anything goes with emma chamberlain - telling myself what i need to hear
Episode Date: December 14, 2025[video available on spotify] i'm struggling a little bit right now, but i had this idea to write everything down that i’m struggling with, and then write a quote, mantra, or reminder to help me d...eal with each of these challenges. so today i’m going to share all of the things i came up with in case you need to hear it too. Learn more about Venmo Stash, visit http://www.venmo.com/stash-rewards Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hey, you know, I'll be honest with you all.
I'm struggling a little bit right now.
If you were to open the door of my brain and walk inside,
you would see disarray.
Not chaos, but disarray.
It's messy in there.
It's not a pleasant place.
Is it a horrible place?
No.
No, it's not a horrible place.
But it's slightly off-kilter.
It's a little bit uncomfortable.
I'm struggling a little bit.
This happens.
This is normal.
you know it's inevitable every time you get through a rough patch it's just a matter of time before
the next one begins and that's not necessarily a bad thing because challenging times encourage growth
and self-reflection and many good things and so i'm not particularly upset that my brain
is in disarray because i know that i'm supposed to be feeling this way for some reason i know there's a
reason for it. And also I'm just grateful that there isn't like one big thing bothering me. And instead,
it's like 15 more minor things that are just swirling around in my head like a tornado in a way
that makes them hard to address. But none of them are really that bad. And that's a good thing.
Like, that's a great thing. I'm grateful for that. I'd so much rather it be this than one really big,
hard thing. Do you know? You know what I mean? It's like, this isn't that.
bad. But my brain is in disarray. And I have a lot of uncomfortable, confusing feelings and
thoughts swirling around. And it's been very hard for me to get them under control because there's so
many different little things bothering me all at once to the point where it's like, I don't even
know how to sort out what's what. I don't even know how to address what's what. Like it's, it's
such a mess in my brain that even though all of these things individually aren't that bad,
the compound demon that it's built in my brain has become something bigger than the sum of its parts.
You know, it's like it's become this thing. And now I'm in a bad place because there's all
these little things bothering me and it's all whatever. And they're not being addressed properly
because I can't address each thing individually because they're all swirling around in my brain
so quickly. Does that make sense? So I had this idea.
to help me handle this current state of mind that I'm in,
which was to write everything down,
all of the negative feelings that I'm feeling,
all of the challenging feelings that I'm feeling,
to write them all down,
and to go through one by one,
and write a quote or a mantra or a reminder
to address that particular challenge,
so that for the remainder of this time
that I'm dealing with all of these feelings,
every time I'm like,
I just can't handle it,
I'm overwhelmed, it's swirling around,
in my head, I can go to this document and read what I need to hear. Do you see what I'm saying?
And I really loved this idea. I don't think I invented it, but I came up with it in this moment
because it's something I needed, but I don't think I invented it. But I love this idea so much
that I was like, you know, maybe I share this. Maybe I share this with the internet. And so that's
what I'm going to be doing today. Because not only do I think that this is a helpful thing to do,
when in a similar state of mind that I'm in right now,
but also because if I need to hear these things,
there's a chance that someone else out there
might need to hear these things too.
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It seems that I'm dealing with a lot of tiny little, not tiny, but like a lot of,
common challenges just all at once. And again, none of them are like overwhelmingly painful to the
point that it's like all consuming. They're all compounded together. But yeah, there's a chance that
maybe you need to hear one of the things that I need to hear right now. And so that's what we're
going to be doing today. I'm going to be going through all of my various challenging thoughts
and then sharing with you the reminders that I wrote down for myself that truly help me with
these things. Because the thing is, when you have a bunch of challenging thoughts swirling around
in the brain, and there may be more minor things that you've maybe dealt with before and maybe
even know the anecdote for it, like you know how to manage those feelings, if you have a bunch
of things going on at once, it's much harder to use what you know and address that.
issue because you're also distracted. You're like trying to solve this thing over here, but then
this thing over here, it's nice to sit down and lay it all out and address things one by one
and look inward and write down what you know you need to remember. Because the thing is,
I know the solution, like I know the solution to these challenges. Like I know how to solve them.
Does that make sense?
I know what to remind myself of when I start spiraling about a particular thing.
Because I have a tendency to do a little bit of spiraling.
So I know what I need to remind myself.
But when there's too many things going on at once, I just can't for some reason.
And so without further ado, let's get into it.
Starting out with the feeling that I'm not getting enough done.
