A GOALden Life- Creating Habits Ep. 3

In this episode, I open up about the discomfort of starting something new, like this podcast, and how revisiting the early episodes of my favorite creators helped boost my confidence. I share the story of a personal challenge to run for 30 days that turned into 100+ days of consistent effort, and how that journey shaped my mindset, mental strength, and daily habits. I explore how small, intentional actions created major personal transformation. If you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed, this one's for you. Sometimes all it takes is one small step or crawl—just like washing the spoon.

Transcript

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Hi, I'm Emily Johnson, and you're listening to Comfortably Uncomfortable, a podcast about discovering the beauty, the benefits, and the unexpected breakthroughs that come from stepping outside of our comfort zones. This isn't about having it all figured out, but rather showing vulnerability through personal stories and everyday situations that challenge us to grow. If you're on a journey of self-discovery and growth, you're in the right place. Stay tuned, and together we can get comfortably uncomfortable. I went back and listened to a bunch of my favorite podcasters' first episodes, and it honestly made me feel so good because, I don't know, I think, as I've mentioned before, this is really uncomfortable for me, and I'm constantly just kind of being hard on myself to just start talking, going, producing anything. But just to kind of see how everyone started is it was just really refreshing. It kind of gave me like this little confidence of like, come on, you can do it. When you start anything in the beginning, it's always gonna be a little bit challenging. So that was a good thing for me to experience, just being able to compare the progress of how people started versus where they are now. And it's funny because I came across a quote that said, if all you can do is crawl, then start crawling. And I just loved that. I don't know, because it's just like, is a reminder to get going because you'll eventually be able to walk, jog and run. You know, like once you take that first little step, but It also had me kind of thinking about all the things that I've done that I once couldn't do or knew nothing about and how over time I eventually got so much better at it by setting a goal and creating habits to help me achieve them. So this is kind of like that little project. My goal is to have a podcast. And so along the way, I have to create habits that will allow me to produce content to eventually end up with a podcast that I'm happy with. But an inspired I don't know. I think it was like... 24, maybe even 23, I set a goal for myself to challenge myself, um, to run every single day for 30 days, no matter any kind of condition or circumstance. Like I just told myself I had to do it. And it was really cool because I ended up recording it and I kept track of, you know, how many miles I did, if I walked or ran, um, where I was when I ran, like if I happened to be out of town, who I was with, who like, you know, supported me on the run. Um, just like all these things to kind of be able to visually see, I guess, the progress day by day. And it was really cool because, so like I had mentioned, I set out the goal for 30 days, but before I hit 30 days, I was like, you know what, I'm going to go 50 days. And then before I hit 50 days, I was like, you know what, I'm going to do 75 days. And then I kind of just kept that trend on until 100 days. I ended up running every day for over 100 days. And it was so amazing to look back at, especially the piece of paper that I had recorded it on just to see my progress. I mean, I started that journey just running three miles and the first couple weeks or so, I was walking and running. Like I didn't have the ability to just fully run the whole time. And then over time, I eventually never walked. And then I went from going three miles to five miles to seven miles to 11 miles. And by the end of like my, I think it was like 121 days, I ended up doing it. By the end of that, I was running 11 miles straight. And it was just such a good feeling. Like, I mean, I remember just feeling so accomplished because I was like, holy shit, I did that. And the first day or even Even when I first started planning it out, I truly did not imagine myself going, first of all, 100 days or even being able to go for 11 miles. So I always kind of hold on to that feeling of being so accomplished because it really did feel so good. And I think for me, just... Visually seeing it and keeping track of it, it helped motivate me to get it done. You know, I was looking forward to seeing every line on that loose leaf paper fill up with something that I had done that day to, you know, contribute to my goal. And I mean, aside from the transformation that my body took on it was just like a mind transformation too because at one point running was never even on my mind but then I started catering my daily routines or I guess my daily habits to make it easier for me to run every day. I know that like sometimes I wasn't able to do it, you know, first thing in the morning. So I would have to do it after night