Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

1608: Stop wondering, go get the information

If you spend more time thinking about the thing than doing the thing, then this is the episode for you.

 
 
 

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Thursday to you. I am popping into your lovely ears this morning with something that I have realized over the years, and it is that sometimes you just have to do the thing. And thinking about the thing isn't going to give you the information or the data that you need, and you just need to start. I know I have wasted a fuckload of energy trying to work things out in my head, when really the best thing would have been to start anywhere and just give it a go. Obviously, this doesn't apply for everything in life, but there are certainly times when it is better to just go and metaphorically make the cake, even if it is a bit shitty, than it is to sit there and think about all the ingredients and what they might taste like. It might be fun to ponder, but it's also not going to get you that far. Sometimes we can spend so much energy on how we're going to start the thing, how we're going to get going, how we're going to do it in the right way, and the reality is that just doing something is gonna get you so much further. And this episode is absolutely proof of this.

I sat here before my microphone for a little while with a completely blank mind, but I knew that once I press record said hello, something would happen, because it always does. And the more we take action when we are not completely certain, the more we build our confidence and the belief in just taking any action. Sometimes you can have the best plan in your head and it is genuinely a really good plan. And then you've spent so long thinking about doing it, and then you actually start to do it and you realize you don't even like it. And I really want to save us some precious time and energy, which are finite things that we have, and get you out there experimenting, finding information and finding the clues. So get out of your head and into action, please. Don't wait for the perfect action because there really isn't one, and go collect some information. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

1607: It’s okay if you go left or right

Today’s episode is inspired by a song from one of my absolute favourite bands - Roya - that I’ve had on repeat, and it’s a rallying cry against overthinking.

 
 

Episode transcript:

Good morning Daily Peppers, and a very happy Wednesday to you. So for this update, I wanted to share with you my latest favorite song and some lyrics from it that I think we might all need. So I am slightly in love with the band Roya and if you're curious, I've put more about them in the show notes. They are just two delightfully joyful, creative human beings who just make really good dopamine feeling dance music. They are very authentic, they share a lot of the process, they fucking love their fans and the community they built and I could talk about them all day. But the thing I wanted to share with you today is a lyric from their song Left Right, which is essentially all about how but both paths can be really good and it is simply Stop overthinking. You're wasting time. Now first, a disclaimer for those of us with anxiety.

Fucking hell, we wish it was that easy. And I am not invalidating or minimizing your lived experience. And as somebody who struggles with anxiety, I really do get it. But also, I have found having that line of the song repeating over and over in my brain as a fabulous earworm has just helped me get out of my head a little bit. A bit like the words Fuck it now. There are times when we are more or less able to impact our own overthinking, but one of the things that does help me make decisions, especially the little ones that I will let take days that don't really mean anything, is thinking about what I could be doing instead, and also thinking about all the minor things in life that I've spent hours worrying about, which turned out absolutely fine. I've shared before that if I'm buying a new fan, I can take hours deciding which one to buy. And I suddenly become really obsessed with all these features that I didn't even know existed before I started the search.

And the good girl in me and the perfectionist in me. I just want to make the right decision. But really, that is a colossal waste of really good brain energy. Because in that scenario it really doesn't matter that much as long as it makes me feel a bit cooler. So if you need a compassionate pep talk to stop overthinking, consider this your sign if you want to connect more with your intuition or your inner wisdom. I have two fabulous solo adventures slash mini retreats that really help you practically connect to that, and I've put more in the show notes, and if you want to put on some music that's just going to make you feel really good, I seriously recommend checking out Roya if you haven't heard of them already. So happy hump day. Here's to not overthinking the small stuff.

Here's to connecting with your intuition. And here's to going left or right. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

1605: It doesn't have to be epic

Today's episode is a reminder that not everything you do has to be epic, and a rallying cry for small, delightful projects!

 
 

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers and a very happy Monday to you. So lately in my email community I've been sharing a really fun project I'm doing called Get it off the Fucking Hard Drive. I decided that I really wanted to use my time in Bulgaria to make things to prove to myself I can do it and to actually release and put into the world. Some of the great ideas I've had over the years are just sitting on my hard drive. Each week for 10 weeks I am releasing a different digital product. I'm currently heading into week seven and today I'm sharing with you the reminder that I've been needing to hear a lot lately about the fact that not everything has to be seriously epic and huge. The reason I started this project was to prove to myself that I could get things out of my head into the world without making them these gigantic things. I really wanted to experiment with kind of pocket projects at pocket money prices and every single week I have had to seriously reign myself in.

It seems that kind of one of my personal philosophies is go big or go home and I am really having to battle that part of me that tells me that unless it's epic, it's not worth it. Now one of the things that has been helping me is to remember that when it comes to epic stuff I own, it is often actually really overwhelming. And actually it ends up sitting on my hard drive because I always mean to make the time, but it never feels like I've got enough time. So I'm really trying to lean into that myself. But the really big lesson is about undoing this. Learning about what something has to be in order to be valuable. So in case you need to hear it today, I just want to remind you that small things can have a big impact. That our 100% is most people's 400% at least, if not 4,000%.

