Who are you?

Or better yet, who do you want to be?

Do you dream of more than what you're currently experiencing?

Do you ever fear you'll never reach those dreams?

We're wrapping up our Identity Upgrade series with how to Create Your Compelling Future.

Because…If you want an extraordinary level of life, then you must upgrade your identity. To make it worth it, you must create a compelling future.

So, today is for you if…

If you're tired of settling for less than your God-given purpose.

If you desire to experience the life you're meant to live.

If you're ready to push yourself to be your best self.

Recap…

We must upgrade our identity if we want to be all God's called us to be.

It's time to do what you think you can't do.

"If I say I can't do something than I must." – Jim Rohn

When you do what you thought you couldn't do enough time, you'll realize there is so much more in you than you imagined!

"If I can do that, what else can I do?"

I shared with you I fainted before my first networking event and then every month or two for the following year.

I desperately wanted to do all God called me to, so I studied to overcome this setback. I learned to call my best self out and do it afraid.

Why did I push through the pain and the fear?

I had a compelling future. I had something big I was aiming at.

Create a compelling future that gives you a reason to push yourself out of your identity's comfort zone.

The more you push yourself out of your identity's comfort zone, the more comfortable you get with being uncomfortable.

And then, in this place, you begin to change your identity permanently. You raise your identity's comfort zone. You can push yourself to become all those things you said you wanted to become.

You stop hiding and start living courageously!

Homework:

Brainstorm a compelling future.

Envision the kind of future that would make it worth it to push yourself out of your identity comfort zone.

Write down your compelling future and hold it before you!

If you need help and know you don't want to do this alone, let me come alongside you and guide you on your identity upgrade.

That's why I created the Courageous Club. A safe place where you can Live Fearlessly Free so you can stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose–courageously and where you're not alone!

Get all the details at courageous.club

You've got this, and Father's got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

What do you believe about yourself?

Are you convinced you’re not enough or are more than enough because Jesus in you is enough?

What do you do when you’re identity is put to the test? Do you fall back to the level of your belief, or do you rise to the challenge?

Did you know your identity has a comfort zone? I learned that one the hard way! I’m going to help you avoid the pain of not knowing that one!

So, today is for you if…

Our identity is what we believe about ourselves and what we believe we’re capable of.

Did you know your identity has a comfort zone?

Our identity’s comfort zone is where we live most of the time and where we return to when we wander from it.

Think of your identity’s comfort zone like a thermostat.

What happens if the thermostat is set at 72° (my favorite temp!) and the temperature in the room goes up to 76°?

Right, the a/c kicks on and drops it to 72°.

When we push ourselves outside our identity’s comfort zone, to say 78°, what happens?

We unconsciously think, “Hey, what are you doing? You’re not capable of 78°, you’re a 72° remember?”

And we self-sabotage until we get back to 72° identity zone.

Why? Because our identity is convinced we’re not capable of being a 78° kind of person.

Those are called upper-limiting beliefs. They’re limiting our ability to go up higher!

To do the things that someone who is a 78°, an 88° or 98° would do, you have to upgrade your identity!

Otherwise, you’ll push yourself back down to your comfort identity zone every time you try to escape it.

Continue to name who you are and call out the true you until you believe and embody it.

Train your identity that you’re really a 78°, an 88° or 98° through constant self-talk.

As we do this, we’re upgrading our identity!

What happens if we upgrade our thermostat to 78° and the room gets colder, and the temp drops to 72°?

You got it; the heat kicks in and raises the temperature to 78°!

It works the same for our identity.

When we learn to upgrade our identity’s comfort zone to 78° and then we do something that drops below our identity’s comfort zone, we’ll be like, “Hey, what are you doing? You’re a 78° kind of person! You got this!”

And that heat, our true identity, kicks in and pulls us back up to who we are and what we’re capable of.

Ok, my friends, homework…I want you to start noticing when you’re out of your comfort zone.

What happens when you’re challenged to do or be more? How do you react, feel or think?

