Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / #HURDLEMOMENT: Strategies for Dealing With Stress

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#HURDLEMOMENT: Strategies for Dealing With Stress · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: There is no such thing as normal right now. I
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: think that's important to establish because a lot of us
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: are throwing around the phrase the new normal. Some days
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: might feel easy and some days might feel hard, and
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: that's okay. Hey, hurdlers, Emily a body here bringing you
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  Speaker 1: another installment of Hurdle Moment from Hurdle, a wellness focused
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  Speaker 1: podcast where I sit down with inspiring individuals to talk
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  Speaker 1: about everything from their big wins how they've gotten through
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  Speaker 1: some of life's toughest moments. On the show, you can
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  Speaker 1: expect vulnerability, motivation, and candid discussions with everyone from top
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  Speaker 1: athletes to aspiring entrepreneurs on what it really takes to
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  Speaker 1: follow your passions. My mission is simple to inspire you
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  Speaker 1: to be your best self, move with intention, and have
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  Speaker 1: some fun along the way. Today I am chatting with
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  Speaker 1: you about ways to reduce stress and make you feel
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  Speaker 1: more positive. Let's face it, we could all use a
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  Speaker 1: smile here and there right now. Some days everything feels
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  Speaker 1: totally doable, and other days just getting out of bed
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  Speaker 1: feels like everest. In the weeks after weeks that we
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  Speaker 1: are working from home and staying inside, I think we
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  Speaker 1: can all agree that it is important to find the
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  Speaker 1: silver lining, and I can say that I've been doing
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  Speaker 1: a fair share of that. I feel as though right
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  Speaker 1: now we are taking a collective pause. We are being challenged,
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  Speaker 1: and when we are challenged, that's when big things happen.
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  Speaker 1: I know that some of my greatest ideas, some of
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  Speaker 1: the most progress I have ever made in my life,
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  Speaker 1: has occurred when I have had to show up to adversity.
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  Speaker 1: I mean Hurdle for instance. I started this podcast after
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  Speaker 1: going through a really difficult time in my personal life,
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  Speaker 1: a really tough breakup, and I wanted to invest my
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  Speaker 1: energy in something new. And here we are, over one
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  Speaker 1: hundred episodes later, still doing this thing. So today I
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  Speaker 1: am offering you strategies on how to cope, how to
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  Speaker 1: feel more positive in your day today. As always, you
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  Speaker 1: can reach out to me to share your experience over
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  Speaker 1: on social media. It's at Emily a Body at Hurdle
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  Speaker 1: podcast And if you have a hurdle moment of your
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  Speaker 1: own to share, you just want to say hi, I'm
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  Speaker 1: always available in my inbox. It's Emily at Hurdle dot us.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: And with that, let's get to hurdling. There is no
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: such thing as normal right now, I think that's important
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: to establish because a lot of us are throwing around
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: the phrase the new normal, and often that normal has
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  Speaker 1: quotes around it. Here's the thing. Some days might feel
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: easy and some days might feel hard, and that's okay.
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  Speaker 1: I can't tell you how many times I've seen this quote.
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  Speaker 1: It's not that we're working from home. It's that we're
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  Speaker 1: trying to work from home during a crisis or something
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  Speaker 1: along those lines. And so right now, it is so
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  Speaker 1: so important to have grace with yourself and understand that
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  Speaker 1: every day might have some struggle, but all of this struggle,
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  Speaker 1: all of these experiences, have the opportunity to turn into
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  Speaker 1: something bigger. We might not feel like we have control
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  Speaker 1: over every single day, but every single day we have
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity to take back some control and find some peace.
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  Speaker 1: So that's what today's episode is about. Taking charge of
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  Speaker 1: the things that you can. My first strategy for reducing
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  Speaker 1: stress and making you feel more positive is to organize.
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  Speaker 1: And this could literally be anything. I feel as though,
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  Speaker 1: like many of you, I have a never ending to
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  Speaker 1: do list of the things that I want to put
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  Speaker 1: together or organize around my home, whether that is on
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  Speaker 1: my computer hard drive or the closet in my kitchen,
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  Speaker 1: and every week, twice a week, I'm tackling one of
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  Speaker 1: those projects. For instance, I have two closets in my apartment,
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  Speaker 1: the one in the kitchen the one in my bedroom.
