on purpose and, you know, we want our finances straight. We want to have a positive social community. We want um to have good mental and emotional wellbeing. We want to physically feel amazing. We want to have, you know, spiritual wellness in our lives. Like these things are so important, um but sometimes we need to just, you know, plug into the nitty gritty a little bit and get down to like, what are the practical things that I need to do on a day to day basis?
00:03:54
Speaker
to live a line. So when we talk about choices, this plays a role in absolutely everything. Think about absolutely everything that you do, be it good or bad or somewhere in between. It's a choice, right? So this is a super, super important topic. So there's no way I'm going to get through it all in one episode. I'm just going to equip you with some really fascinating information, a couple really important bullet points.
00:04:17
Speaker
And then we'll just continue on um next time. So um in this episode, I'm not just going to give you greater insight into this mystery of motivation, but I want to equip you with just a better understanding of how to view motivation in the first place just to feel empowered to make good choices and avoid self-sabotaging decisions, right?
00:04:37
Speaker
um I'll go through a variety of tools that you can implement right away in helping you on this journey um towards greater aligned living because, ah like I just said, being aligned um in your choices should match the direction you want to go in life, right? Like when you're aligned, your choices and um progress towards where you want to be should be aligned, okay? So diving right in.
00:05:00
Speaker
There's a couple really important truths to understand in regards to motivation or inspiration because I'm not saying it plays a zero role. I think we just have things backwards a little bit when it comes to what we need to do to make good choices. Okay. So number one.
00:05:16
Speaker
motivation slash inspiration does not come before action, okay? When we wait for inspiration, we're giving up control of what we want in life to this fleeting feeling. And I will tell you, I speak this with such conviction because one of the things that I have mastered, now mind you, I have a lot of areas I need to grow in,
00:05:35
Speaker
But you know when people ask me, Autumn, like how are you disciplined in certain things? And um I will tell you, it's not because I look forward to every single thing that I do. It's just I choose to make the right choice. That um is going to set me up for success. And I do a lot of things I don't feel like doing, OK? So I'm taking the action before the motivation.
00:05:56
Speaker
Um, I am a strong believer. I do not want to give up control in my life to anything that's going to keep me from moving in the direction I want to go in. Okay. So part of taking back control is acknowledging action often precedes motivation. So taking the very first step can create this positive feedback loop, even when you're not feeling particularly inspired. I'm actually go more into this later because this literally could be so life changing for you when you really um take ownership of this. I'm gonna say it again.
00:06:26
Speaker
taking just that first step when you don't feel like doing something, making that right choice, it creates a positive feedback loop, even when you're not feeling so inspired. And what that does is then it will create inspiration because you will start to experience the positive benefits of making that choice in the moment that you didn't feel like it. Okay. but Motivation often follows as you see progress from your actions, right? So then it's fueling further action. So it's a good thing, but it's not the the the thing that you should be waiting on, all right? Now, I did an entire episode on how to live in the suck well, right? When you're going through a challenging season, some stress, some overwhelm, some pain, some suffering, some hardship, um whatever. It might be just a lot going on, big decisions you have to make.
00:07:13
Speaker
Okay, how do you live in that place well? And that journey begins with doing things you don't feel like doing in the moment. Well, I know some of you are thinking that is so much easier said than done, but maybe not. Like stick with me in this episode and in this series, because towards the end, I'm going to share insights into how this can really be easier than you think. I think we get in our heads making us think that this is just so difficult to do that. And then you just kind of like,
00:07:42
Speaker
you know, sacrifice your well-being and in your success and fulfillment because yeah we just make this seem like um a boulder when it's really could be a pebble if you just really understand what leads to good choices, okay?
Impact of Health on Decision Making
00:07:56
Speaker
So number two, understanding motivation leads to a greater understanding of just how your body works. This is where I like low-key seriously, seriously nerd out.
00:08:06
Speaker
I think you'll find a lot of this pretty intriguing. What influences motivation in our choices? Okay, well, every part of our bodies play a role in this process. So in this episode, I want to give you this 30,000 foot view. um And I hope that what you learn will also apply to all these other areas of your life once you see how integrated this all is, and then help you see more growth and fulfillment than you've ever seen before.