Also, notice if there are times when you’re challenged to do more, and you meet the challenge. How do you react, feel or think?

If you need extra help reminding yourself who you really are, get over 50 scriptures on who God says you are at heatherbunch.com, click episode 164. Now you can continually upgrade your identity’s comfort zone!

You’ve got this, and Father’s got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Who are you really? Who do you want to be?

Have you ever made a mistake and called yourself names because of it?

What do you do when you do something great? Do you praise or reward yourself?

It’s time for part three of identity upgrade…today, we’re talking bout how our state affects our identity.

So today is for you if…

In the last episode, we learned how to call out our identity by name, just like we were training a puppy or my giant 112-pound golden doodle, Yoshi, to sit or lie down. We’re training ourselves to believe the best of who we are and stepping into our identity.

And it’s not name-it-and-claim-it.

You’re calling out the true part of yourself that’s always been there but has been hidden for years under the hurts and pains of life.

Some days are easier to name and call out your true identity than others, so today, I’m going to show you a trick to overcome those days.

Let’s answer the question, “who am I?,” again.

But wait…first, I want you to think of a time when you were in some type of negative space or state.

Now, answer the question, “who am I?”

Were your answers anything like mine?

Dumby, idiot, slow, failure or not good enough?

Now answer the question again, but think of a time when you were in some type of happy space or positive state.

“Who am I?”

Were your answers more positive?

Crazy right?!

Our state or the state of mind affects how we see ourselves!

When we’re in a low energy or negative state, that’s what we think about ourselves.

When we’re in a high-energy or positive state, it’s so much easier to think positively about ourselves.

Remember that when you’re in a bad or down mood and start beating yourself up, it doesn’t make those statements about yourself magically true. You’re just in a negative state.

Change your state, and you’ll change how you talk about and to yourself.

How do you change your state?

Change your physiology – or make a change in your body.

Here are some ideas to create positive energy in your body:

Changing your state is a tool you can use anytime you’re feeling down and then get down on yourself.

Instead of saying you’re such an idiot, stop and do something that changes your state, like laugh or throw a 30-second dance party.

Now call out the best parts of yourself.

You’re putting yourself in the right frame of mind to think clearly and believe in who God created you to be. You also love yourself as Father loves you.

Our words create beliefs, so it’s vital we watch what we say about ourselves to ourselves.

When you change your state, you support yourself to upgrade your identity continually.

If you need extra help reminding yourself who you really are, get over 50 scriptures on who God says you are at heatherbunch.com, episode 163. Now you can continually call out those parts of yourself.

You’ve got this, and Father’s got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

What do you believe about yourself? Good, bad, ugly? Or mix?

Do you want to believe good things about yourself but struggle to see that good things?

Do you ever feel like a charlatan or liar when you say good things about yourself because you don’t believe them?

We’re continuing our identity upgrade series with part 2. It’s time to learn to call out the best parts of yourself.

Today is for you if…

Yesterday, we talked about our identity.

Our identity is made up of our beliefs about ourselves.

And our beliefs are that feeling of absolute certainty about what something means.

That’s good or not so good, depending on our beliefs.

I asked you to answer the questions: “Who am I?” and “What do I want to believe about myself?”

How do we shift our identity from who we believe we are to who we want it to be?

The other day, I told my 112-pound golden doodle to come and lay down next to me. Yoshi immediately came over and lay down.

Grace, my 7-year-old daughter, expressed her amazement at how quickly Yoshi obeyed. “Why won’t he do that for me?!,” was her question.

I explained she had to command the dog. She had to talk to him like she meant it, and the dog will obey.

It works the same way with us.

Who you want to be is already in you. Our Heavenly Father put it there. We were knit together in our mother’s womb and are fearfully and wonderfully made.

But the pressures, hurts, fears, rejections, and wrong thinking throughout life have hidden those beautiful parts of us.

I want you to name who you want to be, call out the best parts of yourselves, like I did with my 112-pound golden doodle, and mean it. And those parts will come.

