Being Intentional in your Work, Motherhood and Health with Stefanie Gass
|
March 2, 2021 - Episode #56 - Being Intentional in your Work, Motherhood and Health with Stefanie Gass
Do you ever feel like life just happens to you? You see life happening right in front of you, but you feel disconnected and stuck on autopilot. You want to shift from simply surviving to truly thriving but how? Well, today is exactly what you need to hear. I’m having a conversation with my friend, Stefanie Gass and we are talking about being intentional in your work, motherhood and health. Stefanie Gass is a Jesus lover, wife, and mom of two boys from Tijeras, NM. She is the host of the top-ranked podcast The Mompreneur Mastermind Show, and her mission is helping, empowering, and transforming Christian Mompreneurs. Stef wants women to create true change for themselves and for Jesus by utilizing their gifts and serving the world with a business that lights them up! How often do we feel like a crumbling, hot mess express? Struggling through life simply being reactive instead of proactive. This conversation will encourage you right where you are! So often advice to women makes us feel inadequate and overwhelmed. And after listening to that "advice", instead of feeling empowered and motivated; we are just left feeling guilty and ashamed. Stuck! And wondering how to move forward! That is NOT the case here!! This is real talk from a woman who had reached a breaking point from trying to do it all. She learned through her struggles what a life of intention looks like. Inside this podcast you will be empowered with simple suggestions on managing your time and setting your intentions in all aspects of your life....your health, your family, your spiritual walk and your work. You will walk away with a realistic action plan to take control of your life! It's all about being intentional and setting boundaries so we can live life to the fullest!! Now before you go, if you are looking for a tribe of women who are just like you and trying to be more intentional in their health journey so they can live in freedom. I have just the community for you! It is a FB group called Functional Medicine for Weight Loss - Body, Mind, Soul Wellness for Women. You can access this incredible group by going to bit.ly/FMwomenswellness Read Full Transcript below Where else to listen: (note: Google is only available on android devices)
FULL TRANSCRIPT
March 2, 2021 - Episode #56 - Being Intentional in your Work, Motherhood and Health with Stefanie Gass Speaker 1: Do you ever feel like life just happens to you? You see life happening right in front of you, but you feel disconnected and just stuck on autopilot. You want to shift from simply surviving to truly thriving. Well today is exactly what you need to hear. I'm having a conversation with my friend, Stephanie Gass, and we're talking about being intentional in your work, motherhood and health. Hey there. Welcome to the Healthy Harmony podcast. I'm Jennifer Pickett, your host, your health coach, your friend. If you're ready to tap into the healthiest version of you. So you can live life with confidence and intentional harmony. And my friend, you're in the right place. As a Dietitian turned Functional Medicine Health Coach. I'm here to walk beside you and show you how to take control of your complete health… body, mind, and soul. I want you to live a life you not only love, but a life where you're truly thriving. This podcast is a real talk about real life. Simple, realistic strategies that will leave you feeling empowered. As we dive into physical health, mental, emotional health, and spiritual health, because addressing these areas equals intentional harmony, AKA happiness, fulfillment, and confidence. Let's do this. Stephanie Gass is a Jesus lover, wife and mom of two boys from New Mexico. She is the host of the top ranked podcast Mompreneur Mastermind Show. And her mission is helping empowering and transforming Christian mompreneurs. Steph wants women to create true change for themselves and for Jesus, utilizing their gifts and serving the world with a business that lights them up. I am so excited to do this podcast. Hello. Hello and welcome. I am so excited for today's guest, Stephanie Gass in the house. Stephanie, how are you? Speaker 2: I'm so good. I'm so excited to be here. Speaker 1: I am. You are one of my absolute favorite people on the planet. So to have you on this podcast, I've got a big smile plastered all over my face. Speaker 2: You are the best and you are one of my favorite people too. So I hope that together we can just inspire and bless the ladies today. Speaker 1: That is absolutely our goal. So let's get right into it. You know, as I look at you do, you're an amazing entrepreneur. You've got a top ranked podcast, very busy business coach with a thriving practice. You're also a wife and a mom to two boys you're really, really busy. How do you get it all done? Speaker 2: Yeah, that is such a great question. You know, I guess the first thing that I want to say is it starts with you or with me and the things that I can control myself, which are being in super, super intentional with my time. Number one, number two, having extraordinary boundaries that then lead into my priorities and then number three time-blocking and planning like a boss. So those are three strategies that I use myself because those are things that I can control and that