The Liz Moody Podcast - How To Get Out Of A Slump: 5 Proven Strategies + Answering Your Qs

Episode Date: September 20, 2023

Solo episode! I share 5 proven strategies for getting out of a slump that I use whenever I find myself falling into one, plus I answer YOUR questions about motivation, energy, discipline, and more. In this episode, I dive into my most successful science-backed, grounded action tips that you can start using today. I talk about my own personal experiences with getting into and out of slumps and how I’ve implemented these tips myself so you have real-life examples. I then get into some of your own questions on the slumps that you’re currently in, including what’s the best way to build self discipline, how do I get over fear of failure, what do I do if nothing feels particularly inspiring and much much more. To join The Liz Moody Podcast Club Facebook group, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/thelizmoodypodcast. Ready to uplevel every part of your life? Pre-order my new book 100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success now!  This episode is sponsored by: ZocDoc: go to ZocDoc.com/LizMoody and download the Zocdoc app for FREE and book a top-rated doctor today. LMNT: go to DrinkLMNT.com/LizMoody a to get a free LMNT sample pack with any order.  AG1: visit http://drinkag1.com/lizmoody and get your FREE year supply of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs today.  Paleovalley: go to paleovalley.com/lizmoody for 15% off your order. The Liz Moody Podcast cover art by Zack. The Liz Moody Podcast music by Alex Ruimy. Formerly the Healthier Together Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Liz Moody podcast, formerly known as the Healthier Together podcast. We are the same podcast, but with even more of everything that you love. I'm your host, Liz Moody, and I'm a best-selling author and longtime journalist. This podcast is all about helping you live your healthiest, happiest life, whether we're working towards overcoming financial anxiety, learning how to host the get-togethers of our dreams, or uncovering science-backed hacks to boost longevity. And yes, those are all real episodes.

So if any of those topics sound good to you, scroll on back in the archives. Today, we have a solo episode fresh off the presses. The vibe that I'm thinking for solo episodes is I will pick a topic and I'll share my best tips on that topic. And then I'll answer all of your questions about said topic. Today's topic, which was very highly requested, is all about how to get out of a slump. We're going to share science. We're going to share action tips and not just wishy-washy, you can do it ones, but real grounded things that you can do today. We're going to share my

personal experiences. And we're going to answer all of your questions, including what's the best way to build self-discipline? How do I get over fear of failure? What do I do if nothing feels particularly inspiring and much, much more? I love when I get to hear exactly what's going on in your lives, understand your biggest pain points, and try to help out as best as I can. So whether you are in a slump right now or you just want these tools so you are ready, the next time one rolls around because they always do, I hope you love this episode. If you do, please share it on Instagram and tag me. I'm at Liz Moody.

These solos are new for me and I want to hear from you and know if you like them and if you want more. And one last thing, we are officially a month. from the release of 100 Ways to Change Your Life, my new book. I cannot believe I am saying that. If you like today's episode, then you are going to love my book. As a little sneak peek, just for all of the lovely people listening right now, some of the chapters that I think really relate most to what we discussed today are titled, How to Define Your Best Life, How to Stick to Habits and Achieve Your Goals, How to Have More Energy, How to Be More Productive, and How to

Be Happier. And that is in addition to the chapters on Lund, longevity, friendship, gut health, and more. This is truly a one-stop shop of a book. We have 18 chapters total spanning all of the different parts of your life. And if you pre-order it today, you will be entered to win a thousand bucks to spend on airline tickets to anywhere you want in the world. Head to 100 Ways to Change Your Life.com. That's 100 ways to change your life.com to snag a copy for yourself or stock up on these because they make the best. gifts as we come up on holiday season and a huge, huge thank you to everyone who already preordered. It's hands down the best way to support authors and it is so, so appreciated. I see you all.

I thank you all. I love you all. Okay. Now we are going to get you out of that slump, starting with my top five tips and then getting right into your questions. Number one, pick one thing to reset. Sometimes when we're in a slump, it feels like everything in our life is awful. And picking one thing to feel accomplished about can be the thing that turns that slump around. One thing I really like, and this might surprise you, given everything that you know about me, is to clean your space. Studies show that people who describe their home as cluttered were more depressed, fatigued, and had higher cortisol levels than people who described their homes as restful or restful. restorative. One study from Princeton's neuroscience Institute found that distractions in our visual

environment, i.e. what we can see on a day-to-day basis, can impede our cognitive ability to function, i.e. our ability to think well. And if we can't think well, we're just going to stay in a slump. Pick the room that you spend the most time in and ask yourself what you can do to make it feel restful and restorative. What can you donate or give to a friend? What can you get rid of? Could you rearrange the furniture to make it feel different or better to you. We often really underestimate how much our visual space impacts the way that our brain feels on a day-to-day basis, and it makes a huge difference. Even something like making our bed, folding our clothes, are great reminders to ourselves that we are worth taking care of, that we deserve a space that feels good to us.

