More Lovin Podcast

Join me Wednesday, May 3rd for my free mini-workshop. In less than 30 minutes, you'll learn how to take back your power and not let other people, especially your DIL, ruin your day. Free Registration HERE

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sized tidbit of love. I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #65: Take Back Your Power

I recently had a client share with me that her daughter-in-law is coming for Mother's Day, and daughter-in-law's going to ruin the whole day for her.

I didn't fully understand what she was talking about and asked her to tell me more. My client said, well, when daughter-in-law comes to visit, she doesn't say much, or seem to want to interact with me. I can't tell if she's upset about something. I spend the whole time daughter-in-law is around walking on eggshells, and not even sure how to act, fearing that she won't have a good time and will come over even less than she already does. It's Mother's Day and I want to enjoy the day, but my daughter-in-law seems to mess that up, and other days I'm with her as well.

Hmmm, well this got me thinking, how often do we let other people ruin our experience, whether it's on a holiday or any day? How do we keep our peace when someone isn't behaving in the way we want them to, or think that they should?

I catch myself doing this sometimes, especially with my kids. Things would be so much better if they would, fill in the blank. A few things that I've heard of and have happened to me, you may relate to as well. Our dinner would be so much nicer if they would help me clean up. If they would just stop looking at their phone or playing video games, we could actually have a conversation like a normal family. Things would be so much better if they would spend more time or less time with me, depending on the situation. Now you get the picture.

Notice how we're giving the other person power over our life, as if they're in charge of how we think, feel, and act. What if we take back our power? Meaning, what if we take responsibility for how we show up, despite what everyone else around us is doing, hmm?

One quick tip to help with this. Show yourself some love. When I notice myself in situations like this, and getting really frustrated, I put my hand on my heart, take a few deep breaths, and remind myself, of course I'm upset that so-and-so did whatever. Every human wishes other people would do things differently. Slowing things down and giving myself a little space and grace, brings the power back to me.

I know some of you are worried that your daughter-in-law is going to ruin Mother's Day or some upcoming event. I can help you with this. Join me on Wednesday, May 3rd at 1:00 pm eastern time for my free mini workshop. In less than 30 minutes, you'll learn how to take back your power. And not let other people, especially your daughter-in-law, ruin your day. Free Registration HERE

And in my Lovin Me program for May, we'll be focusing on how you keep your peace when someone isn't doing what you'd like them to do. We'll explore many ways to take your power back, and I have an awesome acronym that I created and will share to help with this as well. So join our Lovin Me community, and together let's create more peace and love despite what may be going on around us.

I love the quote by Debbie Ford: "Now is the time to take back your energy, your power, and your peace." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all ~ and here's to taking back your power, peace, and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review, to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others. I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

Connect with Shaina: https://shainadefichycoaching.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lifecoachshaina/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@coachforcoaches

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sizes tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #64: Helping Others with Shaina DeFichy

I love observing and connecting with other humans, especially noting how they feel and implement love into their lives.

We have the amazing Shaina sharing some beautiful love insights with us today. Alright Shaina, briefly introduce yourself.

Hey LeAnn, so my name's Shaina DeFichy. I'm a wife, a dog mom to two amazing rescue pups, and a business coach for coaches, where I help them sell out their programs organically in five hours a week, and doing it in a way that feels amazing for them. So that's it.

That is awesome. And Shaina helps me with my business, so I'm so lucky, and I love that she's a dog mom too. So fun. That's awesome. Alright, so I've got three questions for you. The first one is, how do you incorporate love into your business and or your life?

Okay, so I'll speak to business specifically, but this also applies to life as well. And this is not something that I just did naturally, or started doing when I first started my business. It really wasn't easy at first, but it's doing what I really love in business, and doing it a way that I love to do it. Not just doing what the experts say to do, or that you should do, but really asking yourself, Hey, what do I want to do? What do I love to do? And doing it that way. So that's really how I incorporate, or I use that question to incorporate more love into my life and then into my business as well, and what my clients do that in their businesses as well.

I think that is just so key because often we think there's like a certain way it's supposed to be done or whatever. And I don't know if it sounds like for you too, it just feels better when you're kind of doing it your way and not the should way or whatever.

Yes. And it causes so much like resistance and stress and like I think leads to a lot of burnout when we try to do it maybe someone else's way, which is never fun. No one wants to do that. Definitely not more loving. And right, so when you're able to really tap into what do I love, what feels good for me, right? There is so much more fun there. There's so much more success as well that I see, and much easier to do it that way. So why not try it that way?

