Quick Pep Talk: Two Things Can Be True

Elyse Bushard explores the transformative power of the word 'and' in life and habits, emphasizing that embracing complexity and duality leads to growth, confidence, and a more fulfilling life.

Key Topics:

• The significance of the word 'and' in mindset and habits
• Breaking free from 'either/or' thinking for personal growth
• The importance of self-compassion and embracing complexity
• Confidence through action despite doubt and imperfection

Episode Takeaways:

• Life is not black or white; it's layered and complex
• Using 'and' instead of 'or' creates space for growth and self-compassion
• Confidence grows through action and repetition, not perfection
• You can be proud of your progress and still want more
• Embracing all emotions and experiences makes life meaningful

Transcript

Elyse Bushard (00:01.282)
Hello, hello everyone. Welcome back to Hell Yes Habits, friends. The podcast where we build the habits that create a Hell Yes life. Painting the picture for you. It is a beautiful day in Colorado. We got snow on Friday and it literally stuck around for maybe four hours and was melted because we've had like no winter here, but

I digress. I want this to be just like a short and sweet episode. actually was going to record something else this past week. And you know me, like I like to record stuff when I'm feeling it and when I'm going through it. And so I don't just record a podcast to record a podcast. So this one in particular, I'm recording on a Sunday, but I want it to be like a short and sweet episode that you can

take whatever you need from it and go into the week with it. But today, I'm just gonna dive right into it. We're talking about a tiny word that has a massive impact on how we experience our lives. And that word is and. And before you're like, what the heck are you talking about? The word is and because somewhere along the way, a lot of us were taught

in life that it's an either or situation. You're either confident or you're insecure. You're either successful or struggling. You're either strong or emotional. You're either grateful or frustrated. But the truth is life is almost never either or. It's not black or white. Life is

and, if you will, you can be doing really well in life and still feel lost sometimes. You can love your body and still have days where you feel uncomfortable in it. As a woman, I'm sure I'm speaking to the choir, preaching to the choir right now, preaching to the congregation, whatever the phrase is. But you can be proud of yourself and still want more for your life. Both things can exist at the same time.

Elyse Bushard (02:24.735)
And when we allow that and acknowledge that, everything changes. So first of all, the pressure of either or. I was raised in a society and things that a lot of the stress that we feel and felt comes from believing we have to choose one identity. If you're confident, you shouldn't have doubts. If you're healing, you shouldn't still struggle. If you're happy,

you shouldn't feel sad. But that kind of thinking actually creates more pressure on us because when the opposite feeling shows up, we think something is wrong with us immediately. Like, well, I'm happy. Like, why do I feel sad all of sudden? And nothing is wrong with us. We're all human is the truth. And one of my favorite

quotes, I'm a lover of quotes and words, but one of my favorite quotes says, you can be a masterpiece and a work in progress at the same time. Don't ask me who said it, I just heard it somewhere and I can't even remember where, but I wrote it down. And that's the power of and. You can be a masterpiece and a work in progress at the same time. You're allowed to be proud of how far you've come and still be growing. You can be doing the work.

and still have messy days and you can feel strong and still need support sometimes. And where this shows up in habits is this idea is huge when it comes to building habits because a lot of people think habits only count when they're perfect. Like if you're someone who values movement, you think I either worked out hard today or I failed.

But what if we used and and said, I didn't do my full workout today, I still got outside and walked. I'm tired today and I'm still showing up for myself. Like if you're giving 40, like you only have 40 % to give and you give 40%, you gave 100%. And another example of this is I'm struggling with motivation, I'm still trying.

Elyse Bushard (04:48.779)
That shift keeps you moving forward instead of quitting and making it feel like you failed and making you step backward instead of either staying in the same position or moving like 1 % better. And that's what hell yes habits are about. Not perfection, but consistency. You've heard me say it over and over again. And here's what the

and mindset sounds like in real life. I'm single and I have a really full life. I don't have everything figured out and I'm excited about where I'm going. I'm grateful for my life and I still want more for myself. Sometimes we think acknowledging hard things means we aren't grateful, but that's not true. You can be grateful and want growth.

You can love your life and want change. You can feel joy and still hold grief. Life is layered, if you will. Like Shrek says, we're all onions and we have layers and Shrek and Donkey. just, I love animated movies, so I'm a big kid. And honestly, like,

That's what makes life and everything that we're going through meaningful is that we can experience all of these emotions. Another reason this matters is because confidence doesn't come from eliminating doubt. Confidence comes from moving forward with doubt. So if you think about it, if you waited until you felt 100 % ready,

certain and fearless before doing anything in life, you would probably never do anything new. But the real magic is saying, I'm nervous and I'm doing it anyway. I'm unsure and I'm trying. I might fail and that's okay. That's where confidence actually grows, is through reps, through showing up.

Elyse Bushard (07:11.21)
through doing things while you're still figuring it all out. So here's a simple hell yes habit to try this week. Whenever you catch yourself thinking in either or, all or nothing, replace it with and. For example, instead of saying I didn't have the perfect morning routine so today is ruined, say my morning wasn't perfect and I can still have a great day.

Instead of I'm behind in life, I say this one a lot and I catch myself, I'm not where I thought I'd be and I'm still building something meaningful. Just notice how different that feels. It creates space for yourself, it creates self-compassion and it keeps you moving forward instead of just completely shutting down. We tend to be the art.

Hardest critic. And so when you just do this simple refrain of things that you're getting down on and self-talk that you're having and self-criticism that you're having against yourself, it creates space when you use the word and because, and make it more of a positive twist, not because you're

you're not feeling the negative things. I'm not telling you to like do that. What I am saying is that it's okay to feel all the things all at once because we are layered. And again, I told you short and sweet episode here, but that tiny word and is so powerful because it reminds us that life isn't one dimensional.

You're not one version of yourself. You are evolving, you're complex, we're all growing. You can be healing and thriving. You can be proud and still hungry for more. You can be a masterpiece and a work in progress. And honestly, that is where the magic lives.

Elyse Bushard (09:34.099)
Thanks for hanging out with me in this short, sweet episode today. If this episode resonated with you, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that two things can be true at the same time, or someone who might be going through a rough time right now and just needs this quick reminder. And this week, remember, you don't have to choose between who you are today and who you're becoming. You get to be both. And that...

That's a hell yes life. Love you friends.