00:08:33
Speaker
and my hope is that you discover how you could be more in control of your life and then by having more control over your choices and this comes from understanding what's happening in your body when you choose well or not alright because then it becomes um ah very like um objective decision when you look at the scenario um and you understand what's happening and you're like okay now I can make more wise and informed decisions here so you will totally get what I what that means in a minute okay so let's take a quick 30,000 foot view and then I'm gonna break this down and what it means for your life more specifically I always say it what we do is
00:09:14
Speaker
involves many parts because everything's interconnected, okay? I'm always talking about this. The integrated nature of our bodies is the exact same thing with making choices. Our bodies are experiencing this complex interaction of neural activity in our brains, right? It's a teamwork approach that primarily involves the prefrontal cortex, okay? That's like the part of your brain that involves so much of our um You know decision making um processing information right so it it does so so much the prefrontal cortex okay so i'm as simply as i can say it i'm goingnna explain it this way.
00:09:53
Speaker
The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in comparing your options, which though are influenced by factors like emotions. So that's why when I talk about how important it is to manage your emotions well, it's because um information goes through your limbic part of your brain, which is your emotional part of your brain first before it hits the prefrontal cortex. So it plays a really, really important role in influencing your decisions.
00:10:21
Speaker
Past experiences, right? Our thoughts include our subconscious and non-conscious minds, right? So our memories and our past experiences are all playing a role here. um Our hormones, and then really significantly is our current physiological state, right? Like how are we eating, exercise, sleep, all of those factors, okay? So again, just to break this down, our our bodies are experiencing these complex interactions that inform our choices, and it primarily involves the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
00:10:49
Speaker
but there's tons of factors that influence the prefrontal cortex. So when we're not well, a lot of those other factors override the part of your brain that's supposed to be making good decisions. Okay, so we're going to talk about this more and what this specifically means for your life, like simple things that you could do that will make a huge difference. So um This analysis is then communicated through neurotransmitters. okay So what the prefrontal cortex is doing, it communicates to your body through neuroton neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin to determine the final decision. ok I'm actually going to spend more time on a future episode talking about neurotransmitters. Now, ah you might be thinking like, oh my gosh, that sounds like
00:11:29
Speaker
the least exciting thing I could possibly do with my life. However, if between your brain and making good choices, the conduit is these neurotransmitters, um I think it's important to know, like, what are simple things I could do in my life to have healthy levels of dopamine, to have healthy levels of serotonin, which is our happy hormone, right? And so these all impact that final decision. And so there could be something that you're doing that is like really messing up, like not allowing your prefrontal cortex to function properly or, um,
00:11:58
Speaker
you know, ah you know, not having that healthy neurotransmitter pathway. So if you could do some simple things in your life that will just make making good choices so much simpler, why not? And the end result is impacting all these other areas of your life and your health because it's all integrated. Okay, so I want to pause for a quick second.
00:12:17
Speaker
before I continue to kind of break down this, this pathway of good choices here. So the reason I'm so passionate about helping you see how integrated we are is to develop a conviction for good habits. Okay. So talk to me for three minutes about health and I'll likely bring up gut health. Okay. Because I know you, you likely have heard that it's your second brain, and some of you at least, right? Your, your gut health being like your second brain.
00:12:45
Speaker
Well, if the gut provides approximately 95% of your total body serotonin, and that's the neurotransmitter that's nicknamed the happy hormone, then once you imagine that having good gut health ah to produce really good serotonin levels, a key neurotransmitter in your body's processes, would be valuable in making good choices, right? And even in how you feel emotionally and mentally, um your thought patterns, like that serotonin neurotransmitter is really important. So therefore, gut health is really important. Gut health is important for a lot of reasons, but I'm just trying to make these connections here, okay? So decision making,
00:13:25
Speaker
or I'm going to refer it here as just making choices, is a process of our brain evaluating potential rewards and risks based on our internal and external environment. Okay, so there's a lot going on here. um That's why I think simply approaching something through sheer willpower isn't always successful because There is tons of tons of factors that are influencing you. So the preventative approach would be like, let me do the right things to help set my body up for success when it comes to all of this neural pathway and what will help you just naturally make good choices. Okay.