Ah, I love that, and you've got me thinking too, cuz I think about times when I've told you Shaina, I just can't do this. I keep trying to do something over and over. I just have so much resistance. But you're always so good to be like, wait, what do you love to do? Let's like hone in on that, rather than doing these things that I don't necessarily love.

Yes, exactly. And might be beautiful for somebody else. Right? And we see them and be like, oh, it looks so easy for them because maybe that's what they love, but maybe it's not necessarily what's right for you. So always checking in, I think is key.

Oh, that's so good. Yes, totally agree. Okay, so number two: What is something you love about you and why?

Okay. So I really love that I love helping others. It's always been something that I've just naturally loved doing since I was little. And it's a little bit of like a selfish reason because it's just so much fun for me to see people completely change their perspectives of themselves, and truly see how amazing and incredible that they are, and like just blow their minds. So that's something that I really love and I think just really drives me to do what I do and, you know, and help as many people as I can.

And you know, sometimes people say that and it's like, oh yeah, whatever. They like to help people, and that's why I wanted you on here because no, you genuinely do. Like you get excited when I tell you things about whatever. It's like I know you really wanna help me, and like it just radiates and I so appreciate that. And I'm sure all of your clients feel the same way too, because it's like that genuine, I really wanna help you. I really wanna, you know, and even if it's following me or commenting on Instagram stuff or whatever. It's like just that true, genuine, that is such a gift. I'm so grateful that you have that, and that you recognize it as well. Like, that's so cool. I love it.

Thank you. Yes, I love seeing my people do, like I get so much happier when I see other people and my people doing amazing, than for myself. It's fun.

Ah, I love that. Alright, so before I ask you the last question, is there anything else you'd like to share? And also where can our audience go to find out more about you?

I don't think anything else specific that I wanna share, but you can definitely find me on Instagram @LifeCoachShaina, and then also on TikTok, where I like to do lots of fun videos @CoachForCoaches.

Oh, so good. And I'll put those in the show notes as well. And you've got some really cool reels and videos. Oh, thank you. So fun. So, last question: What is your favorite question or quote about love?

Okay, so this is actually a question that comes from a book that I love and highly recommend if you or anyone in your audience hasn't read it yet, but the book is called, and the question is, "If you loved yourself, what would you do now?" And this question I just think is so powerful and kind of goes back to what we were talking about earlier, but it just makes everything so much easier when I ask this question, because it just brings it back to if I really loved me, what would I want to do? And it kind of clears out like all the junk or the shoulds or whatever someone else might say, and really takes me to, okay, what do I wanna do next? And just brings in a lot of magic. So that's my favorite question.

I love that question too: "if you loved yourself, what would you do now?" Hmm, something to think about.

Thank you Shaina, for sharing your tidbits of love with us.

Have a good one y'all, and here's to helping others and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals? Enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others. I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

What is the story of your dog?

So many tender mercies connected us with Nutmeg ~ maybe that's why Dog is God spelled backwards.

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sided tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #63: Nutmeg

About seven years ago, an amazing woman named Richie was driving on the interstate from Alabama to Georgia, and she thought she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye and she wasn't sure what it was. So she circled back around, took the next exit, drove back around, and pulled off on the side of the road. And there she discovered two baby puppies and a mama dog. Now, she loaded up the baby puppies into her car because she wasn't sure if the mama dog was still alive. But then she saw her move just a little bit at the very end, so she scooped her up as well and put her in her car, and took all three dogs home to her already two dogs that she had there. And she nursed those three dogs back to health throughout the next year.

Well, fast forward a year and LeAnn decided that maybe it was time for her to get a dog. Remember, I have four boys and they had been asking all their lives for a dog, and Jeff had too. Now they had never really pressed me on it, but they had wanted a dog, and I'm like, no, four boys is enough, we don't need a dog. But I was starting to think, maybe we do. My second son was getting ready to graduate from high school and I thought, if we're gonna get a dog, we need to do it soon, or these boys are gonna be all out of the house.

So anyway, apparently when you need a dog, there's a lot of places you can find one, but Jeff found a dog on Petfinder and so we made an appointment and we drove out to take a look at this dog.

Now we had seen a couple other ones before then, and we went to see this one and both of us just fell in love with her. She is, I don't know what kind of dog, cuz I don't know all my dog names, but she's a rescue dog kind of part lab, could be part pit bull, kind of a mix, that kind of a dog. And she was excited to see us and we were excited to see her.

We talked about it on the way home, and I thought, alright, I think we can get a dog. So we did. We've had her for almost six years, and what a ride it has been. So lots of learning and training took place, especially at the beginning. Just understanding her and helping her do things. I think it's so fascinating the things that we learn from dogs.