My friend Tara Shuster often says that it is wild that when guests are coming over, we clean, we make them this nice dinner. But when it's just us, we're content to be surrounded by cardboard boxes that we haven't broken down and eat a bowl of cold cereal. And look, I am messy. I love cereal, especially fruity pebbles. But when we're in a slump, we need that little boost of, I care about myself. I am worth caring about.

And if you just tell yourself that you're great, that your life is great, but you're not acting like it, your brain is smart and it is not going to believe that. A reset is an act of self-care. And it's also a new beginning, which is something that we've talked about a lot on the podcast and in my upcoming book, 100 Ways to Change Your Life. Quick little plug there, available on 100 Ways to Change Your Life.com. Katie Milkman, who is a Wharton professor and the author of how to change and probably the guest that is most cited by other podcast guests, everyone is obsessed with her and brings up her research all the time. She talks about the fresh start effect, which is basically research that shows that we are more likely to stick to new habits and

meet our goals if we start them on a fresh start day. We view our lives in a narrative way, and a fresh start is like a new chapter. Who we are after a fresh start is new and different than who we were before the fresh start, and thus lacking the same impediments as the previous person, and more likely to accomplish our goals and stick to our habits. And the super fun thing is that a fresh start can be anything if you view it that way. So it's all about the mindset here. New Year's is obviously a really famous fresh start, but Mondays are a fresh start. Literally listening to this podcast episode is a fresh start because you are no longer the person that you were before you listen to this episode. You are now armed with all of this new motivation and information.

And doing a reset of your visual space offers another version of a fresh start. You're not in the same environment, so your brain believes that you are not the same person who is trapped in that slump. You've turned a fresh page, and suddenly you have a new opportunity to be motivated, inspired, whoever and whatever you want to be. There are other resets you can do too. You can clean out your email inbox or maybe give yourself a little makeover, maybe a little haircut, or a wardrobe clean out, or do a makeup tutorial online, or you can clean up your computer so all of the files are organized and you don't

have a zillion weird downloads covering your desktop background, not speaking from experience or anything. But it is one of my favorite tips for getting out of a slump. Pick one of the ways we talked about to reset and commit to actually doing it. And if you're like, wait, that seems like a lot of work. I am in a slump. Where will I find the motivation? Let's get into point two.

Do something small. One of my all-time favorite mantras is that objects in motion stay in motion and objects at rest stay at rest. Anertia is a huge and underrated way to get things done. And the best way to start that inertia is to do the tiniest thing to actually get in motion. While that thing can be anything, you can make a cup of tea to get off the couch and end up ending your procrastination streak and starting on that project that you want to do, I find this tip works best if the tiny thing you do is related to the larger thing you want to

accomplish. So for the reset I was talking about earlier, don't start off by being like, I'm going to empty my inbox. I'm going to clean my whole house. That is so incredibly intimidating and will likely just keep you from doing anything at all and then you will stay in your slump. What is the absolute tiniest version of the reset? Can you delete or reply to 10 emails? Can you set a timer and spend 10 minutes cleaning?

Can you wash three dishes? I also think we don't talk enough about how sometimes we need action to override our brains. We think we need to get into a certain headspace to act. But the thing that gets us into that headspace is taking action. We think we need to feel happier, more motivated, less tired, all of these things to get out of our slump and do the things we want to do with our lives. But actually, doing the things we want and need to do is what will make us feel happier and more motivated and less tired and will get us out of our slump.

If I waited to not feel anxious to do the things that scare me, I would literally never do them. But doing the things that scares me alleviates that anxiety and it adds to my perception of myself as a person who can and does accomplish my goals. One of the worst things that you can do in a slump is wait to feel better before you start living your life the way that you want to live it. Because living your life the way that you want to live it is going to be a key part of what gets you out of the slump. Take one minute to think about what the version of you who isn't in a slump would want to do right now. Literally, pause this podcast and take a minute and maybe even write it down. Would they be doing daily workouts? Would they be making plans with friends? Would they be

pursuing a dream that they have? Now, what is the tiniest step that you can take toward that? Can you do a five-minute workout or call a friend and chat for a little bit? We are not waiting for the slump-free version of ourselves to go after these things. We are embodying that person so we can propel ourselves into our slump-free future. This is also incredibly helpful for starting a creative project or working on a business. What would the person who was creative, who was a badass business person, do? Don't wait until you feel like them. Just dive in and let the action lead. Pick the tiniest thing, writing one page, Googling how to make a business. business plan and let that inertia carry you forward. You will be shocked at how quickly you become

