10-Min Mondays: The Monday Mirror: Who Are You Showing Up As Today?
Welcome to Journey to the Sunnyside, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. I'm your host, Hartenbrook, published author, neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert. Welcome back to Journey to
Speaker 2:the Sunny Side. I'm Mike Hartenbrook, and on this ten minute Monday, before your week gets going too fast, I want to start with just a simple question. Ask yourself, who are you showing up as today? Now, it's not something that's going to be on your calendar. I'm not talking about your to do list, but I'm talking about who are you choosing to be as you walk into this week?
Speaker 2:Because here's something that we usually forget. You are not stuck being last week's version of yourself. Maybe over the weekend you slipped up, maybe you drank more than you meant to, maybe you stayed totally on track with your goals and you're feeling really proud right now, but also unsure how to keep that momentum going. Either way, no matter what happened, this week, today, Monday, the slate is clean. And I'm not talking metaphorically, I'm talking literally.
Speaker 2:Today is new and you get to decide. And Monday is the perfect day to do it because Monday is a mirror. And what do I mean by that? Well, it's not the kind that reflects all the stuff you don't like about yourself. This mirror in fact asks a different question.
Speaker 2:Who do I want to be this week? And most people, they don't even stop to ask. They roll right out of bed. They might feel some regret, maybe a little guilt, or even just a little bit of low grade or high grade anxiety that hits after a weekend where your nervous system just really didn't have a time to reset. Then it's back to emails.
Speaker 2:It's to the obligations that we have, and we're on autopilot for the rest of the week. But if you're here, you're listening right now, it is your chance to interrupt that. Not just to have a different kind of Monday, but to have a different kind of entire week. So this is a powerful truth in behavioral sciences. Your habits don't just shape your outcomes, they reinforce your identity.
Speaker 2:So when you decide to skip a Friday drinking, or maybe you stop at one instead of three, or you journal before bed instead of scrolling on your phone until your brain is completely fried. That's not just a healthy thing to do. That's actually a vote. A vote for who you believe yourself to be. And those votes, they actually do stack up.
Speaker 2:They start to tell your brain, Hey, this is who we are now. This is how we move through the world. And identity change doesn't come from making a big declaration like I'm never going to drink anymore or this is the new me. It actually comes from doing small things again and again, until you actually become the kind of person who does that kind of thing without even thinking about it. And here's the beauty of it.
Speaker 2:Even if you had a rough weekend, for example, even if Saturday got away from you and you're waking up feeling foggy or little disappointed in yourself, the vote resets today. And you can cast a new one right now. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be intentional. So if you drink more than you want it on the weekend, I want you to hear this.
Speaker 2:You're not behind. This isn't guilt or shame or starting over at zero. It's about gathering information. And you may have heard me say that before. What was going on for you?
Speaker 2:Were you maybe bored? Were you triggered? Were you tired? Maybe you were lonely or you just wanted to fit in. And you need to remind yourself it is not weakness.
Speaker 2:It's just a data point. And now you get to decide what you're going to do with that data. And you can cast a new vote today. Not in some big dramatic way, just a small clear signal to your future self. Hey, we're still in this.
Speaker 2:And here's the thing. I'm not just talking to people that are maybe struggling right now, because this also applies to people that are winning. So if you're on track right now and you stuck to your goals this weekend, if you've passed on the drinks that maybe you said that you were going to pass on and you honored your boundaries, where you just felt like you really showed up for your best self. I want you to take a moment to actually let that land. So often we've rushed past these wins because they don't feel dramatic, so to speak.
Speaker 2:You know, we think, well, Hey, you know, that's really what I'm supposed to do. But no, I want you to realize that this is who you are becoming. And these moments of alignment, they're literally gold. That's self trust being built in real time. That is momentum forming beneath the surface.
Speaker 2:So here's your challenge this week. If you're hitting your goals, start reinforcing those wins with more addition to what you're doing, not just maintenance. You're not just holding the line. You're laying the bricks one by one, stacking them up. And so think about what you can add to support this new identity.
Speaker 2:Is it a new habit? Is it a new reward system? Maybe a small challenge to stretch yourself or just a moment of celebration instead of moving on with your week. So it could be as simple as just giving yourself permission to enjoy feeling good. It could be mapping out the things this week that bring you joy without your past habits around alcohol, or maybe dialing in your morning.
Speaker 2:You know, that's my biggest thing. I love my mornings. And even if it's just ten minutes of quiet or walk around the block, it isn't just staying on this path. It's about widening it. It's about owning it and living in a way that really doesn't feel like you're having to white knuckle and grit through it.
Speaker 2:It's about becoming who you are because this goal isn't to drink less. Remind yourself that the goal is to feel more like the person you always were meant to be. And that brings me to one of my favorite teachings. And last week I mentioned Wayne Dyer, and this is, guess, my tribute to Wayne because I feel like he's really touched my life in so many ways. And so he said in his book, intention is not something that you do.
Speaker 2:It's a force that exists in the universe. And as an invisible field of energy, it's something that you align with. So most people treat intention kind of like a goal. You know, I intend to work out. I intend to stop drinking.
Speaker 2:I intend to journal, but that's not really what he meant. He's saying that intention is a way of being a creative power that you've plugged into. And in his book that has just moved me the power of intention, he talks about the seven phases of intention. You have creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, abundance, receptivity. So here's a simple practice.
Speaker 2:Pick one of those today and ask, what would it look like to show up this week with more kindness, maybe more beauty, maybe more expansion. It could be as simple as starting your day off, right? Maybe a big glass of water with some lemon in the morning and just saying to yourself, this is a vote for clarity. Or maybe going to bed tonight and thinking this is what expansion feels like. This is me making space for my best self.
Speaker 2:So to bring this all together, here's your Monday mirror check-in in three steps. Step one, who do I want to be this week? Not what do you want to do, but who do you want to be this week? Step two is what does that version of me do on a Monday? What's one small action that you can take this morning?
Speaker 2:And then step three is what intention do I carry with me Even when things get messy, because the truth is life is messy. It's not going to stop throwing curve balls. So when you lead with your identity, when you align with your intention, you stop reacting and start creating. So finishing off this Monday, I want to part with take a deep breath, look in the mirror, either the real one or the one in your mind and ask yourself, who am I showing up as today? Because you're not stuck being last week's version of you.
Speaker 2:You're not the sum of your choices. You are living, breathing, and evolving the version of the future you're trying to build. And it all starts today. I hope you have a wonderful week. And until next time, cheers to your mindful drinking journey.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial.
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