1602: A big light metaphor

For many of us around here, we are not big light fans. So we’re running with this metaphor today, and seeing how we can make other areas of our life a little gentler too.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. One of the things that I have found that is true for a lot of us who are highly sensitive, who are empaths, who might be introverts, is that we don't like the big light. And, and when I'm talking about the big light, I literally mean going into room and switching the main light on. If we have to have a main light on, we would choose one with more of a yellowy amber glow that was a bit less bright. And some of us might even go as far to say that fluorescent tube lighting should be considered a crime. Instead, we prefer lights. We prefer mood lighting. We love fairy lights and our environments make a big difference to us.

Now, if you've been around here a little while, you will see a metaphor coming a mile off. And the metaphor here is, where in your life are you putting the big light on? Where in your life could you make things a bit more gentle? Could things feel a bit more comfortable and a bit less harsh? Now, we tend to live in a big like world. I know many of us find supermarket shopping really overstimulating. And whether we're popping to the shop, going to the doctors or going to work in the office, fluorescent lighting seems to be the way. But it doesn't have to be when we've got a bit more control over our environments. And it doesn't just have to be in places where we've got total control. I know that they can be few and far between, but what are some small adjustments you can make in your day to day so you don't have to live with the big light on and you can have the cosy lamps. Now, you can take this as literal or not as you like.

This may be a rallying cry for you to buy more fairy lights, or you might start thinking about maybe a project at work you're doing that you are just going so hard on and looking at ways where you get to be less harsh on yourself and just a bit on external dream chitters. Before I go, some people might call us oversensitive, but I say that we just know our own needs really well. We know what works for us and that is a real asset. So fuck this idea of being too sensitive and think about what you need. So that is your assignment if you want to take it this hump day. If you're curious about understanding more about how your brain works and working with it, and you haven't yet taken my rebel archetype assessment and found out your rebel archetype, it'll be a really good clarity and confidence boost. To find out whether you're a messy rebel, a gentle rebel, a joyful rebel, or an undercover rebel, head over to therebelrousers.com/quiz. I've designed it so the quiz is really fun and the results page is genuinely, really helpful. I hope you have a fabulous rest of your Wednesday.

Here's to turning on all the lamps and the fairy lights and I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT.

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1599: A helpful reframe to improve your relationship with time

We’re wrapping up this week with a reframe that’s been helping me in my own life lately. Word nerds, you’re going to enjoy this one!

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Friday to you. Now, time is a funny fucker and I wanted to give you today a really quick kind of language shift that's been helping me lately. So often when we talk about time, we talk about wasting time, we talk about running out of time, and we talk about things taking time. Now, I am not here to argue that you have all this time that is sitting there somewhere and brimming with potential because we are busy around here, but I do think there are some small things that we can do to change our relationship with time. And one of the things that I've been playing around with is this idea of rather than thinking that things take time, I'm giving time to things. There is just something about it that makes me feel like I've got a bit more of a say that time isn't this thing that's always, always surrounded by scarcity. So when I think to myself, okay, I'm going to give that some time rather than, well, that's going to take time, there is something about it that gives me back the power and also feels a lot more intentional. It also reminds me that there are some choices that I get to make around time.

And if I think, for example, about giving myself time to read, it feels like even more of a gift, even though I do still have to battle against all the things I should be doing instead. So this weekend, rather than thinking about what you're going to take time for or what you're going to make time for, I invite you to think about what you're going to give time to. It'll be interesting to see if that gives you any more freedom or if it just quite plainly doesn't make any difference to you at all. And I invite you to just play around with the wording around time and see what changes it for you. I know we are absolute word nerds around here and sometimes just changing the name of something slightly can make it less intimidating, can make us feel like we've got more autonomy, and can make things feel a bit less wonky. So try it on for size and I hope you find something this weekend that gives you a really good hearty belly laugh. I can't wait to back with you on Sunday in your inbox. If you're part of my gorgeous email community where I share all of the wobbles, the wins and the workings out of building a life that I love.

And if you haven't joined and you'd like to, you can do that by clicking the link in the show notes or going to therebelrousers.com/letters or I'll see you back here bright and early on Monday. Either way, I look forward to seeing you then.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1598: It doesn’t always have to feel like root canal

So many of us are conditioned to think that if something is enjoyable or easy we must be cheating or doing something wrong. Today's episode is turning that on its head! 

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Thursday to you. So for the last little while, and for as long as it feels enjoyable to do so, I've been sending out an email to my fabulous email community on a Wednesday called Wildcard Wednesday that the idea is pretty simple. It's a midweek dose of delight and an eclectic roundup of between five and six weird, wonderful things I found mainly online to help you build a life you love. As I was putting yesterday's issue together, I realised that it took me hardly any time at all. I really enjoyed it and it is something I love to do every week, which on one hand was a lovely realisation. Had it not been for my dreamshitter to popping up telling me what? Well, you must have done something wrong then. I don't know about you, but I definitely grew up with that message that anything worth doing will probably be a struggle. And if you don't struggle well, then maybe it doesn't count or maybe you're not doing it right.

But the thing that I've really learned is that when you find that sweet spot of something you enjoy doing and that you find easy or there's some ease involved, what you find is your Zone of Genius. And because we only ever live inside our heads and don't see the inside of other people's heads, we assume that maybe everybody just finds this stuff easy, but that is very, very rarely the case. But because we don't struggle or suffer, we just assume that we're somehow cheating or we found a loophole or we're just not doing it right. So today I just really want to pop in and remind you that not everything has to feel like doing root canal. And when you find something that you enjoy and that's pretty easeful, that's the time to really pay attention and get curious because there is so much information in that and so much you can glean from it. And I also want to remind you not to discount your wins and progress if they weren't an absolute fucker to achieve. There's that whole saying no pain, no gain, which I believe is just boring. And you can go back to episode 817 to listen to a pep talk just around that.

