The Power to Change is Within You
Is there something whether big or small in your life you'd like to change? Something you've tried and failed over and over. Well, it's kind of like Glinda told Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz about getting home to Kansas: you've had the power within you all along! If you remember, though, Dorothy had to learn something to access the power of her ruby slippers. In her case it was that “there’s no place like home.” Our goals and the actions we need to take to achieve them are most likely quite different, but maybe we can think of the “Yellow Brick Road” as the brain/body connection that enables us to tap into the power within. It could be power to change habits, lose weight, get organized, find time for prayer/meditation, save money or any number of things.
We learned about tapping into this power when we interviewed Erin Tennant who lost more than 130 pounds after years of trying just about everything else. In the episode “Failing Her Way to Weight Loss Success: How Erin Tennant Did It,” she explained how she had to do some serious thinking about her prior failed efforts. After all, she had other things she was able to achieve, why not losing weight and keeping it off? Her conscious living method was born and adapted though what she called trial and correction (instead of trial and error). The brain/body connection plays a big role as does mindset and self-talk. The most important thing is that you have all that you need to succeed within.
In this episode, we jump in and use her methods for issues where we needed help. Like Erin, they include health, but we also were able to move the needle on some other situations plaguing us. We’ll share what worked and what didn’t and give tips on how you can tap into your own superpower. If you’ve got a change you’d like to make, click play -- and we’ll try to help you get on your way down the Yellow Brick Road and to victory.
Episode Transcript
Sandy Kovach [00:00:02]:
Remember in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy was going to fly off in the balloon and Glinda the good Witch said to her, you had the power to go home all along in your ruby red slippers. What we're talking about today is some of the changes you want to make in your life. You've had the power to change all along, too. And it was brought home to us by a previous episode that we did with Erin Tennant, who lost 130 pounds. So she had the power to change, to lose weight. But what we're talking about goes way beyond that. So welcome to this bonus episode of Imagine Yourself podcast. We're going to be referring back to an episode from a few weeks ago. You definitely don't have to have listened to that one to benefit from this, but you may find yourself wanting to check it out later. We hope and pray this episode is going to be very helpful to you. And if it is, we definitely encourage you to hit the subscribe or Follow button.
Lanée Blaise [00:00:56]:
Hello, everybody. I'm Lanee here with Sandy, and we recently had an episode called Failing Her Way to Weight Loss Success with Erin Tennant. And it was all about her weight loss journey and tips and advice that we can all use to help us as we try to get on that pathway of fitness. But Sandy and I were thinking there were so many golden nuggets that we took from that episode that we have been able to incorporate in the other areas of our life. It all kind of started when Erin Tennant was talking about her relationship with food and her relationship with herself. And I just challenge all of us to actually think about the relationship that you have with yourself, the way that you talk to yourself, the way that you think about yourself. This whole episode has me thinking about my thought life. Besides nutrition and health tips, what did you take away from that episode?
Sandy Kovach [00:01:59]:
Well, just the idea of using what she called the brain and the body connection, figuring out your situation. Like, she had failed on all of these diets and she had used all these apps and programs and different things. And finally she was like, I'm just going to rely on the app upstairs, the app in my brain, and figure out why I failed before and figure out what are the obstacles. And I do have one thing I want to bring up as far as eating and weight loss, but we can get into that later. What I wanted to do was tell you first about the takeaway of sitting down and figuring something out, and in this case, it related to work. One of the things I do is voice track or do radio shows for different stations. And I took on a new one, which I had to do early in the morning. And I wasn't used to getting up that early. And I just kind of had to add it to my schedule. And I had a problem with it taking too long. And it was not because it was difficult, but it was because of all of the distractions. In the morning, Belle is sometimes extra clingy - my kitten, and she wants to sit on my lap, and I can hear her crying outside the studio, and even if I shut the door, so that's not going to work. A lot of times I make my husband breakfast, not that I have to, but it just had kind of been my rhythm, and it helps him, and it was part of our thing. And then the other big thing that was a distraction is a lot of the research I do is on the internet, because I have to figure out, hey, what's going on today? What can I talk about? And so you and I both know that once you're looking at things on the internet, all the rabbit holes, that can happen. So I tried a few workarounds, and I did get to shorten the time that it took a little bit, but it really was not working well. It was very frustrating because I've been doing radio stuff for so long, and I was kind of disappointed in myself. But then I thought, you know what? I'm imposing a deadline here that I don't need. I can actually take longer. I can relax with the breaks that I need to take. I can relax if Belle wants to sit on my lap. I can enjoy a few rabbit holes on the internet if I need to go down them, and I can just drink my coffee and do my task. And it's something I actually enjoy. So instead of getting more efficient at it, I just decided I was going to chill and enjoy it more and still get a good job done. And as I go on, I am figuring out other ways to get it done a little bit more quickly. Some work, some don't. And as Erin would say, it's not trial and error, it's trial and correction. So I might try something for a while and then say, that doesn't work and do it.