We need to act as if…because that’s really who we are... we’ve just hidden it. And we may not have demanded that of ourselves before now.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance (or confidence) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Yoshi is over a year old now, and he’s well-trained, but when he was a puppy, it took time and patience to pull out the best parts of him. I had to tell him down and wait patiently. Sometimes I had to gently help him down so he was reminded of what I was telling him to do. Then I’d reward him with a treat or praise.

It’s called training.

Believing the truth about who you really are works the same way…time, patience and praise.

But when you’re consistent with calling out who you are, the truth, what Father says about you, your true identity will come out time and shine.

Now some days are easier to do this than others, so tomorrow, I’m going to show you a trick to overcome those days.

I’m going to create a pdf of all the scriptures from episode 159 for you and put it in the show notes on heatherbunch.com. Then you can continually call out those parts of yourself.

You’ve got this, and Father’s got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Who are you really?

What do you believe about yourself? Good, bad, ugly? Or mix?

Do you believe good things about yourself but feel like there’s another level you want to get to?

Are you fully living the life God planned for you to live yet?

We’re starting a new series on identity. We’ll unpack what we believe about ourselves and how we can upgrade that image.

Today is for you if...

Why identity? 

Identity is what shapes your life.

If you want to change your life, you must change or upgrade your identity.

We must upgrade our identity if we want to stop hiding, show up fully, and fulfill our God-given purpose.

What is identity?

Our identity is made up of our beliefs about ourselves.

Our beliefs are a feeling of absolute certainty of what something means.

That can be good or not good depending on our beliefs.

I shared with you my belief that I struggle with is “my voice doesn’t matter.” That belief changes how I show up and what I think I can and should do.

I attached the meaning that no one really wants to hear what I have to say. I’m invisible.

What happens when I think, “Oh, that’s good, I should share that on social media!”?

Yep, “who would want to hear that?” So I don’t share it.

But is that the truth?

If I want to change my life, I must upgrade my identity.

So, how about you? “Who do you believe you are?”

Let’s answer the question, “who am I?”

Write down everything that comes to mind.

How do you see yourself?

What are you capable of?

“Beliefs create and beliefs destroy.” – Tony Robbins.

We get to choose what we believe about ourselves.

Let me ask you another question…

What is life?

Take a moment and answer that.

Is it a battle? A test? A crap shoot?

If we believe life is a battle, we’ll approach life and the people we encounter like we’re at war or it’s a constant struggle.

If we believe life is a test, we’ll think life is a pass and fail or like we’re being judged. We’ll most likely be afraid to fail because then we’re failing life.

But what if we believe life is a dance, a gift, or sacred?

Take a moment and answer, “what lens you would see life if it was a gift?”

We’ll live our life as if it’s special, it matters, beautiful, and meant to be given away.

Our identity works the same way.

Your words shape your belief about yourself.

What you believe about yourself shapes what you think you’re capable of.

You’re capable of so much more, but you won’t believe that if you believe your dumb, slow or not enough.

Homework:

Take some time and write down what you want to believe about yourself.

Who do you want to be?

You don’t have to believe it right now. We’ll keep working on upgrading ourselves throughout this series, but for now, get a picture of who you do want to become.

Also, if you didn’t get a chance while listening to the podcast, start by answering the question, “who am I?”

If you’re up for it, I would love you to email me the answers to “who are you” and “who do you want to be?” [email protected]

You’ve got this, and Father’s got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Have you ever needed to escape from reality?

Have you ever seen a friend who needed a break, and you stepped in to help make that happen?

Some days we need an escape from the pressures of life.

We need friendships and fun.

We need a break.

Today is for you if…

If you need a break and maybe you're not very good at taking it.

If you've got a friend or loved one you see, they need an escape but haven't taken it themselves.

Another friend and I have a friend that needs a break. Our other friend is having some trouble taking time for herself. So we've concocted a plan to kidnap her and help her get away from the pressures of life and have fun.