So a couple things that I learned from Nutty is the sniffing; dogs love to sniff, and when I take her on walks or runs, she wants to sniff at everything. And it used to really annoy me, I'm like, come on, let's go, no sniffing. But now it really creates curiosity for me. I'm like, huh, maybe I need to slow down and smell the roses. Just like she takes time to sniff everything on the side of the path. So just the curiosity from her and watching her do that and also the nice balance between her sniffing things and then, alright LeAnn, I'm right by you walking or running, whatever we're doing. And then sometimes she'll pause and sniff and then back to whatever we're doing, like running and walking and it's just fun to watch her do that. So her taking time to sniff everything really has helped me pause and be like, okay, here's some time to slow down. Here's some time to appreciate all the things around us. So I'm so grateful that she's taught me that.

One other thing that I've learned from Nutmeg is unconditional love. She loves me no matter what. When I'm frustrated that she's chewed up the fence, or an object in our house, or whatever she's done, unconditional love. She always loves me, always no matter what, and she's excited to see me. So what has your dog taught you, and what do you love about your dog? It's fun to think about what we've learned from dogs and what we love about them.

Oprah Winfrey shares: "Over the years I have felt the truest, purest love - the love of God, really, I imagine that's what God's love feels like - is the love that comes from your dog." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all ~ and here's to our dog, and unconditional love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review, to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others ~ I'll help you become an expert at Loving You. More information at leannaustin.com

Do you believe in miracles?

What if we looked for and expected them?

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sided tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #62: Miracles

I just finished reading a beautiful book by Brent C. Satterfield called Faith To Produce Miracles. There is so much insight and love woven throughout this book, and written for intentional reflection, not a read through and done kind of book. So, if you want to expand the miracles that you see, better understand your emotions, increase your self-love, and grow your faith from action to power, I highly recommend this book.

Brent shares that "a miracle is generally defined as that which occurs for which we have no rational explanation. And there is no limit to the types of miracles that can occur."

Do you believe in miracles? I certainly do. There are countless tender mercies around us every day, when we have the faith to produce miracles.

My dad posted the following on his Facebook page last week:

We were privileged to be invited to attend Jeff and LeAnn's 50th birthday family trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where we saw a never-ending string of miracles. 10 people, three different airlines, multiple cities actually made it with significant divine help.

Miracle #1: Grandma and Grandpa and six grandkids traveled from St. George to Las Vegas, in TWO separate cars, at night, found the little airport offsite motel offsite parking 25 minutes away, got on the SAME every-30-minute shuttle, traveled to San Juan on two different airlines, with extended layovers in different cities arriving at different times.

Miracle #2: Grandma and Grandpa (second and third to arrive) dutifully followed Apple maps to the air-bnb in their rental car, ended up in a remote San Juan jungle at night. Miraculously, there was barely enough cell service to reach Jeff (the only person who had arrived), who was able to enable "Find me" and guide us to a meeting place.

Miracle #3: Later that night, in two separate cars, we were able to navigate to the San Juan airport, recover the 6 grandkids and returned to the air-bnb. LeAnn arrived even later.

Miracle #4: The two cars were able to follow each other through narrow old San Juan streets, at spring break with a huge cruise ship in port, find a sketchy parking garage, see El Morrow, return to the garage where the cars were still there, and return to the house.

Miracle #5: Jeff and LeAnn signed up their family for a waterfall hike and tour an hour and a half away. Arriving at the tour meeting place and expecting to caravan to the falls, grandparent's rental car dies (but got three family members to the meeting place). LeAnn's family crams into the remaining car and other tour members and leave. Roadside service completely unavailable, phone kept hanging up. After repeated attempts by an angelic construction worker who went to his house, got jumper cables, and worked on charging the battery until it finally caught. We were able to drive to the airport, change cars, return to the meeting place, and then navigate 30 kilometers in the jungle to a tiny clearing where we found the tour cars and arrived 15 minutes before the family returned from their 4 hour tour.

A little side note on this. I didn't think there was any way they could ever find us, and I was totally surprised when we walked out of our hike and there was Grandma and Grandpa. Such a miracle.

Okay, so miracle #6: On the tour, there was climbing rock faces involved. Kristen was directed to jump to a different place and really smacked her head hard. Miraculously, the tour group's helmet protected her from what could have been a really serious injury.

Miracle #7: Attended the brand new San Juan Temple.