00:13:59
Speaker
so Here is where we begin to get to the root of making good, helpful, healthy choices versus what we don't want, harmful, hurtful, not so good choices. Because when we're healthy, as in integrating healthy habits into your lives,
00:14:20
Speaker
All of it is impacting our brain's ability to make good choices. It doesn't have to be as hard as it feels sometimes. Now, I have processed pretty in depth, like why do I think it feels so hard for people sometimes to do um the thing that you want to do, right? When we lack health, when we lack good nutrition, sleep, proper stress management, the positive community, exercise, all of it, then our brains will override making the good and right choice because of the influence of these other factors that have a stronger influence due to this lack of health, okay? Makes sense? Our bodies are are just not responding as they should. God created our bodies with all these incredible functions that when we do the right things um that we were commanded to do, right? Like rest and
00:15:11
Speaker
You know, eat well, take care of our bodies as a temple, um have positive community. These things are all for a reason. They influence our health, which influences our overwhelming and our ability to make good choices. All right. So in summary, you know, even though this prefrontal cortex responsible for assessing risk and reward in the way
Emotional and Physiological Influences on Decisions
00:15:29
Speaker
that it should naturally function is to help us make the right choice.
00:15:32
Speaker
The problem is our brains could still sometimes choose harmful options just due to these other factors, right? Like I'm going to give you some really specific ones so you could just be mindful of them because as I've talked about early on in this um podcast, self-awareness is essential, like non-negotiable. Pause if to put some self-awareness into your life, right? Because These are some ah factors that could just override your brain, okay? Strong emotional responses, overriding rational thought. Okay, think about that for a minute.
00:16:06
Speaker
Impulsive behavior driven by immediate gratification. I always talk about like hyper awareness for instant gratification because it usually just leads to damage. Faulty learning patterns. Okay. This is, I'm going to um reference one of my favorite resources and experts on this topic in a second who talks frequently about these like learned patterns and how we could undo them because faulty learned patterns actually show up as kind of like ugly, sickly looking neurons in our body. If we could retrain those thought patterns to be healthy, you know, it's just, it's just really significant in our overall journey, quality of life.
00:16:45
Speaker
stress-induced impairment of the prefrontal cortex. Hmm, think about that. Situations where the perceived reward outweighs the perceived risk. Essentially, the prefrontal cortex just isn't always able to fully control decision-making, especially faced with these powerful emotions or other immediate desires. Okay, so something to be hypersensitive about. Because if you're wanting to make good choices, like, and you find it hard,
00:17:13
Speaker
you have to be aware of some of these things that could be getting in the way of making good choices, all right? So let's dive into the root causes a little bit more. I just want to give you some super practical ideas because really that's what I tried to do in this podcast to make it a little bit different is not just give you information but like let's get super practical. Again, it's not the most exciting things but if I tell you like to stay super hydrated and drink lots of water every day and be aware of electrolytes and get the nutrients you need that sounds like all pretty boring but literally it's like the most life-changing things that we could do like taking time
00:17:48
Speaker
to invest in a relationship with God um and and navigate our purpose in life, having positive community, okay? Super, super important. And I like totally recognize that not everyone likes to nerd out on this stuff like I do. So I'm not gonna go into as much detail, but we are all different. And some of you are like, I need to see the bigger picture here. I need to understand what you're talking about, like conceptually. And so that's why I do wanna go into this a little bit.
00:18:13
Speaker
um But straight up, if you want to make good choices, make and make progress towards your goals. Feel great. Do great. You must manage the brain's influence as well. There's no way around it. Like, if you are just self-sabotaging, you know, and you're not managing all these things that influence your brain well, and then you turn around to try to make good choices, it's going to be really, really difficult, okay? So consider all of these things, your emotions.
00:18:43
Speaker
physiological needs. You know, that's baseline hunger thirst fatigue, but it goes into more like proper sleep, hydration, getting enough nutrition. Of course, stress is really important. I'm not saying avoid stress because that's impossible, but managing stress in a healthy way is really, really important.
