anything goes with emma chamberlain - only you know what's good for you [video]

Episode Date: November 5, 2023

[video available on spotify] my favorite type of content to consume online is content that tells me how to live my life. i've adopted so many habits and hobbies from other people that really inspire me. but this overexposure to different opinions and ways to live a good life can also be a bad thing. i think when it becomes a real problem is when we become obsessed with implementing a new habit or hobby into our lifestyle because it really worked for somebody else, but it's just not working for us. wasting our time trying to implement something into our lives that doesn't work prevents us from finding the things that do work. and i have a ton of examples to share of things that i tried to make fit for a little bit too long. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My favorite type of content to consume online is content that tells me how to live my life. Tells me to wake up at 5 a.m. Do Pilates. Do my skincare routine a certain way. Show her a certain way. Eat a certain way. Meditate a certain way.

Journal a certain way. Sleep a certain way. I love content that tells me how to live my life. Sometimes it comes in the form of advice, someone taking their personal experience and sharing that with the world. And sometimes it comes in the form of people leading by example or living by example, you know, they're sharing their lives with the world and there are certain things that they do that clearly make their life better. And that's inspiring, okay?

And this type of content is appealing to me because it shows me new ways that I could live my life. And listen, advice and people who lead by example can give us valuable information on how we can live a better life. I think that this is a really incredible thing. It seems that everywhere we look, we find inspiration to live a better life. How could that be flawed?

Well, it is, and we'll talk about it later. This episode is brought to you by Airbnb. Let me tell you my favorite Airbnb story. Okay, it's a few years ago, and a big group of friends and I decide, we wanna go to Joshua Tree. Out in the desert of California, we just want to have a vibey weekend, okay?

So we go on Airbnb and we find a beautiful home in the middle of Joshua Tree and we book it. What I loved so much about this trip was kind of being roommates with my friends for the weekend. And we all just got to play house. We cooked for ourselves, we cleaned up after ourselves, and we just had a really good time. This house was phenomenal too. I mean, everybody got their own bedroom, everybody had their own private space.

We had a private pool, a private hot tub. This house was so aesthetically beautiful that we were all just happy to be sitting in there and looking at it because it was just gorgeous. It was super private so we could all just be ourselves and hang out in the backyard and have fun and truly be by ourselves in the desert. I have a lot of great Airbnb memories. More to come. This episode is brought to you by Bumble.

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Let's talk about why this is a great thing. I mean, it's pretty obvious. in my own personal life, I've adopted so many habits and hobbies from other people. For example, listening to sleep meditations before bed, for a long time I was listening to podcasts or YouTube videos or TV shows before going to bed. And I switched over to listening to sleep meditations because I don't like complete silence when I'm falling asleep. You know, unless I'm in bed with someone else, like if I'm in a relationship, oh, cute. And I'm dating somebody, oh, cute.

I'm sleeping next to them and that is enough. Like, I don't need something on the TV. I don't need to listen to a sleep meditation for some reason, then it's fine. But when I'm alone, which is a lot, 99.9% of the time, I don't want to fall asleep to silence. And listening to YouTube videos or podcasts 9% of the time, I don't want to fall asleep to silence.

And listening to YouTube videos or podcasts is okay. And there are some podcasts that work for me, educational ones. But the best option is sleep meditations. And I got this advice from multiple sources. My yoga instructor recommended this. But I also think I heard about it in like someone's vlog or something. Like I don't remember, but it was somebody online. And listening to sleep meditations before bed is a game changer. Okay, it's a game changer. When I fall asleep to a meditation, I wake up feeling different.

Okay, this might just be me, but I wake up feeling different. For the remainder of that day, I'm less anxious. I feel more clear-headed. I wouldn't say my sleep quality changes, but I do feel refreshed, probably more than I do otherwise. And it's been a game changer for me, it really works. And that's something that I adopted from other people. I've also adopted many anxiety relief

methods. My anxiety seems to only be getting worse as an adult. I would say my depression has gotten a bit better. Actually, a lot better, to be honest. I still do have my episodes, but it was far worse when I was a teenager. My depression has gotten a lot better. My anxiety is getting worse as I'm getting older. And there's so much advice out there on how to help with anxiety. And a lot of it didn't work for me. But some of it did. There are certain breathing techniques that have really, really helped me, you know, for me, the most simple one, which is breathing in, holding your breath for three seconds or four seconds, and then breathing out, doing

that like three to ten times when I'm really anxious, can really help. Sometimes even that's not enough, but that's been really helpful. Prioritizing daily movement, like making sure I'm moving every day in one way or another. That's really helped with my anxiety. That's advice that I got through the internet, through, you know, someone telling me how to live my life. That's been incredibly beneficial for me. I started waking up early. After years of waking up at noon every day. Because there were a lot of people in my life at the time leading by example. Waking up early, getting shit done early in the day, and feeling really good about it.

