I spoke about this topic for my interview on the Women Offshore Podcast, but I really wanted to touch on it for my listeners as well. You (hopefully) change the oil in your car when you’re supposed to, right? If not, I know that you charge your phone once a day. But when was the last time that you made time for yourself before you NEEDED it?

Everyone talks about self care in terms of face masks and bath bombs, but there is so much more to it. It doesn’t have to be much, and there are so many ways to do it. Unfortunately, you aren’t an engine, and you don’t come with a user’s manual. Your needs are going to change depending on what season of your life you are in. At certain times of my life, self care was just getting into the gym 3 days a week, and at other times, it was programming a rest day into my workout routine so that I didn’t burn out. Sometimes it is bath bombs and candles and fancy lotions.

But more than that, ensure you make time for yourself mentally. Mental stress is just as taxing as physical labor, but it gets overlooked as “not a big deal” so easily. 

If you don’t make self care a priority, it isn’t as easy as moisturizing and eating a vegetable every now and then.  But it doesn’t have to be hard either, but you need to see the value in it. You plug in your phone. You change the oil in your car. But do you see the value in taking care of yourself? Until we see that, we won’t be able to implement these practices on a consistent basis. When I did this because it was "what I was supposed to do" it left me even more stressed out, because I saw self care as something to add to my to-do-list instead of seeing it as a way to reduce my stress and overwhelm.

Where do you start if self care isn’t a priority for you right now?

Step 1: Find your why. Realize that you are amazing, and you need to take care of yourself. This brain and this body that you live in are the only ones you will get in this lifetime. Stop looking at yourself as a renewable resource.

Step 2: Identify your excuses. Write all of yours down. We are going to make a plan to get over them, because if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Step 3: Find ways to combat your excuses. You don’t have time? Skip your pre-bedtime facebook scroll and find 5 minutes in your day to put on moisturizer. Put the tube by your bed if you have to. Want to journal but always leave your notebook at home? Start typing up your thoughts in a google doc, so it’s accessible from your phone, laptop, iPad, etc. Can’t find a way to get around your perceived excuse? Send me an email, [email protected], and let’s talk about it.

Step 4: Realize what makes you feel the most alive, and then do that. Do you like running and long hot baths? Do more of that, and maybe take the Pilates class that you hate off of your schedule. The more that you do the things you love, the easier it will be to do them.

What is your favorite form of self care? Tag me in your Instastories @smashyourdamngoals or write a review on iTunes for the show and let me know! You can also send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook.  I’d love to hear from you. For more information, check out my website at www.jaiscurry.com

Kristen Lemke, founder of Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market is on today's show. She talks about why women should invest, how she got started, and how you can start today! We also discuss some terminology, rookie mistakes, and how to avoid scams.

If you want to connect with Kristen, you can check out her Facebook Page, The Thrifty Cowgirl, connect with her on Instagram (@beginners_guide_to_stocks), or check out her course, Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market. Be sure to use code SMASHYOURDAMNGOALS for a 50% discount!

Did you love today's episode? Tag me in your Instastories @smashyourdamngoals and let me know your favorite takeaway! What else you you want to learn about? I love having guests who can teach new skills, so leave a review with something you'd like to learn, or send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook.  I’d love to hear from you.

Prepare to be inspired. We laughed, we cried, and we told stupid jokes. Liz shares her story of her battle with breast cancer, and coming out the other side. She is a dear friend of mine, a personal trainer, a Crossfit competitor, and a Spartan SGX Coach.

Throughout her journey, she has always been SUCH a light and inspiration to those around her. We talk about that, the good, bad, and ugly of her journey, and so much more. The plot twist? Vulnerability is a superpower. Liz believes that sharing her story is integral and talks about why she wishes she had been more open during her battle with cancer.

Check out the hashtag #Lizpossible to connect with Liz on Instagram. Tag me in your Instastories @smashyourdamngoals and let us know what part of the #lizpossible journey you were most inspired by! You can also tell us when you review on this episode, or send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook.  We’d love to hear from you. 

This Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard on this episode.

This episode is sponsored by LoveDay Reminders. Were you last minute Valentine’s Day Shopping last week? Never let that happen again with LoveDay Reminders. Getting started is easy: all you have to do is sign up, fill out the questionnaire with any dates you need to be reminded of (think birthdays, holidays, anniversaries), and choose when you want to be reminded. This service is PERFECT for busy professionals who hate last minute scrambling to find gifts for those they love.