I've been really struggling with this lately, just feeling like I'm putting so much time and effort into my job, and yet I'm not producing enough.
And this is something I've always struggled with. I think it also connects, relates to my imposter's syndrome, you know, this feeling of I don't deserve what I have in my life.
I don't deserve the career I have.
I don't deserve the friends I have.
I don't deserve the life I have.
I've always struggled with imposter syndrome.
And it can sometimes flare up, if not being well tended to.
And recently I've just been feeling like I'm not doing enough.
And the truth of the matter is, I am working as hard as I possibly can.
I really am.
I'm not slacking at all.
I'm not slacking at all.
And that's the first thing I have to remind myself.
I work every day, very hard, with little distraction.
What am I being so hard on myself about?
I actually am getting things done.
But see, that's not enough for me.
Because to me, I'm always like, well, there could always be more.
You could always get more done.
And so that's actually not a helpful.
Like, I mean, I try to remind myself of what I've accomplished every day.
You know, I try to remind myself what I've accomplished in the last week, the last month.
And yeah, you know, sometimes that can help.
but I honestly don't think these feelings actually are about how much work I'm getting done
or not. I think it usually is a manifestation of some other feeling. Does that make sense?
It's not really about how much work I'm getting done. It's something else. When I'm feeling
like I'm not getting enough done and I'm wrapped up in my imposter syndrome, I have to remind
myself, number one, that productivity is not a measure of my worth. If my confidence,
is low, I'll start to put my confidence in the wrong areas. This is an ongoing challenge for all
of us all the time. We constantly have to work on having our confidence be based on our sense of
self, who we are as people, how kind we are, how generous we are, what we bring to the world in that
way. But in a moment of vulnerability, your confidence can get wrapped up in your significant other's
opinion of you, your friend's opinion of you, your level of productivity, what you look like.
Like, it's very easy for your confidence to reside in places that it shouldn't. And I think there is a
chance that maybe my confidence isn't in a good place right now. Actually, I don't think my confidence
is in a great place right now. I need to do some work on that. And it's important to remind myself that
productivity is not a measure of my worth. It has nothing to do with who I am as a person. You know what I
mean? Like, how do I treat people? What do I bring to the world in that way? You know, that's what
matters. And that is a really important and helpful reminder for me. This episode is brought to you by
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Another reminder is, I'm doing the best that I can.
And I kind of said this already, but like, I'm doing the best I can.
And that's enough.
It's enough.
Like, this is so, I'm really sounding like a Pinterest board right now.
Like, I really sound like a Pinterest board.
but this is the type of shit that fucking helps.
And you know what?
To be cringes to be free, as they say.
And I don't care if I'm a little cringe right now because this is what helps me.
And this corny shit actually does help sometimes.
Doing the best you can, doing as much as you can, is enough.
Like, it just isn't that deep.
It's enough.
Do you know what I'm saying?
I don't know.
It's a simple way of putting it.
But I don't even know how to elaborate on it.
That's just what it is.
it's just simply enough.
And I think in my case,
I don't think I'll ever be satisfied
when I'm in this state of mind.
Do you know what I'm saying?
Like, when you're in a place
where you have imposter syndrome
and you feel like you're not getting enough done
and you're putting all this pressure on yourself,
I don't think it's possible to feel satisfied
when you're in that headspace.
Because it's not about how much work you're getting done.
It's about not feeling good about yourself
and trying to get as much done
as you possibly can to feel better.
You know what I mean? And because it's not actually rooted in not getting enough done, at least in my case, I have to remind myself that what I'm doing, which is my best and as much as I can possibly do, that's enough. Again, cringe and corny, but here we are. And last but not least, I have to remind myself that on my deathbed, it will not matter how much work I got done. It will not matter how productive I was. And that, honestly, without fail, every time puts
this into perspective for me when I realized like wait a minute when I'm dying am I going to care
about my output like my work output like how efficient I am who cares about that that doesn't matter
that's not the bigger picture like the bigger picture is the relationships you have in your life
the the bonds that you've made the lives that you've changed even in small ways it doesn't matter
are small ways. Could be like the way that you smiled at people every day at work. It could have been
the way that you always helped old people. I don't fucking know. But it's like that's what is going
to matter on your deathbed, not how much work you got done. And again, I think these are
things that I need to remind myself of specifically because I specifically struggle with imposter
syndrome and overworking myself. And so, you know, that's why these things are particular reminders
for me. Whereas if you're somebody who maybe doesn't struggle with that, these things might not
apply. But those really help me. Next, this kind of goes hand in hand with not feeling like
I'm getting enough done. But it's a different feeling. It's a different challenge.