Miracle #8: Returned on different airlines at different times to Las Vegas. Kurt and Kristen waited, were able to retrieve our car and were driving by the exact moment we were exiting the airport, and drive us back to St. George at 4:15 in the morning.

"Seek and expect miracles." They happen. Every day.

I'm so grateful that my dad documented some of the miracles from our fun and adventurous week together.

Take time to notice and share the miracles in your life. It's so beautiful to have to remember and simply to notice.

I love the suggestion from Russell M. Nelson: "Seek and expect miracles." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all, and here's to miracles and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review, to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

What if it is possible to achieve your unrealistic, impossible goals?

Join my Lovin Me Program where in April, we'll dive into what is possible for your life, and together make it happen.

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sized tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #61: What Is Possible?

Do you remember being asked as a kid, what do you want to be or do or have when you grow up? I heard things such as, I want to fly to the moon. I want to be a star baseball player in the NBA, or have millions of dollars.

And then, we get a little older and our dreams change. And we think we need to be a little more realistic. But what if there are some benefits of being unrealistic?

When we set a goal, especially one that may seem very unrealistic, our brain likes to tell us why it's a bad idea and won't happen. Often, we listen to our brain and scale back our goal to be more realistic. We do this with most of our goals and end up making very little progress on those big possibilities that we still want to achieve. Many times we won't even set the goal because we don't want to be uncomfortable or disappointed knowing that we won't follow through.

But, what if it was possible to achieve our unrealistic, impossible goals? When you think about a way out there possibility, just a little bit differently, your brain doesn't try to scale back your goal. You are thinking that the goal is impossible and you will fail, and then your brain doesn't have anything to argue with.

Your brain might tell you if you know you're going to fail, why would you do it? Well, because the alternative is also failing, most of us just fail ahead of time. We don't even start to move towards what's possible because we think it's too hard and we can't do it. And then, when we aren't moving towards what is possible, we miss out on all the learning that happens when we mess something up and try it again.

Failure is defined as a lack of success or the inability to meet an expectation, but I don't think we ever fail at anything unless we stop trying all together. You're either succeeding at something or you are learning. So let's take failure off the table.

Think about something you've done in your life that you thought was impossible, and then through a variety of quote "fails", it became possible. Jeff mentioned to me 17 years ago, "Hey, why don't we go do a triathlon?" I couldn't even swim the length of the pool at the time, and we didn't have bikes. But there was a short little triathlon in our town and we began training for it. I took swim lessons, we found some used bikes, and we did our first triathlon.

Well, we were hooked. It was very hard, but we loved the challenge and we wanted to get faster, and we kept training and doing more. We ended up preparing for and completing two half Ironman races, which is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a half marathon, a 13.1 mile run. Now, 20 years ago, I would never have thought that was even remotely possible, but it was.

What is something you've been wanting to do, but keep putting it on the back burner? What do you really desire but think it's too hard and would take up too much time.

In my Lovin Me program for April, we will explore what is possible. If you're ready to dive into what is possible in your life, and start moving towards that, join My Lovin Me program. Come be a part of amazing people who are strengthening their mental and emotional muscles. Join our loving community and discover what's happening in your beautiful brain. Improve your relationships with others and yourself. And find out what is possible for you. The link is in the show notes and in my bio. We'd love to have you in Lovin Me, and journey together to where you want to be.

I love the quote from Audrey Hepburn: "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, I'm possible." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all ~ and here's to what's possible and love. If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

Connect with Angela: https://themindmanagementcoach.com/

https://www.instagram.com/angelaveesenmeyermd/

https://www.facebook.com/angelaveesenmeyermd

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sided tidbit of love, I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, thanks so much for leaving reviews. Uncle Jumbo writes, "I love these podcasts. LeAnn provides great content about loving ourselves and others. They are just the perfect length to get a positive message for your day."

Thank you so much Uncle Jumbo, and to all of you who are leaving the reviews. Remember when we do this, it helps other people hear tidbits of love. Now onto the show.

Welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #60: Boundaries and Sensitivity with Angela Veesenmeyer

I love observing and connecting with other humans, especially noting how they feel and implement love into their lives.

We have the amazing Angela sharing some beautiful love insights with us today. Alright Angela, briefly introduce yourself.

Hi, I'm Angela Veesenmeyer. I am a full-time practicing pediatric infectious disease physician, and also a life coach for physicians.

Oh, that is amazing. Like those two things together - wow. How did you combine that?

Okay, well I've been a physician for almost 20 years, and I got to a point in my career where I was sort of struggling with burnout and wondering what I should do next. But I didn't really want to leave medicine, but I couldn't figure out how to stay in medicine and be happy.

