E249: I Just Made My Bed! Now What? [I Just (Blank)! Now What? Podcast]

Valerie shares how the simple habit of making your bed every morning can transform your life. From feelings of hopelessness and depression to achieving big dreams and taking leaps to build the life of her dreams, Valerie tells the relatable story of how tiny changes lead to huge transformation…

VL: Welcome back to another episode of the women's empowerment podcast. I'm very excited to share a collaborative episode. Where I get to take you behind the scenes into another podcast that doesn't have a YouTube video, but it is an incredible show with Jessica Stevens. It's called I just blank. Now, what. And Jessica really talks to people. Who've had these life-changing experiences and of course, If you've already read the title of this episode, it's called. I just made my bed. Now, what. And it might seem like something that doesn't have a huge impact because it's such a small action. But as a listener of the women's empowerment podcast, you know, how important, how impactful habits can be. Those small seemingly insignificant actions that we take really lead to life-changing results. And so. Of course I have some. Stories that I could have shared with Jessica about buying a one-way ticket to Guatemala or following my dream and becoming a Pilates studio co-owner and I could have dove into those like bigger, crazy, quick changes and transformations. But really, I wouldn't have been able to do those big things. Take those big leaps without these small changes. First. And so I really excited to share with you. How I used or how I created this dream life, this life by design, using small and simple habits.

The other thing I wanted to mention was that, of course, those other stories with the big lavish.

Examples are entertaining. Sometimes they're not as relatable. And I really wanted to connect with the listener. I want to connect with you today. To really show you that there is potential in the tiniest actions. And so let's get into the podcast episode. I'm really excited to share it with you

[02:07] Podcast Collab: I Just (Blank)! Now What?

Jessica Stevens: And hello everyone. Welcome back to the show. Jessica Stevens here, your host of I Just blank. Now what? The podcast we are at episode 77. Oh my goodness. I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled I am that we are running for our last 25 episodes to get to episode 100 and this season there's definitely gonna be a bit of a theme.

And focus as it relates to you and the transformation and the goals, and helping us all have the best, best, best 2023. So last week it was all about the reset, and this week we're talking all about habits. My guest today is Valerie LaVigne, and her story is, I just made my bed. Now what, and I know it doesn't sound like an inspiring title, but let me tell you, there is some serious power.

In a simple habit like making your bed, and Val is gonna unpack the story for us and share how this one simple action literally changed the course of her life. So are you a bed maker? Do you make your bed every single day or not? Right? And if you do, awesome, amazing. You are. You are one of the elites. And if you don't, then I wanna invite you to listen into this episode and consider what.

This one simple action could do to change your life. I openly admit making my bed is not a total habit. I do do it more often than I don't, but there's definitely days where my bed is not made. But after having this conversation with Val and re-listening to this episode, it is a new habit that I am going to be making a priority for myself.

So a little bit about Valerie. She is a healthy habit mentor. Podcast host and Pilates studio owner, and she helps women in leadership roles create and prioritize habits, routines, and rituals so that they can increase their energy, confidence, and get more out of life. So without further ado, let's get to the "now what?"

Have you ever had a situation happen in your life that you weren't expecting, good or bad, and said to yourself or out loud? Oh my gosh, I just fill in the blank. Now what? Me too friend. Me too. I've had quite a few actually, and in the moment, I never knew what I was gonna do next. Of course I had to figure it out sometimes the hard way, but I did figure it out.

So join me and some amazing guests this season as we all share our own. I just blank now what stories so we can all learn from their transformational lessons to help us all answer that lifelong and often paralyzing question. Now what?

Well, hello, my beautiful friend, Val.

Valerie LaVigne: Hello. How are you?

JS: I am good. I'm loving all the green life behind you there.

VL: Thank you. Yeah, my plant babies. My, my plant babies.

JS: My plant babies. Me too. So excited to have you on the show today. It's been a minute since we've been talking about having you come on because I was a guest on your show last year and we've been trying to figure out how to, the timing to get you on this show so you can share some wisdom and nuggets with, with my audience.

So I'm so grateful that we've been able to do a little show swap.

**Check out Jessica’s episode on the Women’s Empowerment Podcast!**

VL: Me too. Thank you so much for having me. This is exciting.

JS: Yeah. Obvi. I am, I'm super excited because we're gonna talk about something that is near and dear to my heart and I know is near and dear to your ha heart, which is all about habits.

But before we do that, I just read your wonderful, amazing bio to everybody in the intro. But I always want guests to come on and share a little bit about themselves in their own words and what you actually want people to know about you. Like what's, what's something that you want the peoples to know?