And I was like, fuck. I need to start doing that. I need to work on that. And I've been waking up at 7 a.m. ever since. I think that probably started three and a half years ago. And I'm so glad that I did. The morning time is my favorite time of the day, possibly. I remember one time I was watching a vlog and I discovered the concept of meal prepping, cooking things in advance that you can eat for the rest of the week. Simple concept, but I had never done that before. I was always pretty scrappy with it and just kind of throwing shit together or whatever.

And I started meal prepping certain meals. Like my breakfast, for example, is almost always meal prepped in the sense that I prepared at the beginning of the week and I eat it for the rest of the week. That was an idea that I got from somebody's YouTube channel, for sure. I also have implemented specific workout routines into my life because of how other people exercise.

I make it a priority to walk a certain amount of steps per day because it just makes me feel good, makes me sleep better, it makes me feel good. I like lifting weights a few times a week. Sue me, because I saw other people lifting weights and talking about how it made them feel really good and really strong and I was like, well, I wanna do that. I run a few times a week because I've seen how that benefits people as well.

I'm constantly taking inspiration from other's sense of style. The way that people express themselves through fashion is very inspiring to me. And I am constantly absorbing what everyone else is doing online and in person and taking note of what works for them and exploring whether or not it would work for me. You know? And that's what my style is made up of. Seeing other people use fashion in a certain way that really works for them and taking bits

and pieces of it and experimenting with it and doing it myself. I've adopted so many great habits, specifically from things that people have told me to do or to try and people who live a great life and inspire me. You know, I'm so grateful that I got that information so that I could integrate it into my life. Okay, but here's the drama. Okay, here's where things get a little spicy. It can also be a bad thing. This overexposure to different opinions and ways to live a good life. And I think with the internet, it's even worse. There are so many people living in so many different ways, and all of them are having success in one way or another.

There's an overwhelming amount of information out there. And sometimes, it contradicts itself. For example, one person might say, I went vegan and it healed my chronic pain and it healed my depression and it changed my life. And then someone else might say, I switched over to the carnivore diet. I only eat meat and it healed my chronic pain and it did this and did that. Do you see what I'm saying? There's so much information out there and a lot of it contradicts itself. Now I think when it becomes a real problem is when we become fixated on implementing

something and it's not working, right? We become obsessed with implementing a new habit or hobby into our lifestyle because it really worked for somebody else. But it's just not working for us. But we don't want to give up because we feel like if we give up we're a failure. We're like, well, if it worked for them, it must work for me. And it not working for me is a sign that I need to keep trying harder because there must be something wrong with me. We often forget that not everything works for us. And we force ourselves to do things that don't for way too long. It can be hard to pivot when something doesn't work. But if we don't, then we'll

end up doing something for too long, that just doesn't make sense for us. It's like trying to add a puzzle piece into the puzzle of our lives that doesn't fit, okay? And I think what's ultimately so damaging about it is that wasting our time trying to implement a habit or hobby or lifestyle choice into our lives that doesn't work prevents us from finding the things that do work. I have a ton of examples to share of things that I've tried to implement into my life that were not good fits, that I tried to make fit for a little bit too long. This episode is brought to you by Airbnb.

Let me tell you my favorite Airbnb story, okay? It's a few years ago. And a big group of friends and I decide we want to go to Joshua Tree. Out in the desert of California, we just want to have a vibey weekend, okay? So we go on Airbnb and we find a beautiful home in the middle of Joshua Tree and we book it. What I loved so much about this trip was kind of being roommates with my friends for the weekend.