The next challenge is I have a tendency when going through a hard time.
to overwork myself as a distraction in my life.
Like, I will just work and work and work and work and work and destroy my work life
balance to escape from my other challenges.
It's a form of avoiding, right?
And I think the hardest thing about it is that it's really easy to convince yourself
that you're just being productive.
You're just getting shit done.
You're just getting ahead, you know?
maybe not getting ahead. I never feel ahead. But like, you get what I'm saying? It's a socially
acceptable way of distracting from emotions. But the reality is distracting from emotions is preventing
any sort of progress. Like a distraction is a distraction. And so I have to remind myself of that.
Like, it's not healthy and productive to distract myself with work. Yeah, maybe I'm getting a lot
done. But you know what else I'm doing? Burning myself out. Burning myself.
out and running away from my problems and preventing healing and progress, which is, like,
that's only making, that's only elongating the struggle. If I were to instead maintain a work
life balance in challenging moments, it would actually help the pain in the discomfort and
sooner. Just because it's a socially acceptable distraction doesn't mean it's not a distraction.
And so that's something I have to remind myself of.
But I think the most potent reminder for me when dealing with this is the quote.
I don't even know where this came from.
But if work fills every corner of your life, there is no room left for living.
That is dark to me.
Okay?
That is dark.
And that is very true.
And whenever I remind myself of that, I am like, oh God, I can't.
Like, I'm not living my life.
I'm not living my life.
I'm running away from my life by, like, by working to, you know what I mean?
Like, I need to prioritize living my life again.
Because, again, it goes back to the deathbed thing.
On my deathbed, it's going to be a more fond memory, honestly, remembering me, going through
a challenge and overcoming it and growing through it and the beauty of that experience.
that's such a better more beautiful memory
than me working too much
to the point of just avoiding addressing a challenge
you know and I'm not going to remember the work
no one you don't remember the work
you know maybe some work is like fun and awesome
and I definitely am lucky
that there are moments where work is amazing
but I have to remember
that if work fills every corner of your life
there is no room left for living
and that scares the shit out of me
and makes me realize
you know what I need to make
space to live my life. And you know what? In this particular moment, living my life means addressing
a challenge, addressing uncomfortable feelings, but that's what I got to do. Now, moving on to my
next challenging feeling, which goes hand in hand with the last two, feeling burnt out. And I've
talked a lot about feeling burnt out because I do have a tendency to burn myself out. And it's sort of
this like hamster wheel situation of, you know, I will over, I'll like have imposter syndrome,
feel like I'm not getting enough done, maybe. Then I overwork myself to try to eradicate those
feelings. Then it causes burnout and then I can't get anything done. And then that gives me
imposter syndrome worse. And I can get off that hamster wheel and I have many times, right? But I can
get into that cycle, right? It happens. And I would say recently I've sort of been in that cycle a little
bit. I read this quote recently from someone who has a similar name to me, Emma Matthews.
The quote is, sometimes burnout is the wake up call for how far you've fallen out of alignment
with who you are and what you want from life. I love this quote because it puts burnout in a more
positive light. Like I think I personally have a hard time with feeling burnt out because I'm like,
I did this to myself.
I'm such an idiot.
I should have known better.
I let myself do this again.
Now I can't get anything done.
Now I'm so exhausted.
I like can't do anything.
I'm,
you know, now I'm really not getting anything done.
And I have a tendency to, in that dark time,
look at burnout as a really negative thing.
And this quote to me is like, hey, no,
it's just a wake up call that things have fallen out of alignment.
And there's this call to action of like,
fucking fix it then. Fix it. Find the root of the issue, whether it's low confidence leading to
imposter syndrome or it's running away from problems that you don't want to address overworking
yourself, or maybe it's not having a work situation or a home situation that's working. It's a
wake-up call that things need to change. Things need to be addressed. And that's actually a really
beautiful thing because that is the thing about burnout. You can't rest it off. It's like an
exhaustion that doesn't go away just from going on a vacation, it's an issue in your life that's woven
into your life. And you need to seem rip and re-sow. That's kind of the nature of burnout is that it's like,
oh, no, this is a structural issue. We need to restructure things. And I think it can be really easy
to get down on yourself and be like, fuck, like I don't even know where to start. Why do I feel this way?