that person you were initially imagining because you already are that person. You just need to get in motion. Number three, do an energy audit. One of the biggest reasons we often end up in a slump is that we don't have enough energy to create a life that feels good or feels like ours. And often we're spending our energy in ways that we don't even realize. Take a second and try to really evaluate where your energy is going. Think about or even write down your five biggest energy drains. Is there a friend who's taking and taking and taking and not giving back? Is work bleeding into your non-work hours? Does your partnership feel strained? When Vanessa Marin, a sex therapist, was on the podcast, she said, interestingly, that when a

couple's sex life was struggling, it took up up to 80% of the energy and relationship. I always think about this when I feel like I am too tired to have sex or to cuddle Zach or have an actual engaging moment with him versus just sitting side by side on the couch and scrolling on our phones. It might feel like more energy in the moment, but in reality, it's typically going to give me energy back. Spending a ton of time scrolling on your phone can be another huge energy drain. Also, not prioritizing your physical health can be a big energy. drain, not giving yourself enough time to sleep because you're procrastinating on your bedtime, not feeding yourself the foods that you need for your brain and body to thrive, not moving your

body in big and small ways throughout the day. Now, I would love for you to think about any ways that you can get back some of that energy. Can you spend less time with the friends that are draining you? Can you have a hard discussion, but one that maybe clears the air and gives you a little reset with your partner? Can you figure out a way to do a meal prep? Even if you just make like one huge healthy meal that you eat over and over as leftovers throughout the week so that you are nourishing your body. Could you turn your phone to grayscale at a certain time of night so you're less tempted to be on it? This works so well. It's just quiet some of those dopamine hits that we're getting from all of the bright, beautiful colors. You can usually find a way to do this in your settings. Highly, highly recommend it. Could you set boundaries with work? This could look like saying, I will definitely get you that project. Can you let me know where this sits on my current priority list? And then maybe sharing the date that it's possible to complete it by without it taking over your life. I feel like so often we're like, this PowerPoint has to be

done tomorrow. These emails must be sent. Everything at work is top priority. And it is sapping our energy from all of the other things that we want and that we need to live our fullest, happiest, most satisfied lives. And often these things aren't even urgent. So whether that's clarifying it with yourself or clarifying it with your boss, that is an incredibly important and powerful conversation to have. So we are getting rid of those energy drains as much as possible. And then I want you to think about what are your energy givers. These are your energy givers. These are are the people and activities that when you hang out with them or you do them, you feel absolutely lit up after. I think we all can really remember and we can feel that feeling. For me, reading

is a huge energy giver, literally walking into a bookstore as an energy giver, walks. I have friends who are definitely energy givers. I also have friends who are energy drainers. And I think being really clear on that with yourself is so, so important. We're not necessarily cutting the energy drainers out of our life, but having clarity about what you're expecting from the relationship, what you typically get out of it. Again, it's just so critical and so important. Doing deep dives on weird topics, for me, that is an energy giver. Hikes, but also spending literally any time outside. huge energy giver for me. Sunshine is a huge energy giver for me. So I want you to think about your energy givers. I want this scheduled into your calendar. I want you to find a way to fit one energy

giver into your life this week. So we are getting rid of some of those energy drains and we are adding in some of those energy boost. And I'm serious. I want this on your calendar. I want this penciled in. If you want to pause the podcast and think about what it is and actually get it on there so it really happens, please, please do so. We need energy to get out of our slump. A slump is so, so entangled with both our physical and our mental state. So we are going to use these pragmatic steps to begin to fill our bucket. Also, while we are talking about physical and mental states, just go drink a big glass of water. Ideally with like a little bit of electrolytes or a pinch of mineral or sea salt in it. Consider it point three point five.

We cannot get out of a slump if we are dehydrated. Our poor brains and bodies are just not going to be functioning optimally, and drinking a glass of water will take you literally a minute. Truly, go drink one big glass of water, or if you're in your car, take a big swig from the emotional support water bottle that I assume is in your cup holder. I will wait. Okay, welcome back, you hydrated king or queen you. I am so proud of you. Doesn't that feel better? You ready for number four? Do something new. When we are surrounded by the same people all the

time, we're reading the same news sources, we're scrolling the same people's feeds on Instagram, we're taking the same route to work, we're watching the same shows. We are going to be thinking the same thoughts. And right now, those same thoughts are putting us in a slump. We need new thoughts to shake ourselves out of that slump. And while we often berate ourselves and are like, Why can't I just think differently? The truth is, of course, with the same inputs, you're going to have the same outputs. That is literally just how our neurology works. To think differently, we need to engage with new stimuli.