00:19:01
Speaker
Hormones are a whole other topic because they do very much can influence your brain. Past experiences are really really important. It's not something you could just like suppress and shove down and think that it has no influence because all of those are physiological presences in your body through neurons. um Your brain, your thoughts are like this massive massive part of your body. It's insane how big it is like our non-conscious and subconscious. I did a previous um episode on this as well that you might want to listen to to understand how that functions even more. But those past experiences really do play a role, so we do need to address that in our thought patterns um through whatever, um you know, modalities you find that might be helpful for you to do that. And then, of course, our social context. Social influences are really, really huge. And me as a mom, like,
00:19:50
Speaker
I'm always mindful of this, right? Who's influencing my kids and what people don't want to have in my life so they can be positive influences over my kids, et cetera, et cetera. Now, my expertise is looking at the interconnectedness of our spiritual formation as it relates to our physical and emotional and mental and social and economic well-being, okay?
00:20:10
Speaker
So I can really help people jumpstart into living your best life through getting like um an initial you know start in these spaces. But um I love to just continue to learn from experts who are really, really knowledgeable in just one of these areas and getting a more microscopic view.
00:20:31
Speaker
And so one of my favorite, favorite experts on the brain. Um, and she also talks a lot about emotions and thoughts. Like I've learned so much about thought patterns from Dr. Caroline leaf. She's incredible. Um, she has so many wonderful resources, including a podcast of her own.
00:20:47
Speaker
um I just want to share her insights here super briefly um to start so you can understand what's happening prior to a choice being made. All right, now this tool alone could change your life. So really like listen in here, okay? So you can learn more than what I share by digging into her resources. I'll put them in the show notes. But I believe this summary alone can make a pretty big difference for you.
00:21:11
Speaker
um Some of this content I just pulled from her blog post, why do we keep making the wrong decisions and tips to help you become an expert decision maker, right? I think we can all like say that would be pretty cool. So there's two main parts in this process. So first, understanding how to be a proactive decision maker. This is mind blowing. Okay, so stick with me here. And then second, recognizing the conditions under which bad decisions are generally made. That's also a proactive approach, but You'll see what I mean in a second. So if anything from this podcast, remember this. As we think, we feel, as we feel, we choose. I meant from this podcast episode, ah specific episode, not the entire podcast. Again, as we think, we feel, and as we feel, we choose. So if you've ever heard, don't make big choices when you're like sleep deprived or emotionally charged or
00:22:06
Speaker
I'm super stressed. It's super real. We say that for a reason. Because if you want, if you're choosing according to how you feel and you're feeling according to how we think, you really need to think about those like, what thoughts are going through your mind when you're in like, ah maybe not the healthiest space right at that moment.
00:22:23
Speaker
um So Dr. Leaf encourages us to be proactive about our decisions um by being proactive about our thoughts, all right? So we have this incoming stream of stimuli at all times, and that stream influences our thoughts.
00:22:40
Speaker
Now, what is it filtering through? Okay, so we have the stimuli coming in and that influences our thought patterns, but it's filtering through emotions, right? That limbic system and that response is also influenced by our experiences and memories and et cetera. And so we literally need to train ourselves to observe our thinking and feeling in response to that information and then analyze it objectively before making a decision, right? ah So many times we're like, we we feel we we think we feel we jump right into a decision what
00:23:13
Speaker
She teaches, and I totally agree, and I've implemented in my own life, is in order to analyze this incoming stream of information and make good choices, you have to pause. Because how else are you going to observe objectively what's going on before making a decision? Otherwise, you will fall prey to reactive and potentially harmful choices, right? Like most of us would agree, I 100% agree, that responding to a situation is always better than reacting. But if you don't pause,
00:23:43
Speaker
to analyze this input and look at it objectively, then you're just gonna like I said fall prey to um these potentially harmful choices. So we have as humans the ability to stand back and observe our own thinking and feeling and choosing, okay? That is just something all of us could do as humans, all right? And um when we take the time to to pause and like kind of look at your life and your situations, almost like standing on the outside and looking at you and all of these things that are happening,
00:24:19
Speaker
She calls it a multiple perspective advantage. And I really like this because as you do this, you become an objective observer and then you're just disassociating yourself slightly from the situation you're in. Like almost as though you're helping someone else evaluate their thinking and feeling and choosing and their perspective, right? And then in this way, you can analyze the pros and cons of how you're viewing a particular situation.