So then I hired a life coach, and I learned that I could be happy in medicine by changing the way I think about my job, and the way I think about my role as a physician. The way I think about my time, and questioning a lot of the beliefs I had about what it means to be a physician.

And so once I went through that process and realized what an impact it had on my life and my overall happiness and job satisfaction, I felt like I wanted to do the same for other people. So then I went and got certified as a life coach, and now I teach other physicians how to do what I learned to do.

Oh, that is amazing. So cool, I love knowing a doctor too. Alright, so three questions for you today. The first one, how do you incorporate love into your business and/or your life?

Okay, so this is one that I had to learn and I work really hard at. The way that I do that is through setting boundaries. So, setting boundaries is really key to work/life balance and sustainability with a full-time career and a personal life. So what I discovered initially was that when I tried to set boundaries, actually felt terrible. I felt guilty, I felt ashamed, I felt selfish, and what I figured out was that I had to consider myself worthy of a person setting a boundary for.

So I had to consider myself worth it to work through those uncomfortable feelings, to be able to still set and hold the boundary, because I knew if I could get through those uncomfortable feelings, that on the other side was a life that I wanted to create for myself.

But I had to love myself enough to stay with that discomfort and not just say, oh well screw it, I'm not gonna set that boundary. I'm just gonna keep giving and giving and giving. So that's how I incorporate love. And so even though from the outside, it might look like I am being rigid. Some people might consider me selfish. Some people might not agree with the boundaries that I set, but from the inside it feels like I am setting those out of a deep love and respect for myself.

That is so beautiful, and I'm sure that trickles into how you're setting things up for your family, and your patients, and everything, right?

Oh yeah, for sure. And it's reflected in how I show up at work too, both as a physician and as a coach. Because when I hold myself in the highest regard, then I can also hold other people in that same highest regard.

When we take care of ourselves, it's so much easier to take care of everyone else, right?

It is. And you know, as a physician, we are conditioned to always put the patient first, put the patient before ourselves. And that doesn't work in the long term. And that is why so many physicians are burnt out, and the physician's suicide rate is much higher than the general population, because we are taught that it's a hierarchy. That it has to be a hierarchy, that there's somebody above somebody else. Our patients are supposed to be above ourselves.

What I have learned is that when I take care of myself, as well as I take care of my patients, then both of us get to win. Both of us get to benefit from that.

Yes. Oh, I love that you've discovered that, and you're helping other physicians with that as well. Yeah. So good. That's key. Yeah. Excellent. Alright, number two, what is something you love about you and why?

Okay, so the thing that I love about me is also the thing that I used to not like about myself. So I've actually turned it into a positive. I am super, super sensitive. And so when I was growing up, I always hated that cause I was like, ugh, I always get my feelings hurt. I always find myself very uncomfortable when other people are hurt or upset or uncomfortable. It was like I felt those same emotions, and I always wished that I could just be less sensitive. Because it would've been so much more comfortable, right? Like going through adolescence.

You know, when I became an adult, it was the same thing. I just felt everything so deeply and I wished that I didn't. Through coaching though, that's actually become something that I love about myself, because along with the deep, uncomfortable feelings that I feel because I'm sensitive, I also feel the deep love and connection and empathy and joy, not only for myself, but I get to feel that for other people around me too, because I'm so sensitive and in tune with those emotions.

So some people would say that I'm an empath. And so it's that like, just this deep connection and recognition about other people's feelings and what they're going through. And so now, I love that about myself. I love that I'm so good at reading a room. I'm very good at picking out who is feeling out of place or uncomfortable. Or who's feeling shy, who's feeling a bit slighted, who had their feelings hurt, like I'm very aware of that, and I actually really like that about myself now, because then I can seek those people out and connect with them in a loving way.

That is so amazing that you made that your superpower. Yeah, it was something that you didn't like so much, but now it is your superpower because what an incredible thing to be able to read a room like that, and to seek connection with those that you feel drawn to.

Yeah. I just, I love it. And it's funny because my son has that same trait, he's very sensitive. So now I'm trying to teach him, to feel his feelings, and try not to get overwhelmed by them. But that it's okay to feel all the feelings, and that it's actually a good thing for him. So I'm trying to sort of pass on the lessons to him cuz he's the same way.

Yeah. Learn it a little bit sooner than you did as well. That's so great. Yeah. Okay, so before I ask you the last question, is there anything else you'd like to share, and where can our audience go to find out more about you?