Listen to a type of podcast that you haven't listened to before. Take a different route to work. Search for a type of cuisine that you've never cooked before and make a recipe. Go for a hike that you have never been on. Hang out in a neighborhood that you've never explored. Read a new book. Give your brain any novel stimuli so that it can shake up the neural connections that it's making. When I am in a slump, one of my very favorite things to do is to go to the bookstore. I love bookstores, can you tell you? And I pick out one fiction and one nonfiction book that I have never read before. I put in my schedule

10 minutes at the beginning of my day to read the nonfiction book and then I put 10 minutes at the end of my day to read the fiction because we are starting small, remember that object in motion, that person reading is likely to stay in motion and keep reading, but starting with just 10 minutes makes it doable so that I can be consistent. The nonfiction inspires me and it makes me want to take on my day and it often gives me new things to talk about with Zach, which is really, really nice. And then the fiction, it gets my brain in touch with its ability to feel. It relaxes me. It reminds me what doing something for the sake of pleasure and enjoyment feels like? What is one new thing that you could do today, or one way to just add an element of new to your existing routines? Number five, know that things naturally

ebb and flow. One of the meanest tricks that our brains play on us is making us think that right now is going to be forever. When I have anxiety, the worst part often isn't the anxiety itself. It's the idea that this discomfort I feel will be unending. But the thing is, it always ends. Every part of life ebbs and flows and being cognizant of how temporary every moment, every state is can make us appreciate the good times even more and also let go of some of that anguish we can have around the bad times. You're in a slump right now, but it won't be forever. You've been in slumps before and you will be in them in the future. The more we can zoom out and be aware of the natural ups and downs, the cycles of these things, the less they feel like they trap us. In a few days or weeks or months,

you'll be looking back at this slump and it'll feel like the distant past. While all of the tools I'm sharing in this episode can be helpful to accelerate that process, I find it helpful to just be aware that slumps are a natural part of life. Peaks are too. and both are absolutely normal and even necessary. Slumps can often be where we find the motivation to make the changes that we want to make to live the lives of our dreams. Slumps can be where we evaluate things differently and take a different path than we might have otherwise. Knowing it's not going to be forever can help us maybe even eke out a little bit of gratitude for our slump. What is it telling you?

What can you learn from it about where you want to go? Okay, those were my five getting out of a slump tips. Now let's get into some of your questions. Question one, how do I deal with overwhelm about it seeming like any change will take a long time to see results? Okay, so I would say two things here. First of all, we are going to reward ourselves in the moment. You can do this in two ways. You can do this by noticing the reward in the thing that you're already doing, or by adding a reward in. So if the small step that you're taking is working out, you can notice the reward by really checking in with how you feel after. Are you more energized?

Are you calmer? How do you sleep that night? But you can also add in a little treat to the workout. I listen to my favorite podcast while I work out, which is truly the only way that I can get myself to do it. You can turn a workout into social time by doing it with a friend. If the small step is cleaning a room of your house, can you make yourself a fun little drink while you do it? Can you put on an episode of your favorite TV show?

Humans are simple creatures. We like our little treats. The trick is to make the treat be part of the tools that are getting you to where you want to go. And those little treats along the way are going to be the thing that keeps you going while you work your way out of the slump and make that progress towards your future goal. When it comes to wellness, you're going to get the best results by focusing on the big needle movers. A lot of us spend a lot of time trying to optimize that last 1%, which creates a ton of stress, and it actually doesn't help our help that much. At the top of the needle mover list, sleep.

And one of the best ways to optimize your sleep is to optimize your mattress, which is why I love avocado green mattress so much. First of all, this mattress is so comfortable. I have the one with the pillow top, which is medium firm, and it's just a dress. dream. I miss it when I travel. It's better than even the fanciest hotel beds. Having a mattress that supports your joints and your body and feels good is going to help you get more sleep and better quality sleep. But then, on top of that, avocado mattresses are made with certified organic cotton, wool, and latex, and they are made safe and green guard gold certified. They're also Okotech certified, which is the gold standard. I look for it in any mattresses, sheets, or towels that I

by, which means the materials have been rigorously tested for harmful substances. You can actually look for the Okotech standard 100 label right on the product, and I love this part. It includes a traceable certificate number and the name of the testing lab so you know exactly what you're getting. There are no toxic chemicals. There's no harmful off-gassing. It does not smell like it's going to kill you when you unbox it. This is what I mean. I'm not going to swap out all of my clothing, which is that top 1% of optimization. But by making sure that my mattress and my bedding are as good for me as possible, I literally reduce my exposure during a third of my life, which is a huge needle mover for a one-time swap. I will also note, and this is a me thing, but I sleep super

hot and avocado's materials are really breathable and it makes me sweat the least of any mattress that I have slept on. And avocado is a certified B-Corp and a 1% for the planet member because caring for yourself and caring for the planet do not have to be separate things. You can get up to 20% off organic mattresses and more by shopping Avocados President's Day Sale right now at avocadogreenmatress.com. That is avocadogreenmatress.com no code needed. When you think about strength and resilience, like your ability to feel energized, to recover well, to stay strong as you get older, what do you think that actually comes from? Most people say working out are good nutrition, and yes, of course that matters. but there is a biological foundation underneath all of that that most people are completely