And we all just got to play house. We cooked for ourselves, we cleaned up after ourselves, and we just had a really good time. This house was phenomenal too. I mean, everybody got their own bedroom, everybody had their own private space. We had a private pool, a private hot tub. This house was so aesthetically beautiful that we were all just happy to be sitting in there and looking at it, because it was just gorgeous. It was super private, so we could all just be ourselves

and hang out in the backyard and have fun and truly be by ourselves in the desert. I have a lot of great Airbnb memories. More to come. Slay the holidays with real Canadian superstores PC holiday inside his report. Serve Appies under $16, like PC, Pellenta Fries, PC, Cranberry, Bree pastry bites, and PC, Eggplant,

Parmesan, and Sportliatelle. Wow, only at your super holiday store. There was a whole craze around waking up super early, like at 5 a.m. every day, to maximize productivity, improve sleep schedule, blah, blah, blah, blah. There was a phase when I was watching a lot of people online who were waking up super early every day

and seeing great results from it. And for a while there, I kind of tried it. There were things I really liked about it. Okay. I liked exercising super early in the morning. I liked watching the sun come up. I liked the stillness of the morning. I liked how productive it made me feel. There were a lot of things that I liked about it. I didn't like how I was exhausted by 1 p.m. and then exhausted again at 7.30 p.m. when I still had things I had to do. I didn't like how on the weekends, I couldn't stay up very late because if I wanted to wake up at 5 a.m. And get a good night's rest, I'd have to go to bed really early. I didn't like how uncomfortable it was on some days to be up that early.

It was so it could be so painful. Some days it was easy, some days it was not. Ultimately it didn't work for me. And I went back to waking up at like 7 a.m. That's perfectly fine. And that works great for me. Being up at 7 a.m. works great for me. I get everything done I need to do in the day. I go to bed at a reasonable hour.

I feel productive. I still get the stillness of the morning. It's not as stale as when you're up at 5 a.m. But I still get the stillness of the morning, it's not as stale as when you're up at 5 a.m. But I still get that beautiful part of the morning. There was no reason for me to be waking up two hours early, just like why? Why? Literally why? The only reason why I wanted to do it was because it worked for other people and there were positive benefits for other people. It didn't work out for me.

And I kind of feel like a failure, but I don't anymore. And I love waking up at seven. I also had a phase where I really wanted to have a sacred morning routine. I'd seen a lot of people really start to prioritize their morning routine, you know, make it sacred, right? Wake up a bit earlier to take the time to make a coffee really, really slow and, you know, do the full skin care routine and make the bed and brush the teeth and clean the house and then go and work out and then come home in shower and then get to work. Or I guess if they worked out at home then just go shower but you get the idea.

And I tried that for a little while and again I actually really enjoyed it for a little while. And again, I actually really enjoyed it for a little while. There was a phase where I really enjoyed having this picture perfect morning routine that was sort of romanticized, you know what I mean? But eventually it became fatiguing for me. And my ideal morning routine, the morning routine that works the best for me is the complete opposite. And I'll tell you exactly what it is. It's waking up immediately going downstairs, not doing anything else, not making the bed,

not fucking, no, straight downstairs, make the coffee. Okay, after I make the coffee, I sit at my desk with my coffee. And I check in, I look at emails, I sit at my desk with my coffee and I check in, I look at emails, I look at texts, I missed, I respond to a few things and then I go back upstairs and I get into my workout clothes. Do I brush my teeth? No.

I don't. Do I brush my hair? No. I don't. Do I wash my face? No. I don't. I get into my workout clothes and I brush my hair with my fingers

and put it into a bun and then I fill up my water bottle and I go to my workout. Sometimes it's something chill, sometimes it's something more intense, just depends. I split it up. I break it up, but that's that. Then I come home and I sit down at my desk again. Now, mind you, teeth are not brushed yet still. Some of you guys are gonna think I'm an absolute, just animal for this. But whatever, I sit down at my desk, I do a little bit more work, maybe like a half hour

to an hour as I finish my coffee. Then I go and I take a shower. And I do the full thing. Okay, I brush my teeth really well. Of course, I do my full skincare routine and then I get dressed for the day and I'm fully ready. This is what works for me. Is that picture perfect? No, it's a mess.

