Ep. 4 - Strategic Stillness: Simple Self-Care for Overworked Hearts

Ever feel like you’re running at 95% capacity and one small hiccup sends the whole day sideways? We’ve been there. That’s why we sat down with meditation teacher and former publisher, Leslie Zanoff, to unpack how small, simple practices can restore your energy, sharpen your focus, and help you lead with calm, even when budgets are tight and event season is on fire.

We start by busting myths around mindfulness. You don’t need a cushion or a candle; you need a moment. Leslie explains why stillness can feel uncomfortable at first and shares science-backed practices you can use anywhere: box breathing, fingertip anchoring, gentle tapping over the heart, and five-minute pauses that retrain your nervous system over eight weeks. We talk about “calm excellence” as a leadership standard, making space to respond thoughtfully instead of rushing into urgent perfectionism, and how language and boundaries protect your best work.

This conversation also gets personal. Allison opens up about her long weight loss journey and the mindset shift from all-or-nothing to progress over perfection. Movement became medicine: dancing in the living room, walking outside, water workouts, joyful, doable choices that sparked momentum. We explore how exercise can double as meditation, why gratitude is a powerful nightly reset, and how to claim the “snow day” feeling on an ordinary Tuesday by issuing your own permission slip to pause.

We honor faith and skepticism, too. If prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening, no beliefs required to practice presence. Whether you lead a nonprofit team or carry a heavy caseload, these tools are for you: five minutes to breathe, reset, and return to the work with clarity. If anxiety is chronic, bring in therapy or medication; mindfulness complements, it doesn’t replace.

Ready to release the belief that it has to be hard? Hit play, try one practice today, and share this with a colleague who needs a reset. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us the one small habit you’re starting this week.

Transcript

Welcome, Theme Of Self-Care

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome back to episode four, episode four of the Ask Allison Podcast. I'm Allison McElroy, a certified fundraising executive located in Northwest Arkansas, and I love helping people reach big goals with my version of strong encouragement. I mix my heart, my humor, and my experience to lift you up. And I am so glad you're tuning in today. And I am thrilled to have my friend Leslie Zanoff with me today because she's got so much to teach us. And it is February, the month of love. And so we're going to talk about how do we take better care of ourselves. And we're going to use lots of terminology that we've heard thrown around there before, but we're going to try to give you tidbits and encouragement and just to tell it, you know, tell you it's okay. And we're all in this together and we're all learning. And what you may have thought was so hard, which is one of my issues, may not be as hard as you've been making it in your in your mind. So welcome, Leslie. Tell us about you and tell us about your adventure that you're on.

Leslie’s Journey To Mindfulness

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Okay. Yes, I'm so happy to be here, Allison. This is exciting. Um, I'm so glad that you're doing this and talking to women and men about nonprofits and how they can better themselves. This is a great month to talk about it. Yeah. Just a little bit about me, right? I've gone from uh co-founding a magazine, 3W magazine, into teaching meditation. And so it's been quite a journey for me. And I'm excited to continue talking to women and men about practicing meditation and mindfulness because it really is a mainstream practice.

Nonprofit Burnout And The Back Burner

SPEAKER_01 2:03

And it's been talked about forever and ever and ever, but I think there's a lot of misunderstandings around what it really means. Yes. And so um we know that nonprofit work is meaningful and heavy sometimes. And we know, I know that most of my friends at organizations, especially right now, with everything that's going on, they're exhausted, they're stretched too thin, they're running on fumes. Um, I've noticed that a lot of nonprofit professionals, and I think probably other professionals as well, tend to put themselves on the back burner. And so um, they don't realize things that I think you're gonna teach us today about how you can take care of yourself and and really bring yourself, give yourself what you need to keep on going and re and remember that you don't always have to be on the back burner.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

That's right. Yeah. And that we have we're gonna talk about several tips and tricks things we can do today. It doesn't have to be a major add-in to our already busy lives for sure. Good. It's and it's not something that's hard.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

No, we don't, and it is we'll probably talk about later. Allison has a tendency to make things harder than they are, and I'm really working on that. I really am. I like this podcast, it's a perfect example. I've talked about it for years and years and years, and finally something clicked last fall, and I thought, I'm doing it. Yeah, and has it been as hard as I thought it was gonna be? No, no, I don't know why I built it up in my head. But so today is not about perfection or adding one more thing, it's about small shifts, mindset, sustainability, and uh just taking care of each other and ourselves, but remembering that we have to be okay before we care for others.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

I know. And so when you said that, Allison, I thought sometimes and I do that too, sometimes, right? We just we just have to release that belief that it has to be hard. It has to be hard and a struggle if to be worth doing. And that's just not, yeah, or like it's true. Surely I don't know.

What Mindfulness Really Means

SPEAKER_01 4:13

That's right. But I'm in my mind, actually, I don't know enough about that. Exactly. Well, so I want to start with you giving us a tidbit on what is mindfulness and self-care really.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

I know, really, and this is what I always tell people it's just about being in the present moment, right? We spend so much of our time out there in this going and doing busy world of chaos instead of our inner world of silence, right? And stillness. And that's what meditation is, to be honest. That's what mindfulness is. It's not about stopping your thoughts, which is impossible, by the way. This is what I always tell people. It's just simply being in the present moment. Being in the present moment.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

A pause, a pause. And like when you're in the present moment, what are some things? And I'm gonna get down to the nitty-gritty here because I know I have trouble with it, and I know others do too. Like, what in your mind do people need to do to bring themselves back to that present present moment? Or like what's something they can do, or how do they know they're in it?

SPEAKER_00 5:25

I know, right? Well, I think here's the thing, right? We can be we can be mindful and in the present moment, no matter what we're doing, when we're brushing our teeth, when I'm sitting here and connecting with you or a friend over coffee, when we're washing the dishes, right? We're not trying to do two or three things at once. We're just focusing on that moment right there at hand. That's that's really what we're doing.