And I remember that week was a really fun one because I spent the week taking five pieces of conventional wisdom and really turning them on their head. And again, that's an example of zone of Genius. I really, really enjoyed that week. They're good episodes and it is so easy to think that actually there might be something wrong with them. Because they were easy and I enjoy enjoyed them. It is not wrong to look for more ease in your life. Remember that. And if you're not part of my email community and you really like the sound of it and you want to join, I would love to have you.

And you can join by going to therebelrousers.com/letters or just clicking the handy link in the show notes. Have a good one. Remember that everything changes when you believe you matter and that not all great things are born from struggle. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1597: There’s no such thing as perfect timing

Sassy Meg is back this hump day with a friendly check-in around valid reasons and flimsy excuses!

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. So I am popping in today with a sassy one for Hump Day to share with you something that I know my brain often needs to hear and I think yours might too. And it's that there is no such thing thing as perfect timing. It can be so tempting to put off things that we really want to do or things that really scare us because things aren't quite lining up or they're not quite perfect. But sometimes we just have to say fuck it and go for it. I know for me, I can look back at my life with a certain sense of grief, of the things I didn't do because I was just too scared to do them, or I kept putting them off to the mythical someday where it might make sense or be less scary. And fucking hell, I wish I'd just done so many things. Now, to be clear, this isn't about just going for things for the sake of it, but rather giving ourselves a firm but compassionate push towards the scary things that we can always talk ourselves out of.

Because the truth is there will always be a reason not to do something. But there is a difference between a valid reason and a bit of a flimsy excuse. And we tend to know the difference. Now we know that there are just seasons in our life where it's not the time to do the thing. Sometimes life deals us a bit of a difficult or a different hand than we thought might happen and we have to put plans on the back burner because that is the most sensible and compassionate thing we can do for ourselves. But there are other times where, and I've definitely done it too, we will cling to the tiniest and sometimes most insignificant reason to just keep us from doing the scary thing. Now by doing the scary thing, it doesn't necessarily become less scary. But I know for me, I've learned it the hard way many years later where I found out that my definition of failure wasn't landing on my face, but it was just not going for it in the first place.

So this hump day, I invite you to have a shit ton of grace with yourself and have a bit of an honest think about valid reasons versus excuses. Make sure that you're not putting something off because you're waiting for the perfect moment. Remember that you are so much more resourced and so much more capable than you already think you are, and that we rarely feel truly ready. That is a complete myth and sometimes we just have to say fuck it and go for it. So here's to tuning in to yourself. Have a fabulous hump day, and I'll be back with you again bright and early tomorrow. Take care.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1595: Allow yourself time for season transitions

Today's episode is a permission slip to use your bonus time for you, and how to do that when time is sparse.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Monday to you. So one of the things I've been talking quite a lot about on the Daily Pep! for the last couple of years is the idea of following the cycles of the season, following our own cycles, and also figuring out and listening to the season that we're actually in. And I want to kick off this week on the Daily Pep with a reminder that you also have adjustment periods and transitions between seasons. There simply are times where we don't know what coat to wear, we're not quite sure what the weather's doing, and things don't feel firmly one thing or another thing. And I think when it comes to seasons in our lives or we give ourselves a bit of a hard job if we haven't figured it out. But sometimes we just have to give it a bit of time. And that might also look like metaphorically going out with the wrong jacket on and getting too hot or being too cold. And that's okay, too.

And also it's okay that seasons aren't linear. Sometimes during a blazing hot summer, you will have a really rainy week. And that isn't something to blame yourself for. It's just the way that things sometimes go. So as you listen to this, give yourself extra grace if you find yourself between seasons. Give yourself even more kindness if the season you're in doesn't match the season you want to be in. And remember, in this big metaphor, you have a lot of scarves, you have a lot of different coats in different fabrics, in different weights. You have so many tools that you've built up over the years.

It's just sometimes we forget they exist. But just because they've been at the back of the wardrobe or they smell a bit musty doesn't mean that they don't work. Have a good rummage, have a good start to your week, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1594: Defining success on a weekly basis

We’re wrapping up our week on The Daily Pep! with an invitation to reflect on what weekly success looks like for us.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers, and a very happy Friday to you. So as we wrap up the week, I have a question for both of us and it's this. What do we really want to use as the marker for our success for the week? For so many of us, we are brought up and taught that a good week is where we were productive, where we ticked things off the to do list and we got shit done. Now don't get me wrong, I love doing those things and it feels so satisfying to get those fuckers off our plate. But I think if we leaned a bit closer and got really honest, that probably isn't our own personal definition of success.

It's. It feels good. But other things matter more. So this Friday, I simply want to invite both of us to have a think about what does a successful week look like in our own lives, remembering that that also changes depending on the season, depending on our context, and also on our capacities. I know for me right now, in this season of my life weekly, success is much more about feeling fulfilled. It's much more about working on the things that actually matter to me. And and success is also not ending the week feeling completely and utterly depleted and exhausted. I want to get to the point where I can go into the weekend with energy to spare or maybe just more energy than I currently have and feel like I've left a bit of myself for myself. So as you start winding down for the weekend and wrapping up this week, I really invite you to think about what does success on a weekly basis look like for you in this season of your life.