I feel lazy. I feel like a sack of shit. And in the quote, sometimes burnout is the wake-up
call for how far you've fallen out of alignment with who you are and what you want from
life. It just, it reminds you of the value of hitting burnout. And it's calling you to do
something. Even when you're burnt out, like the concept of restructuring and fixing things
is actually the only thing you have motivation to do, at least in my experience. And so,
but again, every time I hit burnout, I forget, at least in the beginning, that, wait,
this is a sign, this is a reminder, this is a wake-up call, that I'm not, things are not
calibrated properly and I need to recalibrate. And I love that quote. Emma Matthews,
who are you? I'm going to Google Emma Matthews because she, like, I mean, she really spoke
with that one. She spoke to me. Okay, I googled Emma Matthews and nothing came up. So,
I don't know. I don't know. But good quote. I saw it on Pinterest and loved it. Another thing I heard
online recently, actually on YouTube shorts, which is like toxic because I am, you know, it's like I'm
scrolling on YouTube shorts, which is never good. But I actually did hear someone say something
that really resonated with me and I'd never heard it before. And to some of you, this might be like
so obvious. And like your parents have been saying this to you since you were a kid. Well, guess what?
I just heard it for the first time. And it really resonated with me.
And I actually shared it with some of my friends, and they were like, that doesn't resonate
with me.
And I was like, no problem.
So this might not resonate with you, because I guess this one's controversial.
But basically someone on this YouTube short, I don't remember their name.
And I think this is more of a mainstream concept.
Like they didn't invent it or anything.
But it's basically the concept of think of yourself as a catapult.
Okay.
You know what a catapult is?
It's like one of those little things that you pull back and you have like a,
something in it and then you pull it back and then it throws it, I'm realizing now that if you don't
know what a catapult is, this one is not going to help you. But I invite you to Google a catapult
if you don't know what that is. Anyway, the concept was basically, think of yourself as a catapult.
And rest is like pulling back the catapult. The more you rest, the further you'll be able to go
when you let go. Okay? It's really just basically saying, the more you rest, the more you rest, the more
you'll be able to get done. Now, as I just mentioned, right? Like, burnout isn't, I guess,
you know what? I guess that quote is actually more helpful for when I'm feeling like I'm not getting
enough done. But I don't know. It's kind of like, it kind of addresses not getting enough done
overworking myself as a, as a distraction, and feeling burnt out. Like, it kind of relates to all
of that in a way. But anyway, the further you pull back the catapult, let yourself rest, the farther you'll
go when you let go. And again, I think this is, this really resonated with me because I'm someone who just
is, I'm somebody who really struggles with resting. I feel like, especially recently, I've not always felt
that way. And it's something I've been struggling with more recently where I just feel guilt when I rest.
And I know better.
I fucking know better.
But I've been back in that state of mind recently.
And this quote really helped me and is helping me allow myself rest.
Hey, you know what?
We'll take what we can get.
You know what I mean?
We'll do whatever works.
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Now back to the episode.
Okay, moving on, the next thing I've been dealing with is sweating over the small stuff, okay?
like hyper-focusing on small things and turning them into big things that don't need to be that
big, kind of blowing things out of proportion, hyper-focusing on small stuff, and like not letting
things roll off my back, just like zooming in on things that aren't really that big of a deal
and making them a bigger deal. I have a tendency to do this, get kind of hyper-focused on stuff
and really get upset about it. And it's just not.
I can't live like this, you know.
When I'm dealing with this, I remind myself of the bigger picture, okay?
When I'm like super stressed out about like the way someone texted me, I'm like, wait,
are they mad at me?
They seemed, their tone seems off.
Or I'm like hyper focused on like, I'm having, my skin's breaking out and I'm really
upset, you know, like small stuff like that that like really isn't that big of a deal.
or I'm like, I don't know, you get the idea, small stuff.
When I find myself in the state of mind where I'm hyper-focusing on these things,
I have to remind myself the bigger fucking picture.
These things do not matter.
Zoom out.
Zoom out.
I have to zoom out and think about what a real issue is.
What's a real issue?
And once I compare these small little things to like what an actual fucking issue is,
I'm like, I got to let this go.
Like, this is a waste of my energy.
This is ridiculous.
This is stupid.
I'm being stupid.
This is stupid.
You know, look at the bigger picture.
Imagine a real issue.
And honestly, that gets my ass.
It whips my ass into shape, quick.
But again, I can sometimes forget that I'm doing it.