overlooking. I have been diving deep into this lately with the team at timeline and what I've learned has genuinely shifted how I think about my own health. Every single movement that your body makes every step, every workout, every muscle contraction depends on energy produced at the cellular level. And at the center of that is your mitochondria. Here's the thing that nobody tells you, certainly nobody told me, starting around age 30, are mitochondrial. naturally become less efficient. More get damaged, more become sluggish, and over time that impacts your energy, your strength, your recovery, and your resilience. Most of us respond by pushing more. We're like noticing these things and we're adding in more protein. We're trying to fix it with more

supplements. We're trying to do harder workouts. And those things do help. But timelines research suggests that we also need to be supporting the cellular machinery underneath. And that is exactly what their supplement, Mitopure does. It contains uralithin A, which helps your body clear out damage mitochondria and support healthier ones

so that your cells can produce energy more efficiently. Because this is happening to your cells, it's going to impact your entire body, your immune system, your muscles. One study found that taking mitopure increased muscle strength

by 12% in four months with no change in exercise routine, it's going to impact your energy, your sleep, your skin, your cell health impacts all of this, and urolithin A keeps your cells healthy. Timeline has done over 15 years of research and testing on this one product, urolithin A, which, by the way, most of us lack the gut bacteria to synthesize naturally.

That's why many of us need to supplement it to get the benefits. This has become a staple supplement for me. It is my top way to support how I want to look and feel as I age. Support your cells and how you age with mitopure gummies from Timeline. Visit Timeline.com slash Liz and save up to 39% on your mitochondrial pure gummies. That is timeline.com slash Liz. The second thing, and I think this is so important always, but especially if you're in a slump or a period of burnout or overwhelm, is to just do the next right thing. As I'm talking to you

today, I'm in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of my life. I'm in L.A. for press for my book. I'm also working on my own podcast episodes. I'm basically running around from the second that I wake up until the second my head hits the pillow. It's all incredibly satisfying, but it's also a lot. And I've noticed that if I look ahead at my calendar for the week, my heart immediately starts to race and the thoughts start to bombard my brain. That's way too much. There's no way I can handle all of that. But if I just look at the next thing, I can handle it. I can handle one meeting. I can handle prepping for one podcast. I can handle one interoperable. I can handle one interview. Often, a slump leads to feelings of overwhelmed because you're looking too

far down the pipeline. And you see all of these things that you have to do to have a clean house, to have a job that feels satisfying, a relationship that feels satisfying, a social life that lights you up. And when there feels like too much to do, it can feel easier to just do nothing. Stop looking down the pipeline. Just do the next right thing, whether it's something that moves you toward the person who isn't in a slump that we pictured earlier, or whether it's something that just feels good right now. I want this to be your slump mantra. What is the next right thing? Take one step at a time. I also find this helpful because, like we talked about earlier, life ebbs and flows. Slumps ebb and flow. When we look too far into the future, we can get

really caught up in the idea that how we feel now is going to be how we feel forever. That is just the way that our brain works. When we picture ourselves in the future, we project the version of our current self into that time. Of course we do, because our current self is what we know. But our current self isn't going to be in the future. Our future self is going to be. You'll likely think about things completely differently. You'll have new tools and life experiences to draw on that you cannot even imagine now. The best way to give our future selves room to become is to stop assuming that we know who they are and thus limiting them. Our future selves are so much more than we can even begin to imagine. Thinking of just the next right thing helps to disentangle our brain from

future projections that are likely not true and can be really harmful to our mindset and our motivation in the present. Okay, so we are going to reward ourselves with little treats, either mindset shifts to focus on the intrinsic reward or adding in an external reward, and we are going to take one step at a time. Results will happen. Change will happen, I promise. Okay, next up, what is the best way to build self-discipline? The single best way to build self-discipline is to keep the promises that we make to ourselves. And the best way to do that is to make those promises doable. Let's say that you want the discipline to be on your phone less. If you say, I'm going to stop scrolling, I'm going to stop going on social media, you are setting

yourself up to fail. No one, not a single person, can go from 100 to zero like that, and that is not our fault at all. It's the way that our brains interact with this device that's designed. to be addictive to pull all of our dopamine triggers. But maybe you can say, every night I'm going to plug my phone in in the bathroom so that I can't scroll at night and I can't grab it until I brush my teeth each morning. Maybe you can say, I'm going to put my phone in the backseat of my car. Maybe you get one of those long, long cords if you need it for maps and music and podcasts so that I can't scroll it and mindlessly scroll when I'm stopped at a red light. Maybe you make a rule like I'm not going to scroll while I eat.