or, you know, late at night. And I, um, kind of had to start changing my lifestyle in order to make the run more enjoyable. You know, like if I worked all day, I wasn't going to be eating junk food before my run because I knew it was going to make me feel like shit. So it's just like little changes like that throughout the time that I was like, you know, running, I just adapted to a new lifestyle. Um, which was cool because I mean, it ended up becoming a habit. Like I was always looking forward to eating healthy. And then as you see, as you do all these things, you start seeing progress and improvements and it just, again, motivates you to just keep going. But it definitely didn't come easy. I mean, a big part of that was training my mental strength and practicing discipline and setting realistic goals. My first goal wasn't like let me run 11 miles because that would have seemed nearly impossible. So to start off small, like, oh, let me just see what I can do within the three miles and do it every day for 30 days, you know, ended up creating this way bigger vision. And it was uncomfortable, you know, like when I first started, first of all, not an advanced runner. So I probably looked like shit running, walking, stopping, whatever it was. And then I remember I just got this like sense of confidence when I was able to continue running and lot more than I had originally started but that was I don't know I guess like nine years ago holy shit that's crazy to think about like that because it really doesn't feel like that long ago but I mean over time I wasn't always on the you know strict routine of always having a goal set like that but I did like I said always kind of held on to that feeling I felt because it really was such a good feeling. And so I don't know, I often think about how awesome the feeling was, and how it was the one that helped me figure out how I could overcome struggles that I was having here in Dallas, because I was like, Oh, if I can build the mental strength again, and just kind of set realistic goals for myself regularly, then I'll be able to feel better about goals that I want to accomplish here in Dallas, which was at the time being happier and making the most out of my time here because As I had said in another episode, it was just really a struggle to get my negative mindset out of the negative hole. But my mindset shift honestly became so beneficial because I wasn't allowing myself to harp over everything that was negative. And I was kind of letting things go that were stressing me out, you know, that I didn't really have control over. You know, I think that alone, just shifting my mindset into negative to positive, helped me start building more of my mental strength to allow me, you know, the discipline to get things done that I really wanted to get done. I knew I like really had to develop habits that helped me kind of start from within. And I think the biggest thing for me was to retrain my mental strength. And being mentally strong doesn't mean that you'll never have a moment of feeling down. But it's just more so about, you know, developing your coping skills so that you can manage how to deal with, I don't know, any kind of situation that arise that might kind of pull you off of your path to success, at least that was, you know, for me. And it's a continuous process. So, you know, like anything, consistency and that kind of got me to start creating daily habits and get back into the routine of visually seeing all the habits that I, you know, want to accomplish for the day and then checking them off. And it's just such a satisfying feeling for me. But I started by writing down in my agenda what either, you know, the beginning of the day or the night before everything that I wanted to do. And it would be like small tasks. It would be fold your laundry or go for a walk and just like little things like that to kind of just start building the momentum of creating a habit. And which I think, well, I mean, it definitely helped build my mental strength because as you start small, you know, it's like being in the gym, you're not going to pick up the 35 pound weight to start with a hammer curl, you know, or at least I'm not. And you first go into the gym, you're probably picking like 10 pounds, you know, something light. And then as the more you do it, obviously, the more advanced you become. So that's kind of how I looked at it with training my mental strength. But that most of my goals were pretty repetitive, which got me into the habit tracker, which is kind of how I mentioned literally just writing down. So my habit tracker is pretty much a graph and you write down things that you want to accomplish for the month every day. Something, you know, as mundane as flossing. Of course, flossing isn't like brushing our teeth. So I'm sure some people are super good at it. I, however, I'm not good at flossing every day. So I put that on my habit tracker, you know, something it doesn't, it's not going to hurt me if anything going to make my, you know, smile brighter. But anything from like that to working out or just setting a bunch of habits that I wanted to ensure that I got done to help me reach my goals, whether they were financial goals, physical, spiritual. I mean, all