Why Stillness Feels Uncomfortable

SPEAKER_01 5:54

And do you think it's it gets harder for people? Like we talked about, everybody's rushed and scheduled. And but do you think it's harder for people now because of so much uh oh, maybe not just technology, but so much of a distraction or a uh that feeling like we always need to be going and doing and we're kind of addicted to that.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yes. And this is something that I've learned um from a coach I worked with, Abby Schiller, but we're it's hardwired into our DNA to conserve energy and avoid pain, avoid discomfort and seek pleasure, right? That's what we're doing, whether that's seeking pleasure is through food, safety, scrolling our phones, or Netflix. I mean, that's what we're wired to do. So of course, being still can feel uncomfortable and awkward, and yeah, or less than like, oh, well, I didn't get anything done.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

Yeah. Because you're right, turning to our phones to scroll. Yes. For some reason now, that's a real treat. If you get to, if oh, I'm and I and then after you do it, you think, oh, I just wasted 25 minutes and I didn't even realize I did it. Exactly. Uh scrolling on my phone. And I think these companies know that. Yes. They do, they do. It's been studied that they do know that we need now. Um and it it's like you said, it's just a constant battle of the quiet versus the quiet. And you just like I notice that I automatically get my phone when I have a quiet moment. Yes. And begin to think, what was it I was gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 7:39

What and because this is what I I tell people, I um I was giving a talk last week, and this woman came up to me afterwards and she said, Leslie, when we stopped to meditate, my heart started racing. What is happening? And I was like, that is completely normal. That's because when you are going and doing, and we're so busy, right, with just life, that if you don't make it a practice to get still, that when you do can feel like a dysregulation, can feel really uncomfortable to your nervous system. I'm like, there's nothing wrong. That's totally normal. And that just says, right, we've got to, we've got to practice doing that.

Strategic Stillness Workshop And Corporate Work

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Wow, wow, wow. So I may be skipping around a little bit, uh, but your your company or your business or what you've been leading, the meditation now. Are you doing it for like corporate organizations and teams? And I I know I want you to tell us about you've got a class going on right now. Yeah. Um, a midweek, like or not a midweek, but a every like a weekly class. It's so many sessions.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

It is, yes. I'm doing right now, it's a five-week workshop. It's called Strategic Stillness, right? Getting still is a strategy. It's in practice. And that is, it's online. I'm doing it virtually, hosting that. Um, and I'm also going in and speaking, right? Doing corporate facilitations, talking to businesses and then groups of women. That's my favorite too, right? Just encouraging, encouraging women and men, right, to get still and to know that really mindfulness is not just a leadership skill, but or a leadership tool, it's a life skill. I believe that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Has it have these corporate corporations come to you for this work, or have you said, hey, I started this business and thought you might be interested, or have they reached out to you to offer this for their teams?

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Both. I think um if businesses are curious on, okay, what are you doing? And recently I spoke at Greenwood Gearhart, I've spoken at Mars. So it's been, you know, those people reached out to me and then me reaching out to the groups of women, right? Like the junior league. It's been great. Yeah, yeah, I did see that.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

So it's been good. Yeah. I mean, that's exciting because that means that people are starting for this if they're thinking it. I know you you have some of those connections and they're like, what are you doing now? And they want to be a part of it. But it's very interesting to me that uh some might be reaching out to you to get these classes because it means they need it so bad.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Yes. Um I'm trying to be better about marketing myself, right? And letting people know. I think there's still people who don't know what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

So with your background uh at the magazine, you know, 3W is so nonprofit focused. Yes. And so I know you have a lot of, we have a lot of the same friends at our nonprofits that we love so much.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

I know.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

And like, what are some things that you would offer for a nonprofit setting where you could come in and and offer the like have you done any nonprofits yet?

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Well, I mean junior league. Right. I know the junior league. I did that. And they in that group um specifically, they wanted to know about meditation. And same with Hope Cancer Resources. I spoke to um a group of women there, and that was great.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

And those two were specifically guide um guided meditation, talking about meditation and what it is and what it isn't, and how we can build it into our practice or into you know, practices you're already which would be doing so for people who are associated with hope cancer resources, because I think it would be such a benefit for cancer to share with people who are going through the cancer journey. Yes.

unknown 11:48

Wow, wow, wow.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

I I just my mind is like thinking of I know it doesn't how it would help so many different walks of life, but it doesn't just have to be a talk on you know learning about meditation, that's part of it, but it's really about managing our thoughts, managing our minds. It's so important and just shifting our thinking and understanding that we have to think about what we think about.

Allison’s Weight Loss Mindset Shift

SPEAKER_01 12:18

I know when I we first talked about this, because I knew I wanted it to be an episode, um, we talked about uh my weight loss journey as a part of this. And that when I said that I make things too hard, I it was hard. Don't get me wrong. I wasn't making it too hard. It was hard. But I spent so many years thinking I had to do things a certain way, um, and then I would get derailed and think it was because I didn't do it just right. I understand do the thing. And um, I would always hear self-care, you know, you just need to practice self-care. And there were some days I thought, well, self-care costs money. And at that, when I first started having issues with my weight, you know, that was before we had lots of extra money. Um, and so I would think you go get a massage or you get your manicure and pedicure and still care, and that's what people think of a common conception. Yeah, and it and it is part of it, but um, and I would think, well, I I can't do that. But there was also something about uh me being overweight, I didn't feel like I deserved it either, because I was upset with myself.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

And but Alison, when do you think because you know about talking about mindset, you know about mindset, right? This was six or seven years ago when you started your journey, right? So what do you think changed? Like first what you used to believe, and now how did what changed for you?

SPEAKER_01 13:57

So I went, yeah, I struggled with it for 25 years, and um, I think I was I had tried everything, you know. I had tried some medicine, I had tried the old-fashioned, you know, just pull your, you just got more willpower and do it. I had tried Weight Watchers, I had tried uh Atkins, I had tried South Beach diet, I had tried everything. And um at some point my doctor said, I think we're to the point that you'd always mentioned that you might need to speak to a counselor. And she did, I think we're at that point. And I thought, okay, and I knew deep down that I probably needed to talk to someone just to talk about wise advice, yes. So um I started seeing a counselor on a regular basis, and the freeing moment of just dumping everything, like crazy thoughts, not some of them weren't even crazy, but just all my thoughts and just to be able to talk that out and get it out. And it was after the you know, third or fourth session, it was like after being able to talk through some things and get them off and out of my mindset or just to have a new perception of them. Yes, it hit me one night. I saw the Mercy hospital ad about um weight loss surgery. And I had said all along, because my doctor had recommended it, because I was 340 pounds. Okay. So I was at a place where the surgery would have been, I would have been a candidate because I had so much to lose.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Okay.

