Small Wins, Big Shifts

We share a warm, unedited talk about surviving a hard year, carrying grief, and using small wins to steady the week. The tone stays honest and gentle while offering practical ways to find light as the holidays approach.

• why we keep the show light and personal
• how grief stacks and reopens old wounds
• seeing layoffs and setbacks as redirection
• lowering the bar to stay consistent
• using small wins to build momentum
• navigating holidays with boundaries and care
• realistic affirmations that shift mindset
• planning anchors for tough days

Keep your coffee strong, your energy light, and don't forget even the smallest steps count

Transcript

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Welcome And Today’s Twist

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Hey guys, and welcome back to Coffee with a Twist. You're here with Madame Belou. I hope your day is going well. I hope you had an excellent weekend. Excellent week last week. I just wanted to get on here for a few moments. Um just to sprinkle a little perspective to help you in your work week or week in general. Today's Monday. Um the weather's a little bit cold today compared to the weekend. The weekend was actually pretty nice depending on where you are. Um it was a nice weekend. I just wanted to jump on here and give a little perspective. Um, I am not drinking coffee, which is a shocker. This morning I did have some mushroom coffee though. So if you are listening to this, grab your mug, get comfortable, and let's get into today's twist. Um, you know, always say you can have your coffee, you can you spike it a little if you need to, or just have a coffee mug with whatever you like in there, you know.

Why This Show Stays Light

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Um, so it's been on my mind to get on here or to talk in general, and I'm really doing this for me. And again, anyone that's been following me, you go back to my like first season of episodes. I do this podcast as a way for me to talk. I enjoy talking. Um, you know, I I work from home, my day job, so I don't get a ton of interactions, and even when I do, it's work, so it's different. Um, you know, you don't talk about everything. And even on here, I mean, as you guys know, I just talk about things that relate kind of to me, and hopefully they relate to you all, and take it back to your family and stuff. I you know, try to keep it very um light and not so newsy and you know, politics and things like that. Like I try to stay away from those things. Um, we see enough of that around, so I'm like that other part of life where it's nothing but something. So my podcast, I guess, excuse me, my apologies. I just sneeze, and for you guys that know me, I don't edit anything, so the sneeze will be in the episode, and I apologize, but um, you know, so pretty much my podcast is about nothing but those somethings, they're little things, but you know, that you know you ignore in life just to get to the bigger part. So partly

A Tough Year And Grief

SPEAKER_00 7:22

why I'm doing this episode is because I know we do that, I do it. Um, you know, let's take some perspective and think about small wins, you know, every day, and again, this kind of goes with my last episode of you know um checking your vision boards, um, getting ready for the holidays, all of that is all great, and you know, again, don't like to get into all the nitty-gritty, but I do know right now, like we have the government shutdown and things like that, and for some people it can be very depressing. Um, not just the shutdown, uh even before the shutdown, while the shutdown's going on, you know, you have people that may have been laid off, lost jobs, things like that. And it's a hard time, rather. If you have um kids, husbands, wives, what have you, it it's a hard time of year. I always feel like the last quarter of every year can be tough. Um, so I just wanted to kind of I really am trying to keep these last few episodes that I put out for this year to be heartfelt, empathetic, um, and and hopefully motivating and encouraging because we're all out here trying to make a way for ourselves, whatever that may look like, whatever that definition means to you. Um I'm just here to hopefully give some perspective and to lighten your load with my words, if if I can at all do that. Um, 2025 has been a rough year. Um, it's different, um, least for me I can say it's been a different year. I'm very thankful for my health and my family, my loved ones. I'm thankful to to be here. I'm thankful for many things, but with that thankfulness, there has been some sad and and things like that. And I do understand how when you're going through stuff, or not even going through stuff, or you might not even know you're going through something, and something can happen and it just floods in. That's how I feel this year has been for me anyway. Where um I haven't discussed this quite yet, but I guess now

When One More Thing Breaks You

SPEAKER_00 9:48

I will. But I had a very close cousin of mine, we're only a year or so apart, um, was involved in a hit and run. He and he died luckily on impact. Um, this was back in June, the end of June. And I got that call at four o'clock in the morning or so. Um, very, very close cousin of mine. We grew up together, been through a lot together, um, and you know, damn near saw each other and spoke to each other every day. Um, so that incident happening was tough, you know, still getting through it, but it's not just that incident that puts me in the headspace that I'm in, I'm that I am in. It brings up past stuff, it brings up stuff that you might have thought you were over or that you are over, but it still gives you some sadness. So, with that, even though yes, it sucks, it happened, um, I find myself where other things are pouring on top of it. So I get what people mean when they're like that breaking point where that you you're going through life, you're going through life struggles, and you you're doing good, you're doing what you can, and then the next ball drops, and you just kind of like lose your shit. And it's not that ball that dropped that really made you do it, it was just that next thing. It it's just it stacks. So I get it, I understand. Um, not just with like life and death, but in general, when you're you're you're trying so many things and you know you you you're focused and it's going well for a moment, and then the other shoe drops, you know. Sometimes you feel like you just can't catch a break. And that is real life, and a lot of us are going through that. Um, like I said, myself included, it it it's it can be hard. You have hard days, um, and it comes out of nowhere.