I can focus on really tasting and enjoying my food. The key is to make it something doable. I would so much rather that you set a small goal and actually accomplish it than a bigger goal that you think counts more and not accomplish it. Can you meditate for five minutes? I would literally rather that you do 10 minutes of movement every day that you stick to then an intense weight training workout situation that you have to talk yourself into and then you end up skipping. And then when you build that discipline muscle by showing up for yourself consistently, you can do a seven-minute meditation. You can do a 10-minute one. At every moment, you're teaching your brain whether it can trust you. If you keep making these goals and then not following through,

the next time you say, I'm going to do this, your brain is like, okay, yeah, sure, why should I believe that? Look at all of this evidence I have that shows that's not going to happen. Make it literally as small as you need it to be to be consistent. It counts, I promise. I also want to give a quick shout out to making it easier for yourself to be less disciplined. Often we think that we need to rely on the sheer brute force of our willpower, of our brains, when the people who are most successful at sticking to things are setting up systems to make the willpower unnecessary. We only have so much mental capacity, and if you're forcing your way into a workout, you're

forcing your way into eating things that make you feel good, wrestling that phone from your hand so you don't go on social media, while literally no human on the planet is going to have the capacity to do all of that. The people who are the most successful are finding ways to take off that mental burden, to make it as easy as possible for themselves. Literally the number of Number one rule of habits is to make the habits that we want to do easy and the ones that we want to avoid hard. So again, instead of having your phone by the bed, but saying to yourself, don't reach for it, read a book instead, which is using up your valuable and limited mental energy. Keep your phone in a different room. Do that home workout at the same time and even the

same workout every single day. Do it in the same place, wearing the same workout clothes. Take literally as much decision-making out of it as possible. This is important all of the time, but especially while you're in a slump or trying to build self-discipline. I'm going to cite another Katie Milkman tool here, which is to use commitment devices. This is another way of making it a little easier for yourself because you've made the decision ahead of time and there are consequences if you don't stick to it. A commitment device could be another person, a friend you committed to doing a

writing session with that you don't want to disappoint. It could be a financial commitment device, like signing up for a workout class that you've already paid for and you don't get your money back if you cancel. When I'm in really busy periods of my life, and I know I'm going to have a hard time making myself take the time to relax that I so desperately need, I search for an affordable massage place in my area, and then I book a session that I cannot cancel. Then, at a minimum, I am forced to take that brief break and when I get there, it always feels so good. And even if I didn't want to go, even if I didn't feel like I could fit it in, it is always exactly what my brain and body need. So ask yourself, what is one way that I can make the thing that I want to do easier,

whether it's eliminating that decision fatigue, setting the bar lower, employing a commitment device to take the mental should I or shouldn't I out of it? And is there a way to make the thing that you don't want to do harder. If you don't want to eat a certain food, don't keep it in your house. Truly, this sounds so simple, but for years I was like, I wish I didn't mindlessly snack on sugary things. Like, I love a dessert, but there is nothing more annoying than looking down at an empty bag of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough bites and realizing that you didn't even savor them, you stressate them between mediums. But I kept the cookie dough bites in my house because I was just like, just don't eat them when you're stressed. Keep them around. So when you want to have a treat, when you feel like you can

enjoy a treat, they're there. But then the next stress period would come and I would eat them and I would get nothing from it. So I just stopped keeping them in the house. The decision in the moments was just too hard. And when we are stressed or overwhelmed or in a slump, we have less energy and our willpower just lower. And we're using those moments to test ourselves. It is insane. Now I primarily do dessert when I'm out when I can really enjoy it. I feel better and I have more mental energy freed up because I'm not constantly thinking about not eating the cookie dough bites. And I'm sorry if this just made you want to go get Ben and Jerry's cookie dough bites. They're really, really good. Please truly enjoy them and savor them if you get them. Truly, though, make it as easy as possible for yourself. You deserve it.

All right. Next question. Help my nerves about failure are keeping me from going after my goals. Okay. I mean, the simple truth is every single successful person that I know has failed many, many times. To me, failure is such a good thing for two main reasons. One, it gives us such valuable information. There's the straightforward information about like, why did this thing fail, what can I do differently the next time, what can I learn in a really pragmatic and straightforward way. But there's also information about how do I deal with failure? What is this highlighting that I can work on emotionally? What is this teaching me about my goals? I've had failures where I literally feel relieved afterward, and it's only through that failure that I realized the goal wasn't the

right fit in the first place. If I'd hung back thinking about the goal but never fully going after it, I would have wasted years of my life with that goal occupying my brain, never realizing it wasn't actually what I wanted. Failure also teaches us that we're resilient. The best way to get comfortable with failure is by failing in big and little ways time and time again. A huge thing that the most successful people that I know have in common is that they are comfortable taking risks and they take them over and over again. It's a numbers game. The more risks that you take, the more likely one of them is to pay off. And the more comfortable you are with failure,

the more able you are to take those risks. Like everything else in this episode, I'm going to recommend that you start small. Think of taking risks and getting comfy with failure as a muscle. You don't want to go in and pick up the heaviest weight in the gym right away. You will disappoint yourself and you'll hurt yourself and the outcome will not be what you want it to be. Pick a small weight. Take a small risk. Literally a risk can be, and this was a huge risk for me that I've