Small Steps, Movement, And Joyful Exercise

Walking As Meditation And Movement As Medicine

SPEAKER_01 15:48

And she had been bringing it up for years. She was trained, she's uh uh obesity certified, and she had had the weight loss surgery. So she truly understood. She understood, but I kept saying, and this is that part of um what did I used to believe, you know, about discipline or whatever. I kept saying to myself something like, well, you got yourself in this mess, so you have to get yourself out of it. Right. And so hard on ourselves. Yes. But after starting the counseling and talking and talking and talking through things and being made aware of some beliefs that I've probably had since childhood um about myself and perfection and always being all or nothing, uh-huh thinking and always being positive. And um, but there was something again about the worthiness or the, you know, you don't, you really you you did it, so you really need to get yourself out of it. And and thinking that the surgery was a fast pass or an easy way out. It was just not true, which is just not true. And there's probably a whole podcast episode about that, ladies and gentlemen. I will probably come back to it at some point to talk through the whole thing. But I I finally went to the class and listened to Dr. Kerna talk about um when I finally heard the words that we are all born with, you know, he said the people here in this class tonight, you all have something that's different from the people who walk around with not a weight problem. Right. And he said, there are some habits that you have that you know aren't good. However, I'm here to tell you tonight that most of you are born with this predisposition that no matter how hard you do all the things, and no matter how right you get it and how much you success you have, your body will constantly fight you. Right. And so that explained why I would do so well to a certain amount and then veer off and gain that back plus more. And when I heard that it wasn't totally 100% my own fault, it was a relief or a release. Sure. And then when it explained that the surgery could help me get past that usual place where I get and give me a tool that gets me to the next. And so it was when I started that process, because at Mercy, it's a full, it's a holistic approach. So you have to see Dr. Perna, you have to also see uh someone uh with about your mind and uh like a psychologist. All the tools, it's all the tools, a nutritionist, all the things. And it wasn't until I was in the program and they started talking about exercise. Well, I thought you had to like go out and just like run the marathon and do all lift all the weights and do all the things that have the cute outfit and just be all about it. And at that point, I was still so overweight, like literally walking wasn't an option. And I remember they just said, no, you just need to move, like just right move. So anyway, that's the kind of thing that I had in my head is you had to the all or nothing, or you had to be here before you did this. And when I figured out, so what I could do at that time was dance. Okay. So I danced for started at 10 minutes. I love it. Literally, and that that was probably the first minute it's or a moment it started to click that I have been making this way too hard. I literally just need to watch this amount of food I'm eating, move this amount, and I'm already seeing some minimal results, but they were results. Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

And how you are feeling. Right. Yes. I think I mean, so many women and men, right? We do that. It's like, well, if I can't go and do the 45-minute uh-huh crossfit, then I just won't do anything. And that's not, you know, what we if you can do 10 minutes of something, five minutes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Or I would kill myself and the next day not be able to walk. That's right. Or do the do the thing again the next day. So then it would derail the new habit I was trying to, because I can't I literally couldn't do it the next day because I was so sore from overdoing it. And when I figured out it was so much more than yes, you need to exercise, but if you literally can't walk down the block because you're so overweight, yeah, then you we gotta yeah, we just pivot and do what you can do. The other life-saving thing was figuring out that in the pool. I always thought of exercise in the pool as like the laps, like the Olympics, right? Yes, and like real swimming. And well, when I figured out I literally could dance in the pool with less joint pain and muscle pain because of the yeah, you know, gravity and gives you the gravity in the water, yes. And so uh started that, and then I could go, you know, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour, because I was out there in the pool. I looked like I was having a seizure, but I was really just I was really moving around and it it counted. And like it counts, it all counts. It didn't feel like it was anything, but I started seeing that it it did count. It did count.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

And that's important too to find something that you enjoy, right? It has to be. I used to think that about running, and then I'm like, I don't like running. This is I'm not gonna do this. I'm not finding joy in that. I would rather lift weights and walk in those, right? You gotta find something that you like too.

Boundaries, Saying No, And Family Rhythms

SPEAKER_01 21:42

And something happened that I think gets us back on track with this talk, is that I started after I would you know after the surgery, I was able then the energy came back, like after I had the first big section of weight loss. And then I it was COVID. That was the other thing. Like I had the surgery in August of 19, gosh, like COVID. And all I could think of was, I'm going to eat everything. And the hell is that anyway? I started walking outside and doing signing up for all the virtual runs because I knew no one was watching. And walk them. And that's when I started realizing that that could be my time for mindfulness. Because at first I started with listening to stuff. Or yeah. Then once I realized that my thoughts could all just be a big bundle of something while I was walking, that's how it now I don't want to miss any of my exercise time.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Yes, because that's your time. I love it. But you know what, Alison? That's something that I have so many people say to me when they're like, Leslie, I or one of the three reasons, right? That people say, I can't meditate. And it's like, I can't sit still. I don't want to sit still. And that's what I tell people. I'm like, then go for a walk. Focus on your feet on the pavement. Notice what's around you. Notice the trees, the birds, whatever it is. You know, even if you're on a treadmill or a walking pad, right? How you're just noticing you're there, you're focusing because you need to um you need to move. Movement is medicine. And sometimes when we can't, when our thoughts are so loud from sitting still, then we have to get out of our mind and into our body, which just helps process our thoughts. It does.