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  Speaker 1: Last weekend's activity was organizing the one in the kitchen,
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  Speaker 1: separating things into piles for donation and of course things
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  Speaker 1: to trash. And then when I finish the kitchen closet,
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  Speaker 1: I moved on to the butcher's cart in my kitchen,
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  Speaker 1: going through those bins, my junk bins as I affectionately
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  Speaker 1: call them, and throwing out the stuff that I jus
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  Speaker 1: didn't need anymore. Now is the perfect time to trash
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  Speaker 1: the stuff that's just sitting around, get rid of the excess,
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  Speaker 1: and if you have the opportunity to do so, donate
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  Speaker 1: it to someone who can use that stuff. The thing
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  Speaker 1: about organizing and cleaning is that it helps reduce stimulus.
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  Speaker 1: It helps keep you focused on one single task, one
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  Speaker 1: goal that you would like to accomplish, and when you
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  Speaker 1: accomplish that one task, that one goal, it feels so good.
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  Speaker 1: Right When you get rid of unwanted clutter, it also
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  Speaker 1: helps you completely scrap unwanted stress and anxiety. Both things
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  Speaker 1: that many of us are experiencing right now. My second
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  Speaker 1: strategy for reducing stress and feeling more positive is get honest.
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  Speaker 1: Is there something that's weighing on your heart right now?
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  Speaker 1: Is there something that you wanted to tell someone in
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  Speaker 1: experienperience that made you feel some kind of way, maybe
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  Speaker 1: an apology that you've wanted to offer. It's not always
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  Speaker 1: easy to admit when you're wrong or to be upfront
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  Speaker 1: about your feelings. But now, more than ever, we have
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  Speaker 1: time to really think these things through. So if there
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  Speaker 1: is someone that you feel as though you want to
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  Speaker 1: have a conversation with, get something off of your chest
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  Speaker 1: before you go in to do that. Maybe take the
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  Speaker 1: time to write some things down. What is it that
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  Speaker 1: happened that you feel like you need to address. How
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  Speaker 1: can this conversation happen in a positive manner that has
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  Speaker 1: you walking out on the other side feeling lighter instead
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  Speaker 1: of burdened. Oftentimes we internalize things, We create a deeper narrative,
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  Speaker 1: We tell ourselves a story that might not entirely be
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  Speaker 1: based on truth or facts, especially when things go unaddressed
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  Speaker 1: for a long time. So right now, like I said,
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  Speaker 1: if there's something that is weighing on your heart, something
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  Speaker 1: you need to get off of your chest. I would
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  Speaker 1: suggest that it's a great time to have these important
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  Speaker 1: conversations now. If you don't feel comfortable opening that can
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  Speaker 1: of worms, that's okay. But what you can do in
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  Speaker 1: the meantime to reduce your stress is write things down.
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  Speaker 1: Journaling has been a huge outlet for me during this time.
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  Speaker 1: I make at least five minutes a day to do it,
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  Speaker 1: and if you don't even want to dedicate that much time,
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  Speaker 1: that's okay. By simply writing down two things that you
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  Speaker 1: appreciate every single day, two highlights of your day that
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  Speaker 1: is scientifically proven, these positive affirmations to make you feel better.
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  Speaker 1: Another strategy for reducing stress. Shut off the news. Now.
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  Speaker 1: I think it is very important that we all stay informed,
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  Speaker 1: But an experiment that I did personally over the weekend
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  Speaker 1: that really helped me was leaning away from all all
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  Speaker 1: news and all social media. I was on a run
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday morning. It wasn't going that well, I didn't
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  Speaker 1: feel stellar, and I was listening to a podcast that
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  Speaker 1: was talking about just how long we might actually be
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  Speaker 1: inside of our apartments. Now, I'm not going to shed
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  Speaker 1: any light on that right now. But what I will
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  Speaker 1: say is that I knew instantly I needed to unplug.
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  Speaker 1: I needed to get away and just go within. And
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  Speaker 1: so I called my dad and I said, I'm out.
