The Brian Brister Experience

Admitting that you're an emotional eater may be easier to do for some, but at the same time, admitting that you're an emotional eater and being willing to change it and being willing to fight against that  and being willing to recognize when you need someone to step in and link arms with you and help you on this journey is a much bigger deal.

I'm an emotional eater. And the reality is that I've been emotional eater for a very long time. However, I didn't always recognize it and I definitely wasn't willing to make the changes necessary to combat it.

I took some time here to be super honest and vulnerable about my life as an emotional eater and what it looks like for me even now, at a healthy weight, having been on my health journey for over two years to continue to contend for my health and to continue to contend to become stronger and better and wiser in this fight against giving in to my emotions.

This is a fun little game that a couple friends of mine and I play because I so often wake up in a new place. And I'm not gonna lie. I love it. 

I recorded this episode because there are so many things regarding next steps and where I'm headed and where my head is and where I want to be and don't want to be and it's just been so much to try to figure out that I've just avoided the conversation. I never ever would have imagined being in Mississippi for a year, but I also wanted you guys to know where my head is and hopefully just talking it out would help me process a bit about what's next. 

I'm not sure it did much good, because my head is still all over the place with next step possibilities, but here we are.

Where in the world is Brian Brister? Heck if I know. 😂

I wanted to take some time today and share with you some reasons why you should choose me to be your health coach if you're looking for a health coach. Let's be real. Some of you aren't even looking for a health coach and probably should be. 😉 I also wanted to share some real life stories from some of my clients in case maybe you don't connect with my story because you don't have 155 pounds to lose.

Don't choose me to become your health coach because I'm awesome. I am, but don't do it because I'm awesome. Not because I lost 155 pounds. Not because I have been at my goal weight for almost a year. Not because I understand a lot more about nutrition than I used to know. You should choose me to be your health coach, because I'm always going to be real with you.

And I'm always going to be honest with you. And when you allow me, I'm going to call you out on your BS. I'm going to encourage you. I'm going to celebrate you. I'm going to hold you accountable. I'm going to remind you that you are capable of doing this on the days that you struggle to remember that. And also the days that you just don't want to remember that Cause here's the deal. I spent a lot of time, a lot of years, not making healthy choices, not doing what was best for my mind and my body and my spirit and my finances. Now I made a lot of mistakes. And then I heard about a program that could change my life. And I said, you know what, I'll give it a shot. I'll try it for a month and see if it works. If it does awesome. If not, well, as unfortunate as that is, I've wasted money on things before, but it did, it completely changed my life in every single aspect.

In this episode, I address the question that constantly comes up in so many areas of my life-why do I continue to put off the things that I want in life? Recording podcasts, building a business, recording an album, doing a photo project, losing weight, going to the gym, etc.

All things in life that I say I want and some of them I really enjoy. I put them on my to-do list and then don't do them. Or I spend hours convincing myself to do them before I actually go do them. Recording this episode was actually something I kept putting off. It's so wild.

I don't actually have an answer for you here, but I'd love it if you'd join the conversation with me over on Instagram or Facebook. Let me know if it's something that you also struggle with, or if it's something you've overcome, let me know how you did it!

Last week we talked about the importance of doing work that you're passionate about; that makes you feel alive; that sets your soul on fire.

This week I wanted to encourage you to discover who you are at the very core of your being-the person that God created you to be. 

So many time in life we show up as the person that we think people want us to be or as the person that we think will be most widely accepted, even when that's not our most authentic self. 

I want to let you know that when you show up as your most authentic self, the people that are supposed to be in your life will be...and the ones who aren't will slowly walk away and in the end, at least you'll be able to close your eyes at night knowing that no one dictated who you showed up as.

I talk about two of my friends who always inspire me to be the best version of myself, Twyla Swanner and Molly Thayer. I wanted to share their instagram accounts with you in case you wanted to follow along.

Twyla: https://instagram.com/allyswann?igshid=mdj5wzgh5gcm

Molly: https://instagram.com/mollythayersflair?igshid=xis7w2oymtdt

Now, they are both people who show up as a lot, which is what I relate to, but two of my friends who I didn't actually talk about in the podcast, but who show up as their most authentic selves in a much more reserved, laid back way are Jeff + Candida Wohlgemuth. Their instagrams are https://instagram.com/mollythayersflair?igshid=xis7w2oymtdt and https://instagram.com/candida?igshid=1fohjo6s8rxwn respectively.

Go give those people a follow. Send them a message and tell them I sent you. You won't be sorry.

Now, go become the best version of yourself for yourself. 

What makes you feel alive? And I don't mean like, Oh, this is cool. I feel a little bit better about myself. I don't want to run and hide under a pillow. No, I mean, What sets you on fire? What brings you joy and celebration and peace like nothing else?

Today, I'm talking about the importance of loving who you are, where you are and what you do.

I also share some tips that I've learned about discovering those passions for yourself. 

If you already know what those things for yourself, or once you discover what they are, I'd love it if you would send me a message letting me know what you've discovered. You can also comment on my most recent instagram post, whatever it is, if that's easier.

I've always been a huge proponent of sharing your story-in person, on social media, whatever. Sharing your story, your struggles and your successes, makes you more relatable and lets others know that they're not the only person on earth experiencing whatever it is that they're going through. Because we're all in this together and we weren't meant to do this alone. 

People often comment on my over the top positivity in most situations and also my ability to do, think, act and go without seemingly any concern for other's negative opinions about those choices. 

I wanted to share a bit more insight into that, but also share some tips for how to become a more positive person if that's something you desire.

1. Focus on the good in a situation
2. Practice Gratitude
3. Keep A Gratitude Journal
4. Open Yourself Up To Humor
5. Spend Time With Positive People
6. Practice Positive Self-Talk
7. Identify Your Areas Of Negativity
8. Start Every Day On A Positive Note
9. Sometimes You Have To Seek Medical Help

A Few Options For Virtual Therapy:
1. Talkspace https://www.talkspace.com
2. Better Help https://www.betterhelp.com
3. Regain Couples Therapy https://www.regain.us
4. OnlineTherapy.com https://www.onlinetherapy.com
5. Faithful counseling for Christians https://www.faithfulcounseling.com
6. Teen Counseling https://www.teencounseling.com
7. Pride Counseling https://www.pridecounseling.com

This podcast is a bit different than previous podcasts, because I'm the one that is being interviewed this time around.

Last month, I was interviewed by my friend Ron Cecil and his friend Daniel Penner Cline for their podcast, Cutting For Sign.

After the podcast was released and I listened to it, I realized that we discussed things that I hadn't discussed in my podcast previously and rather than recording those separately, I asked Ron if he would be willing to share the audio file with me to then release on my podcast as well.

While this is a bit different than my normal podcasts, I hope you get something from today's episode.

Cutting For Sign Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cutting-for-sign-with-ron-cecil-and-daniel-penner-cline/id1544882464?i=1000504511925

Ron Cecil on Instagram: 
https://instagram.com/rcecil?igshid=19fqity5s0jx7

Daniel Penner Cline on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/dpenner0813?igshid=1eufvf8h7qhq9

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

For 2021, my word of the year is intentional. I share a bit more about that and then also share some tips on how you can choose your word of the year if that isn't something you've done before or if you're feeling stuck.

I was going to create my own list to share with you, but then I found these tips on Mountain Modern Life and decided to share them with you. https://mountainmodernlife.com/word-of-the-year/

Have you ever chosen a word of the year before? Did you choose a word this year for this year? If you did, I'd love if you'd message me on social media or comment on my most recent instagram post what your word of the year is. Bonus points if you share why you chose it!