Yeah, so I would just love to share that loving yourself looks so different than you think it's going to, and it looks so different than you think it maybe should. I don't think that loving yourself means necessarily like getting massages every week, and taking bubble baths, and getting your nails done, and going shopping. Like to me, loving yourself means checking in with yourself first and foremost, and having your own voice be the most revered voice that you hear.

Ah, I love that. The most revered voice. That is so good, Angela. Yeah. So you can find me, my website is themindmanagementcoach.com, so don't forget to put 'the' at the beginning. Okay. And on Instagram, angelaveesenmeyermd. And then my Facebook business page is also angelaveesenmeyermd.

Excellent, and I'll put these in the show notes as well. Okay, great. Alright, so last question. What is your favorite quote about love?

My favorite quote, it's actually my favorite quote currently. I'm sure it will change as time goes on and I learn more, but it's, "may we be excited by the impossible and move through any cynicism or hopelessness to emerge on the other side, steady with love, persistence, and hope." Hmmm, something to think about.

Thank you so much, Angela, for sharing your tidbits of love with us. Of course. Thank you, LeAnn. Have a good one y'all, and here's to sensitivity and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

When's the last time you criticized something or someone?

What about the last time you advocated for someone or something?

Hear more about both, and one of my favorite quotes...

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sized tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

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Welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #59: Advocate versus Criticize

We frequently hear a lot of advocating and criticism with anything related to politics, religion, and a myriad of other things.

I stopped watching the news a couple years ago, so I don't hear as much as I used to, but I do find it fascinating to hear people advocating and criticizing various things. We all have different perspectives, and I'm so grateful that most of us have the freedom and agency to advocate or criticize.

To break this down a little more, let me share some definitions.

To advocate is to publicly recommend or support a particular cause or policy.

To criticize is to indicate the faults of someone or something in a disapproving way.

I remember back when my boys were little and in elementary school. I was talking to Jeff about how over the top I thought some of their classroom parties were. Criticizing the amount of money and time I thought was wasted on a couple of these events. The interesting thing was, I was not volunteering to help. I was not advocating for what I thought would be more useful in these classroom settings. I was just whining to Jeff about them, which wasn't helping anything.

I love the thought I heard a while back: advocate from the inside rather than criticize from the outside. I think about this a lot. If I'm not willing to be a part of something and advocate for change, then me criticizing from the outside is not very useful.

You may have noticed this in yourself or in others doing the same thing. Expressing disapproval of someone or something, rather than getting involved and helping to implement an idea, a suggestion, or a better way to do something.

Now, I'm not saying we need to get involved in everything, but I do think it's helpful to notice when we are criticizing something or someone. What's that about? Why aren't we willing to get in and advocate for what we believe in, and instead stand back and criticize.

I appreciate this quote from Dale Carnegie. "Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn - and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving." Now, I'd add to this, it also takes love for ourselves and the people around us, to advocate for what we believe in.

So the next time you notice yourself criticizing from the outside, ask yourself if there's a way you could be a part, you could get involved, and you could advocate from the inside to make the changes you and probably others would appreciate as well.

Advocate from the inside, rather than criticize from the outside. Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all, and here's to advocating and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

We can learn a lot about trauma from a polar bear, and Peter Levine.

How do you handle tramatic or challenging experiences?

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sided tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

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Welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #58: Unspoken Voice

Last year I completed a trauma informed coaching certification with Candice Toone. I was so intrigued when she started out sharing a polar bear video. This polar bear was out in the wild, and when he experienced a traumatic experience, he would shake and then take deep breaths.

Think about wild animals. They easily recover from trauma. They lay down, and they shake, and they bellow, and sleep, and do whatever they need to do. This is a natural way for animals and humans to process traumatic experiences. But we humans set up rules to curb the body's natural healing techniques. Humankind instinctively knows how to heal, but sometimes we get in our own way.

I've been reading the book In An Unspoken Voice - how the body releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine. If you or your loved one have experienced traumatic things in your lives, I highly recommend this book. Peter shares his own experience of being hit by a car and how he worked through that.

Peter states "trauma is caused when we are unable to release blocked energies, to fully move through the physical/emotional reactions to hurtful experience. Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness."

I've experienced some tough things in my life, and I'm guessing you have too.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to try and differentiate between what is actual trauma and what is not. If someone believes something to be traumatic, then it is to them. What's traumatic for one person may be a minor thing to someone else and vice versa. And there's no wrong way to handle a traumatic experience.

The important part here is to listen to the body in the present and support the body in releasing traumatic energy, just like it was designed to do, just like the wild animals. Now Peter shares numerous examples and exercises that you can try if you'd like to learn more. Awareness is a key factor for trauma experiences and for anything.