00:24:44
Speaker
and what the best next steps are. okay So in this process, you're literally training your brain to respond in a very healthy way if you practice doing this on a regular
Training the Brain for Better Decision Making
00:24:55
Speaker
basis. It's training just like in any other way. We physically train to be more toned. um you know when As we eat healthier, our bodies are we're reducing the inflammation in our bodies.
00:25:07
Speaker
So on and so forth as we spend more time with God, we increase, grow in our faith. Like it's all a training process. You're literally training your brain to become smarter and wiser. Okay. And um so it's just so interesting because there is just very, very practical steps we can do to do this. The challenge for you all is to actually take the time to do it. All right. So I just want to give you a few key points to remember when you just some basic strategies When you find yourself like being challenged to make these good choices, decision making is not a purely rational process and emotions play a significant role. All right.
00:25:46
Speaker
Your body's physiological state, whether it's your hormones or your current needs, sleep, whatever, they significantly impact your choices. They just do. And you've heard the science behind it, and it actually goes way deeper, and I'll be spending some more time talking about this um in the future. But ah lastly, understanding the neural mechanisms behind decision making can help us better understand our own behavior and just make more and um informed choices, okay, when you really understand what's going on.
00:26:16
Speaker
Now I, um, as I wrap up here, I just want to encourage you that it's completely normal to experience moments where you just don't feel motivated to take positive action. Okay. And the challenge is to build strategies that can help you push through those moments. Okay. Of resistance. And so you might not feel like it. Okay. Build in strategies in your life when motivation is low to help you make the good choice here. So here's some of the best ways to create and sustain motivation to make good choices, even when you don't feel like it. All right.
00:26:45
Speaker
So again, as we think, we feel, as we feel, we choose. So if you're not feeling like doing something, The challenge, the strategy here is just to do it for five minutes. That's it. Like literally getting started. And I've experienced this over and over again in my life. It works. If you just get started, sometimes that's just the hardest part right there is getting started. You do that. There's your catalyst because this short time commitment, you know, it it kind of tricks your brain and be like, I'm not committing to doing like 10,000 tasks or five hours of work. Like five minutes, jump right in.
00:27:21
Speaker
And then see what happens. Because then you start to think, whoa, this actually feels good or this isn't as bad as I was making out to be. I'm really glad I'm doing this. All right. And so this is just um a really important strategy.
00:27:37
Speaker
for you to hold on to. Also, and I like how Dr. Leaf talks about some of this too, but if you want to avoid bad decisions, I just want to give you four really, really good quick tips. um And then I'm going to do a follow-up lesson in my Align Living course with 10 proactive strategies for making good choices that you could implement right away, not just for yourself, but the people in your life. Maybe you want to help your family or your kids or you you're a leader over a team and you want to help them. Like those, these 10 tips that I'm going to be talking about in my course. And again, if you're interested in being part of the online living community, check out autumnswain.com. I got a video there where I go more in depth. I've made it super, super low cost so that I could be accessible to anyone and everyone. You get my coaching in there um and whatnot.
00:28:26
Speaker
But I do for this episode do want to give you um just four quick tips on avoiding bad decisions. So if anything, you know, just take this away as like Coach Autumn's tip for the day from this episode, because if you just do these four things, it will start to make a difference. So um address fatigue, like literally straight up, don't make important choices when you're tired.