It's an absolute mess. It's all out of order. I'm brushing my teeth at 10 AM at that point. I'm not showering immediately after my workout. I'm working on my computer for a little bit first. It's a mess. It's a fucking mess. But I love my morning routine. That, for some reason, just works for me. And trying to do the picture perfect thing goes against my innate desires. Like I like doing it exactly the way I like doing it. If I have a desire to have a picture perfect morning routine one morning, I'll do it. But 95% of the time I don't. And that's the type of morning routine I like to have. Next, there are a lot of people out

there that truly believe that journaling and meditating every day, usually at a similar time, every day, is the only way to live life. And I understand why, because journaling and meditating are incredible ways to practice mindfulness, and center oneself. And I've had incredible experiences with journaling and meditating. It's been really, really helpful for me during really challenging times. And good times, but more challenging times. I'm more inspired to do those things when I need them than when I'm doing great, you know,

there's a very specific way that people portray journaling and meditating. A lot of people do like a 10 minute meditation every morning at a certain time. A lot of people journal every day. I've had phases where that's worked for me and it's been really great, but overall in my life, no, I have my own way of doing it. For example, sometimes I'll meditate the classic good old fashioned way, but I don't do it at any specific time of day. I just do it whenever I need it. Meditating looks different for me all the time. Sometimes meditating for me is deep breathing, sitting in bed, listening to a meditation. Sometimes it's staring at the ceiling and listening to music for like an hour. I do that all the time. I'll just sit in bed and

listen to music and think for like an hour. That's not necessarily the traditional form of meditating. You know, meditating is about clearing the mind usually, but sometimes I want to meditate in a different way. I want to meditate in a way that's clearing my mind of all the things that I don't want to think about and then focusing on one specific thing, right? Sometimes I meditate when I'm on a walk, you know, if I'm like going for a walk, sometimes that's very meditated for me and I'm clearing my mind as I do that. You know, it looks different all the time and as long as I get some form of meditation in

traditional or not, I feel good. It doesn't need to look the same every day. At least for me and in my opinion, some people might disagree, but that's that. And with journaling, weirdly, I haven't felt the desire to journal as much the last few months because I've sort of been doing it in my brain. Do you know what I'm saying? Like instead of writing things out, I've been staring at the ceiling and thinking about

things. Now, there's so much value in writing things down. Don't get me wrong. I know the value of that, and I have felt how impactful that is. There's something about writing things down that allows you to release it in a way. Into the world, you feel like you've released something, and that's incredibly valuable. But sometimes I don't need that. Sometimes I do. And when I do, I whip out the journal,

but sometimes all I need is to stare at the ceiling and think about something very intently. And that's what fucking works for me. Sorry. Sometimes that's all I need. And that's what I'm more drawn to do. That's the version of meditating and journaling that works for me. It's this intense thinking that just works for me for some reason. That definitely would not work for everyone. But it really works for me, and it serves the same purpose in a lot of ways as meditating and journaling. But I definitely have felt really bad about myself during phases where I'm not super consistent about journaling every day and meditating every day

in a certain way, because everyone else seemed to be doing it and it seemed to be working really well for them, and even for a while it kind of worked for me. But then I got to a point where I was like, this isn't really working for me anymore, and without even realizing it, I replaced it with something else that actually did work for me. You know what I'm saying?

Being super strict with myself about how I practice mindfulness and self-awareness and self-reflection just doesn't work for me. There's also a lot of people who swear by taking cold showers. You know, oh, it does this. It does this. There's all these health benefits and all these benefits. Oh my God, you have to take a cold shower or do the cold plunge. I'm sorry.

No. I try to take cold showers every time. I'm like, fuck this and I'm like, no. You know, I think the reason why I don't like doing it is because usually I shower after I exercise. And I've already exerted, there's so much willpower that goes into exercise, you know, there's so much discipline that goes into exercise. By the time I get into the shower afterwards, I'm like, yeah, I'm fucking down for the day.

I need to save my willpower for other things, you know, I need to save that up in my body so that I can do hard things later. More hard things later. I'm sorry, I'm not taking a cold shower. I'm just not doing it. Like I need something nice. I need something comfortable. Okay, I just exercised for like an hour. I'm now exhausted and now I have to go work on things.

And like I need something nice and relaxing. So I need my shower. That's more. I again, I felt like, wow, I'm such a fucking loser. I can't take a cold shower. I have no willpower. I have no discipline. I'm not a total boss babe.