And it is okay if it doesn't look like other people's success and probably it's a lot healthier for us if we're going maybe in the opposite direction then we were taught. So have a think about that. Maybe bring it to your journal. And I can't wait to be back with you on Monday morning right here, bright and early on the Daily Pep. Or if you're part of my email community where I'm sharing my behind the scenes of life in Bulgaria, I can't wait to be in your inbox and you can get in on that fun by going to therebelrousers.com/letters either way, I look forward to seeing you soon. And remember that everything changes when you believe you matter.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1593: Sometimes it’s faster to go slower

So often we think that pushing through is the answer, but self-sacrifice never helps. That's what we're diving into on today's episode.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Thursday to you. So for today's Daily Pep, I want to talk about our needs and how we respond to them with a pizza analogy. Now for some of you, it may be way too early in the morning to talk about pizza. For me, there's never a bad time to talk about pizza, so let's dive in. So we all tend to have our favorite pizza toppings. For me, I am all about the barbecue sauce. It is a fuck yes to pineapple and I love all the meats.

That is what I will go for as my kind of default if I'm choosing a pizza. But sometimes I really don't give a shit. I just want the pizza. Other times I just want a really good plain old fashioned margarita. My default is generally a thin crust, but there are definitely times where I'll go for a deep pan and I definitely won't turn down a Detroit style pizza. And other times I'm just not in the mood for pizza. And the reason I'm sharing this, and hopefully it's all going to start to make sense in a minute, is because I think pizzas can be a really helpful way of looking at our own needs and our own lives. So for example, there are some days where it's just life as usual.

We would pick the same toppings that we always go for and we would seriously enjoy it. There are other times when we are just too fucking busy for pizza. Sometimes we just need to go back to basics and make things as simple as humanly possible. And maybe that's our definition of a good life for now. And other times it is a season to get experimental and, and to shake shit up. And the important thing is none of these are better than the other. Obviously we'd like to lessen the hard seasons and make them more bearable. But a good life doesn't have to be the one with all the bells and whistles on it.

In some seasons we may have just a slice of pizza rather than the whole thing or the whole pie. And that can be really, really satisfying too. And sometimes it can be a grab and go slice. We wish we had the time, the space, the energy for the whole thing. And we just have to make do. And it can suck. And I think sometimes where we end up tripping ourselves up is that we feel like if we haven't got time to make the pizza from scratch, make it beautifully with all of our favorite things, then it just doesn't count. And that is absolutely not true.

We set the bar so high for ourselves, that any effort is completely disregarded unless it's the best thing ever. And that is just completely unrealistic and unsustainable. Because life has rhythms. It has seasons. Things change. And that's okay. It can be really fucking frustrating. And it also means that you're not doing anything wrong.

You are human. So whatever kind of a pizza season you're in right now, whether you're enjoying your absolute favorite, whether you're grabbing a bite of somebody else's, or whether you're just thinking, do you know what? Fuck pizza. Know that you're not doing anything wrong. Know that you are definitely doing more than you think you are, that your best is bound to look different on different days. And remember that cold pizza can be really good. Too often we want to savor things in the moment as they happen. And sometimes that just doesn't go according to plan. But that doesn't mean you don't get to enjoy it later.

So try this rather strange analogy on for size for you. Have a think about what's going on in your own life, what you can give yourself grace and compassion for, and what you might want to set aside to enjoy later. And have a good one. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1585: Some thoughts on using bonus time

Today's episode is a permission slip to use your bonus time for you, and how to do that when time is sparse.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Monday to you. At the time of recording this, it is a bank holiday or a public holiday in the UK and I thought it would be a great time to talk about how we use our time and how we give ourselves permission to do the things we want to do. Now, most of the time when we have bonus time, we try and put it to the best use possible. For many of us, time feels like a real scarcity and we want to use it wisely, but many of the ways we've been taught to use it wisely involve doing even more chores. Now, sometimes it is time for that and a bank holiday or a public holiday or bonus time can be a great time to do the things you've been putting off.

But, and I don't think we hear this as much, it can also be time for having a bit of a rest, catching up with yourself and doing something you wanted to do. Now sometimes that can feel like a true luxury and sometimes the circumstances of our lives just do not allow for that. But it also doesn't just have to be all one way or all the other way.

And if you have got time that you're going to divide into doing something that you have to do, doing something that you want to do, I cannot recommend highly enough starting with the thing that you want to do, because the things we have to do have a tendency to take longer than we think they will and they have a tendency to zap our most precious time and energy so that by the time we even get round to doing the thing we wanted to do, we are just totally knackered. So in case you need to hear it today, this this is your permission slip to use your time wisely on you, to give yourself your best energy and to just have a quick check in with yourself around what you actually need to do versus what you think you should do and cull your list accordingly. I hope you have a lovely start to your week, I hope you find some unexpected joy and I can't wait to be back with you tomorrow. See you then.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1582: Outgrowing things is human

If you’re in the messy middle, or you’ve got growing pains, it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong - today’s episode is for you.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Wednesday. And a very happy hump day to you. So today I wanted to pop in and remind you that it is okay to outgrow people and it is okay to outgrow things. One of both the joys and the challenges of being a human and being alive is, is that we are constantly changing. Our needs change, our dreams change. And as cheesy as the saying is, we do grow through what we go through. And sometimes that means that we need to leave things behind. Other times it means we need to try new things on for size.