Peter sums up his book with this quote from D.H. Lawrence. He says, "My belief is in the blood and flesh as being wiser than the intellect. The body-unconscious is where life bubbles up in us. It is how we know that we are alive, alive to the depths of our souls and in touch somewhere with the vivid reaches of the cosmos." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all, and here's to our unspoken voice, awareness and love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you. Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

Have you ever been stuck in the middle of something, and been comtemplating...do I go back to where I was, or simply go through it?

I found myself in the middle of inches of yellow road paint...ugh! 2 years later, the evidence is still on my tires.

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sided, tidbit of love. I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

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Welcome to Love Tidbits, episode #57: Go Through It

I had a friend recently ask, "why are your wheel wells on your car bright yellow?" He kind of snickered and said, I think "I may know what had happened." Oh, the memories of quite an adventure that made me chuckle.

So almost two years ago, I was driving out to the airport to pick up my son and almost daughter-in-law for their wedding. I was hurrying really quickly to get there, and one lane of traffic was pretty backed up, so I went to the lane next to it and turned on to get onto the freeway.

Well, lone behold, right there was a huge pile of paint. There apparently had been a truck, and all the yellow paint that they paint road lines with was all over. Buckets, spilled all over the ground, like a huge, probably a couple inches thick, of just all of this paint. And they were trying to shut the road down, but hadn't quite gotten it shut down.

And there I was, there was a jeep in front of me, and then me right in the middle of the paint, before I even could stop. So I was like, oh dear, this is not good. I can't really back up. I mean, all I can do is go forward. I need to get to the airport. So that's what I did. I just kept on going.

Have you ever been in the middle of something and then contemplating, wait, do I go back? Do I go forward? Do I go through it? What do I do? I've heard of this referred to as the River of Misery by Brooke Castillo and also the Messy Middle by Brené Brown. For me, in that moment of bright yellow paint, I knew going backwards wouldn't take the paint off, and I needed to get to the airport. So I may as well go through it and I'd figure out the paint mess later.

Well, as you can see, it's been almost two years and I haven't really done anything about the paint. And a great thing because of having yellow wheel wells is, it's really easy to find my car. I can look around and I can spot it from quite a ways away. So there are perks to yellow wheel wheels. It makes me laugh and smile, and when I see the yellow paint as I'm getting on the freeway every time, it's still there. I definitely just chuckle and realize that, you know, sometimes we're in the messy middle. It probably happens quite a bit, at least for me it does. I'm in that messy middle a lot and, what can I learn from this?

It's really helpful for me to think where do I ultimately want to be? Where do I wanna be long-term, even though in this messy middle, it feels terrible, what do I want on the flip end of this? Life can be really hard, and accepting that, and even finding a little humor in it, makes things easier, and actually brings some relief.

One other example, last week I was out running. It had been raining and I was dodging a lot of puddles. It was dark and my headlamp wasn't working very well, and all of a sudden I noticed that my feet were getting very cold and wet. My headlamp had missed the puddle, until I was there right in the middle of it. I could have turned around and gone back, but why? My feet were already wet. I wanted to move forward and get to the other side of the puddle, not go backwards and have to figure out how then to get around it. So I finished my run with wet feet.

And just a little side note, lifesaving tip for anyone who has wet shoes. When you have wet shoes, take newspaper and bunch it up and shove it in your wet shoes. It dries them out faster than anything ever. This is a tip/trick that I learned years ago and I love it. So if you need to dry out your shoes, shove newspaper in them, and that helps them dry.

I love this quote from Tyrese Gibson: "You will always grow through what you go through." Hmmm, something to think about.

Have a good one y'all, and here's to going through it and love. If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others. I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com

Connect with Kim HERE

How does this beautiful mom and grandma of 10 and 10 incorporate love into her business and life?

You're listening to the Love Tidbits Podcast, where you'll discover a small, tasty, delightful, bite-sized tidbit of love ~ I'm your host, LeAnn Austin

Hey y'all, welcome to Love Tidbits, episode number 56: Soul Stories with Kim Job

We have the amazing Kim sharing some beautiful love insights with us today. Alright Kim, briefly introduce yourself.

Hi LeAnn, I'm Kim Job. I am a life coach. I coach business with my husband and then I also have a side passion project called Soul Stories, which is my heart project. I'm also a mom. We have a busy blended family with 10 kids and 10 little grandkids. So family is my heart. I love my family. It's my favorite.