Operating At Capacity And Creating Margin

SPEAKER_01 23:36

It really does. The thoughts, um, I just can't say it enough. And and before I heard people say it all the time about how they were addicted to exercise or um, you know, they just can't go a day. And I would just roll my eyes and, you know, think, yeah, right. And then when it started happening, and one day I woke up and thought, oh my goodness, I'm one of those people now. And now I get it. That's right. I just get what they mean about how it didn't take much to start. But once I got started, there's a feeling you get and something about your mind working during that time that you don't, I don't want to give up ever again. Right. So now that I've started getting bad knees and uh I've got you know some back issues, I just tell the every time the first thing I say to any doctor is, I just want to be able to walk and do get and do elliptical and get my exercises in. And if you can make all that happen, I don't care what else you do to me. I just need to be able to, yeah. I just need to be able to walk or do elliptical or do something every day because that is my new thing. And you're doing it. And I'm doing it. So that was part of you know, just that all or nothing thinking, progress over perfection and um giving myself grace without giving up, that all became more clear as I talked to someone. And then as I started going through this journey, and um, I think something that I still struggle with is the slowing down. Um I've talked in another episode with with Casey about the saying no, I'm still not the best at it. Um, but I do feel like I'm starting to realize things that really like I feel a tingle in the tips of my toes all the way up to the top of my head. And that's when I know this is something I'm passionate about. I've got to make sure I keep doing this. I start I'm starting to try to realize those things and then also realize am I saying yes to this? You know, what is the reason I'm saying yes to this? Right.

Five-Minute Practices That Regulate The Nervous System

SPEAKER_00 25:48

I I I know what is the reason that we're saying yes. And as women, that's so easy to do. We're naturally self-giving, and especially people in the nonprofit world, nonprofit professionals are of the utmost service-minded people. We're not in it for the salary, so like service-minded individuals, right? And it's just we can give and be self-giving and still have boundaries. I think we just tend to, you know, it's not always it's not always rewarded for saying you need to or want to rest. I think it's we're going that way. It's getting more that way.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

I do too. But I think more people are are being more understanding about um, you know, we've both of us have kids, and in the holiday, the holiday season, um, you know, we got our kids, you know, packed up and where they needed to be for every single dinner, lunch. It was never planned around nap time. No, that was never thought of. Like, yes, oh, we're gonna have Christmas meal at blank, and it was always right in the middle. And then of course you'd be sitting there and they're cranky and crying and snotting, and and somebody says, Well, they're just cranky today. And you're just thinking, well, it's because we're not on our schedule and you don't know how important that schedule is like for our kids. And now this new generation of moms, they figured out to say, you know, that time really doesn't work well for us.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Yeah. The outdate, they don't, we're not doing the outdated thinking of and understanding, right, that pausing is productive and doing what's best for yourself and your family.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

It's becoming more normal to just spill out what you need. And then people say, Oh, darn, I can't make that work for you, but thanks for letting me know because next time maybe I can. Or, oh my goodness, that's okay. We'll have it at two, you know.

SPEAKER_00 27:54

And people who are not understanding of that, those probably aren't your people. Probably not. Probably not.

In-The-Moment Grounding Tools

SPEAKER_01 28:01

And and it's a new, it it it does take you aback when someone's able to just say exactly what they need. It takes you aback at first, but then when you realize they're doing exactly what they need to do, um, they're not being selfish. No, they're just staying. And that's part, I feel like that's part of being mindful and and and that's something as my I'm in a generation that we're still overthinking and worrying, right? Well, about things, you know.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

No, and I I as I was thinking about this of that pushing through and how it just doesn't that just doesn't work long term for us, right? We can, as women, right, we're cyclical beings. We can you can push through for a season, but not a lifetime. And what we, you know, what we I always say this when what we don't allow in ourselves, we would never allow in another person. If in my mind, I think dinner means five nights a week, you know, sitting at the table and the and someone else thinks dinner is what's on the plate, which is really how I think dinner is what's on the plate. You know, sometimes we just don't, if we don't allow those things and that thinking in ourselves, we're certainly not allowing it in someone else. If we think that resting is not productive, when someone chooses that for themselves, we're less understanding, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. And it's something to think about across so many. Yeah, it's not home, family, you know, extended family. It's something to think about all the way around, is that sometimes being polite and not speaking up doesn't help it doesn't help anybody because then you have resentment and the other person never knows what they did wrong or right or if they could. Yeah. And it's it's um, I think it's we're just getting, we're getting better about it, but I still am working on some of those things. And um my over my my time. I I'm constantly overbooking, or and so I'm I'm trying to work on that too.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

Well, yes, I mean, I think that's and I think that's hard, right? Because most of us, and uh you, me, everybody I know, we're operating our lives at 95% full. And then when something kind of goes off the rails, we're like, I can't believe I can't handle this. I can't believe I'm so stressed. Well, of course we should think that. We're operating at a near capacity all the time. And so then when normal life happens, you know, it becomes harder to deal with because we don't create um margin in our calendar. I do I do that too.

Practical Self-Care During Event Season

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Yeah, and it's so important, it just takes practice and saying no. Saying no, new habits. Um, so if we want to talk about like how does our mindset impact all that, how do we how do we veer off of like we said, pushing through? How how do we change, you know, what are some of those simple doable practices that we could start doing right now, right?

SPEAKER_00 31:28

I think I know. And I when I talk to people and I and they find out I'm a meditation teacher sometimes, and right when you're beginning meditation in Chopra, who I'm certified through the Chopra Foundation, okay recommends recommends 20 minutes of meditation twice a day. But in the beginning, that can feel like a lifetime. That feels so long, especially if you're addicted to your phone and still. But really, five minutes a day for eight weeks will change your nervous system. That's just there's a study out of UC San Francisco, just five minutes for eight weeks, right? Just the practice of getting still. Picture a box, the visualization where you're breathing in for four, hold it for four, out for four, and then hold it for four.

SPEAKER_01 32:22

Okay, I'm gonna say this for the people that can't, because they can't see it. Yes, they can't. She literally drew a box in the air and she went from one point, you know, one corner of the box to the other corner, then up. Or did you go up for four, then up for hold for four, back across, and then down for four. So it's like you make a box in the air. Yeah, just picture breathing.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

You breathe in for four, hold it for four, exhale for four, and then hold it again for four, right? Just small, small things that you can do.

Permission To Pause And The “Snow Day” Mindset

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Okay, I'm gonna reiterate this. And you said they literally said start with five minutes a day.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

Yes. And that will it can change your yes, it can help change your nervous system, right? To start feeling more calm and regulated.