I'm in charge of right now. The other piece of this puzzle is what are the pieces of your life that you can outsource or that you can get help with? And so the other way that I get it all done is I had to get over my ego a long time ago and start asking for as much help as humanly possible. So, you know, and that includes, there's so many strategies there. We can go into Egypt, each one of these things to give them, to give you guys some more insight in there, but, you know, outsourcing house cleaning and getting my husband on board with certain things. Speaker 1: It just makes sense, right? It just makes sense. You know, one of the things that really stood out to me, you said being intentional, you know, those three things being intentional, setting boundaries, and then time blocking, cause these are the things that we control. And I think so often when we are trying to move forward with the business, we are so focused on raising our family and being there for our husband and managing a household. We're just, we get stuck in that survival mode and it is it's crazy. I mean, cause you're you find you're not even enjoying life. So have you ever gotten stuck in that survival mode? Have you ever had that breaking point and then what did you do after that breaking point? Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think we all go through this. So if you are listening and you're like, wow, must be nice. Like you have it all together. And the business is thriving and you still have time in your life for the kids and the, and the hubby and all the things, you know, it's not that way until you decide to make it that way. And sometimes it takes the breakdown. It takes your life feeling like a crumbling, hot mess express. I'm drowning. I'm completely reactive point of time for you to wake up and climb out of that mess. And I definitely have had that. I think for me, it, when I was allowing work to become a massive idol in my life and that becoming everything. So whatever your, everything, you know, we've all had them. What are you focused on? What are you maybe idolizing a little bit too much that starts to take a precedence in your life. And it starts to pull away from all the other things that actually matter. So for me, it was work and that would pull from what my health, because there was no time to work out when I had to work my, my motherhood. Sorry, can't spend time with you. I have to take a phone call. My marriage, same situation my mental health. I found myself in like a pile of anxiety and a weight gain and all of this, these things. And it's because I was doing one thing or I wasn't doing one thing. I was not living my life with intention in all of the different areas that God has called me to be and show up for, which is for him first. Secondly, for my marriage, third for my children, fourth for myself and home. And lastly is my business. So it all crumbled away. And I won't share that big, long, crazy story, but I basically had to have a full-on breakdown, a life shattering period of time in my life for me to see that my life was not intentional. It was reactive. It was focused on the wrong things. And when that happened, I basically got out a sheet of paper and this is a great exercise for those of you listening to do. And I wrote down on the piece of paper, the woman that God wanted me to be, what were these intention buckets that he would want for my life so that I could stop being in charge of my life. And I could let God step in and be in charge of my life. And those intention buckets were what I just said, right? Him, my marriage, my kids, my health, my home, then my business. So now when I wake up and when I plan, which we'll move into the second thing I mentioned, which was planning. But when I move into those buckets, Jennifer, it's like, I plan around these intention, buckets and business while it's more successful than it's ever been in my entire life, bigger than I've ever thought it could ever be. I only spent, I spend less than 30 hours a week on it, which is insane. Yeah. And it's because I'm living intentionally in all of these other areas first and it's allowed me to really kind of step into the woman that God wants me to be. And you know, I don't play with that anymore. It's not something I'm willing to negotiate on. Speaker 1: Stephanie. I loved hearing you say those intentional buckets and it really did take that breaking point, that lowest point for you to kind of wake up and realize that you needed to do things differently. And I think so many women are listening to you and they're like there I am at that breaking point, like I'm trying to do it all and it's just not working. But like you said, you realize with you that it was work and work was your idol. And that is something that I can definitely relate to. And it's very ironic because trying to grow a health and wellness business and then your health wellness suffering in the process, like, it doesn't even make sense, but it happens when our priorities are out of order. And so you very clearly talked about priorities in those intentional buckets. So as we look at that intentional bucket of health, what has been the most pivotal thing for you when it comes to self care? Like what are those things that you make sure that you're prioritizing? Yeah. Speaker 2: So in the health bucket, I really notice a huge difference when I'm moving my body and exercising. And when