Wow. 10 and 10. I can't even imagine that many and that many. I was gonna say, that many bigs and that many littles. That's so fun. I love it. Alright, so tell me, how do you incorporate love into your business and or your life?

So I love routines, and the way that I incorporate love into my life and my business is through my morning routine, and I actually call it my Morning Soul Align time, because it reminds me who I am. It connects me with heaven. It connects me with my higher self. It like connects me with my soul, connects me with love for me, first thing in the morning, and that sets me up for a powerful day for myself, but also a powerful day in my business because then I operate from that place.

That is so beautiful. You said Morning Soul Align time? Oh my goodness. Because it just like aligns me with me, you know, with my soul, with my higher self, that we all have inside of us that sometimes we can't quite access. So I make sure that I intentionally access her every morning.

Ah, is there any, like one particular thing that you do on a regular basis for your routine that you wouldn't mind sharing? Yeah, so I have what I call a heaven journal and I just write down a question that I want and then I read or study. Sometimes I'll listen to a podcast, but I have a question in mind and I'm listening with that question in mind. I always, always find an answer. I listen to, I find an answer, and then I find an answer, and then I implement it in my life that day, whatever the answer is.

That is glorious. I'm gonna have to remember that. Nice. Alright, second question. What is something you love about you and why?

I really love my compassion for other people. I have compassion for the victims because I've been a victim, but I also have like an uncanny compassion for the villains. The villains, so called villains, but it's because I know they only did what they did because they were hurting. And I can always see that in people. I don't know why I can, but I can. And I love that about me. It really helps in my work with helping people through healing, cause we all have stuff that we're ashamed of, not proud of, and none of it defines you. Like none of it says a single thing about you. So I just have compassion for people.

You so do, because I got to meet you for the first time in November, and people are drawn to you. You really do have a tender, compassionate heart, and that is why I wanted to have you on today because you are just so compassionate and loving, and we can feel that. So thank you. That is beautiful. I love that you recognize that in yourself as well.

I haven't always, like I have lived most of my life from the neck up using only my brain, and I didn't even tap into my feelings or know that I had them. It was like a coping mechanism to be the strong one, to be the smart one. And once I tapped into my feelings, now I can't turn them off. And it's magic, but it took some work to realize that I even had feelings.

Ah, so there's benefits into feeling things, huh? Yeah, there is. They're magic. I'm with you, I didn't even know what a feeling was five years ago, and it's like, wait, we do have feelings. Even though we like to shove 'em away, it's kind of a magical thing. Yeah, I like that.

Alright, so before I ask you the last question, anything else you'd like to share? And also where can our audience go to find out more about you? The best place to find me is on Instagram. So my passion project is probably the one that I would wanna share with you, and that Instagram handle is @soulstoriescoaching. So you can always find the latest there. I have some free offers there in the bio, and then I always have stuff going on, but you can find the latest information always there. Okay @soulstoriescoaching, and I'll put that in the show notes as well. Yeah, okay, excellent. And then last question, what is your favorite question or quote about love?

Okay, so I'm cheating cuz I have a question and a quote. I love it, perfect. So my favorite question also has to do with routines. So I love journaling. I have a journaling routine every night. And my favorite question that I ask myself every night is, "what felt the most like me today?" And what that creates is more of that, more of loving me because what felt the most like me is self-loving to me. You know, so when I answer that question, what felt the most like me today? Then I do more of that and then my life just feels better. Mmmm. That's my question.

And then my quote, it just came to my mind because my husband literally said it to me a couple days ago. I recently made a mistake, kind of a big one, and this was what he said to me. "I don't beat me up. You don't beat you up. We don't beat each other up. We just love." Oh, that is beautiful. That's what I thought. I'm like, oh, I love the man I married, he's the best. Yeah. Just when he said that to me, I'm like that, that is what we all need and want to be, right? Yes. We all wanna be soft and loving with each other. We never wanna be hard. Yes. You know, and recognizing that and not beating each other, ourselves, or anybody else. Ourselves or anyone. Yeah. Ah, that is glorious. Okay. And "what felt the most like me today?" Something to think about.

Thank you Kim, so much, you're welcome, for sharing your tidbits of love with us. Have a good one y'all, and here's to love.

If you're enjoying this podcast, please share and leave a review to help others hear tidbits of love.

What would it feel like to finish your goals, enjoy your relationships, especially with your daughter-in-law, appreciate your body, and embrace being you? Join my Lovin Me program today, and see yourself in a whole new way.

You're already really good at loving others, I'll help you become an expert at loving you. More information at leannaustin.com