Today on Smash Your Damn Goals we are talking procrastination and motivation. One of the biggest things my clients reach out to me about or seek me out for is procrastination. These are high achieving women who rock in business, on ships, and in life, but who know they could perform at SUCH a higher level if they could just “get motivated” or “just do the damn thing”. A lack of motivation isn’t why these women are paralyzed - it’s fear. Let me say it again for the people in the back - you’re not lazy, just scared. And you’re going to make a plan to deal with it.

Before we get deep into my 4 tips for just doing the damn thing, I need you to know some stuff.

A lot of women who get no feedback feel like they aren’t doing the right thing so they quit. Give yourself the feedback you need. Tell yourself you are doing amazing. Check in and celebrate everything that you’ve accomplished at the end of each day.

There will always be reasons to put something off. You may be stuck waiting for something before you can start what you want to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish anything with that time. If you’re waiting for a client to call you back so you can start their project, find a task you can knock out with that time. Productivity breeds more of the same.

The last thing, and this is the most important thing that people don’t realize is that if you are procrastinating and putting things off, it isn’t because you are lazy or dumb. There is something bigger going on. A lot of times, we procrastinate doing things that are steps to making our lives so much better. Hear me out on this, because to our logical brains this sounds crazy: Why would you not do something that was going to make you more successful? Self limiting beliefs. SO many of us believe deep down (so deep that your conscious mind may not know it) that we don’t deserve that promotion. That we aren’t worthy of losing the 10 extra pounds. Motivation has nothing to do with it, you just probably don’t believe in yourself 110% yet. It’s no easier to make excuses and chicken out on your dreams than it is to make small, consistent baby steps that will get you there, but so often that is the path we choose.

Many of my listeners have been high achievers from a young age. This can teach you to rely on external validation and not find that sense of accomplishment within yourself. Because of this, you become a people pleaser and feel external pressure to get everything right 100% of the time. Eventually, you begin to see yourself as a failure if you don’t get it right the first time, which then breeds fear to even start.

How to Stop Procrastinating?

Step 1: Write down something you are procrastinating doing. 

Step 2: Think about why are you ACTUALLY avoiding this thing that you need to do?

Step 3: Eliminate distractions.

Step 4: Get the fuck over it.

Decide you are going to do it. Count to 5 and go. If you wait more than that, your brain actually negotiates with itself subconsciously to not do it. Don’t ever let yourself get to this point. Once you decide to do it, make it happen. Start with the snowball effect. Look at everything you need to do and pick the smallest or easiest task. Once that’s complete, do the next easiest task. By doing this, you start feeling accomplished early on and build momentum.

You would never know it but I recorded the first episode of Smash Your Damn Goals in New Orleans. I love that city. It has always been a source of fascination for me, I've . spent a fair bit of time there visiting.

In 2013, 8 years after Katrina I made my way there for the first time onboard the TS Kennedy. The year started amazingly, I was 22 and had five months until I tested for my US Coast Guard 3rd engineers license and graduated college. I felt invincible. Sea is my favorite place to be. As we loaded up the ship to leave our first port, I got a call from my doctor. I had potentially cancerous cells I needed removed immediately.  I had the procedure done and 3 days later we cast off.

Once we had been out for a few days, I got really sick on board, some of the sickest I have ever been. My bones ached. I couldn't get comfortable. The nurse took one look at the butterfly rash across my face and told me I needed bloodwork done as soon as we got to port, because that can be a sign of lupus. Once I heard that, my mind started spiraling. As far as I was convinced, my life as I knew it was over

I didn’t end up with an autoimmune disease, but I did end up changing how I was living. For awhile I was in a pretty dark place until I got results back. Our first night in NOLA I didn’t even want to leave the ship, but luckily I have the best friends in the world who bought me a Mardi Gras mask and made me come out and enjoy a place I had always wanted to go.

Once I found out that I was fine and had probably just had a weird skin reaction to something, I had a huge change in how I saw things. I stopped looking at my life as “just about to start.” I started saying yes to more, and finding ways to do my bucket list items vs getting caught up in reasons why I couldn’t.

Every time I am in NOLA, I grow. Something about this city pushes me way out of my comfort zone, and I am eternally thankful for that. I did my first live videos here. I stayed for a couple of days on my cross country move from Massachusetts to Texas. I FINALLY started recording the Smash Your Damn Goals Podcast here. I earned my OIM's license just west of here.

It’s important to go to places where you can be inspired, and where you feel called to take on the world. Every time I travel here, I try to get outside my routine, and do something that I struggle with, even if it’s just something weird like trying alligator. Every time I am here, I look for discomfort. I push for my personal growth.