00:28:49
Speaker
or at least be more mindful um when you are fatigued and you need to make a decision. And um Dr. Leaf talks about this, I thought it was pretty cool. So the brain actually needs rest too. Like our mind is infinite and tireless, right? Our mind could go, go, go, go, but our brains are not. Our brains are finite and they do get tired. And so in order to, um you know, of course there's regular fatigue just by like, need like if you're dehydrated or not getting enough sleep or nutrition, but our brains actually, um get fatigued too. And so when this happens, chemicals don't flow like they should. The internal networks in our bodies and our brains just get stuck or they're over, over fired. So um our brain rest increases your clarity of thought and organizes the networks in your brain. This is why when you're feeling overwhelmed, there's a lot going on or something, just take the time to pause rather rather than just letting toxic mindsets build up in the brain, you know, be proactive with
00:29:44
Speaker
meditation, um meditating on, you know, um ah scriptural truths or whatever you follow or like um have some positive people, you know, will speak some good stuff into your life, like talk with them. um But, you know, let your brain rest. Okay, so address fatigue and um avoiding bad decisions. ah The second one's pause, I kind of just talked about this, but like, just be aware of your barriers to good choices. So um let your emotions guide you, but don't give into the instant gratification. um So if your body was created to be used in a certain way, just take advantage of that. And so a lot of times that just requires pausing and really processing what's going on. And I would just add right here that that whole thing that I talked about with um Dr. Leaf's multiple and um perspective advantage, like really take note of that, like look.
00:30:32
Speaker
from the outside in and be an objective observer of what's going on and let that be part of your decision making process, okay? And um number three is just being mindful of extreme emotions, okay? So if you're just feeling a lot in the moment, don't make a decision in that very moment um unless it's something that's really built into your routine to do something you don't feel like doing okay you're feeling an extreme emotion like um you know sadness happiness heartbreak something whatever um you know and you're like i still need to go for my walk i still need to eat right and take the time to cook but i'm talking about like
00:31:11
Speaker
other like life-changing decisions. like Don't make them when you're experiencing extreme emotions. Those emotions aren't bad, but they need to be evaluated as just useful information um and process what's going on. is Sometimes it can be hard to do that like right when you're in the middle of something. Lastly, four is just stress management. Because when you're feeling overwhelmed and your brain is trying to process too much at once, it's like Dr. Leaf says it this way. There's just too many surges of energy all hitting the brain at one time. and then No wonder you feel so overwhelmed and stressed out. And this can not only lead to like bad decision making, but sometimes it can also lead to decision making paralysis or analysis paralysis, as I call it, where it just, you kind of feel like stuck.
00:31:52
Speaker
So I am going to do an entire episode on just managing overwhelm and stress. Okay. Cause it's really important. But for now, just pause and ask yourself, you know, basic questions, just integrate self-awareness, like how am I coping? Um, you know, in this situation, am I causing growth and contributing towards health or is it causing hurt and damage and is not a healthy response, you know, like at the very,
00:32:19
Speaker
very like minimum do that okay just pause and ask yourself like how am I managing my stress right now okay so again um I'm gonna integrate more tools um through my Align Living community you can check out autumnswain.com um and really for my practice of the day like those four tips I'm not making bad decisions but I just want to you know encourage y'all to pursue wisdom we don't talk about this enough actually I'm gonna expand upon this later on but being proactive about your choices is really about exercising wisdom, okay? And we all want to be wise, right? God literally says, ask this of me and I will give to you generously because wisdom will make a really big difference in the choices that you make, okay? But we do want to support our body system because it's all integrated holistically in order to effectively exercise
Wisdom in Holistic Life Decisions
00:33:11
Speaker
wisdom. So It's a physical thing, it's a spiritual thing, it's a mental thing, it's an emotional thing. um It just functions in to the extent that you steward these spaces, okay? So anyways, ah really, really happy to be with you all today. um I know this was a lot, but like hold on to it because ah the like in the next five minutes, something's gonna happen and you're gonna have to make a choice about it. Are you making a good choice or a bad choice, right? Is that choice gonna add value to you or not? Is it gonna add value to someone else or not? is it going to be
00:33:41
Speaker
I'm moving you in the direction of your goals or not. Okay. So, um, I care about you all tremendously. That's why I do this and, um, you know, shoot me an email or hit me up through my website. If there's some, you know, areas you want me to go deeper on or talk more about next time, but until then my friends stay aligned.
00:34:05
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to the Aligned Living Podcast. I'm Dr. Autumn, your guide on this journey to Shalom or wholeness. Ready to embark on this journey of self-discovery and transformation? Head over to autumnswain.com to learn more and to dive deeper into the world of Aligned Living. Until next time, stay aligned.