SPEAKER_01 33:18

Yeah. I mean it's just a mental and five minutes. I know, you know, when you're comparing to 20 minutes, five minutes sounds doable, but five minutes with nothing, no phone, no right, it will seem like an eternity at first because you're so used to just when you have a moment, you look at your phone, or I do. I grab my phone and think, oh, dude, I need to check email, or I go straight to a social media, or I it's a it's a thing. It is a habit. And so this would be like a big right. I can take five minutes right now, set a timer.

SPEAKER_00 33:51

Enough, yes. Set a timer and you can do it, right? You just or and I brought you an acupressure ring. I always hand I hand these out. It's so it just is helpful, right? A little acupressure ring to again, right? We're getting out of our mind and into our body, an acupressure ring. You just it's almost like a fidget spinner for adults, right? A ring, and you just can roll it up and down your finger, like any blood flow, yeah. Don't leave it on. But yeah, there are so many things you could even do tapping, you know, almost like hugging yourself, where we're telling yourself, like I feel safe and I'm okay.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

Where you if you'll just tap your chest, kind of like you're patting your heart. And I've done that a couple of times, and it really does work. And I don't know why, or no, I don't know if we need to know why. Just know that if you're having an anxiety issue, you can tap your chest, like pat it.

Meditation And Faith: Listening Versus Talking

SPEAKER_00 34:49

That's right. You're getting right in the present moment. You're telling yourself, right? You're putting your hands on your own heart, on your body, you know, your hand over your heart, feeling your heartbeat, feeling your breath rise, you know, in and out. It's just a way of grounding yourself and mentally and physically telling yourself, I'm safe, I'm okay.

unknown 35:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

I'm I'm literally thinking of a day in the life at one of the organizations. I mean, so stressful. So stressful. Um, a lot of them have had budget cuts. Some of them have had um, you know, issues with like even the weather, you know, it just snowed a whole bunch and things were shut down. Um when the government shuts down, they don't get their funding. Like there's there's all kinds of stress, but then there's also the subject matter of which they are providing the services. Yes. Um, if someone is having, like, what would you suggest that box breathing method if someone's in the moment? Like, do you have a one-two? Like, here's what I would do now that I know what I know. Like, could you talk us through if someone's having a moment at work or stressful anywhere? They don't have to be at work.

How To Work With Leslie And Upcoming Workshops

SPEAKER_00 36:09

We're right if you're and you're in a meeting, even just can you notice, right? And press your fingertips together, right? Your thumb and your forefinger and third finger and fourth, and just go through. You're taking a moment to be right there in the in the moment. And of course, I mean, you you have to know, is this there are days when it's like, okay, instead of saying to myself, you know, instead of saying to yourself, I have anxiety, I'm so anxious. Can we say a part of me feels anxious? And some days we have so much happening, you just have to say, all right, come on, anxiety, you're coming along with me today. I've got to do this. But that's knowing to yourself in your body, like, can I practice these tools? And at what point do I need to seek out something further? Right. Like a therapy and someone medication.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Like it's if it's a struggle every minute and these tips, you know, don't you? But even, even if you already deal with anxiety and you're on medication and you have a moment, these are some great, they just bring you back, they ground you, they're back being grounded.

SPEAKER_00 37:27

That's right. Okay. Or stand up and right and just kind of go for a walk. Anything that's that's um right getting out of your thoughts. Because we have 60 to 80,000 thoughts a day, right? We can't stop those thoughts. We have some crazy thoughts. I mean, yeah.

Rapid-Fire: Daily Gratitude And “Release The Belief”

SPEAKER_01 37:47

But yeah, and and this little I oh yeah, the acupressure. The acupressure. I mean, we'll I'll try to share a picture of it later because we don't have a video, but um, it's amazing. And I see what you're saying. Once again, my brain makes things hard. So I always think you're supposed to be in some kind of like comfy chair with a candle. And I mean, you can, right? Like in the background, but literally, these are this is what you can do. If you're driving down the road, you can do your you have your hand on the steering wheel, but you can do the thing you talked about your thumb to your pinky, your thumb to your ring finger, your thumb to your middle finger, your thumb to your pointy finger. You literally just keep doing that, and all it's doing is just making you think, I'm touching my finger right now. Yes, but it literally slows down everything. And it seems, I think, if I was doing, I would think, is this what she meant? Because I'm literally just watching myself touch these fingers. I know it's very right, something but it goes that's that simple. And then the breathing and thinking of the box. Yeah, easy. But and I think people think it's gonna have like a dove will land on their shoulder or something.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

That's not that's not right. A joke about that, right, Allison. Because people, I'm like, I know people think, right, oh, did you have a Zen garden in your backyard? And that's just not reality. It's a mainstream practice. That's not what everyone's doing. Yeah, I can't. You can, I mean great, light candles and do all the things. I think that's awesome. But there are also practical ways. Well, it's like to help with some stress.

SPEAKER_01 39:24

Me starting the walking outside from dancing in my living room or in the pool, it was a big deal that first time I took the walk out there. Absolutely. Because I thought, you know, you think everyone in the neighborhood is looking at you. That's the other thing. No one's looking at you. They're not, no one even cares that you're out in the yard or out in the night walking. That you're not. But like this to me is an easy way. And if you need to step, take some steps and walk down the hall or walk outside. It's not like I've got to do these things because Leslie said, it's literally like I'm just gonna walk a minute and clear my head and I'm gonna tap my fingers. That's right. And that's how simple it is. That's right. And five minutes a day, when how soon do you see a difference? What did you think? Eight weeks. Eight weeks. I'm in today. You can see a difference. Studies are showing, yeah.

unknown 40:17

Amazing.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Amazing, amazing. Oh my goodness. Those are all oops, my paper got caught on the microphone. Um, and we talked about, we touched on a little bit about you do this, you step out, and it's um, I know at our nonprofits, one of the busiest times is event season. Oh my, yeah. So like they feel like I don't have time to tap my fingers and step outside. But you're saying, um, oh yes, girl, you need to be doing it right now because if you don't, things are gonna, you know, go to hell in a handbasket pretty quick. Like, what's five?