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  Speaker 1: I'm off the news for the weekend. I'm off social
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  Speaker 1: media for the weekend. And I distinctly remember the moment
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday, late afternoon when I was standing in my
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  Speaker 1: living room and I took a deep breath, and for
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  Speaker 1: the first time in what felt like weeks, I didn't
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  Speaker 1: feel that tightness in my chest. I wasn't asking myself
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  Speaker 1: if I had caught coronavirus. I instead felt like I
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  Speaker 1: could breathe deeply, like I wasn't so stressed, I wasn't
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  Speaker 1: so anxious, and man, that felt so valuable. Obviously, like
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: I said, it is important to be informed. So on
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  Speaker 1: that note, perhaps just limiting your news consumption on a
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  Speaker 1: day to day basis. For me, my strategy right now
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  Speaker 1: is to turn on some sort of morning news program
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  Speaker 1: for about an hour total in the morning, So that
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  Speaker 1: for me is about an hour total between watching the
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  Speaker 1: Today Show, listening to the Daily podcast from the New
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  Speaker 1: York Times, and also up first. That makes me feel
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  Speaker 1: like I've got all the news I need, and then
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  Speaker 1: I can turn on some music, turn off the news,
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  Speaker 1: and get into my workday as I sit down at
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  Speaker 1: my desk with a glass of athletic greens. My next
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  Speaker 1: tip for reducing stress and making you feel more positive
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  Speaker 1: look at people face to face. I know many of
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  Speaker 1: us are experiencing plenty of zoom meetings throughout the day,
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  Speaker 1: plenty of work face times, and that can all feel
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  Speaker 1: a little overwhelming. But I encourage you, at least once
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  Speaker 1: a week schedule some sort of face to face interaction
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  Speaker 1: with someone that you care about, someone that makes you
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  Speaker 1: feel good, especially if you're tackling this on your own.
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  Speaker 1: I am right there with you. I know it can
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  Speaker 1: feel so isolating and a little bit lonely, so make
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  Speaker 1: that critical time to see other people, to show up
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  Speaker 1: and embrace the human connection in a really beautiful way.
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  Speaker 1: Another tip for reducing stress and making you feel more positive.
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  Speaker 1: Change out of your pajamas. I know I'm not saying
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  Speaker 1: that you need to dress to the nines to stay
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  Speaker 1: at home, but I cannot tell you how much of
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  Speaker 1: a game changer it was for me. Last week, I
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  Speaker 1: put on a jumpsuit because that's my most comfortable outfit.
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  Speaker 1: It's what I lean into when I'm going to a
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  Speaker 1: normal office day. I put on a jumpsuit, I showered, well, okay,
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  Speaker 1: I showered. Then I put on the jumpsuit, and then
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  Speaker 1: I did my hair, and I looked in the mirror
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  Speaker 1: and I let out a big exhl and I was like, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: it feels so good just to feel like me. I
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  Speaker 1: think that's really important right now. What are the things
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  Speaker 1: that are a part of your otherwise normal routine that
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  Speaker 1: you can incorporate into your routine right now? So maybe
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  Speaker 1: it is getting dressed for the day. Maybe it's that
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  Speaker 1: phone call with your mom before you sit down on
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  Speaker 1: the couch or at your desk in the apartment that
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  Speaker 1: you would usually take when you're walking to the subway
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  Speaker 1: or getting in your car tohead to the office. If
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  Speaker 1: you're a fan of podcasting, which I know that you
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  Speaker 1: are because you are listening to this right now, find
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  Speaker 1: a time to listen to your regular podcasts in this
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  Speaker 1: new schedule. If you typically look forward to a certain
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  Speaker 1: gathering of friends or a club activity, things that you
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  Speaker 1: share with other people, find ways to bring that happiness,
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  Speaker 1: that sense of belonging into your regular routine. Now, everyone
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  Speaker 1: is just trying to learn how to navigate this the
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  Speaker 1: best that they can, and you owe it to yourself
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  Speaker 1: to find your happy at My last tip for you
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  Speaker 1: to reduce stress and keep positive is acceptance, just radical acceptance.
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  Speaker 1: When we cannot accept what is and we're focused on
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  Speaker 1: what we want or what we don't have, that is
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  Speaker 1: when we really get hung up. This is how it
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  Speaker 1: is now. Sarah Levy, the founder of Y seven, said
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  Speaker 1: it in one of the first episodes of Hurdle, and
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  Speaker 1: it's a piece of advice that I've taken with me
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  Speaker 1: ever since. All we can do is move forward with
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  Speaker 1: what we have. Being angry about the things that we
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  Speaker 1: cannot control, it doesn't get us anywhere. And trust me,
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  Speaker 1: when you accept this that there can be a silver lining,
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  Speaker 1: that there can be positives during this time. That's the
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  Speaker 1: first step toward positive progress. Listen, I'm right there with you.
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  Speaker 1: I know it's frustrating. I understand, but we have to
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  Speaker 1: come together to believe that we can handle this, and
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  Speaker 1: we will handle this as long as we are open
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  Speaker 1: and vulnerable and willing. Remember, and I say it all
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  Speaker 1: the time, you didn't come this far to only come
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  Speaker 1: this far. At Emily Abadi at Hurdle Podcast, Another hurdle conquered.
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  Speaker 1: Catch you guys next time.