And just remember that your self worth is not on the line. If you are feeling creatively stuck, I really recommend a challenge like this, but ironically, maybe not so epic. I did make it quite a big one. And if you're curious about the six projects I've released so far, you can see them by going to therebelrousers.com/shop and I've also put a link to the blog post where I talk all about it, what inspired it and how it's working in the show notes. And finally if you're in my email community, you get an email every Friday telling you what the latest product is and you also get 50% off for the first 24 hours and it's become a really fun community thing. So if you do want to join in the fun there, head over to therebelrousers.com/letters and I can't wait to show you what I'm working on this week. So far there has been a Bristol store chart for getting shit done, there has been a Digital Cabinet of Curiosities journal and I'm just having so much fun. So to both of us, here's to remembering to have fun.

Here's to not making it epic to the point of being stressful or asking too much of yourself. And here's to remembering and realizing that even if we do things in a pocket way or a small way, they can still make a huge difference. I hope you have a fabulous start to your week. You find some unexpected joy. Maybe one of my fun projects might be a piece of unexpected joy and I can't wait to be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning. See you then.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

 

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

1604: Find some creative joy

Today's episode is a two-fold permission slip, where I get slightly too excited about a pair of scissors!

 
 
 

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers and a very happy Friday to you. So I thought we'd wrap up this week on the Daily Pep with a bit of creative joy. So I'm currently in Varna in Bulgaria and one of the joys I have is that a friend of many years lives here. Since I've been here, we have taken up collage dates and they have been so fun. She brings with her what I call her magic backpack that has loads of collage supplies divided into backgrounds, text, big images, small images, and during our collage dates, we take over a table in a cafe overlooking the sea. And it is just pure creative joy. Yesterday, during our collage date, I used a different pair of her scissors. And let me tell you, I never knew it was possible to have a favourite pair of scissors in the world, but now I do.

She told me where she got them from a local bookshop. As soon as we finished, I went and got myself a pair. And now I can say I have a favourite pair of scissors, something I had never even thought about before yesterday. All of this is to say our creative joy is really important and it's also really fun. A bit like action begets action and courage begets courage. Creativity begets even more creativity. And even though I started the daily prep saying about how we don't need new notebooks, sometimes we do need a new toy to get ourselves feeling even more inspired to and to find that bit of joy. So you could take today's Daily Pep in many different ways.

You can take it as wholehearted permission to go get yourself some new art stuff. Take it as wholehearted permission to go and make some time for creativity and maybe even organize a creative date with a friend. Seriously, they are so fun. And if things are feeling a bit shit and a bit boring, take it as your reminder that as a multi passionate creative, this is. There are so many joys you have yet to discover and there are so many rabbit holes you are yet to go down. I hope you have a fabulous creative and joyful weekend. I am so looking forward to quality creative time with my new scissors and cutting things out. It makes me so happy and I hope you do something that makes your heart sing too.

Have a good one. And I look forward to being back with you bright and early here on Monday morning. Or if you're part of my email community in your inbox on Sunday. And if you've been meaning to sign up, you can do that right now, really quickly by going to therebelrousers.com/letters. And I'd love to see you there. Take care.

Episode transcript automatically produced by Castmagic.io

 

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

1603: Get it in the diary

This Thursday I have a piece of homework for you all around adding some joy back into our lives!

 
 
 

Episode transcript:

Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Thursday to you. Sometimes it is so easy to get lost in the minutiae of daily life, feel completely swamped by life admin and tiny fuckers and big fuckers and we just need to come up for air. So for today's Daily Pep, I have a piece of homework for you and it is to put something in your calendar to look forward to if you can make it within the next month. Make it something that you actually get joy out of and that you get a bit excited about. When you think about it, it does not have to cost money. It does not have to be some huge event. It may be just as simple as actually putting that thing you've wanted to do for a while in your calendar. Maybe that is taking your book to a coffee shop.

Maybe it's actually getting your art supplies out and playing with them. Or maybe it's scheduling a time with that friend who really makes you laugh, who you haven't seen in a while. There's that saying that time flies when you're having fun, and time also flies when you're busy as fuck and you look up and you wonder how the hell it's the end of May already. So. So take a minute. Plan something. Don't get all perfectionist about it. It can be simply something that brings you a little bit of joy or something to look forward to and get it in the diary or start making the arrangements for it to happen.

If time is going to fly anyway, we might as well have a bit of fucking fun. And a quick reminder in case you need to hear it, this might be a good place where we can really implement the yes and improv thing. What I mean by that is acknowledging that things can be shitty and also doing something nice. So, for example, your closest friend might be going through a really difficult time and you can also go for a walk and acknowledge how stunning the flowers look. So plan something for future you remember. Yes. And. And I hope you find some unexpected joy today. I'll see you tomorrow.

Transcription automatically produced by Castmagic.io

ABOUT THE DAILY PEP! PODCAST

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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.

 

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

Read More
Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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!

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

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Meg Kissack Meg Kissack

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

The Daily Pep podcast cover art.

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!

Read More