Lanée Blaise [00:04:47]:
Yeah, you have grace with yourself. You're using your brain to figure out these frustrating things instead of just giving up or saying negative things to yourself, like, I'll never be able to get this right, or I suck.
Sandy Kovach [00:05:00]:
Yeah, all the things
Lanée Blaise [00:05:02]:
Getting rid of all of those things, because my takeaway from hers was a little different. Mine was this interesting thing that she talked about being emotionally hungry. She said sometimes she would go to the refrigerator or the pantry when she was quote unquote hungry, but she realized she was emotionally hungry, and she would say to herself, Erin, wait a second. Wait. Before you put that cookie in your mouth or know an abundance of cookies.
Lanée Blaise [00:05:37]:
In your mouth, she would say to Herself, what is this about? What's this really about? And she could kind of walk through emotionally what she needed and she could stop herself before she sabotaged herself. And sometimes I think that that comes into my life. As far as scheduling events, I have had this message that keeps coming to me in my life recently, like a billboard of not filling up every single minute on my calendar, leaving some white space on the calendar. Somebody else said that the other day on another podcast I was listening to, but not cramming so much stuff in some people deal with people pleasing things. It's not even for me, a people pleasing thing. It's some kind of weird productivity monster that I have created. .
Lanée Blaise [00:06:26]:
And so now what I do is when someone asks me to come to an event or even to come to a party or to volunteer for a committee or whatever it is, I definitely have no problem saying, let me get back with you, let me think about it, see if it works my schedule. But then I have to sit with myself and say when I'm about to say yes and say, Linnae, what's this about? Is this that emotional hungry thing? Is this that productivity monster coming up again? Or is this something that I don't need to do? When I had promised myself that I was going to be more committed in this year to leaving more white space on my calendar and leaving more time for me to kind of like to what you were saying as far as giving myself the opportunity to enjoy the things that I do need to get done instead of trying to cram them in so I can cram more stuff. Also, I don't know, something about that episode with Erin Tennant has really changed the way I operate in areas that have nothing to do with food or fitness.
Sandy Kovach [00:07:31]:
Same here. I wouldn't have thought about it like that. It's just the whole thing of using your brain to sit down and figure out what you need to do. Like she used the example in her life, she was successful in many other ways, but she could just never wrap herself around the whole weight loss thing. And that was a big issue because Aaron lost over 130 pounds and she had to really figure out a way that she could stick with and by gosh, she did it. So there is one thing, food wise, that I kind of took away from that. And when I was thinking about because, you know, my issue is sweets. And so I sat down and I said, sandy, if you can't stop eating sweets or if you can't stop liking sweets, is there something better that is just as sweet that you could eat? And I started thinking about all the different fruits I liked. I love mangoes, but mangoes are so hard to cut up. So I let myself splurge on some precut fruit because usually I don't get that because it's more expensive, but when you come across something like a pineapple or a mango, even watermelons, I'm too lazy to cut up. Sometimes the precut fruit, specifically this time the mango, and instead of at the end of dinner, when I want a cookie or I want something sweet and if I have a mango or something like that in there or cut up mangoes, I go to that.