We had a super fun time escaping the day-to-day pressures of life.

We kidnapped our friend to celebrate her birthday and give her time away from the pressure and responsibilities, but I realized I needed an escape too!

We all need an escape. It refreshes us, energizes us and allows us to let pressures go.

And hey, it gives us time to have fun. 

Sometimes we get so busy we forget that fun is actually essential.

So, I want you to take some time to escape, even if it's just a bath, a coffee shop, or walking around window shopping.

If you struggle to escape by yourself, grab a friend and have fun together!

When you come back from escaping, you'll have the energy and capacity to be a better mom, wife and friend. And you'll be more efficient with all that other stuff on your to-do list too!

Can I ask a favor? If you enjoy this podcast, would you please rate and review the show? It will also help others find the show and be encouraged too! And you get to be a part of their transformation too! Win-win-win!

You've got this, and Father's got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Have you ever struggled with seeing you’re true identity?

When people say nice things about you, do you deflect it or don’t believe it?

Maybe people said hurtful means things to you, and you believed them.

Today is a little different podcast. I want to share what God says about you from scripture.

Today is for you if…

If you deflect or don’t believe the compliments, people try to give you.

If you continually think…I’m not enough, stupid me; I can’t do it; if I were only like so and so, then I could fulfill my God-given purpose.

If you’re ready to truly discover who you are or just need a pick-me-up because you’re feeling down, today is your day, my friend.

You can find the scriptures and the references on my website, heatherbunch.com. Click here to go right to the page.

You've got this, and Father's got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Resources

Need a place to help you discover your true identity? Do you need a place where others help come alongside you, believing in you and holding space while you learn to believe in yourself too?

Courageous Club is a safe place to stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose. Check out all the details at Courageous.club.

Do you struggle to push past the fear to reach your goals?

Do you feel like you're stuck, or is life today the same as ten years ago?

Have you stopped pursuing changing or growing yourself because of medical, physical or emotional challenges from your past?

Today is for you if…

If you desire a greater life of significance than you're living now.

If you're open to seeing the limitations you may have placed on yourself that are holding you back.

If you're ready to stop making excuses to change because of your past challenges.

We've been looking at invisible dog fences for Yoshi, our one-year-old 112-pound Goldendoodle.

If you’re not familiar with an invisible fence, it’s where you put a boundary of wire underground around your yard. Then the dog has a special collar that vibrates or beeps at them when they get close to the invisible fence line.

Over time, it trains the dog to stay away from the fence line.

I've seen dogs that are so well-trained that they don't even need the electronic collar anymore. They just stay within the boundaries.

We all have challenges throughout our lives:

These challenges train us to stop trying, not move forward or not pursue our dreams if we allow them.

They become an invisible fence in our mind that says….you can't; who do you think you are? You don't have what it takes…

But here's the kicker; we have to admit to ourselves…

When we say, "I can't;" we're really saying, "I won't."

Changing how we believe about ourselves and what we're capable of is a choice.

Not allowing the challenges to stop us and courageously stepping out into our purpose is a choice.

It's us saying, "I can and I will."

"The secret to change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." –Socrates

We have to focus on creating new habits to change the old ones.

1. Choose a new habit

What habit do you want to create?

2. Know your will

Your will gives you the power to change.

It's really, "why the heck do you want to make this change to begin with?"

3. Know your way

You have to break down how you'll incorporate this new habit. What are the steps we’ll take?

4. It's all about tiny changes

Jerry Seinfeld's mantra is, "Never break the chain.” That keeps him writing jokes every day.

5. Celebrate progress along the way

Celebrate yourself, the tiny wins and any forward movement…even if it's one step forward and two steps back.

This works for any area of change.

You've got this, and Father's got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

Resources

*Atomic Habits by James Clear is the best one I've read on habits.  https://amzn.to/3DgoYEF

Need a place to help you keep moving forward toward your dreams? Do you need a place where others help pick you up when you fall and celebrate with you when you have wins?