had to get comfortable with over the years, but a risk can be telling people that you love them or care about them. I'm anxiously attached and the idea of that vulnerability, it just freaked me out. What if they didn't love me back? What if they thought that I was too much? What if I loved them and they left me. But with Zach and with my friends, I took the risk of caring about them, of loving them and expressing it, of putting it out there even in the face of rejection. And I became more comfortable with it over time and I saw the rewards and I love it now. I am and I love you queen. And taking that risk and risking that rejection, that failure, it made me comfy taking other risks. It is all connected. It all adds up. So I would ask yourself, what are some little risks, little potential failures that

you can lean into so you can begin to acclimate to that failure and realize that you are resilient. You can handle it. You can maybe even learn valuable information from it. Second, I love failure because it means that you are not the one saying no to yourself. Never be the one to say no to yourself is one of my life mottos, and I'm not going to get into it a ton here because I've talked about it a lot and I talk about it more and 100 ways to change your life, but it has transformed my life. It has gotten me all of my book deals, my dream jobs, this podcast. And the idea that you should never say no to yourself, you might get a know from someone else, an agent, a boss, a publisher, whatever. But by not saying no to yourself, by going out and

finding someone else to say no to you, you're giving yourself the opportunity for a yes. And what you're also doing, and this is why I love this so much in regards to failure, is you're saying, I am my own biggest cheerleader. I believe in myself. By going after the thing and failing, the world is the one who's letting you down. But by not going after the thing because you're afraid of failing, you're the one who's letting you down. And that is a much more powerful and negative message to internalize.

I want you to always be your own biggest support, regardless of the bullshit coming at you from the world. And by going after something and failing, you're doing that. And that is a huge win regardless of any other outcome. If you have headaches, allergies, brain fog, skin irritation, or you've been dealing with hormone issues, you are especially going to want to listen to this ad. Every single thing that I just listed has been linked to chemicals and household cleaners. One study found that regular use of cleaning sprays was associated with a lung function decline comparable to smoking 10 to 20 cigarettes per day. Synthetic fragrances are a well-documented migraine trigger and a number of studies have linked ingredients in common household cleaners to fertility issues, thyroid dysfunction, mood changes,

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And when they ask you where you heard about us, please make sure to mention the show. That is branchbasics.com and use code Liz Moody. I very rarely get genuinely excited about skincare, but this is one of the most innovative products that I have come across in years, and I'm so obsessed with it. I've been telling all of my friends to get it, so now I need to tell you guys. Here's some science first. Your skin isn't just getting older. It's being actively broken down by something called senescent cells. These are cells that have stopped functioning but refuse to die. They sit there releasing inflammatory signals, breaking down your collagen, degrading your skin barrier, and accelerating every visible sign of aging. Scientists call them zombie cells, and as they accumulate, they are one of the primary drivers of how old your skin looks and feels.

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I've been using the face moisturizer for almost six months now and I love it so much. It feels amazing. It goes on really smoothly. it's not tacky at all. And I actually see a difference, which I just feel like is never the case with skincare. You want to always like see a real difference and you're kind of like, do, do I? Do I? And this, I genuinely do. Because it's clearing the senescent cells, it doesn't just target one thing. So my skin looks firmer. It looks glowier. The texture feels dramatically smoother. And I feel like you can see that too. I also love the body moisturizer. It dries down really quickly, which is always a pet peeve of mine with

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How do I get back to dreaming slash thinking big slash figuring out what I want out of life? I totally get this. I think that the pandemic was this huge national trauma that we experienced in thousands of different ways. and then the pressure to go back to normal was so intense that no one really took the time to process or deal with that trauma in any real way. I think a really important first step is acknowledging that the trauma of that time is real, however you experienced it, whether it was sickness or job loss or strained relationships or anxiety or just this massive cultural experience of uncertainty. Once we acknowledge that the trauma is real, we can actually take.

take steps to treat it as such, whether it's talking about it with your therapist, talking about it with friends, spending time in nature, which research shows can be a really valuable trauma tool or any of the number of other tools that we have for trauma. But especially if you're feeling like you can't dream big, you feel stuck, you feel like you're in a slump and you can trace that feeling back to the pandemic, I would start by bringing an awareness of that trauma to your consciousness and not belittal. it or saying it's over now or other people had it worse, not shaming your feelings. Once you begin to address that trauma, I think those big dreams will come back.