Encouragement For Nonprofit Professionals

SPEAKER_00 40:53

Just I know, just minimal, minimal creating some space in your day. And I think, you know, there are when I talk to Greenwood, Gearhart, their um CEO of Lisa Brown. Um I hope I'm not principal and executive. I'm probably giving her the wrong title. Sorry, Lisa and Brock, right? But they practice calm excellence there and right, telling um their employees, okay, are we pursuing urgent perfectionism or are we practicing calm excellence? Are we creating margin to ask people to like give me a minute so that I can get back to you and do my very best work? And I find that I like this is helpful and everyone should be doing this. Yes. It was especially right, our nonprofit people, we do. We feel this um urgency in in responding, even if you're not in nonprofit work of like I'm gonna respond to you, I have to do it immediately, instead of asking for that pause and time to give your best response and give your best work. Think it's true. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:01

Um, so how I mean, I think you've given us a great idea about you literally, you don't have to um go to a class to get started. You don't have to we don't have to overthink it with our comfy chair and our candle. Literally, it could be in the moment, picking up something or starting to tap your fingers or do the deep breathing. And those will give you an escape for the amount of time you can give to that's right, tap your chest or pat your chest. Yes. Um I I think we we've given, I I think that's what I really wanted us to tell everybody. Is it's just not hard. Um and even though you're doing these things, at first they're gonna seem awkward or weird, but this literally is all it is.

SPEAKER_00 42:55

That that is it. That's listening to yourself, right? It's you're dancing and the eventually is walking, right? It doesn't have to be again a 45-minute meditation, it can be five minutes of sitting still and listening to the birds, right? I mean, that just depends on the day. You know yourself. Yeah.

Resources, Podcasts, And Books

SPEAKER_01 43:19

And you know, we were just talking about being snowed in, like we had several days of being snowed in. There's something about that at the first couple of days of peace. Like you get a calmness just from knowing that no one else is able to go and do today either. That's right. Like we're all snowed in. Everybody's at home, everybody's getting to be with their with their people, or or they're getting to work on art projects that they never get to work on, or they're get catching up on work that they've been worrying about for a while. Like there's something that I wish that we came in a bottle or in a package so that on the days that we don't get that extra permission. To chill out.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

But Allison, why don't we? I think that's where it has to start, right? Of like the permission. We're we're giving ourselves permission. And like I said earlier, right? What you don't allow in yourself, we're not going to allow in other people. And um, it is. There is the permission there. It's just taking it, tapping into it.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

And and maybe that's part of when I use these tactics. Maybe I need to tell myself, hey, it's your snow day. It doesn't matter who else has snow day. And no one's gonna be kinder about things than you.

SPEAKER_00 44:39

Yeah. So listen, you are so kind. So of course, there's permission. I give you permission. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:46

Thank you. And she gave all of you permission too. She did. But I think that's that's another one of those things of making it harder. There is something about a snow day, or I mean, I hate to even bring up a positive of COVID, but there was something about COVID when we were stuck home the two weeks, just knowing that no one else was able to and so it was a permission to get what you needed to get done for work. But then you could also be in the living room with your kids and your husband and like people you hadn't gotten to, you don't usually slow down and have that time with. I I literally kept thinking, I will look back on this and I won't believe in my head that I had two weeks of my kids' attention or a very this moment at this age. Um and I'll think we really stayed at home, but we did. I know we did it, you know? And that's when I wish I would get that feeling on a regular Tuesday.

SPEAKER_00 45:50

Right. And now it's just probably not gonna be the two weeks, it's gonna be the five minutes throughout the day of that time you take for yourself, whatever that means, something different for everybody. Right.

Entrepreneurship, Imperfection, And Priorities

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Um, there's there are people you know that are skeptical or naysayers, and what would you say to that if someone was just like, I don't get it. I mean, I touched my fingers together and I just didn't get it. I didn't turn into anything different, or you know, what what is just one more layer that we can say to them that it's really that easy?

SPEAKER_00 46:27

Well, I think it's right, just while you've asked about, you know, taking acts of self-care for for yourself, right? That could be connection with friends, could just be doing whatever is joyful to you. But I say to people all the time, too, because I have, and I don't, I think this is because we live in the South, Allison. I have people say to me, Leslie, I can't meditate because I go to church. And it's um it's a not a it's not a practice I can do. And so I want to be really clear, too, that meditation is not a religion, and you do not have to change your lifestyle or beliefs. It's just about getting still, if that feels best, or being in the present moment.

SPEAKER_01 47:15

Yes, because I think as a little kid, I would hear people at church poo-poo meditation, it's not and they thought of it more as a new age, yeah, uh like new age ministry or new age religion. And it's really not because in your quiet time or the the five minutes that you take, you literally could pray. Yes, you could pray or contemplate your spirituality at that time too. It's not any, it's not a once again, all or nothing. It's not an all or nothing. You can't be this and do this. It literally would be a way for you to get closer to your beliefs.

SPEAKER_00 47:57

I know. I so Alison, I've heard this said, and so I start, I've started saying um to people, right? Again, it's not a religion. You don't have to change your lifestyle or beliefs, but maybe it would be helpful to think of it as prayer is talking to God and meditation as listening. Ooh, I love that. Okay, that one more time. Say it one more time for the people in the back. Prayer is talking to God and meditation is listening. And that just resonates with me so much.

SPEAKER_01 48:28

Yeah, because a lot of people, they wake up or they do it before bed, but they'll do their devotion. That's right. Their devotional every day.

SPEAKER_00 48:35

And they'll read the that, and that gives them the list. And that is great.

SPEAKER_01 48:41

And then if they started doing five minutes, they could take the five minutes to think, how did that resonate with me today? Yes. How did that, you know, how did I, you know, this morning when I was reading that verse, what was the feeling I had? Yeah. So you could even use that to do your breathing or your breath. Yeah, just breathing, focusing on your breath. That's right.

unknown 49:02

Yeah.

Closing Gratitude And Publishing Schedule

SPEAKER_01 49:02

I love it. I love it. Um I I think that I I want people to know how they can utilize your training, your teaching.