the things that I was constantly trying to check off. But I love the habit tracker. It's really just an organized way of keeping track of the things you set out to do. It's funny because I definitely have put a lot of my friends on it. And I feel like if you're a visual person who likes to set goals for yourself, it's honestly such a great resource to utilize. But yeah, I listen to a lot of motivational podcasts and one in particular, Sad to Savage, she really, Shelby Sacco, but she really inspired me to incorporate it into my routine. And I don't know, it was just really nice to have structure to things that I've want to do. I know this might sound like I'm getting off track about developing mental strength, but it's like really what I chose to do daily that kind of helped rebuild my stamina. And I don't know, I think it's important for everybody to set goals, even if it's like a goal as small as going to bed without any dishes in your sink. And it's funny because it's kind of sounds similar to the crawling quote, but I saw this other quote and you'll come to find that I'll reference a lot of quotes because I just love They just always hit me. I think words are so powerful. And if they speak to you, you're like, hell yeah, I'm going to keep that in my mind forever. But it was, if all you can get up and do is wash the spoon, wash the spoon or something like that, maybe I have the crawling quote in my head. So that's kind of how I'm reframing it. But yeah. The way I looked at that quote is if you're taking it literally and you go and wash the one spoon in your sink or you wash a spoon in your sink, but there's other stuff that's in your sink as well, are you really only going to wash the spoon? You know, aren't you going to just make the effort right then and there to get everything out of the way, knowing that you'll either have to do it now or later anyways um and honestly if you save it for later it's most likely going to stress you out because it's something you want to get done at some point um and so I took that quote and I always started thinking like okay if it's not now it's later and I always tell myself that whenever I like don't want to do something I'm like wait but wouldn't it just be easier to do it now because then you won't have anything to worry about in regards to this later um So that's like a cool little saying that I always say to myself to kind of help keep me on track. Like even going on daily walks is something I like to do. But being in Dallas, sometimes it's hot as hell here. Or sometimes, you know, I had a long day at work. And the last thing I want to do is continue to be on my feet all day or for the rest of the day. I tell myself, at least walk to the corner, you know, like so you can check it off your calendar. habit. Once you put your sneakers on, you get your headphones, you lock up your house, you start going for the walk, you put on like music or a podcast or whatever, you're not just, you're not just going to stop at the corner, you know, you're going to keep going. So just taking that little step and building the, you know, consistent habits of just at least starting with something small, it'll eventually bring you to accomplish something bigger. And this is all for me. This is kind of just what my mindset was to get me through getting things done when it felt like I couldn't do it. But it was like little rewards for myself throughout the day, just knowing like, oh, I'm getting this done. And now I get to go scribble it on my little paper. And then at the end of the month, I get to look back at all my scribbles. And if I don't do it, then it's just not as good of a feeling. But also, I believe in balance. And I think everything ebbs and flows. So there is not every single day that I'm giving 100% of everything that I want to do. But I feel like at least putting in the effort to do something, you know, that will make me feel good. But to kind of talk about the habits that I did start to create for myself that really, I don't know, amplified my mental strength little by little and allowed, you know, all my energy kind of going towards my habits and goals. Really started with doing things that I guess self-care, self-care in a way that kind of was working with my inner being, not necessarily going out to get massages or treating myself to whatever I wanted. That wasn't really the self-care that I was doing. It was more so just kind of giving myself Again, mental strength and also mental clarity. I took a lot of time to just, and I still do. I mean, because as I created that habit, it became more fulfilling because I just, you know, consistently saw how good it made me feel. Yeah. Protecting my peace is a huge thing for me. Like I'm not going to entertain something for too long. That's going to disrupt all that I've worked so hard for because this has been a process and it's an ongoing process. And it's like something that I really put effort into doing every day. So it's obviously important for me, but I'll do things like journaling and meditating and, um, reading and just things that really practicing on being present or grateful, you know, for whatever the situation may be. It could be, you know, the worst case thing. And I'm always going to try to look