And sometimes we're in that middle awkward growing phase. And it's okay if you don't know the answers too. For so many of us, if something starts to feel off, one of the first things that we can be tempted to do consciously or unconsciously is to somehow point the blame at ourselves or try and figure out what's going on with us, assuming that we're the problem. And sometimes there is a problem, and sometimes it's not you, and sometimes there isn't a problem. It's just that things don't feel quite right anymore. And that's okay too. And I think it is so worth listening to. So whether you are going through growing pains or whether you're looking around at your life and you're seeing things that maybe don't fit you anymore, know that that is a good sign because you are developing, you're changing, you're growing.

And while that can feel uncomfortable around here, we don't like feeling stagnant either. Get curious about what the opportunity is here. Know that grief comes in many forms and grieving change is okay too. And remember that you don't need to solve everything today. And chances are if you did solve everything today, you would probably spend a fair amount of time revisiting decisions, cleaning things up. So it might not be as efficient as you think it would be. Sometimes we are just in the messy middle and I know from a lot of personal experience it is never as fun or as interesting as as it sounds in a lot of self help books, but it is also pretty necessary. Be extra kind to yourself.

Give yourself even more grace and compassion than normal and know that this is part of the process of being a human and you are doing nothing wrong. So I hope you have a good hump day. We are over halfway through the week and I can't wait to be back with you bright and early as usual tomorrow. Take care.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1580: What if it's selfless, not selfish?

If you've ever felt like taking time for you, working on your creative projects or prioritising yourself is selfish, then today's episode is for you! 

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Monday to you. So to kick off this week on the Daily Pep, I really want to make the argument that working on our own stuff and doing the things that light us up is actually more selfless than it is selfish. Recently I conducted an annual survey for my fabulous email community, and one of the main questions was, what do you most struggle with when it comes to chasing your dreams or creating a life you love? And the patterns were pretty consistent. There were a lot of similar themes and also a lot of similar answers. One of the things that came up is kind of having competing priorities when it comes to our own dreams and the loved ones in our lives and how easy it is to put everybody else's needs in front of our own, and just how tied up we are in saying yes to everybody else and how hard it can be to choose ourselves. Now, if we are socialized as women, we are socialized to put everybody else first. Our needs go to the bottom of the pile. And often there are so many messages, whether overt or covert, that tell us that doing things for ourselves is selfish, that taking time to do our own things when we could be using that time on other people is somehow wrong.

And I just want to pop in with a huge fuck that. Because here's the thing. Apart from the fact that we all deserve to do the things that we love and the things that light us up, those very things often tend to be the things that make the world brighter anyway. We are big hearted, we are compassionate, we give a shit about the world, and that can really be seen in the things that we create. And even if we can't make that link for ourselves and we don't see our projects that way, working on our own stuff and creating things tends to make us happier in general. It builds our resilience. It gives us something to really look forward to. And I don't know about you, but when I've got a project on the go, I'm a nicer person to be around.

One of the huge reasons I do the Daily Pep is because I want to live in a world where women choose themselves, where they do their creative projects, and where we keep going despite our inner dream shitters and all the external bullshit. Because what we have to give to the world matters. The world can only be made a richer and more hopeful place for our projects existing in it. And I don't know about you, but I much prefer the version of the world where as women, we create the things we want to see in the world and we work on our projects rather than the version where we stay small. We get completely trapped by the bullshit and the fuckers who don't align with our values win. So this week, create something. Work on something important to you and know that any teeny tiny action counts. Putting yourself into the equation is certainly not selfish and the world needs you exactly as you are, not some improved version of yourself.

So Happy Monday. Know that the Women's Creativity Circle is here for support and flexible structure in doing this stuff. And here's to remembering that everything changes when you believe you matter.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1579: Do it scrappy

If you wish you had a regular creative practice, but only create once in a blue moon, this one’s for you.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily peppers and a very happy Friday to you. So sometimes I sit down with my microphone and I have absolutely no idea about what that day's daily pep is going to be about. My mind goes completely blank and I just sit here for a bit. I'd love to say that I have some kind of box of tricks or some magic strategy, but really I just let my brain wander for a while. I often get sidetracked. I literally did just now, looking up somebody I haven't seen for over 20 years on Facebook. But at some point there will be something that gives me the seed of an idea and and rather than sit with it until it's completely fleshed out, I press record and I see what happens.

And in some way or another, everything falls into place. And the reason I share that today is because I want to debunk some of what we think about having a creative practice. We think it has to look a certain way, namely beautiful or impressive. We think that practice is just about getting perfect at something, and we think that practice is all about getting to a success. But I see it slightly differently. For me, practice really is about building up your self trust muscle. It's about getting to the point where it's no longer scary or intimidating, and it's getting to the point where you know that you're going to be able to pull it out the bag because you've done it so many times before. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get frustrated when I can't think of anything but.

But apart from I think, two occasions where I really had nothing and I was absolutely exhausted because I've shown up and done it this much, I trust that something will come to me even if I've got no clue what it is. Now, I am not suggesting that you start a daily podcast, and this isn't a rallying cry for taking on a daily project, but what it is is a reminder that your confidence and your self trust are often comes in doing the thing. It comes in showing up, it comes in winging it, it comes in pulling it off at the end and it comes in the form of muscle memory. So if you are not as far ahead as you'd like to be with a particular area of your creativity or a particular skill, chances are highly likely that everything your dream shooter says is absolute bullshit. And maybe you need to put in the reps and enough reps until you firmly know that you can show up and do the damn thing. And the thing about doing it fairly often is that at some point you start to become a bit less bothered by the outcome. Or at least you become a lot less of a perfectionist because it's not all hanging on this one rare time that you sit down to do the thing rather than which involves so much pressure. So this episode is a permission to do it scrappy, to do it imperfect, to show up on a fairly regular basis even if you half arse it, rather than once in a blue moon giving it your all.