Courageous Club is a safe place to stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose. Check out all the details at Courageous.club.

*Book is an Amazon affiliate link; if you purchase through this link, I’ll receive a small commission.

Have you ever had a problem you were so angry or stressed about you couldn't think clearly?

If someone irritates or hurts you, do you worry that if you let it go, it means they're right, and you're wrong?

Have you ever had a reaction that escalated the more you talked about it?

Today is for you if…

By catching negativity early, you keep yourself in a resourceful state of mind, giving yourself the best shot at effectively solving problems, dealing with stress and overcoming challenges.

Our thoughts are like boiling a pot of water. When they go negative, they can get hot. How do we stop them from boiling over?

We could put ice in the pot, but that's only temporary.

We must remove the heat source to get the water to stop boiling permanently.

So it goes with our thoughts. Sometimes we must remove ourselves from the heat source so our thoughts stop boiling.

Then went we chill out, we can deal with this issue in a productive, calm manner.

A practical way to remove the heat source on that hot thought is to schedule a later time to deal with the issue.

Once it's scheduled, then it's easier to drop that hot thought because you know mentally you'll get back to it.

Many times you won't even need to deal with it later as it naturally resolves itself.

Now dropping the thought and rescheduling it for later doesn't mean that someone else is right and you're wrong. It DOES short-circuit the potentially negative reaction and keeps it from escalating.

If the issue merits revisiting, you can go back once the hotness wears off and deal with it calmly and proactively.

Do you need a place where you're affirmed? A place where people help pick you up when you fall and celebrate with you when you have wins?

Courageous Club is a safe place to stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose. Check out all the details at Courageous.club.

You've got this, and Father's got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!

What do you do when you fail? How do you treat yourself?

How do you handle it when you make a mistake? Beat yourself up? Or pick yourself up and keep going?

Do you know how to pull yourself out of the mulligrubs, or do you stay stuck, sinking deeper?

We all make mistakes, but what we do afterward matters. It determines if we pick ourselves up and keep moving forward or if we sink into a downward spiral that makes us feel terrible and holds us back.

Today is for you if…

I made a mistake this week in our finances that are causing my husband more work on top of the 10-12 hours he’s already pulling. Ouch! I felt horrible and found myself spiraling into the “How could you do this again” abyss.

When I’m in that mood, it’s hard to keep moving and do what I know I want and need to do.

How about you? What do you do when you make a mistake?

Beat yourself up? Sink into the whoa-is-me abyss? Stop trying?

Do you feel, “If you’re not perfect, you’re not worthy?”

We may not say that one out loud, but how many of you have felt this way?

Here are two keys that will help you stop giving up on yourself.

1. Receive Father’s Grace

It’s by grace we’re saved…it’s a gift.

You see, we miss it at times, but grace is receiving something we don’t deserve.

Sin in Greek means to miss the mark. It’s that same word as if an archer were to miss the bullseye.

We miss the bullseye regularly.

But here’s the exciting part!

Jesus is interceding for us…now that doesn’t mean He’s praying for us.

In Greek, intercede means to hit the mark.

Jesus is continually hitting the mark for us. He’s hitting the bullseye for us, so we don’t have to!

We can see this in the lives of King David and Peter.

If I don’t receive God’s grace, it’s like me saying, “What Jesus did on the cross wasn’t good enough for me.” Yikes!

Receive God’s grace; it’s a free gift.

2. Give yourself compassion

When you receive God’s grace, it’s easier to give yourself compassion.

“If God forgave me, then who am I not to forgive myself?”

I like to pre-prep my affirmations so that when I make a mistake, I know what I’ll say to myself to keep that spiral at bay.

Here are some ideas:

So this week, create some statements that you can use to love yourself when you make a mistake.

Do you need a place where you’re affirmed? A place where people help pick you up when you fall and celebrate with you when you have wins?

Courageous Club is a safe place to stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose. Check out all the details at Courageous.club.

You’ve got this, and Father’s got you!

Thanks a Bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free!