Lanée Blaise [00:08:49]:
That's perfect. And in the end, maybe you do save money. If you buy less processed food, boxed up, sweet food that's not good for you and you end up getting that precup, it can be good for you. You just had to kind of balance yourself, rebalance, choose wisely, do some different things without totally denying yourself or neglecting your desires.
Sandy Kovach [00:09:11]:
Yeah, absolutely. And that's kind of what it sounds both of us are doing. Like she mentioned, everybody's got this thing against emotional eating, but sometimes she chooses to emotionally eat, but she has to be aware of the decision she's making. I mean, it's all about the decision and the consequences. And sometimes to do some, like you.
Lanée Blaise [00:09:31]:
Said, emotional eating or either snacking during a movie, and it may not even always be the best snack, but she does her portion control, because she did say that part of that too, was thinking about things and learning and understanding. So she has some kind of pre sorted out, pre bagged snacks that she can grab. And it's only when she starts grabbing for the next bag of it or the next portion size, like, wait. And she has to talk to herself again before she puts anything in her mouth. And I know there's so much talk about what's your why in life as far as what motivates you to go towards something, but she taught me what's your why in life that's motivating you to go towards the bad side, the dark side, the frustrating side, the side that is not really going to serve you? What is your why in that moment? And can you talk yourself back off of that ledge?
Sandy Kovach [00:10:34]:
Can you picture Darth Vader as you're doing that? The dark side, the dark side you.
Lanée Blaise [00:10:41]:
In, and you have to stand up for yourself and say, no, I am not going to at least not mindlessly get sucked into that. Just I really appreciated everything. And how about this, too? Now, Sandy, you and I have agreed that sometime this year we are going to do an episode on overthinking. And I really thought about that a lot, too, because by no means am I or are you trying to convince people listening that they need to overthink and overanalyze every single thing they do, whether, like I said, it has to do with food or not, but it does challenge us to make sure we're not underthinking either. Underthinking is a word. I don't even know if it's a word I made it up. But after listening to that episode, I want to make sure that when I'm doing fitness goals, scheduling, time management goals, relationship goals, all these things that I am not overthinking, but that I'm also not underthinking what I'm doing.
Sandy Kovach [00:11:50]:
I love it. And I don't know if it's underthinking is a thing, but it makes total sense. And yeah, we hear a lot about overthinking. It's time to start talking about underthinking. It's like everything. You got to find that middle ground. Yeah.
Lanée Blaise [00:12:04]:
And use your brain. All this really just encouraged me to use my brain in a way instead of just using it to calculate taxes and bills and stuff. Use your brain for some everyday aspects of life, too. It actually does pour into finances, too. What's your why, when you decide you want to buy yet another pair of high heel shoes. I mean, okay, you've got heels. You don't even like wearing heels anymore.
Sandy Kovach [00:12:34]:
Your feet hurt every time you wear them.
Lanée Blaise [00:12:36]:
Why are you doing this? And so you stop before you make that purchase and you really think it through and you decide if this is something that you want to do or if it's something that you're going to push away from you. Like Darth Vader.
Sandy Kovach [00:12:48]:
That's right. Use the force, Lanee.
Lanée Blaise [00:12:51]:
Exactly. The force is with you. So I just really encourage everyone to concentrate on their thought life, on their thought work. She called it thought work also. And I think that just needs to be activated, turned on, even with yours, like you said, as far as with the way that you prioritize and schedule the things that you have to do for work, I know people say intentional and mindful, but at the end of.
Sandy Kovach [00:13:18]:
The day, just thinking, yeah, and then calling on God. And you've often said that when you do your morning devotions and when you get into the Word and get into some prayer, it equips you for the day. And sometimes, too, you might have to stop and pray and stop and ask.