Also, creating some space for creativity for yourself, whether it's taking a pottery class or free writing for five minutes a day or taking a dance class or drawing or sketching something. First of all, there's really great research about how creative pursuits help our brain process trauma. But also beginning to turn that creative part of your brain on will begin firing up those parts of your brain that might be covered in cobwebs right now. Creativity leads to curiosity. And curiosity is at the heart of inspiration. Everything that has ever been invented has been invented because someone said, what if every change that's been made, every book that's been written, every dream that's been dreamt, has sprung from someone getting curious, someone asking questions of themselves in the world that

haven't been asked before. That can be helpful in terms of a reframe. Instead of saying, what's my big dream? What do I want my future to look like? Which are just really high pressure, big questions. I would start to unravel and follow your curiosity. What are you curious about? Is there anywhere you're curious about living? Activities that you're curious about trying. friendships you're curious about pursuing. Especially while you're in a slump as you're trying to get these neurons back online, back firing in the direction of possibility and excitement, don't put the pressure on yourself of following your dreams.

Instead, follow your curiosity and see where that takes you. I just want to end on the note of I have been in so many slums. I was in a huge one this spring and I went through some really intense periods of depression and anxiety that honestly I was nervous about coming back from. And right now, at this moment, I feel happier and more grateful and more excited about my life than I have ever been. I want you to be confident that you will come out of this slump better than before. But even if you're not, know that I am 100% confident for you. And for the love of all things holy, please do not get overwhelmed and try every single thing that I talked about in this episode. A lot of these are mindset shifts. I want you to just carry in your pocket. But in terms of actions, the overall theme is start small. Make it doable. Pick one thing from this episode that resonated with you and make a tiny, tiny tweak. Do not set yourself up for failure. That is honestly quite rude to yourself.

and I will not abide by it. I hope you loved this episode. I would love to hear your thoughts both on this episode and then generally on having more solos and if there are any topics that you want me to dive into, I want to help you as much as I possibly can and solve as many problems for you as I can and just generally help you live your dream life

as much as I am able to. So I am here for you. Let me know what you need. If you did like this episode, please take one quick moment to give the podcast a rating or review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It is hugely helpful in helping other people find the podcast and decide whether or not they want to listen to it.

And if you know anyone in your life whom you think would benefit from this episode, anyone who's dealing with a slump right now and could use these tools or mindset shifts, please, please share this episode with them, send them a link, put it on your workplace Slack, small acts of kindness and love can mean so much when we're feeling overwhelmed or unsettled. And sharing the podcast is also 100% the best way to support it. We always get most shared on Spotify with our guest episodes, but it hasn't yet happened with a solo. I mean, to be fair, we have had, I think, two solos so far. But that would be really fun and especially appreciated with the name change and the rebrand.

and to everyone out there sharing the episodes, putting them on your Instagram stories, sending them around to your book clubs and your co-workers and your friends and your family members, I see you, I appreciate you. You are the backbone of this podcast and I love you so, so much. Friendly reminder to pre-order your copy of my new book, 100 Ways to Change Your Life at 100Ways to Change Your Life.com 100 Ways to Change Your Life.com. If you want to be entered to win that $1,000 travel credit, get a little vacation on. And if you are new to the podcast, welcome. I am so happy that you're here. Make sure that you're following on whatever platform you like to listen on. All you have to do is go to the main podcast page. That's the one that lists all of the Liz Moody podcast episodes.

And you will see the word follow under the logo on Spotify. And then there's a little follow. with a plus sign button on the top right of that same page on Apple Podcasts. This way you will not miss out on any new episodes. They will appear right in your feed every single Wednesday. And we have some amazing episodes coming up, including one about how to actually discover your personal style and curate your dream closet. I very much needed this one.

And it was really, really, really helpful. I feel like I have a new lease on style. I'm very excited for you to listen to this one. And then we have another one where we dive into, equitable division of household labor with Fairplay founder and legend Eve Rodski herself. So make sure that you're following so you do not miss out. We also have our monthly advice episode coming up this Monday. It's on the last Monday of every single month that is in addition to our normal weekly Wednesday episodes. And this month's special guest is Superwoman Robin Arzon,

so you do not want to miss that. Okay, I love you and I will see you next month. Sunday on the next episode of the Liz Moody podcast. I'm genuinely confused how masterclass gets literally the absolute top people in every single field to teach every single one of their classes. I use it when I want to learn things directly like the cooking class from Thomas Keller has all of the wisdom that you would normally have to go to culinary school for. But also, I'm being honest, this is like a use case I don't hear a lot of people talking about. I'll just watch it for entertainment when I want to do something that's far more interesting than scrolling. Christina Aguilera taught me to sing.

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And the best part, every membership comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can start learning risk-free. Right now, our listeners get an additional 15% off any and, annual membership at masterclass.com slash Liz Moody. That's 15% off at masterclass.com slash Liz Moody, masterclass.com slash Liz Moody. The number one rule of habits is to make the things that you want easier and the things that you don't want harder. Yet so many of us want to eat healthier, but so few of us actually take the steps to make eating healthier easier. That's where Marley Spoon comes in. What I love about this company and what's different than all of the other companies out

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