With all that said, I have some questions for you that I want you to think about.

Where do you find inspiration?

What about that place inspires you?

How can you cultivate that inside of yourself?

Even if you can’t find a way to be in a place that pushes you beyond your wildest imagination, what about that place can you think about or meditate on to help you grow?

What can you say hell yes to? 

What have you been putting off? Don’t do it just because you think you should, or for the sake of ticking a box. For example,  if there is something people have told you that you should do, but you have no interest in it, skip that. Things like that are either a hell yes or they are a no. Check in with yourself and find something that is a hell yes, and then go find a way to do it, and soon. You don’t need a near death experience to start living.

Where is your place for inspiration and growth? Let me know when you review on this episode or send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook @jaiscurry. You can also or screenshot this episode in your Instastories, tag me @jaiscurry and let me know! I’d love to hear from you. For more information, check out my website at www.jaiscurry.com

If you're feeling broken, not where you want to be, or that your past is defining you, you need thisssssss. In this show, Jais discusses how every trial you have ever gone through has made you stronger, and why it's so important to not quit now.

You're strong, you're a fighter, and you were given this life for a reason. You were given this load because you are strong enough to carry it, and in this episode, we discuss how to make that work for you. This show has clear, simple steps for getting out of wallow mode and use your pain for something bigger. It's time you realized and owned your true strength.

What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Let me know when you review on this episode or send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook @jaiscurry. You can also or screenshot this episode in your Instastories, tag me @jaiscurry and let me know what you've prevailed from! I’d love to hear from you. For more information, check out my website at www.jaiscurry.com

If a Greek person finds out that you like something you are going to get it as a gift from there on out forever.

My Thea Susan has gifted me a Bennington Pottery Collection over the years that I have never truly utilized. I made a big batch of my favorite soup the other day because it is cold and rainy in Htown this week. As I went digging through my cabinet in search of a bowl, I decided instead to use my gorgeous, baby blue and white heart shaped Bennington pottery bowl, because, why not? But I was waiting for a reason, or a celebration, or some excuse to use them.

What if you woke up tomorrow with only what you celebrated today?

Life is too short to wait around to do the things you want to do, especially if they are easy. Instead of sitting down and writing out a list of reasons why you should wait to do something or what you are waiting for, GRAB LIFE by the horns and just do it. You’ll save a ton of time acting vs. waiting, and eventually it will become a habit.

So often we get stuck on saving things for “a special occasion”, but you guys, LIFE is a special occasion, every day that you wake up alive and healthy is, and even if you’re not feeling amazing and ready to take on the world, if you find things to celebrate it will shift your whole mood and your whole life. I am done saving the finer things “for when I have something to celebrate”.

You have to find reasons to celebrate. It’s wayyyy more fun than being an anxious, stressed out hot ass mess that worries about everything and finds reasons NOT to do things that will bring you joy.

What are 3 things you can be obsessively grateful for today? Let me know when you review on this episode, send me a DM on Instagram or Facebook @jaiscurry, or screenshot this episode in your Instastories, tag me @jaiscurry and let me know what you are celebrating today! I’d love to hear from you. For more information, check out my website at www.jaiscurry.com

Smash Your Damn Goals is a show for women who want to do big things, be high achievers, and be confident in themselves and their abilities!

 

In this episode, Jais gives tips on playing big, both career and in life. So many women are focused on doing their job well, but do not show up fully for themselves. Your life is both your responsibility and your legacy, so if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough!

 

If you're looking for simple, strategic steps for success with no BS and are ready to uplevel beyond your wildest imagination, this is the show for you, babe. To learn more about Jais Curry's coaching practice and programs, visit www.jaiscurry.com. For behind the scenes, cute pictures of dogs, and more tips and tricks, follow Jais on Instagram or Facebook @jaiscurry

 

Smash Your Damn Goals is a show for women who want to do big things, be high achievers, and be confident in themselves and their abilities!

 

In this episode, Jais gives a brief history of her career from cleaning yachts to working on oil rigs. She graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2013 with a degree in Marine Engineering, moved to Houston, and went to work in the oilfield post-grad. In 2018, she started Uplevely Wildly Coaching to help provide career advancement tips to ambitious women through a series of mindset shifts.

 

If you're looking for simple, strategic steps for success with no BS and are ready to uplevel beyond your wildest imagination, this is the show for you, babe. To learn more about Jais Curry's coaching practice and programs, visit www.jaiscurry.com. For behind the scenes, cute pictures of dogs, and more tips and tricks, follow Jais on Instagram or Facebook @jaiscurry