And I've been doing it a lot lately in addition to all these other things that I've been
ruminating about.
So it's been really hard to catch myself doing it.
I've just been doing it and not thinking about it.
And so I really, you know, I need to remind myself to zoom out.
It seems obvious, but I don't know, it's, it doesn't come naturally to zoom out,
especially when you're hyper focused on something.
You're hyper focused on it.
It's, you have to make an active choice to zoom out.
So that's one reminder.
I have another quote for you for this particular challenge.
If life is like a book, when you look back years from now,
today's worry may not even earn a sentence.
So don't let it steal the whole page.
Oh my God, did you hear that?
That's good.
That's a good one.
Don't let it steal a whole page.
And it's so true.
But that's really just kind of like zooming out,
but that's a nice metaphor for it.
I have to really practice giving attention to things
that like deserve and need my attention.
Because I have a tendency to want to give full attention to everything
and you just can't do that.
and it's hard at times to figure out what needs full attention, what doesn't.
But I think zooming out and looking at it with a broader perspective,
a lot of times with this type of small stuff, it's, it's, you realize very quickly like,
oh my God, this is a waste of my energy.
This doesn't matter, you know.
I'm happy.
I'm healthy.
The people I love are happy and healthy.
You know, I have a roof over my head.
Like, it's like the bigger fucking picture.
end a story and that that whips my ass into shape next something i've been struggling with lately
is feelings of intense fear and anxiety just underlying all the time and this is something i deal
with almost constantly to be honest because i actually am sort of convinced it's and i'm not complaining
but i do think that a lot of my fear and anxiety is rooted in my career to be honest in this job
and being a public figure. And again, I know what you're thinking. Emma, you're not Taylor Swift.
Like, shut the fuck up. You can go to the store. I know, but everything's relative. And I,
being a public figure for me, causes me a lot of fear and anxiety for a plethora of reasons.
And it's very challenging for me. Psychologically, I have a really hard time. It causes me a lot of fear and
anxiety, whether it's for like, whether it's like physical safety or it's psychological safety,
because being, you know, perceived at the level is, like, can be really tough.
And as I've said, many times on this podcast, like, I've developed various psychological issues,
a little PTSD, a little OCD from experiences on the internet where I've been,
where things have gotten rough for me, you know, and people haven't been nice to me or whatever.
And it, so, like, I have a neuro pathway, you know, that is not my favorite one, you know,
But I have a, like, so I have this sort of underlying fear and anxiety all the time about all of the
different complications that come with this job. However, I'm still fucking doing it. Like,
I'm doing it and I am not complaining. This is just a reality of the situation. And it doesn't
matter. By the way, I'm convinced, see, I think that it has something to do with the job.
But to be honest, if it wasn't this, it'd probably be something else. And, but right now, that's what
it's rooted in is like just all the different fears that come with being a public figure.
But then I also have like general anxiety and fears about stuff that everybody worries about,
like getting murdered or something or like somebody you love it. Like, you know, shit like that.
And I have to knock on wood. It's all consuming. It's all the time. It's really hard. It's really
hard. But I have to remind myself of simple things. And, you know, it's like I think that this is
probably a deeper issue than, say, overworking myself as a distraction from my issues.
Like, that can be resolved with, like, a little reminder written down in my journal.
Whereas this one is a bit tougher, but there are things that help alleviate some of the
psychological discomfort.
Starting with a quote, a man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
It's so true.
It's like, when I'm anxious and fear for it.
I'm getting in the way of enjoying my life. And I'm actually, I'm creating suffering when it's like,
wait a minute, what I'm so afraid of is suffering. But now I'm already in it. I'm already,
I'm causing it. I'm suffering right fucking now. I'm suffering as though what I'm worried about
came to pass. And it hasn't. So what the fuck is my life if I'm if I'm spending the time that
could be good suffering because I'm worried about when it gets bad one day. It's like,
you know what? But now it's just ruined all of my life because now it's like, you know what I'm
saying? And I have to remind myself of that because it forces me to question the like, because
it's very easy at times to enable yourself to be anxious or to be scared because you almost feel like
you're protecting yourself in a way and that it's useful. You can kind of convince yourself
subconsciously that what you're doing is useful and that you're like managing a crisis that could
happen. But really what you're doing is you're just causing suffering. And what you're trying to do,
what you want to do is avoid the suffering, but now you're just causing it. That's potent for me.