COVID started, I quit going to the gym, which had been my like, Oh my gosh, that was one of the amazing like medicines of my life, my recovery, when I was coming out of that business breakdown was the gym fitness. And so that had gone away in COVID. I was feeling so sluggish and exhausted and tired. And I knew like that is a piece of my puzzle that I desperately need. And so it was finding it again in a way though, that still lit me up, even though it wasn't going to be in a gym because you never know when circumstances will change for you and you still have to be able to pivot and adjust and make sure that your intention bucket is, is covered. So added back in, got a Peloton made that investment because it was spin class that like lit me up, love it, got my Peloton. I've been doing now I'm on week nine again. And like you feel, I just feel so great. So what I've done is I added that back in and making sure that it fit in to a slot in my day that was going to work best for me. Speaker 1: That's fantastic. So did you kind of plan out your workouts like at the beginning of the week, what did that look like? Speaker 2: Yeah. So for me, what it looks like is choosing a time slot in the day. So for me at 6:30 in the morning, I get up at 5:40 spend time with God, do my Bible, do my devotional you know, coffee, the most important things. And then Speaker 1: No, I'm with you just in coffee, we can just wake would definitely agree on that. Speaker 2: And then I come over here into, into our little workout room slash office and at six 30, I turn it on and it's whatever that workout is for that day at six 30 and it's been working beautifully for me. And I noticed that when I would try to do it later in the day, I am the most energetic in the morning. So paying attention to who you naturally are, you know, if you're a morning person move in the morning, if you're an evening person fine, but I'm a morning person also, it's really such a mental therapy. It's a form of self-care for me. So I don't want to do it with my children around. I don't even necessarily want to do it with my husband. I want to be alone. I want to just zone out. And so realizing that about myself and making that fit that morning block where nobody else is awake Speaker 1: Is so it's so important. And well, you know, one of the main things that I really heard you say is you really kind of started practicing that mindfulness, just being very, very self aware, Hey, this is what I need. And when this isn't happening, like everything else kind of starts to go downhill. So you realizing, Hey, I need that movement. And being able to pivot and adjust, okay, can't get to the gym anymore. What can I do instead? And I think that's so important, but it really does start with mindfulness before we move into intention, we have to be aware first. And I think that's where sometimes we get a little bit off track because we were not even mindful because we're just stuck in that survival mode. And I'll have to agree with you. I'm the same when it comes to exercise, if it's going to, it has to be in the earlier part of the day. It doesn't matter if I have the best intention and like, okay, I'm going to exercise this afternoon. It just seems like something gets in the way. So I'm the same with regard to to exercise. So I want to say, what else is in that self care bucket that you've seen is pivotal for you? Speaker 2: Yeah. So I guess another one that's so funny. I don't know how many of you guys who are listening are moms, but sometimes it's hard, especially right now because I've got one kiddo who's home, distance learning, and then the other one only goes to preschool two days a week. Plus my husband is here working from home. So we have four people all here. And so for me, one of my favorite forms of self-care and I think this is what's super cool about trying to figure out the thing for you is I go a escape and I take a super hot shower or a bubble bath every single day, 100% alone, worship music blaring. Just it's just my time. It's when you know, I pray, I get some downloads for the next day. I have a shower, sticky notes. I sit in there and just, and so that's my me time. And what I love about that is the most simple thing for me is like one of the most important parts of my day and just allowing yourself to not do what someone else says self care has to be, but finding what that thing is for you that's daily. And then my other big one is I try to get a massage once a quarter, and that's a treat that is something every other month, if I can, that's something that is an investment, but I notice that it's something I can strive for. It's something that it's blessing, you know, blessing myself for showing up so hard and all these other areas of my life. And how often do you say thank you to yourself and bless yourself with something that's not immaterial or hard work, but it's like, I'm just going to show up for this moment and reward myself because we work so dang hard. Speaker 1: We do. And we have so many demands on us and I like how you recognize, okay, I need something daily and this is my way of escaping. And I think that's so very important and kind of realizing, okay, this is what works for me. I also heard you say, you know, just that blessing yourself in the form of a massage, but sounds so heavenly. Just giving ourselves a break. I think sometimes we expect way too much out of our body and our body's