And if you want a bonus bit of advice, create a container around it, something that works for you. I know that episodes have to come out by 6am UK time every weekday and I literally don't have time to be a perfectionist unless I want to spend the whole day on it. And if I did I would get seriously annoyed with myself, also seriously resentful of the project and I probably wouldn't do it anyway. So work with yourself and know that constraints can often give us a fair bit of freedom and flexibility. And if you are listening to this and right now it is once in a blue moon that you create or you do the thing and you find it hard to carve out time to see things through, you wish you could do it with a fabulous bunch of like minded women. My new six month coaching program may just be for you. It's called the Women's Creativity Circle. It's all about taking our projects off the Sunday pile.

We get started in May with twice a week making sessions to really carve out time for our projects and to really put in the reps, to put in the practice with some accountability to get us making more and to give us a fuck ton more self trust too. You can find out more by going to the link in the show notes or over to therebelrousers.com/creativitycircle and if you really want to get your projects off the Sunday pile with me in your corner, it is going to work wonders. So check that out if you're interested. Have a good one and and remember that everything changes when you believe you matter. And part of you believing you matter is showing up for yourself. You've done it in the past, you can do it now and it does get easier with time. I'll see you on Monday.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1577: Recognise your patterns + f*ck the bullsh*t

When it comes to when our dreamsh*tter turns up, it's not usually as random as we think it is. Today we're diving into recognising our patterns, and doing the damn thing anyway.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. So yesterday I finished the sales page for my brand new community program which is starting in May. Now, I haven't shared it publicly really yet, just to the wait list, but if you do fancy a sneak peek, search for the egg emoji in the show notes and you can see it before a lot of other people. But the reason I bring it up today is because finishing putting it all together reminded me of something that I always forget. So Yesterday, me and Mr. Meg were walking home from a coffee shop and thinking out loud about this new thing I'm launching. I asked, what if it’s just a bit shit.

And Mr. Meg looked at me and said, there it is. And I just looked at him and he reminded me that every single time I'm on the finish line to creating any new program, any new product, any new project, I seriously get the wobbles and just seriously doubt myself. I suddenly believe that everything I do is utter shite, that I am somehow hoodwinking people into something. And I completely forget who I am. My experience, my strengths, and my inner dream shitter just takes over. Yet every single time I'm surprised when it happens, I genuinely start to believe the lies that my inner dream shitter tells me. And often it's only when I've gone quite far down the rabbit hole or somebody points out to me do I realize, oh yeah, this is just part of the process.

This is one of my patterns and this is what happens at this stage of things. And I share this today because we've all got our processes. We've all got those times where our dream shitter is the loudest. And when we're doing something that really matters to us, maybe we're starting it or maybe we're coming to the end. That's when our inner dream shitter can really start to take hold. There's this bit in the fabulous book Playing Big by Tara Moore where she talks about how if we feel like we found our calling, we might assume that our inner critic gets less loud. But actually the opposite is true. And sometimes it's even a sign that we're on the right path.

All of this is to say, really question your inner dream shitter question when it shows up and have a think back and see if there are patterns. And around here we are creative and we are great at finding patterns. So use your creativity for good and for your own sake. And this might also be a great conversation to have with loved ones or supportive friends to see if you can help figure out each other's patterns because chances are you've seen them, and we tend to be way more compassionate to other people than we are ourselves. If you're curious what my new community program is all about, and spoiler alert, it has a lot to do with our personal creative projects. Go find the egg in the show notes and go take a peek before anyone else. Here's for seeing our dream shitters bullshit as it is. Just total, absolute bollocks. And here's to finishing things. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1575: Three questions to help you have a more fulfilling week

Together at the start of the week, we’re taking five minutes to set some realistic intentions, put you back in the equation, and help you have a more fulfilling week.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Monday to you. As we start a fresh new week, I thought it might be helpful to look over your week together and work to make it a bit more sustainable and at a pace that gets shit done but doesn't burn you out. So when you think about the things that you have to do this week, it can be helpful to start with looking at where are the gaps and how can you plan for some rest. Now this flies in the face of conventional productivity advice and for good reason, because squeezing in every single thing is a recipe for burnout. Also, as multi passionates and as rebels, we start to rebel against a really tight schedule anyway and we can only be so productive if there's no time for us. So first things first, let's have a look where we're scheduling rest. What are some things that you can say no to? Is there anything put on your calendar by somebody else that really you have no desire to do and no real need to do? Or is there anything that could be an email rather than a meeting? The problem with spaces in our calendar is that we've been taught to fill every available one and that any minute you are available, if there's nothing showing up. But buffer time is important, rest is important, and there is only so much that we can expect ourselves to do in any one day and none of us has unlimited capacity, unfortunately.