That really helps. Another quote, worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's trouble. It takes away
today's peace. Again, more of what I just said. But that's a good quote.
that really, and it's true.
Another thing that my parents remind me of frequently,
especially my dad, but my mom too,
is a lot of the shit that we worry about
doesn't ever come to pass.
It doesn't even ever happen, you know?
I can't even tell you how many times
I've, like, been up all night, anxious about something
that just never came to pass, just didn't happen.
And that's not to say that things that we worry about,
like things, I've also worried about things
and then them happened, but I've survived it all.
like I'm here. I'm good. I've gotten through all of it, which leads me to my next thing,
which is like, even if the worst case scenario happens, I will get through it. I might not want to
get through it, but I will get through it. Now I'm like going to start crying. Okay, let's move on
before I start crying. I'm in a vulnerable state. But the last reminder when it comes to fear
and anxiety is they can feel like real things that are happening. You know, I kind of mentioned that
earlier, like, you feel like by being anxious, by being fearful, by thinking and ruminating
about these scary things, that you're almost fixing them or you're preventing them from
happening or you're getting ahead of it. You feel like you're being productive. When you're not,
you're just causing suffering. But the other thing to remember is they're not real things. Do you
know what I'm saying? It's not real. It's in your brain. It's not happening. Yeah, it might happen
or it might eventually happen, but it's not happening right now.
It's not a real tangible thing.
It doesn't exist.
You can't touch it.
You're not living it.
It's not real.
And that really helps me sometimes, too, to remember, wait a minute, this isn't a real thing
that's happening because I can sometimes get so anxious that I actually feel like the thing is
happening, you know?
It's hell, to be honest.
And before any of you guys are like, well, Emmett needs to be medicated.
Enough.
enough, okay? I'm learning and I'm dealing with it. And you know what? It is making me a stronger
person dealing with these challenges. But it's tough. Okay, moving on to something a little bit more
light, something that has been swirling around in my head is sort of the fear of never
dating again, never falling in love again, never finding another person that I feel
attracted to that I feel you know love for I don't know like just fear that I'm not going to find love
because for me a big goal is to be married and to have children and to have a family you know that's one of my
dreams in my life is having a family and creating my own family that's so important to me and to sort of
address this feeling. I have to remind myself, number one, that the last time I was single,
I felt this way. I felt like I would never find love again. I'd never like anyone again. And then
guess what I did? And I dated somebody else. You know what I mean? I've been in quite a few
relationships. Like I felt excited many times. Have they failed every time? Sure. Sure. But I know I can
feel excited again, at least. Also, I have to remind myself, how many people are on this planet?
it's billions. That's kind of a cliche, like whatever. And it kind of is an empty, like,
not empty, but it's kind of like a, it doesn't really help when someone's like, there's so many
fish in the sea, don't you worry? Because it's like, yeah, but who's to say that there's someone
out there for me? You know? Because we're unique. We're unique. We're all unique in our own way.
And so it's like hard to imagine that there are like many options out there. I don't know.
But that is sometimes a helpful reminder. It's like, no.
there are a lot of people out there, and as much as we're all special, I don't know that we're
that special, so special that there aren't multiple options for us compatibility-wise. Like,
there is. I really do think there's someone out there for everyone if they want it, if they want to
find it, you know, or if that's like their desire. I think everybody could find somebody. I think,
I don't know. I just tell myself that. I also remind myself that, especially in dating,
I feel like everything does happen for a reason.
I don't think that that mantra quote reminder applies to everything.
I really don't.
But in relationships, I actually find that for the most part, it does.
Everything in relationships usually do happen for a reason.
You run into people when you're supposed to run into them.
You break up when you're supposed to break up.
You get back together.
If you're supposed to get back together.
Like if you love something set it free and if it was meant to be, it'll come back.
You know, it's like all of this.
I really do feel.
like in love, in romance, it really does apply, at least in my experience. And so I do choose
to remind myself when I'm worried about this, that everything happens for a reason, you know?
And for whatever reason, I'm meant to be single right now, for whatever reason I'm meant to,
like, it's just, this is what the universe has decided for me for whatever reason. There's something
about romance that makes me spiritual in where I'm not in other areas as much. I become
very spiritual with love and romance because it feels to me not to sound like I don't know not to
sound weird but there is something about love and romance that does feel like beyond comprehension
in a way like the way that we click with people in that way is so interesting like why we choose
people that we choose and why it works or why it doesn't work I don't know it just feels like
there's something spiritual about romance to me in a way
And also the way it unfolds, like how everyone that you meet teaches you something new.