SPEAKER_00 49:18

Um, and I know we'll probably say that again at the end, but um it's like literally they can just go to your website and yeah, you can go to email that website, it's just lesliezanoff.com or find me on LinkedIn or Instagram. Yes, reach out. I've got a a newsletter where I'm sending out mindful tips. Yes, it's very good. So I love getting it. I do. Or join a workshop. Yeah, there's lots of way. Thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_01 49:47

Are you going to have more of the workshop? Yes. And the the spring? The one that you said is five weeks that's going on right now. Did you say it's virtual? It is a virtual. I love that. I've met with clients. I know it's everybody in my head. It was like you drive somewhere and we're all together. Um, I think virtual for the those with a busy calendar. It's one hour. And you just log on. Yes. Yes, because I know one of my friends is in the class. And so I was thinking she had to get somewhere. Now I get she was just needing to get to her computer. Yeah. That was all.

SPEAKER_00 50:22

That's right. No, I love working with people in person. Like that is preferred, you know, right? Of course. I'd rather connect in person anytime. But this allows me to have to reach more people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:38

I love so that's what I yeah. Oh, I love it. So definitely follow Leslie so you can hear when the next five-week session's gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

Yes. And and we'll most likely it'll be in April, like I'm planning for, and it'll be virtual as well. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 50:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

Um, okay. I think we're to the part where we are we're gonna do some questions. Okay. Um, I'm gonna ask you one daily practice that you never skip.

SPEAKER_00 51:08

One daily practice. I would have to say, right, I should be saying meditation, right? But honestly, the one thing I do um is I always ask myself, um, what am I grateful for today? That is so important, just at the end of the day. Sometimes it's with my kids, sometimes I write it down, but even if it's just by myself, I'm asking, what am I grateful for today?

SPEAKER_01 51:37

And that's important to me. A reminder that the answer doesn't have to be like an equation rocket science thing. It literally can be, I'm grateful for Coca-Cola or I was grateful we didn't lose power when we had snow. Yes. Okay. I'm grateful for this conversation. But it's once again, don't make it too hard. And when I say talk this out to everybody, y'all know, y'all, most of you know me. I'm talking to myself, totally talking to myself. I'm the one that makes it too hard. And my friend Hope Bradbury knows that because she had to work me through uh my certification. She literally had to keep saying, focus and hit save and continue and go to the next page.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

Right, Allison, this is what you just tell yourself, right? Like we need to release that belief that it has to be hard. Right. Release that a belief that we have for sure. That's something that I grew up in my household. You know, it's that no pain, no gain. And that's just not true. Not all, it's not always true.

SPEAKER_01 52:40

It's not. Just like I learned that cleaning the house and vacuuming is part of movement. That's right. It does count. It counts. It counts. But you're right. And give yourself credit. Yes, and I think you should we can coin that phrase. What did you what was it you just said uh about you said we've just got to remember it's not as hard. Release the belief. Release the belief that it has to be hard. Hashtag release the belief. Like literally, as you're trying to get your five minutes, you say to yourself to start it, release the belief. This is not hard. Release the belief. Or here in a moment and you can't step away. In your head, say, release the belief, release the belief. Doesn't have to be hard. Yeah. It also makes it to struggle. Okay. Looks like the next question is for me. Um, something that I wish I had known sooner. Yeah. I think I talked about it in the beginning, and it was literally, I wish I had known sooner that the whole weight loss thing wasn't 100% my own fault. Right. And that the small steps I was taking in the beginning to prepare for the surgery, those were the steps I needed all along. And um, I wish I had known that if I had just kept going with those those habits or whatever, and now they truly are real habits.

SPEAKER_00 54:11

Yeah. And you share about it on your social media. I love it. You are such an inspiration. Just what people in telling your story. I think it's important. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 54:19

It is not easy. I was one of those that rolled my eyes, but I wish I had known sooner that um that and and we didn't know. Now they've studies have shown people some people are just uh have a predisposition for obesity. And it's just it just is what it is. It is, and that is why I never was successful.

SPEAKER_00 54:42

But now I hope you're giving yourself credit and celebrating, as we all should, when we're doing the things that make us.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

And I just want so bad to share the story with others, and so I know there's gonna be an episode where I just share step one, step two, here, you know, because I know so many people still deal with it. And I just want them to know I was there, totally there. And I don't, I don't even have it all figured out yet. But I know now that it's not as hard as I was making it out to be. Um, and it was all in my head. Yes, it's hard, but I'm glad you're sharing. You need to keep sharing. Yeah. Um, oh goodness, I think we both should do this one. One sentence of encouragement for nonprofit professionals listening. Oh, our friends, I can think of like a million to know. Um I would think there's a thing in nonprofit, and we we touched on it a little bit in the episode with Teresa Mills about leading when you find out that your funding's cut and all that. And she was saying that you show up at the meeting if you're the executive director of a nonprofit or you're the direct your director of development or whatever, and you so badly want to portray that you have all the answers because you're the one they hired for the job. And we tend to show up with this shield on that we know and we're because we want our board members to think they have the right person. Yeah. When really we need to be more vulnerable with our board members because they need to know what's truly going on. So I guess one of the things I want to tell the nonprofit professionals is share when things are hard. You share it. Don't go home thinking you've got to put on the tough face because you're the one trying to save the universe and teach the children. Yes. Just know that there are gonna be hard days that you can't solve it and you're allowed to say, I tried to solve it today on my own, and I I'm gonna need everybody's help. That's great advice.

SPEAKER_00 56:47

I love that. I I mean, I would in my answer would be similar to yours that I know if you're a nonprofit professional, you are already service-minded. You're already giving and you're doing more than enough. Um, because nonprofit people, I love the personal touches. They're always thinking about others, of I always get a thank you note from my nonprofit people. They're they're not just follow through, right? They follow up. And so I would just want to be encouraging of are you creating enough space in your day? Because you can't serve other people if you're not taking care of yourself. And that's not just feel good talk. That's that's fact.

SPEAKER_01 57:35

And we're saying literally, it can be five minutes. Your five minutes can be the way to fill yourself back up. That's right. And let's shout out to the thank you note, Queen Gay Prescott.

SPEAKER_00 57:45

Yes. Oh my gosh. And she is the one. She is the queen. She is. I love it. She's the queen of the time, Lee.