I'm a loser because I can't take a cold shower. I can't motivate to do it. Guess what? I don't need to take a cold shower. I can't motivate to do it. Guess what? I don't need to take a cold shower. I just simply don't. That doesn't make sense for me in my life. I need that warm shower to make me feel good so that I can continue on with the rest of my day. The cold shower is in big rating and it does feel good when, you know, it's successfully done, but it just doesn't fit into my life, it just doesn't. And I really used to feel guilty about it but I don't anymore. I've also taken a lot of inspiration from others on how to eat. Now as somebody who has an unfortunate relationship with food

throughout my teen to adult life. My life thus far pretty much, this can be toxic. Like this has been toxic for me in the past. I'm not gonna talk about those instances. I'm gonna talk about the ones that actually could have been helpful for me, but just simply weren't, okay? Meal prepping every meal for the entire week.

Earlier I mentioned that meal prepping does work for me. It does, but not for every meal. Like I only meal prep like one meal for the week, usually like breakfast or lunch, and then maybe a snack, and that's about it. And the reason for that is that I crave something different every day. I found that when I was meal prepping for the whole week, I would end up getting so bored of that situation

that I'd end up wanting to make something else anyway. So it was like, what was the point? You know, it's nice to have one meal covered, but I also like to have some flexibility. You know, like, oh, I want to have this for dinner. I want to have this for dinner. And so meal prepping super strictly for the whole week just doesn't work for me. It just doesn't. Also, a lot of people swear by intermittent fasting for various reasons. A lot of people say that there is health benefits to it. And I've tried it. And sometimes it works for me. And it's what makes me feel good. Sometimes it makes me feel terrible.

And I don't want to do it. So then I don't and I will not do it. I've seen some like benefits when it comes to my stomach pain, I have a lot of stomach pain, I do have IBS and I don't know giving my body longer to digest did sort of help my stomach a little bit. And for that reason I appreciate it but some days it's just like, I'm hungry. I don't want to wait until my eating window started. Like, no, I'm not going to do that. Like, I'm just not going to do that. So I see the value in it.

Sometimes I do it. Sometimes I don't. That's that. Metro links and cross links are reminding everyone to be careful. As Eglinton Cross-town LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert, as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals.

Be careful along our tracks, and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware aware and stay safe. I've also had a really hard time throughout my life, honestly, finding a hobby that sticks. And there are so many people out there, leading by example, you know, they've found peace in playing instruments. They've found fulfillment in playing a certain sport. They've found passion in doing art, you know, and I've really tried to force myself to enjoy certain hobbies when they just aren't for me. For example, long distance running. I saw so many people just obsessed with long distance running, like marathon running

and stuff. And I've always wanted to do it. And I've sort of dipped my toe in for like a few months here, a few months there, but I can't do it. And I don't want to do it. Like I don't want to do it. The only reason why I want to do it is because it worked for other people. That's it.

It made them happy, okay. It made them happy. Okay. It made them feel fulfilled. I don't actually really need to run 30 miles. I just don't need to do that. Same thing with playing instruments. I fucking, I love music so much. I wish I could play an instrument.

I honestly still might learn one day, but my God throughout my life, I've tried to learn how to play instruments and it just makes me miserable. I'm miserable when I'm doing it. I'm miserable. Like, I really wanted to learn drums for the last few years. I've been playing around with the drums and like, I can never stick to it because it just doesn't, like, the process of learning it is not enjoyable for me. It's just not. I just want to be good already. And you have to enjoy the process of learning something. Obviously, the beginning is tough, you know? And I think I've yet to get over that hump with playing instruments specifically.

I think learning to play an instrument is the hardest hobby to like get into because it's so frustrating in the beginning. So I'm not sure I'm fully done with that yet. I might still try that because I really do love music so much that I think that there's a chance that I might eventually love that. I just, I have not gotten there yet and I've been trying for some years. And maybe I'm not meant to play instruments. Maybe I'm meant to sing.