I don't know.
But also, getting back on track, when I'm worried about never dating again or never falling in love again, if you will,
I remind myself that, you know what, it'll work itself out.
And for now, it's better to be single than to be in the wrong relationship, right?
I'm not even going to say the wrong person because you never know.
like shit's crazy people like date in high school and then break up and then date again when
they're like 70 years old and get married when they're 70 because they met again like you just
never know what's going to happen so I wouldn't say it's that you know but and I'm not opposed to
like who knows um but yeah being being single is much more productive and much healthier and
much more enjoyable than being in a relationship that's not working, because that is miserable.
And I have to remind myself of that.
Like, being in a relationship that's not working is not fun for anyone.
So fuck that.
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Ooh, we're getting into another challenge
I've been dealing with
and this one's another one that's really painful.
Like some of these are not that painful
and then some of them are like really painful
so this one's very painful for me.
I struggle with perfectionism
and this obsession with being a perfect person morally,
like being a morally perfect person.
And it's something that I've developed,
I think as a result again from this career,
it's a shame because I actually think in a way like the internet has gotten to a point where
you will get your you will get ripped a new one if you fuck up right and it's kind of like fun
to like see who's getting torn down on this particular day who's getting canceled on this
particular particular day like it's entertaining for people to be caught in a bad moment whether
it's a morally bad moment or it's like a aesthetically bad moment or like yeah that's just like
the nature of the internet you know like it's kind of a sport for netizens if you will people online
to catch public figures in a bad moment and you know i think it's one of those things where
in some ways it's like yeah i mean public figures if they do something wrong say something wrong or
you know i think it's totally fair to hold accountable fair fair but it's it's
It has manifested, like, that sort of culture online has manifested in me on a personal
level that is very imbalanced.
Like, it's not healthy, right?
It's manifested itself in a way where, like, now I'm such a perfectionist about
everything with myself, you know?
Like, I really am, I'm obsessed with being a good person in a way that is just not healthy
sometimes, you know?
And I have moments where, like, I'm not struggling with this.
but recently I've been really struggling with this
where I'm just like I'm just so scared of doing something wrong
I'm so scared of doing something wrong
like in my heart I know that I would never do
I don't want to do anything wrong
I don't want to harm anyone I don't want to do anything wrong
but that doesn't matter on the internet
that doesn't matter on the internet
even if your intentions are good
even if you like it doesn't matter
so that's what I think is so tough about it
is that I'm so obsessive with doing the right thing
because I'm afraid that the internet
will catch me doing something wrong
and then turn it into the same.
Do you get what I'm saying by this?
It's like I've become a perfectionist
trying to prevent something that like is
I don't even think I can prevent it.
Like I'm, this is just how the internet is, you know?
I don't know how to explain it,
but it's very hard for me.
And I get, I'm very obsessive about my own behavior
and I'm constantly reflecting on everything I do
and say and making sure that everything I did
and said was okay.
was didn't hurt anyone and I'm you know I'm just like very paranoid and again I think it's like
I've learned a lot about being a good person from being on the internet and being a public figure
because there's been a lot of awareness around it which I think in some ways has been really
beautiful and like a great thing but then I think I took it too far but I'm also like a perfectionist
with with other things too it's kind of like all across my life and it gives me a sense of
control too being an anxious person I crave control and so you know
being a perfectionist doing everything perfectly, makes me feel in control. But it's like a false
sense of control. It actually just makes me fucking miserable. So what I have to remind myself of is number one,
how am I supposed to learn if I'm being perfect all the time? If I never make a mistake, if I never do
anything wrong, how am I supposed to learn? Learning ends with perfection. If you're perfect,
learning ends. And life is about learning. And I want to be a student of life. So guess what? I need to just
live my fucking life, do the best I can, and I'm going to fuck up along the way probably,
and guess what? I will learn something from that, and that is valuable. That is what makes
life dynamic and interesting. That's actually a beautiful thing. A perfect life is a boring
life, which leads me to my next thing that I have to remind myself of, which is perfection is
boring. It is boring. It's sterile. There's no grit. There's nothing to grasp onto. There's
no humanity there that's boring. That's boring. And I feel like I've watered myself down over the years
because I'm so scared and it's like that's so fucking boring that's so boring you know and so I'm
trying to like stop with my perfectionism because I feel like it's making me boring and fuck that
moving on to a quote I have which is perfectionism is very addictive because it's very seductive
it's so great to think there's a way I can do things where I can never be held in judgment by
other people that I can totally escape criticism but it doesn't work
fire quote, moving on to my last reminder that I have to give myself, which is, if your goal is
impossible, it will drive you nuts. Perfection doesn't exist, blah, blah, blah. Well, guess what?