like waving the white flag saying, give me a break sister. Like I can only do so much and we're just ignoring it and we're going and doing, and we're not stopping. So I wanna transition a little bit and ask you about this, you know, this health and this life transformation that you've had, where does your faith fit into that? Yeah. Speaker 2: So for me, it's, you know, if it's not, if I am not partnered with God in every single one of those intention buckets, then it's, it's me trying to figure it out myself. It's me trying to struggle my way forward, trying to find all of the answers. And what I know for sure is that God's plans for me and my life and my motherhood and my marriage and my business and my health. It's always every single time, no way you slice it, going to be better than my plans for me. So, and this has been an evolution old Steph would leap and try something and struggle my way through and not be able to figure it out and be frustrated and, and lose my way and then have to start over again and again and again. And also there's this component of like almost unfulfillment when you're doing something on your own. Speaker 1: Yes, yes. And you have to work Speaker 2: So much harder at it when it's not like God is sitting there. This is, he's just sitting there. Like I have all of these answers for you, stuff. I have answers in your health. I have the right coach for you, the right mentor for you stuff. I have all the answers in your marriage or your motherhood that you've been looking for. When are you going to ask me? And I now realize God is such a gentleman and he's sitting there going daughter, I'm here, but you got to ask. And, a beautiful example of this is for 33 years, struggling on the diet, rollercoaster, ups and downs and round and round. Right. And trying to figure out the new investings. And I had gained 60 pounds with, with each pregnancy. And that was definitely not where I wanted to stay. I didn't feel like who I was, my body wasn't where it was supposed to be. At that point did keto for a year, lost all the weight. And it was fine except that I couldn't stick with it. I kept getting off every weekend. I'd been doing the carbs. I'd start back over on keto on Monday. And this was like this cycle. And I knew I'm like, this doesn't feel healthy. Like, I don't think this is really good for me, but I was so focused on making sure I stayed at that number on the scale, but I'm like, God, give me a breakthrough. Like, what am I missing here? Like this is not working for me. And instead of me jumping to some other thing, trying to do this myself, I just laid it down at the feet of Jesus. I'm like father, like take this, give me an answer. Helped me with my food struggles. And he led me to an old friend from middle school who we ended up trading podcast, coaching for intuitive eating coaching. And she's helped me work through all of those things. I feel so free from food. And it's been like this massive. My goal was, I don't wanna think about food anymore. I'm done. I'm done thinking about it. You know, she's got me there over roughly 60 days of coaching. But the point of that was like, I would've never worked with someone if I hadn't asked God first to bless my decision and to show me who the right. And then he ends up showing me someone who I didn't even pay. It was a swap. It was like, so God sent, Speaker 1: Which is amazing. Like that's, it's so perfect and how God works out those details. You know, I was discussing with this with a friend today as we were working out together. And we were talking about the hair on our head and how that number changes all the time. And you know, the Bible says, every hair on your head is numbered. Meaning God knows every single hair on your head. And I was pointing out like that number changes throughout the day. And so it shows you how much he cares about the details of our life, but how often have this, I mean, almost said, okay, God, seriously, no, I've got this. I can do this on my own. And I'm trying to struggle through on my own strength. And he's just sitting there patiently. Like there's a better way. So I love how this diet, you know, mentality and this, okay, I'm going to do this. Speaker 1: This is what I'm fixated on. I'm going to look at the number on the scale and I'm going to do this diet approach really led you to complete frustration and then just crying out to God for help and him opening up a door. So you, you mentioned intuitive eating. So you've had someone really teach you about intuitive eating. I want you to give us just a little synopsis of intuitive eating, because I think that really gets people's attention because they are so desperate for a change and they need to lose weight, but man, they are sick and tired of the diets. Yeah. Speaker 2: So I think what's interesting about this process is that I had to completely let go of a weight loss as a goal completely and really think about what do I really want in my life? You know, what is the most important thing to me before I could have ever bought into intuitive eating as an answer, because it's not an overnight answer. It's not even necessarily a weight loss answer. And so I answered that question and I said, okay, I want to be free from food. I want to stop thinking about it. I want to stop caring. I want to eat healthy things because I actually want to, I want to still be able to have pizza. Sometimes I love