The Case For Small Wins

SPEAKER_00 12:05

But I'm here today to try to put life in perspective, not just for you all, but also for myself, also for myself. Um we really have to start appreciating small wins. Just the small wins. Nothing, nothing crazy, nothing that we can't handle, just small wins. Because those small wins do build and and help you build for your big wins. You know, it may not seem like it at the time, you know, those things, you know, you always hear, oh, you know, you know, blessings and and things that happen with, you know, you you you don't what is the statement? Oh my god, I can't even talk. Um oh, everything happens for a reason. It sounds very cliche, it really does. And when you're going through it and you're in a negative time, you're like, I don't want to hear that shit. You you don't. But then think about something you've been through, and once you've gotten through that storm and you look on the other side, and you look back and you're like, damn, if that didn't happen, I wouldn't be where I am now. So even though something seems very devastating, no matter what that devastation is, and what level it is, again, I have learned that what might devastate me may not devastate you, what's important to me is not important to you, it's etc. We all have different definitions to certain words in our lives. Um, so when you're going through these storms, it does seem like the worst. It doesn't seem like anyone's words are comforting. I hope mine can be. I'm not saying that they will, but just think about something you've been through in your past, and once you got through it on the other side, you're like, man, I'm actually glad this happened. Even in my own household, I remember my my husband, he had uh got laid off of a job. And at the time he was a little upset. Just, you know, everyone, you know, you put your pride in your work. No one wants to be let go from work. You put your pride there. And a year or two later, he was like, that was the best thing that could have happened to him. The reason being he ended up being in a job that he actually

Laid Off To Level Up

SPEAKER_00 14:34

thrived in and enjoyed. He got to be surrounded by people that he enjoyed working with and in environments that he felt comforta more comfortable in. So really that job was holding him back from something better. You know, a lot of times you don't know what's better because you haven't experienced it yet. You think what you're where you're at or what you're doing is is like the best. And it can be for its reasons or you know, whatever you're looking at, but sometimes and a lot of times it's something always better that fits you that may fit you better. Um, you know, sometimes it's trial and error, but just we have to appreciate these small wins. For instance, for me, um, just even me putting out this episode is a small win for me. Um, I like to put out episodes typically once a week, but unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to. My life gets really busy and I always want to talk. And um sometimes I can't, which is also why I keep this very just unedited and raw, because if even though I enjoy doing it, but if I make it too much like a uh job or like a like it has to be so perfect, I'll never do it. I'm just putting it out as is because I'm still getting my message out. I'm still able to like give myself some mental health therapy and hopefully give you all the same. So me doing this episode right now is a is a small win that I'm very appreciative of appreciated, appreciative for doing because me just talking right now, I feel better. I'm feeling better. Um so I hope this can do the same for you all, giving

Lowering The Bar To Keep Going

SPEAKER_00 16:34

you some type of motivation, hopefully, that you can enjoy, learn to learn to enjoy the small stuff. It I don't care how small it is, enjoy it because this life we live in, it's always you can always find the negative. It is much harder to find the positive a lot of times than it is the negative. So try to focus on those small positives and wins to get you through it, to get you through it, you know. Um holidays are coming up for some people. This is the best time of year for them. This is where they thrive, and then for the other half of people, this is where it it's not so happy for them for whatever reason that may be. Could be loved ones, it could be significant dates that sentimental dates that mean something to them that might put them in a little rut, the cold weather, the darker getting dark early, all of that is that's kind of rough when you think about it. So, you know, we we need to enjoy the small winds and know that we're not out here alone, we're all going through something, just different seasons and different phases, and the statement is so true, you know. When you think you're going through like the worst thing that you could possibly ever go through in your life, I hate to sound cliche, but there's always someone with a much greater uh problem going on, and think about that because it's it's very true. It doesn't seem like it when you're going through it, of course, but sometimes when you look around, it's like wow, there there is, there is. Um, but you know, it's seasons and seasons to a lot of things we go through in life,

Holidays, Triggers, And Perspective

SPEAKER_00 18:38

all of it. But I think those people that you see that are pretty upbeat, positive, it's probably because one they have appreciation for the small wins in life, and when you can focus in on that and know that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, I think I think you can get through anything. Cry if you need to cry, take a break when you need to take a break, be gentle and kind to yourself and to others where you can. And I think by doing certain steps will make your outlook happier, and that's why those affirmations work and they help you because it does it change your mindset, and you're not so quick to jump off at the first negative thing that happens. You'll try to find that positive thing in that negative, you know. I know it's hard to, but we you have to you owe it to yourself to at least try to give yourself a better mindset, and we can start that now as we go into 2026 and hope and pray that we have upbeat and positive years. That would be awesome. Life does not work that way now. But I think if we can keep our focus where it needs to be, and that's just appreciating those small wins, I think then you'll be able to kind of get through anything, literally anything. Um again, speaking not just to you, speaking to myself, I have a couple of little things going on in my own life that I need this, so I figured if I need it, someone else probably needs it. And um, yeah, I just wanted to jump on

Mindset, Affirmations, And Next Year

SPEAKER_00 20:49

here. I hope this helped someone, motivated you, gave you a different perspective at the very least, you know, pass it along even to someone that you know might be struggling this time of year or just needs to hear it. Until next time, you're here with Madame Belou. I'm trying a new sign-off. Let's try this new sign off. Keep your coffee strong, your energy light, and don't forget even the smallest steps count. Hope you guys like that. I think I want to start signing off with that little, you know, thing. I I really, I really like that. Like, it's light, it sounds cool. We'll see. I'm gonna play around with some things as the year comes, the new year comes in. I wanna uh tighten up my podcast a little bit, but I think that's a good little sign off, different than what I have been signing off with, but that way we're still keeping the the coffee in there. But I'll say it again. Until next time, keep your coffee strong, your energy light, and don't forget, even the smallest steps count. You're here with Madame Balou. Until next time.