Like, who knows, do you know what I mean? Trying these hobbies that I don't enjoy doing Just prevents me from finding a hobby that I'll enjoy learning You have to enjoy the process of learning something earlier I mentioned how You know, I take a lot of inspiration from how other people dress and how they use fashion to express themselves and When I see it working on someone else I'm like, huh, maybe it'll work on me and

Sometimes it does work on me and I adopt that and I make it my own and it and it works for me too But there have also been times when I've tried to adopt what someone else is doing with their style. And it hasn't worked for me, but it works for them, but it doesn't work for me. I'll give some examples. I've always felt the most me and the most comfortable in clothing that is a bit more, clothing that is a bit more like I okay like I'd rather dress cool than dress hot does that make sense like I've always leaned more towards dressing cool than dressing hot like if I'm trying to feel like a badass I've always leaned towards cool you know what I mean that's what I feel the most comfortable in. That's not to say that I don't experiment in the hot world. You know, like sometimes, sometimes it's rare, but sometimes like there's oops, there's a really short skirt or something. Oops, like sometimes that's what feels good to me

and I'm like, love it. I'm feeling like a hot girl. No, I'm not actually. I never do. Unfortunately, but maybe one day I will, working on that. But yeah, like sometimes that's what feels right to me and I'll do it. But for the most part, that doesn't work for me.

And I see it work for other people and I'm like, I'm jealous. Like leaning into the hot vibe. Do you know what I mean? It just doesn't work for me. It's just not. Sometimes it does. I'm not saying it never does. But it doesn't make me feel like me, ultimately. I would rather try to dress cool. That's what makes me feel like me, most of the time. But I've had phased it throughout my life where I've tried to, I've tried to go like more hot girl mode. And I've had a lot of failures there. It works so well for some people that I was like, maybe that will work for me.

And when I say work for me, I mean, make me feel good, make me feel like me, right? That's what I want to get out of fashion. In those moments, we're necessary, you know, I was experimenting, but like just because a certain style works for somebody else doesn't mean it's going to work for you, just because it makes them feel like the best version of themselves doesn't mean it's going to make you feel that way. And I've had that experience a lot with fashion, but mainly with that specific dilemma, like a cool vibe versus a hot vibe.

I don't know. When you're making a fashion statement, you're going either cool or hot. I feel like, what else is there? Those are the only categories. To me, anyway, also how I mentioned earlier that I've discovered a lot of workouts through what other people do. I've also discovered workouts that I hate. Like, for example, so many people swear by reformer Pilates. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about, the reformer Pilates with the machine, there's that type of Pilates and then there's like hot Pilates that's on the floor, like you're on a floor and you're just literally in a very hot room and you're just doing

Pilates movements on like a mat, like it's just like you holding a plank or like doing like a leg lift, you know that I love, but like reformer Pilates, like that doesn lift, you know, that I love. But like reformer, like that doesn't work for me. Like I want, again, I want to be that girl, but I'm not. And it just doesn't work for me. I don't like it. And I've wasted money trying to like it and I can't like it. There's one class that I found that I do like that is somewhat

of a reformer, a pilote class. But no, it's just not, again, it's not for me. And I wasted time and money doing it to try to make it work for me when it just simply doesn't work for me. It works for other people. It doesn't work for me. Oh my God, there was a whole trend going around on the internet where people were organizing their pantries

in this very specific way. Like super organized. And then the method was like, we're going to put everything in clear acrylic containers with labels. So let's say there's cereal, right, in your pantry. Instead of just leaving the box in there, no, no, no, no. You're going to buy an acrylic box and put a label on it that says, race crispy's, then you're gonna put all your race crispy's in this acrylic box,

and it looks so organized and so clean and so amazing. I tried to do that in my pantry. I did that in my pantry. I regretted it so much because, I didn't think about this before, but I buy new things all the time. I go through new phases with food all the time. I was constantly having to change the labels.