Lanée Blaise [00:13:33]:
God, yeah, I even actually encourage that. Gosh, that makes me think as far as people who find themselves getting distracted or not having enough time to go to God, what's going on there? Also, that's another one. You kind of ask that question, what's your why? What's going on there? Why am I not doing that nice routine of touching base with God, beginning of the day, end of the day, middle of the day, anything that is just kind of what's going on, what's going on in all different areas. And it's worth the ask. It's worth taking the time to sit and figure it out, even as simple as I know this sounds corny, but I now map out if I have to go to the post office and the cleaners and the grocery store before I head out the door in this mad rush. I really sit and think through traffic wise distance wise, which ones do I go to first? What am I going to do? And it really makes everything go faster. So sometimes stopping to think will make your productivity better and you'll end up with more time.
Sandy Kovach [00:14:34]:
That's right.
Lanée Blaise [00:14:35]:
Took time.
Sandy Kovach [00:14:37]:
Yeah. I mean, it all ties in, too. And remember to learn from your mistakes and don't be afraid to make them. Give yourself grace sometimes, especially when you're getting into something new. Like I was mentioning, I had a new task and I had to figure out how to incorporate it into my day, which already seemed know it, had enough in it. But this is something important. And also, and I feel like I learned this from Erin, too, is the power to change is within you, of course, using God and prayer and everything, but it's there. Asking yourself the question, how did you put it again?
Lanée Blaise [00:15:13]:
What's this about? Anybody listening?
Sandy Kovach [00:15:17]:
What's this really about?
Lanée Blaise [00:15:18]:
What do we got going on here?
Sandy Kovach [00:15:20]:
Or what is it Dr. Phil used to say? How's that working out for you?
Lanée Blaise [00:15:23]:
Oh, gosh, yes.
Sandy Kovach [00:15:25]:
I heard he's retiring.
Lanée Blaise [00:15:27]:
I heard the same thing. Well, retiring from his daily show, but he says that he's going to announce all these new things that he's about to go into still in media, still helping people. So I am curious to see what he's going to do about that because, yeah, he convinced a lot of us to think about our thought life and also, like, loved ones. What's that about for them, too.
Sandy Kovach [00:15:51]:
Yeah, all this stuff.
Lanée Blaise [00:15:54]:
Sandy, what we really try to do is promote self awareness. And Erin Tennant, I feel like she even said that self awareness was her superpower. OOH. And that is like a drop the mic moment.
Sandy Kovach [00:16:09]:
Yeah.
Lanée Blaise [00:16:10]:
Can self awareness be your superpower or be one of the tools in your arsenal? Sounds like we're doing a whole thing on action adventure movies, but yeah, whip out that self awareness and be willing to talk to yourself, be willing to question yourself. Don't move forward until you have taken that pause and really thought it through.
Sandy Kovach [00:16:34]:
I love it. That sounds like a good takeaway to me. Unless you have another one.
Lanée Blaise [00:16:38]:
That's my only takeaway because something about that self awareness superpower part really hits hard for me in my life. What do I really want to accomplish? And are some of the habits that I've been doing, are they serving that or are they not?
Sandy Kovach [00:16:54]:
Yeah.
Lanée Blaise [00:16:55]:
With food, with scheduling, with everything, just really start to give yourself a moment. Give yourself some space in your day to evaluate or reevaluate what's going on in some of these areas.
Sandy Kovach [00:17:07]:
Yeah. So no overthinking, but no underthinking either. And use the force.
Lanée Blaise [00:17:12]:
May the Force be with you. Just say overall, imagine yourself as a thinker, a good thinker before you act. Think it through sometimes. Pray about it. Decide what you want to do and how that serves who you want to be and we are rooting for you.
Sandy Kovach [00:17:35]:
Thank you so much for listening. We are not only rooting for you, but we are looking for your feedback on what is working for you. We always have an open door and love to hear your stories. You can hit us up on social media or at imagine yourselfpodcast.com. All the links in the show notes, including one to the episode with Aaron Tennant that we were referring to. Until next time when we have something new to imagine. Here's to the power to change.