So that's the first bit. For the second bit, do you actually know what you need to do this week in order to end the week feeling satisfied, fulfilled and maybe even proud of yourself? It is so easy for the week to be taken up by odds and ends that feel good to scratch off your to do list that might make other people happy, but what are the things that you need to do to feel good at the end of the week? Now this isn't about being as productive as you can, it is just about being really intentional. I think so many of us have had weeks where we get so much bitty stuff done and we end the week feeling absolutely exhausted. But we're also frustrated because we didn't get to the big fuckers. So if you had to choose, what are your three biggest fuckers this week that would feel really good to get done and you would go to bed on Friday night feeling pretty damn proud of yourself. And the last question I have for you is what is the easiest way to get those things done in a way that does honour your current season and your current capacity? Have you made them more complicated than they need to be? And if you weren't worried about anybody seeing your messy process, how would you do it your way? So those are my three helpful questions to help you have a more fulfilling week. To have a week where you get shit done without burning out, and a week where you actually honor your capacity. So to recap, number one, where are you planning in rest? Number two, what are the three things that you really want to intentionally tend to this week? And number three, how can you simplify them and get them done in the easiest way that honors your capacity and the season that you're in? On a Monday, it can be really tempting just to dive in, but I know from so much of my own experience and the wonderful clients I work with that just taking that bit of time, it can be literally five minutes.

To put yourself into the equation, to get intentional can make a massive difference. And Friday you will be really grateful. I hope you have a fabulous start to the week. Remember that it is a marathon and not a sprint and I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1574: Let’s get real about rewarding ourselves

Whether you’re rewards motivated or not, today’s episode is a reminder that many of us need as we wrap up this week, and head into the weekend.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Friday to you. So I know for me and the fabulous women I work with that we can have a bit of a funky relationship when it comes to rewarding ourselves. For some of us, we are really rewards motivated. For others of us, we know we're just going to do the thing anyway, so it doesn't make a difference. But something I think we can all really grapple with is this idea of what we're deserving of. So as we go into the weekend, which is when for a lot of us, we try and take some time out or do things for ourselves, I wanted to pop in with a bit of a reminder that meeting your own basic needs is not a reward for you doing something. I remember years ago where I would tell myself, right, well, you can go on a walk after you've got this thing done that you've been avoiding. And it took a while for me to realize that that is just really unfair.

My body needs to move. That's not something that I have to earn and that I don't have to live so transactionally. It's also not lost on me the irony that I would probably have a much easier time getting something done after a walk rather than before it. Anyway, if we look at reading and books, including today's lovely sponsor, The Willoughby Book Club, we don't have to earn reading time either. Reading can be great for our nervous systems to put our minds somewhere else for a while, and the idea that we have to work for that is just really hard. So going into this weekend, we remember that you get to relax and chill out if you can, regardless of what remains on your to do list. Even if you had a week where you got fuck all done, that does not mean you have to deprive yourself of everything pleasurable, take care of you, move your body in a way that feels good. Feed your brain with interesting stuff that stimulates your creativity and curiosity, even if it's a guilty pleasure, which is another concept I think is a load of bullshit.

And know that you do not have to work and exchange items crossed off on your to do list in order to do the shit that makes you feel at least half human. Have a great weekend. I hope something unexpectedly delightful happens. I hope you get to have a good walk or you read a good book or whatever you and your body need right now. And I can't wait to share more of my Bulgarian adventures with you on Sunday if you're part of my email community. And I can't wait to share a new episode of the Daily Pep with you next Monday. Have a good one. And remember that everything changes when you believe you matter.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1572: Coffee shops, watercolours and getting in the sea

So often we do the brave thing, and then don't give ourselves any credit. So today I'm sharing what we're missing.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers and a very happy Wednesday. And a very happy hump day to you. So we have been in Bulgaria for a couple of weeks now, and one of the things I have been loving doing is checking out all of the local coffee shops. I am such a sucker for fairy lights. I seem to really be able to focus when there's a lot of noise around me. And I also just love watching the world go by. And in all honesty, it is much more about the vibe for me than the coffee itself. I've only really started drinking coffee over the past couple of years and it all tastes pretty good to me.

And the reason I'm sharing this with you today is a reminder for all of us that the more we do something, the more we figure out what works for us and what doesn't work for us. I can now describe to you probably for about three hours, which I won't, exactly what I like and what I don't like from a coffee shop down to the most minute details yet. For most of us, when we're starting something new or we're gathering the courage to do something maybe for the first time or for the first couple of times, we put so much pressure on ourselves to figure it all out right away. We might, for example, start watercolor painting and decide on the first go that we're just no good at it. We might not even stop to consider whether we like doing it. We just kind of go in with one big question of is it a yes? Is it a no? And then we kind of move on. But here's where I'm landing. Every time we do something and every time we try something, we're collecting information, we're finding what does work for us, and sometimes even more helpfully, we're finding what doesn't work for us.

And the more we do these things, the closer we're going to get to the things that really light us up. And also it's going to become a whole lot less scary. And I think our world really starts to open up too. So today's daily pep is a rallying cry for taking imperfect action and for figuring out the answers through doing things rather than imagining what something might be like. There is only so much information we can gather about the sea when we are sitting on the side of it, as opposed to when we're in the water. And as frustrating as it can sometimes be, sometimes we just have to get our feet wet. So we went all over the place today. We've talked about coffee shops, we've talked about watercolors and we've talked about getting in the sea.

But I hope there is something in here that gives you the courage to just do the thing, to just try the thing and to add some nuance to whether something is a success or a failure in the form of what information it gives you. So happy hump day. Dip your feet in the water and I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1570: You do not have to be someone else's comfort blanket

Popping in with a couple of important and sometimes challenging reminders that I've got a feeling you need to hear as we start this new week!

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Monday to you. I thought it might be helpful to pop in at the start of new week to remind you that it's okay to say no to other people and they're sometimes reasonable or unreasonable requests and demands, and to remind you that you do not have to be somebody else's entire comfort blanket. If you're listening to this podcast, chances are you are an empath with a big heart. You are probably a fixer, and you are probably excellent at helping other people. But you might also be really good at putting yourself last, saying no to yourself and putting everybody else's needs above your own. But the fact that you have needs doesn't make you selfish. It doesn't make you needy. It simply makes you human.