I always like didn't have the right amount of containers to store all my stuff. It didn't work for me. That works for somebody who literally eats the same thing every day and constantly is restocking the same thing in their pantry all the time. I'm not, I'm all over the place. I'm always buying new things. It did not work for me. And I didn't even think about whether or not

it would work for me before I did it. I just saw that it worked for somebody else and that their pantry looked fucking amazing. And I was like, well, now I need to do that. No, I didn't need to do that. And it didn't work for me. I wasted a lot of, well, now I need to do that. No, I didn't need to do that and it didn't work for me. I wasted a lot of, again, time and money on my pantry to be a certain way

because it really, really worked for somebody else and it just ended up making me stressed out and it ended up stressing me out, you know, because now it's like, okay, well, I regret my choice. But my God, this is a hard thing to undo. Last but not least minimalism. A lot of people, you know, you ever, if wait, before you get mad at me

because I've literally made a three-part series on minimalism, there is so much inspiration to be taken from the minimalist lifestyle, so much inspiration. You know, the way that we look at our belongings, the way that we purchase things. I mean, there's endless amounts of value in that. And I am so about taking the bits and pieces from the minimalist lifestyle that work for me and adding them into my life. And wow, I've gotten a lot of value out of that. But being a full minimalist, no, I wish I could.

I genuinely wish I could. And for a very brief period of time I consider trying it, it's not for me. It's just, that's not for me. For example, I love fashion. I've collected so many pieces over the years so that I can play around in my closet. If I were to shift to a full minimalist lifestyle, I'd have to get rid of pretty much everything I own and like simplify it to a uniform. And heart

of me wants to do that, but I know that that would not bring me happiness because it makes me so happy to get dressed in the morning and have fun in my closet. Being a minimalist doesn't work for me. I also love decorating my house with lots of little fun, little things. If I was a minimalist, I would need to get rid of a lot of my shit. And a lot of this shit actually does bring me a little bit of joy, you know? I felt really bad about myself for a while there

being like, wow, like, there's something wrong with me because I can't let go of my material items and be a minimalist. But then I thought about it more and I was like, no, you can take what you need from that philosophy and then you can have the things that you enjoy too. You know what I mean?

And like you don't need to be a full minimalist to take what's valuable out of that. All of this is to say that there's nothing wrong with trying these things and realizing that they don't work. So often they're not gonna work. What works for you works for you. And what works for you might not work for someone else. And what works for somebody else might not work for you. But what works for somebody else might also work for you.

You have to try and it's great to try. You should try everything. But I think a lot of us feel a lot of guilt when it doesn't work out and we think that there's something wrong with us. And we keep pushing trying to make this puzzle piece fit that won't fit. And we end up wasting time doing something that we don't enjoy doing just because we've convinced ourselves that it working for somebody else is proof that it'll work for us. It's important to actively check in with yourself and see if the things that you're doing

are actually working for you and not feeling discouraged when it's time to pivot, you know, and try something a little differently. Except who you are. Except what works for you. You know, my morning routine to some is dysfunctional. To me, it's perfect. My meal prepping strategy is half-assed to some people. To me, it's perfect. It's all about taking what works for you and leaving the rest behind with no apologies. And focusing on finding the hobbies and habits and lifestyle choices that make your life feel the most balanced. That's really what it comes down to is balanced. You don't want your life to feel too easy because it's good to be challenged.

It's good to challenge yourself. But you want it to feel balanced. You don't want to make everything hard for yourself. You know what I mean? Find what areas make sense to make hard. Find what areas you need a bit more relaxation. Only you know what's good for you. That's all I got. That's all I got. It's really late for me right now. When I'm recording, it's 11.30 pm. It's

actually very much past my bedtime. So I need to go to bed, but I really appreciate you all for listening and hanging out. And I hope that you enjoyed it. If you did new episodes every Thursday and Sunday, you can stream anything goes anywhere you stream podcasts, videos exclusive on Spotify though, so head to Spotify for video. Follow anything goes on Instagram, add anything goes, follow me on Instagram, add Emma Chamberlain.

Check out my coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee, go to ChamberlainCoffee.com, and you can order coffee and tea and accessories and anything your heart desires, not anything. Okay. Chamberlaincoffee.com is not Amazon.com. But there's a lot of fun stuff on there. You can also go on the store locator and see if we're in a store near you.

So you can go pick it up in person. I really appreciate you all tuning in and hanging out. It's always such a pleasure. And I can't wait to talk to you soon. Oh my god. If you're watching the video version of this episode right now, I know that you see that there's an untouched coffee on my on my nightstand right now. Yes, I did make myself a coffee for this just in case. And I didn't drink it because I deep down I knew better, but it was there just in case. Anyway, Chamberlain Coffee, I.com. Okay, I'll talk to you later. I love and appreciate you all.

Okay. Talk to you soon.