at the lesson or the positivity that can come from it, you know, even if it's not directly in that moment. And so all these things, you know, I kind of had to start, you again, working with my mental strength. And as I built that, it was easier to sit through a meditation that was longer than five minutes and kind of really stay focused on being at peace in that moment, you know, focusing on the present, which is pretty much what meditation is. Cause you're just like focusing on breathing. But also there's just so many more ways to meditate. You know, like I consider my walks a nice little meditation and dancing around, you know, that can be meditative. There's just, I mean, the list goes on, honestly. It could be anything, you know, from, writing or reading yoga, breath work, guided meditation, which, you know, is essentially just someone leading a practice, which I actually really enjoyed doing those on my walk, because that was the biggest thing to help you focus on the present moment. I mean, I remember listening to one walking meditation that was, I mean, pretty much just saying, like, now look at all the color purple you can see and on a walk you're not thinking you're about to see that much purple but you'd be surprised how much purple you see on a walk when you're just like i don't know focusing focusing on it and um i remember when i first started meditating i literally couldn't even sit for five minutes without being distracted or opening my eyes or just really not paying attention and now I can go up to like an hour and sometimes I'll even go longer and it just really is such a good zen feeling I don't know that sounds so like woo woo but honestly like it really helps I think we underestimate the smallest things that we can do to make us feel better and you know, even something as taking something as simple as taking a deep breath can do wonders or, you know, reaching out to an old friend or, I don't know, just like, there's just so many things that we can do that we just look over. But yeah, Journaling has always been a huge thing for me. I think at one point in time, like over the last few years, because it was just such a habit of mine, I started not enjoying it as much. You know, I think I was just kind of doing it to just get it done because it was something I stayed doing. And then I finally kind of just started switching up the way I journaled, you know, and I wasn't always doing it the same way. And I think that really helped me kind of discover more of my emotions that I reluctant to approach nobody wants to deal with their like shitty emotions that are weighing them down right but I don't know I feel like journaling a different way kind of helped me figure out like oh why I'm feeling certain ways or what's you know got me in this like little loop but yeah and then reading I don't know I think I love reading self-help books because again with like quotes and motivation I just think I'm always inspired to just be the best version of myself when I read something like that. But then I recently started getting into thrillers and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so much better. I mean, it's not so much better. I definitely like to rotate them into my reads. But I mean, I could sit and read a book for like the length of five TV episodes. And that just made me feel good because I was not staying focused on watching reality TV. I was doing something to, again, better my mental strength. Of course, working out. I mean... I love to just be able to move my body. I think that is something that's so easily taken for granted and I'm just so thankful that I have the ability to be able to go to the gym and stretch or, you know, do Pilates or do whatever that just gets the energy flowing in my body. Like it truly does make a difference and kind of back to the running story and how you have this one goal for yourself and you start implementing so many different changes throughout your daily routines to accomplish this goal. So, you know, again, with when I work out, I want to eat healthy because it just makes me feel better. And then you're just like, like more likely to see progress and of course we're always you know nitpicking ourselves and not where we want to be so you know I definitely struggle with that daily but I think overall I'm just like really proud of myself for figuring out what works for me in order to get myself into a better mind shift and I think creating habits has really just helped me be a step closer to where I want to be and yeah I don't know I mean I guess you can take this as advice or you can just kind of see how it worked for me but yeah I think habits are a great thing I think everybody can implement them and achieve so much you know greater results so with all that being said if you're feeling stuck in a cycle maybe try creating little small habits that can help get you to a different place because that was just very effective for me um and yeah that's that I hope you were able to connect with this episode to some degree, whether it was through laughs, aha moments, or even just a little encouragement. Any and all feedback is welcome. And as always, your time spent listening is greatly appreciated. Grateful for you all. Till next time. XOXO