And in a world where if we're socialised as women, it can be so damn hard to remember that. The truth is we have to say yes to ourselves before we say yes to somebody else. And not just because that way we can help more people, which we can and we do have more capacity, but because we matter too. We get to be part of the equation. And as much as it may make us roll our eyes, it is true that the most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves. And it is really fucking important to tend to it. So take today's episode as a huge permission slip to keep choosing yourself to tell other people you're at capacity if you need to, to remember that it's okay if you're going through a sunny season and a friend is going through a stormy season, both can exist at the same time and never to dull your sparkle to make somebody else feel more comfortable. Whatever today looks like, I hope it's a good one.

Remember that believing that we matter and choosing ourselves and saying no are all muscles that we have to build. And if it takes time and involves a whole bunch of stumbles, that's okay too. I can't wait to see you back here tomorrow. And remember, you are doing so much better than you think you are. I'll see you then.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1569: Choose self-compassion over self-criticism

Sometimes the most counter intuitive advice is the best advice of all. So if you’ve stumbled this week, this one’s for you.

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Friday to you. is the end of the week. It is so nearly the weekend and we have made it. Now it is fair to say we all have days where we get a lot less done than we wanted to, where we override our very best intentions and end up sticking the TV on or scrolling on our phones rather than working on our creative projects or doing something that we really wanted to do for ourselves. And there are other days where just nothing much is happening and we can't get ourselves to do anything. First of all, I think we have to remind ourselves that we are human having and we all get times like that. And secondly, I think this is a really important part. The way we react to ourselves and the extent to which we maybe catastrophize not doing the thing has a big impact on whether we're likely to do the thing we want to do in the future.

And also our sense of self confidence. The truth is that we all stumble. We all stumble fairly regularly some of the time. We definitely don't live up to our best intentions or the version ourselves we think we were. And the really counterintuitive truth is that if we were able to have more grace and compassion towards ourselves when we stumble, rather than letting it snowball and get away from us, we would probably have a much better time of sticking to our intentions and also being closer to that version of ourselves that we would like to be. I know I've been getting really frustrated with my own energy levels recently and I've realized that I tried to put about 50 hours into one 24 hour period. I have all these wild ambitions for any particular day. I do just one of those things and I'm pretty fucking knackered.

And then I get pretty grumpy. I start to get frustrated at my own body and it just ends up being really unsatisfying. But I found that on the days where I can shrug it off, I tend to have a much better next day. And I can reclaim the day a little bit more than the days in which I kind of set up camp and really give myself a hard time. And I've seen this with so many of the women I work with. Self compassion gets everybody so much further than self criticism. But because we are taught the exact opposite from a young age, and because society doesn't necessarily work like that, it can feel like a ridiculous notion that only turns out to be true when you try it. So as we get to the end of the week, I invite you to choose self compassion over self criticism and to forgive yourself of any stumbles that you've had this week, knowing that if anything, all it makes you is a wonderfully imperfect human like the rest of us.

See if you can spot where your inner dream shitter is absolutely catastrophizing and see if you can get to a place where you can just kind of shrug your shoulders and think shit happens and keep moving forward. And I really do think that action is self compassion's magical twin. If you can keep yourself in motion even with the teeniest tiniest steps and you can do it with some self compassion, then my goodness, you are gonna fly. So that's it for this Friday. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. I hope you practice lots of self compassion, I hope you keep going with the teeny tiny steps, and I hope you remember that you are a wonderfully imperfect human who adds more than you know to the world. I'll see you on Monday back here on the Daily Pep or in your inbox on Sunday. If you're part of my email community where I'll be sharing just how my latest adventure in Bulgaria is really going, you can join that email community by going to therebelrousers.com/letters.

And either way, I can't wait to see you soon. And remember that everything changes when you believe you matter.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1568: This pizza analogy can help you honour your seasons

Today’s slightly bizarre pizza analogy is designed to help you honour you needs and seasons, and remind you that you’re doing okay!

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers and a very happy Thursday to you. So for today's Daily Pep, I want to talk about our needs and how we respond to them with a pizza analogy. Now for some of you, it may be way too early in the morning to talk about pizza. For me, there's never a bad time to talk about pizza, so let's dive in. So we all tend to have our favorite pizza toppings. For me, I am all about the barbecue sauce. It is a fuck yes to pineapple and I love all the meats.

That is what I will go for as my kind of default if I'm choosing a pizza. But sometimes I really don't give a shit. I just want the pizza. Other times I just want a really good plain old fashioned margarita. My default is generally a thin crust, but there are definitely times where I'll go for a deep pan and I definitely won't turn down a Detroit style pizza. And other times I'm just not in the mood for pizza. And the reason I'm sharing this, and hopefully it's all going to start to make sense in a minute, is because I think pizzas can be a really helpful way of looking at our own needs and our own lives. So for example, there are some days where it's just life as usual.

We would pick the same toppings that we always go for and we would seriously enjoy it. There are other times when we are just too fucking busy for pizza. Sometimes we just need to go back to basics and make things as simple as humanly possible. And maybe that's our definition of a good life for now. And other times it is a season to get experimental and, and to shake shit up. And the important thing is none of these are better than the other. Obviously we'd like to lessen the hard seasons and make them more bearable. But a good life doesn't have to be the one with all the bells and whistles on it.