SPEAKER_01 57:53

And yes, she's gay prescott. And there's a lot more of you out there that are good at it too, but she's the first one that popped into my head. Mine too, Alice. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. Oh, and and this reminder, I do want to say this you matter too, not just what you produce, raise, or manage, or the the hungry children you're saving. You matter too. So, um, okay, we talked about where they where listeners can find you. You've got your website, leslie'sanoff.com. Yes. And your email is probably on there, all your contact info.

SPEAKER_00 58:28

It is, right? You can email support at leslie'sanoff.com or find me on LinkedIn or Instagram. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:36

And one thing that we both of us wanted to tell you is we'd like for you to share this episode with a colleague, someone that you know is going through a stressful time or um their job every day. We're all, we've all got stressful jobs, but just share it with somebody that you think it would benefit to know that they could carve out five minutes. Like this is not like I said, where you have to go on a retreat and have a comfy chair and a candle and some, you know, yaha music in the background. This is literally, this is like boot boots on the ground hill. Practical tools, right? Right tools. Yeah. Um, and then uh the whole meaning of today was to make it easy. You don't have to go and overhaul your whole schedule. That's why we talked about the easy tactics. And then um I wanted to ask Leslie one question is what do you listen to to continue? I know you're getting your um training and and your certification and things, but like what do you listen to to help bring you what feels good or what I know?

SPEAKER_00 59:46

I think I well, I'm so excited to be here on this podcast because I love listening to podcasts, right? Yeah, that I listen to Sarah Grinburn. She's great. I think we need more women's voices in podcasting. We do. Um, I'm listening. I like Mel Robbins and Dr. Mary Claire Haver and Stacey Sims and Arthur Brooks.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:13

He's great. Arthur Brooks. Okay, I'm writing down the ones. I had not heard of Stacy Sims or Arthur Brooks. Yeah, I've listened to Mel Robbins and um Dr.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:24

What was the doctor's name? Mary Claire Haver and Dr. Kelly Kasperson, she's good too. Medical. You know, those are just about women's health. Um but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:33

Yeah. Um, and podcasts are your are your go-to podcasts. I do, yes. I'm glad you said that because I started a podcast, so I love that you love podcasts.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:44

I hope others do. I do. I listen to podcasts. I usually I listen to see if I'm gonna enjoy the book first a lot of times. Yeah, yeah. Which I'm reading a good book right now. I started it. Um, it's called Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Gwynn. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:01

I haven't finished it, but well, everyone knows I'm gonna need that book. Don't believe everything you think. Yes. Oh, I'm writing that down. Yeah, I need to listen to that one for sure. For sure. Okay. Was there anything? Because you know, we I tend to go off the rails. Was there anything that we missed in our notes that you want to make sure? And like I said, we have a lot of the same friends because Leslie has a heart for nonprofits as well. And so a lot of our same people, we know you're listening. And so um, I'm just I feel like I learned something. Once again, something easy that I can start tomorrow or tonight.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:43

Yeah, thank you. I know no fine. I appreciate it so much. Yes, yeah, find me, reach out. I'd love to work with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:51

Okay, and I think I told you you because this is the Ask Allison podcast, you could ask me any question. No, okay, you can ask me. This is great.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:01

I love it. Um I as a woman in business, right? You're running a small business. I just want to know if you have any any tips because this is what you're doing, running a business, you're an entrepreneur. And I know women ask me a lot. So I want I want your advice. Any any tips, thought? Any thought.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:22

Yeah. Um, I am terrible at the business part. Like, um, and I say terrible, probably don't believe everything I think. I don't think you are, I bet you but the the the financial and taxes and all that stuff. Um when I started this, I just threw the spaghetti on the wall to see what, and as I've gone, I've just asked people. I've just said, I don't know anything about this. And um, my tax people, I just send them a note whenever I'm completely lost. Like, is this a business expense or is this not? Or um so my I guess my biggest piece of advice is to ask people and research when you don't, and don't I don't beat myself up when I don't know. Um and I think we touched on it a whole bunch. Um, and this the book title really kind of is like seared in my memory in my mind now because you just said it. You know, don't believe everything you think. I think one of my biggest pieces of if you think of something, just go ahead and try it and start it. I love it. And don't I pause for too long and overthink and second guess and wonder if, and well, I don't know if if they would want to listen to me, or well, I mean, you know, she's doing it this way, and and if I could just remember that in the moment that there's no wrong or right answer, yeah. And if if in the moment you figure out it is the wrong answer, you just pivot. That's right. Shift away. You shift, pivot, uh, go to the direction that you need to. But if I like uh my schedule, I'm trying to get a handle on what is comfortable so that I can get my workout in. And if I oversleep, I go into a panic. And the other day I I turned off the alarm and I did not get up at the time that I needed to to make the meeting. So I went late. But it wasn't a one-on-one meeting, it was like a class or a thing. I just decided the workout is the thing because you're prioritizing yourself. Yeah, if it was immediately, I would have had a different outcome. But I paused to think, okay, but if I skip that, I'm just gonna feel this the rest of the day, and it's my happy place. So I think I could just go late to the class and no one will know I'll just walk in the back. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:05

And you felt better that day, probably for it, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:08

And I didn't I hope that I didn't lose any friends because I came late that day. No, no, they're all still my friends. Absolutely. Gay will probably write me a thank you note uh for showing up late. She might um, but that's the kind of thing. It's it's a finally listening to myself is so important instead of worrying about the what-ifs and the who did it this way and all that. So important. And it's hard running your own business and managing all that without thinking those thoughts. Yeah. But I'm now gonna take my little, um, what is this called acupressure. Acupressuring. That's right. And I'm just gonna roll it on my fingers and say, you know, but what met how does it work for me? How does it work better for my brain? As right I start just going with it more. That's right. Yeah. Well, thank you. Thanks. So much for you. Thank you, Allison. I I know that there are a lot of our friends that needed this today, and they I'm sure we're all gonna follow up and uh get on board. And um, and then I just want to say um thanks again for listening. I know there we just listed a million podcasters to listen to and books to read. I know you have a lot of choices, but I'm so thankful that you all tune in. Um join me again next month. I, you know, the podcast comes out on the 7th of every month at 7 a.m. And just remember and a reminder to you I'm here when you need me. All you have to do is ask Allison.