it. I want to have some cheese sometimes and I want cream in my coffee. Okay. Like, you know, and so those were the things I wanted. Speaker 2: Nowhere in the goals did I write down and way blink? I just let that piece go for a minute. And when we did that, the first part of it was going through this process of like really allowing myself complete food freedom for maybe, you know, one of the first times ever. You're like eat whatever you want, but pay attention to your satiety scales and how you feel when you're eating. And I'm like, huh? So this was an interesting thing. So that went on for two weeks. And then after that once I got through and was able to stop eating when I was full, which was crazy to me to go, Oh, I, you don't just overeat. You don't just see everything in front of you. And that was a crazy concept that I learned through intuitive eating was then goals instead of restrictions, it's goals based on how you feel. Speaker 2: And it still has wiggle room. So intuitive eating basically means you eat based on how you feel, but you have goals that help you feel that way. So for example, I have six servings of vegetables, two fruits, four proteins, one grain, one fat or three fats, and one fun food every day. And they're bubbles. And I check my bubbles and I'm like, this is so easy. And what it helps me do is because my goals are to eat so many greens. I'm so full, you know, that I'm like, okay, I don't really, I don't really want to eat five pounds of cupcakes. Plus when I was in my phase of detoxing, that diet mentality, I ate all that stuff and realized I felt really bad. And that was her point. It was like, I need you to feel bad. So just do what you're going to do because I want you to experience this stuff. Speaker 2: So it's having like goals, but then also freedom. So for example, last night we ordered pizza. I had three slices. Believe me. I was way over all the, all, all the grain bubbles and the fat bubble, but I felt so at peace with it because the other five days I have felt so energetic. I've, I've done my workouts. I've eaten. So not even healthy, but green greens and proteins and all that healthy fuel food. Cause there's food, that's fuel and there's food. That's fun. And so allowing yourself to live from both buckets, but maybe 10 or 10 or 15, maybe even 20% of the time dipping into the fund buckets. But 80% of the time you're staying in the fuel buckets. And I've just felt like this total freedom also like empowerment that, Oh my gosh, food doesn't control me anymore. And I don't know. It's just so freeing. Does that answer? Speaker 1: No, that's absolutely fantastic. I mean, and you know, you're speaking my language, you know, I'm talking about this every single day because I want women to live in freedom and we start to see, man, this food is controlling me. Every waking thought is dominated by food and I'm hopping from this diet to another diet and nothing's working and we're ready to break free and we want to move forward with some food freedom. I mean, so that we can have an enjoy those times where, Hey, it's nice to have pizza with your family or birthday cake at a gathering. I mean, whatever that might look like, that's food freedom, but it's also, I think so much of it is giving our body what it needs. So I always say, yes, food is fuel most definitely, but food is information. So it's kind of look digging into what kind of information are you putting in your body? Speaker 1: So I've really like how she is breaking that down for you. And it's such a powerful strategy listening to you. And I think this is going to really come through. It's empowering when we land on, on something that works for us and we learn to listen to our body and we're practicing mindfulness. And then that moves into intention and we're intentionally making good choices. Most of the time that is living in freedom. We don't feel like we have no control of our health. We are in control and we're moving forward with intentional harmony. So is there anything else in your, in your self care journey that we haven't really fully addressed? We've talked faith, we've talked food, we've talked movement, we've talked, you know, giving yourself a break. I want to ask you this. Is there anything else we're missing? And then if not, is there I want to, I want to ask about like positive affirmations and self-talk because I think that really plays a strong role here with most women. Speaker 2: Yeah. So the only other thing I'll say that I think that's been so helpful for me in really being in full control of my day is making sure that I have routines set up that then become habits and a planner and a time-blocking system. So because we have all of these goals and these things that we're striving for as busy working moms or women in business and on health journeys, it's really important that you, you realize nothing is overnight and this may be merging. The two things, you know, nothing ever is overnight. And if you are chasing something, a diet, a business, a strategy, a theory that you think is going to transform your weight or a life, your whatever, and less than 30 days, it's the wrong answer. And what you have to get clear in your heart and mind is that you have to make lifelong commitments to transforming your, yourself and your decisions and your choices into disciplines, truly disciplines, and really actions promises to yourself in a planning system