In some seasons we may have just a slice of pizza rather than the whole thing or the whole pie. And that can be really, really satisfying too. And sometimes it can be a grab and go slice. We wish we had the time, the space, the energy for the whole thing. And we just have to make do. And it can suck. And I think sometimes where we end up tripping ourselves up is that we feel like if we haven't got time to make the pizza from scratch, make it beautifully with all of our favorite things, then it just doesn't count. And that is absolutely not true.

We set the bar so high for ourselves, that any effort is completely disregarded unless it's the best thing ever. And that is just completely unrealistic and unsustainable. Because life has rhythms. It has seasons. Things change. And that's okay. It can be really fucking frustrating. And it also means that you're not doing anything wrong.

You are human. So whatever kind of a pizza season you're in right now, whether you're enjoying your absolute favorite, whether you're grabbing a bite of somebody else's, or whether you're just thinking, do you know what? Fuck pizza. Know that you're not doing anything wrong. Know that you are definitely doing more than you think you are, that your best is bound to look different on different days. And remember that cold pizza can be really good. Too often we want to savor things in the moment as they happen. And sometimes that just doesn't go according to plan. But that doesn't mean you don't get to enjoy it later.

So try this rather strange analogy on for size for you. Have a think about what's going on in your own life, what you can give yourself grace and compassion for, and what you might want to set aside to enjoy later. And have a good one. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1567: Are you actually counting your successes?

So often we do the brave thing, and then don't give ourselves any credit. So today I'm sharing what we're missing.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. It's fair to say around here that we are not the best at giving ourselves compliments, though we are seriously fucking working on it. And as humans, we are hardwired to see what we haven't done versus what we have done. And I think what can end up happening is we can seriously overlook some things that we have achieved because not only do we think we have to do the thing, but we also think we have to be amazing at it as well. Recently, me and Mr. Meg started a new dance class. We went to a Lindy Hop class and let's just say we both have to two pairs of left feet. And when we got home, we were reflecting on it and I was saying, I mark it as a huge success.

We did something new. We were brave for trying it, especially in a new country. And I shared that. I felt proud of myself and asked if Mr. Meg did. And he said that he didn't think it counted because he didn't enjoy it. And I lovingly say, fuck that. If we only count something as a success, if we did it in the first place, if we enjoyed it and we were good at it, not only is that a really tall order, but we're also going to miss out on a ton of successes along the way.

For me with the dance class, whether I liked it or whether I was good at it is very subjective. But the fact that I went, nobody can argue with that. And that in itself is something to be proud of. So often we only give ourselves credit for our effort to if it pays off or the result is really good. And we forget that often it's the actual putting in of the effort that is often the biggest thing and the thing that takes the most courage. So my question for you this hump day is what successes have you had that you have completely overlooked or not even recognized? And how would your life change if your definition of success seriously incorporated your effort and not just the outcome or you recorded the outcome as a separate success? We are way too hard on ourselves and often we don't see how far we've come because we literally don't even recognize or acknowledge the wins we've had when we've had them, because up until now they haven't been wins. Instead, we've put the focus further down the line. So I think it's time to change that.

Let's give ourselves credit where credit is due. And I think you have a lot of overdue credit, my dear. So that's a wrap for today's daily pep. I hope you find some unexpected joy on this hump day. And please remember, as always, that everything changes when you believe you matter. And you really do fucking matter. See you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women.

If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!

1565: It’s okay if a hat gets squashed

If you’re not ready for a new week, are feeling overwhelmed, or you’re wondering how on Earth everybody else does it all, then this one’s for you.

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Monday to you. So to kick off this week on the Daily Pep, I wanted to pop in with a reminder that it is okay not to feel ready for this week or not to be ready for another Monday. For so many of us, we live with this really unhelpful myth that everybody but ourselves has everything figured out. Somehow everybody else but us got the memo, and everybody else is doing all of the things all of the time, consistently. They're never dropping any plates. Meanwhile, for us, some of the time we are running round like headless chickens and we are dropping and breaking plates left, right and centre. And I just want to remind you that that is completely normal. To be alive in this time period is to have so much fucking shit to do all of the time that it is no wonder we forget things.

It's no wonder we procrastinate. It's no wonder we put things off. And it's no wonder that sometimes we leave it to the very last minute. And my question for you today is, what if that is simply a reflection of the times rather than some kind of reflection or a character assassination on you as a human being? You are already way too hard on yourself by the fact that you listen to this podcast. I know that you give everybody else in your life so much more grace than you do yourself. And you are doing so much of a better job than you think you are. We all have those lists of things that need doing that needed doing yesterday and six months ago. And sometimes it can feel really, really overwhelming.

And you're seriously not alone in that. There are so many hats that we have to wear to function as a human being in this society, let alone the number of hats that we want to wear as multi passionate and creative people. And it's okay if some of them fall out of the closet sometimes, or if a hat gets squashed the same way. You can't be everything to everyone. You can't do everything all the time. And if you listen to this, this Monday, feeling really fucking overwhelmed, I recommend picking just one or two things to focus on today that you want to knock off the to do list. And if there are any things that have kind of got blaring red sirens, attend to them first. If not, pick the easiest, easiest thing you can do.

Nobody has a picture perfect life or all of their shit together, no matter how much they try and convince you otherwise. And the people that do a really good job of convincing you that they have, chances are they are spending a colossal amount of effort in making it look like they do. So let's use our energy for the things we have to do and the things we want to do. Fuck keeping up appearances. And know that you really are doing a better job than you think you are. Have a good one, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

New episodes air every Monday - Friday 6AM GMT

A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!

The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.

Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.

MORE REBEL-ROUSING THIS WAY!