What if words could change your life?

You’d be all in, would you not?

Well, here’s the deal. Words do change your life.

And you’re saying a sh*t-ton of words to yourself on the daily, oftentimes without even realizing it.

See, our thoughts are made up of words. What we feel comes from what we think about—again, words.

And what we end up doing in our lives, feeling each day we live, and experiencing every moment is in direct correlation to, yep, you guessed it, the words we think, speak, and lean into.

So, what words are you saying?

What words are you thinking?

What words are you feeling?

What words does that critical voice in your head whisper (or shout) to you on repeat?

You know that voice, 99.9 percent of us have it, and it’s that negative, broken-ass-record that never shuts up.

Until now.

Silencing all those words and discovering a way to say, hear, and listen for empowering words—well, that’s what I’m all about.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: words are my superpower.

Period. Mic-drop.

And my words shift lives.

In fact, in learning just how powerful my words are, I was able to change my entire life—from award-winning Ms. Perfect…

Feeling broken,
always searching for me,
running from myself

(ah, yeah, that’s a good one, no?)

Often depressed—
overwhelmed,
swimming in overthinking,
overanalyzing every-little-thing,
obsessed with getting it right…

(God forbid, failure is me!)

To discovering a place of beingness, peace, JOY, and ease.

And it’s absolutely f*cking delicious.

It is my work, my dharma, and my honor to share this message with you.

Three ways words changed everything for me and will for you when you’re ready to go all in.

1. The Most Profound Three Little Words

After reading a small book that took me less than two hours to consume, I was hooked.

The premise was simple.

Three little words changed this author’s life, and those words I knew but forever reserved for others with a slight external shift on the last.

I love myself.

I was so good at saying I love you, but to myself? Hell to the no, and I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t until I began this daily practice.

I love myself.

On repeat in my head, over and over and over again.

When a thought would come in…

I love myself. 

When my mood would dip…

I love myself.

When I brushed my teeth…

I love myself.

But the point, to keep this short and sweet, is that I love myself began to replace all other thoughts in my head.

I love myself became the reply to all the negative sh*t rattling around inside me. Those thoughts, stories, beliefs that were robbing me of the very thing I wanted.

A life I loved.
A body I loved.
A man I loved.
A work I loved.

Love. Full stop.

Imagine if you woke up each day and simply felt love in your heart.
Not for the one laying beside you—

okay, for them too.

Not just for the fur baby possibly curled up nearby.

But you felt it for you, boo.

Deeply, completely, utterly true love of you.

It took time for me to believe I love myself, but when I did, it was like a new technicolor life.

And that is delicious.

2. Start Up Empowered

We’ve all heard it and thought, yeah. But do you embody it? The it in question is gratitude.

When I learned to start each day empowered with not a single thought of gratitude but a constant stream that touched on as many areas of my life as possible, my inner dialogue changed and my outer world became a delicious reflection of that change.

I am grateful for (fill in the blank over and over again)
as you take a beat to focus on
your breath,
to smile,
to stretch,
to grant yourself that first (step one)
I love myself moment.

I am grateful for the tropical air I breathe in.
So I do. Deeply.

I am grateful for a new day
to serve, to impact, to play, to feel JOY.
So I focus on all that.

It is a choice to start your day at a run. It is a choice to start your day in JOY.

I choose to start JOYfully slow.

To focus on how I want to feel each and every moment of the next 24 hours.

As I move about and do those things that start my day, I give thanks and sink into thoughts of gratitude for…

My feet on the cool tiles.
My hair as I run a brush through it.
My white thighs as I give them a good scrub.

I no longer point out that which does not appeal to me. But focus on all that works to support me.

Like my feet on the shower floor, my face upturned to the steaming shower.

The hot water I get to enJOY in this moment.

And my thoughts continue as I focus on starting my day with a healthy dose of self care, self-love, and self-empowerment talk deeply rooted in gratitude.

I am grateful I am limber enough to make my bed. 

I am grateful for that water that nourishes my body and soul with each sip from the full glass I down before anything else. 

I am filled with gratitude for the stirring sounds of my baby goats, those endearing maahs, that yes, can get loud…

And then I focus instead on being oh-so thankful for noise,
the crowing rooster,
the chicks looking for their cracked corn.

I sink into a moment taking in the glory of a rising sun over the still ocean waters.

And I am grateful for what is to come.

A productive day–
A lazy day of rest.

I am grateful for the persistence, the habitual way of showing up as that is what makes my life easily enJOYable.

What would be possible if you added a touch of gratitude each morning for a week? 

Hmm, I betcha everything.

Which leads me to the last important word moment of my day, outside of writing 2,500 words to start my morn.

3. Indulge in the 15-Minute But-Box

No, I’m not talking squats nor glutes. I’m talking those buts followed by worry thoughts.

That silent-night voice in your head shooting your ideas, your self-love, you down, down, down.

That nagging habit of saying things like

But we don’t have the money.

But what if it doesn’t work out.

But how will I know.

But what’s the next step.

And on and on we can go.

If you feel me, can I get an amen?!

What has allowed me to tap into so much JOY is to But-Box my worry with a timer.

When I started this practice, I gave myself 15 minutes a day. Now I give myself 15 minutes when I notice those but conversations, what if thoughts, the oh-no feeling creep back in to steal my JOYful peace.

I no longer need 15 minutes a day to But-Box worry and that is a delicious thing.

But if you’re anything like how I used to be, worry was a standard practice, as easy as walking 10 feet.

It was my normal go-to, so of course it took time to let it go.

But I ziplocked that time into a But-Box moment so my new habit of I love myself on constant repeat could begin. And drown out all those other disempowering thoughts.

When I did this with ferocious intention, I noticed how much easier gratitude came, how much lighter I felt, how much more energy I suddenly had.

I realized the profound fact that my worry-wart ways of thinking, speaking, acting were heavy,

weighing me down
keeping me stuck
spinning
failing again and again and again.

Now when I fail, which I do often, I learn from it.

I give it no heavy, meaningful weight. But that’s a convo for another post, is it not?

For now, dive into these three easy-to-implement ways of showing up for yourself, and your life will radically change in this most delicious new year.

~