I'm in this pursuit for perfection, morally, you know, and all this, and it's driving me nuts.
I'm disappointed. I'll never reach it. It only just makes everything harder. If you cannot possibly
in any stretch of anyone's imagination and in any stretch of reality reach your goal, it's a bad
goal and it's just, it's only going to actually set you back. It'll discourage you. It'll lower
your confidence and it's just bad. So those are my reminders for that. Moving on. Next,
I've recently been feeling some feelings of regret, which is a rare feeling for me. I don't feel
regret very often. But it does happen every once in a while. And when it does, I have to
remind myself what I usually hold very strong in the front of my head, in the front of my
brain, which is you are a product of every single mistake you've ever made. Again, that's what
makes you you. That's how you learn. There's a lot of value in making mistakes. And I do believe
that experiences happen. Regret happens to teach you something. And if you learn from your
mistakes, then there's no need to regret because it served its purpose. You know, now you're a better
person than you were before. That's great. And I also have to remind myself that regret doesn't
change anything. Like, what's done is done. And all we have is the present moment. And the only thing
I can control is the present moment. And so it's like, it's pointless and useless to worry about
the past. What can I do right now? Do I need to communicate with somebody? Do I need to change my
lifestyle like I don't know what I'm regretting well I mean I know what I'm regretting but it's not that
big of a deal but I don't even regret it but I've been toying with some regrets lately where I can't
tell if I regret something or not but I shouldn't because it's teaching me something and I need to
focus on the present moment and what I can do right now as a result of what I've learned from that
experience you know what I mean and last but not least another thing I've been worried about a lot
lately is if people are mad at me. I've been very overwhelmed with feelings of like, I don't know,
just feeling anxious that people are mad at me, that people don't like me. Again, it's like when
you have this much shit swirling around in your head, your confidence goes down, goes out the window.
You can't maintain your sense of confidence and self, sense of self-worth when you're feeling
a bazillion different negative feelings all at once, you know? And that's led me to feeling sort
of insecure in my relationships. And I'm like, oh, are people mad at me? Did I do something wrong?
Like, I just like don't, I'm like completely a mass. Okay. I think when it comes to feeling like people
are angry at me, the most important reminder for me is communication is so powerful. If, let's say someone
is mad. It is so powerful to sit down with that person, hear them out and apologize. Like,
it's that easy. A lot of times that's all it takes. You know, like that's it. So what I have to remind
myself of is like it can all be resolved through being like, hey, are we good? And if they're like, no,
then it's like, oh shit, okay, let's work it out. That's the worst case scenario. Worst case scenario.
And communication fixes everything. And I've really been trying to, in moments where I'm like,
oh, God, I feel like someone's mad at me, reach out and be like, hey, are you mad at me? And, you know,
usually the answer is no. But if it is every once in a while, yes, it's like, let's work it out.
And then it gets worked out. And then it's like, oh my God, we get to let it go.
You know, but a lot of times we can think someone's mad at us and just let it swirl around in our head.
Ask, ask. Ask. If you have a gut feeling, ask. And work it out.
I will be referring back to this until I slowly but surely start to check off some of these challenges and, you know, work through them and get into a stronger place.
It's a compound thing. It's just sometimes things compound and it's just a lot to handle. But honestly,
This has been a really helpful exercise for me.
I hope that you try it, maybe, if you find yourself in a place where you can't quite
pinpoint all the things that you're dealing with and you don't know how to solve them
and it's all swirling around in your brain.
Try this, journal.
And I think I just overshared, I fear.
So, well, what are you going to do?
That's it for today.
Thank you all for listening and hanging out.
I love you all.
I appreciate you all.
It's always a joy and a pleasure.
And I normally tell you, like, new episodes every Thursday and Sunday.
and anything goes on social media and my name's Emma and you can find me and then
Jamerling Coffee. I don't really, I'm not in the mood. I just like overshared so much that it
like feels weird to be like, I can't even, I just have to be done. I have to cut myself off before
I like, I don't know, get even more comfortable. So anyway, as I said, thank you all for listening
and hanging out. I love you all. And I will talk to you in a few days. I love you. Bye.