and a planner. I don't care if it's online or in paper, I'm a paper girl, but I am that you keep committed to every single day that you plan in whether it's a morning routine or a daily bucket or a time block or whatever, but you're committed to it for over 30 days, because what I've learned in eight and a half years of being a full-time entrepreneur, there's no way I could do this, run this size of a business in less than 30 hours a week. If I didn't have crazy hardcore boundaries and routines, and it takes about 30 days for a new habit or for a new routine to become a habit, same with fitness, same with all the things. So you've got to be disciplined. And I guess that's just really one takeaway that if I, if I, if I toy with things and try them, they're never going to work for me. It's a full-out commitment. Speaker 1: Yes. It has to be a full-out commitment. And we can't, you know, like you said, expect these completely unreal, unrealistic results. Like, Hey, I've been exercising for three days, so I should have lost 10 pounds by now. If there's got to be just some realistic strategy there, we expect so much out of ourselves. And then when that did that thing, that unrealistic expectation doesn't happen. Then we get, we feel like a failure and we feel so guilty and ashamed, and that really limits us and hinders us from moving forward. I really like how you emphasize routines here. And I think those rhythms and those routines are honoring your body's natural rhythms, your bio rhythms, those circadian rhythms as sleep-wake and eight cycles are the reality is that our body functions great on routine. And so I hear you loud and clear saying, Hey, this has kind of one of the secrets to my success. And managing all that I do is having some really good rhythms and routine in place and those turning into habits and being very planned and scheduled and time blocking. And that is, you know, that's, that can be tough, but it's so very, very pivotal. Yeah. Speaker 2: Yeah. And you can do anything. You can do this, right. Make those true, carve the time, figure it out, get intentional, ask for help. Do the work and stay committed. Speaker 1: Yes. And I think a wonderful way to start is to literally write down, what's your morning routine. What do you want your morning routine to look like? And I mean like in detail, including bathroom time, quiet time, coffee, time, exercise time, every single thing you need to do in the morning, like, like write out your am routine. And then on the other hand, write out your bedtime routine. What are those things you're going to do to get ready for bed and send signals to your body? It's time to relax. It's time to unwind. It's time to get ready for sleep. So I think that's a wonderful starting point for folks, right? There is just morning routine and bedtime routine and that's pivotal. Then we can start to fill in the blanks during the day. Those are, that's a good habit to get into early on. That's for sure. So unfortunately, we're coming to the end of our time and I'm so sad. I know you and I, cause we love to talk this stuff. We could talk for hours on end, but that would be like the never ending podcast, right? Speaker 2: Yeah. 24 hours of chat. Speaker 1: Yes. Yeah, exactly. Like, Hey, we're out, we're out. So as we as we let everyone go, do you have any, any final thoughts, any encouragement for the mom who is at the end of her rope? She is more now she's frazzled. She's burned out and she's like, I just don't know what to do next. I'm just weary. Speaker 2: Yeah. I guess just the, the verse Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind for, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. And this is one of my favorite verses because we are promised that we will be prospered. We have a future. We have hope. And all we have to do is lean into him and lean on him and trust and open those doors to whatever God has in store for you and lay down the mess, the frustration, the overwhelm, the reactiveness, lay it at the feet of Jesus, ask him to rework it for you to bless your intention, to bless your life with a system, with a coach, with a mentor, with, with asking for help, with the confidence to do the work, to transform your life by being partnered with him. And that's just, it'll change everything Speaker 1: So pivotal and you are so right. My friend, this is exactly why I wanted you on this podcast. I just, every time I listened to you, I get kind of fired up and ready to go. So I just, I love it. Thank you so much for being with us today. Speaker 2: Oh, you're so welcome. Thanks Jen. Speaker 1: You can see why Stef is one of my absolute favorite people. I hope that you found this inspiring and you are ready to be more intentional in your work, motherhood and health. I know I am. Before you go. If you're looking for a tribe of women who are just like you and trying to be more intentional in their health journey, that they can live in freedom. I have just the community for you. It's a Facebook group called Functional Medicine for weight loss - Body, mind, soul wellness for women. And you can access this incredible group by going to the show notes and just clicking the link there. Or by going to Bitly B I T dot L Y forward slash fm women's wellness. Yes. That's bit.ly/fmwomenswellness. And you know what? I'll see you there my friends. Until next week, stay encouraged. We're in this together. Bye y'all. |