VL: Well, thank you so much. So I am a Healthy Habit mentor. I'm also a Pilates teacher and studio owner. I wear a lot of hats, and that's something that most people realize about me when they start to get to know me. I'm a podcast host. I do a lot of different things. I love travel, I love tequila, that kind of thing, you know, you know, it's always about.

Having a good time and balancing all those things. And so when people ask me, how do you do all of the things you do? Not what you do, but how do you do it all? I tell them it's through my habits, routines, and my rituals. This is the thing, or these are the things that keep me. Energized and excited and moving forward and making an impact are these small things that I do that are seemingly insignificant every single day.

And what's really great about, I know we're gonna talk about this more today, is what's really great about these habits is they've not only given me permission, but they now give the people around me permission to do those things too. So without getting into the logistics or the details of my bio. That's basically what I do and who I am and how I do it all in a nutshell.

JS: and that is what makes us kindred spirits because I am like you. I am also a multi-passionate entrepreneur who does a lot of different things too. So I have my own show and I have another health and wellness business and I, you know, I do consulting and I like do all this stuff.

Everyone's like, how do you do all of it? I'm like, well, I'm a very organized person, but those habits are literally the lifeline that I depend on because you know, once something becomes a habit, it gets into this autopilot zone where you can actually do it without expending too much thought and energy.

Right? And that's so much important. So important. So you can expend those thoughts and energy on doing all those other things. So This was not always you though, right? So we're gonna like rewind the tape. We're gonna go back to Valerie Prehab master. Mm-hmm. And we're gonna talk about this one action that you did that literally set you on a new course in life and that was making your bed.

VL: I know it sounds crazy, but Exactly. It was making my bed one day. It changed my life completely.

[08:25] How Making My Bed Changed My Life

JS: Okay, so take us back. What was going on in your life at the time? You know, let, like give us a little backstory and then what led you to this epiphany of, I'm gonna make my bed today, and then the ripple effect of that.

Take us back.

VL: Totally. So I am the eldest of three children, and this is way back, but growing up it was, My "responsibility", air quotes here to, you know, take care of my brother and sister, like, look out for them. I was always reminded of like, you're the example. You need to set an example. And I hated it. I hated having all this responsibility as a kid.

I just, and I didn't, it wasn't even like I raised my siblings. I just was like told that, you know, your siblings look up to you. You need to make an impression or make an example, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I just was such a rebellious kid. I wanted to blaze my own trail. I wanted to do my own thing. I didn't wanna follow rules or structures or schedules.

Like I, someone was like, oh yeah, check off the boxes. I was like, boxes? No, no, no, no. I'm not interested in any of your boxes. I'm making my own list and I'm gonna check off my own boxes. So, Even if there was someone with a really incredible, profound game changing idea, transformative experience and story, I needed to know it for myself.

I needed to learn it in my way. I needed to do it my way. And quite frankly, that was, was, that was working for me for a little while, but growing up, my parents didn't really encourage us to. Like make our bed. It wasn't a big deal. They didn't put any emphasis on it. And it wasn't actually until my early twenties that I started making my bed, maybe like my late teens, early twenties.

And at the time, like I said, I didn't realize how much it was gonna change, change my life, and all I did was I literally just made my bed, one bed one day, and then I made it again. Another day and then the next day, and I started to kind of measure and track the habits just out of curiosity because not only was I that trail Blazer do it myself, but I was very curious.

I always wanted to learn and to figure things out, like I said on my own. And so this is one of those things that I just. I was like, all right, well now like now what do I do? What's the next thing, right? So I made my bed again, and then I did it again, and I slowly began to notice this positive effect in my life.

That making my bed was something that I did once, and then again and again. I was like, why am I keep doing the same things? And I, if I think back to it now, I've been doing it for more than a decade, and I think it's my longest standing habit, which is pretty cool. But I, I think what the biggest part of it was for me at the time when I first started it, was that it helped me mentally and emotionally when I was going through a really tough time with feelings of anxiety and depression.

And one of the main reasons, and I know this kind of sounds silly, but one of the main reasons why it helped me be because once the bed was made, I didn't wanna get back into it, so I'd have to start the day. I'd have to do the next thing. And if you've ever felt feelings of anxiety or feelings of depression, you would know that you don't wanna get out of bed and you don't really wanna do anything else.

You just kind of wanna hang out there and lay there and, and be by yourself

JS: and pull the covers over your head.

VL: Exactly. And so making my bed was, My way of, okay, the bed is made, I can't get back into it 'cause then I'm gonna have to remake it again. And nobody wants to do that. But it was also a really quick win for the day, which again, I didn't understand at the time, but, 'cause I mean like kids make their bed right in elementary school, big deal.

Like it doesn't seem like anything. Mm-hmm. But over time I recognized that I had achieved something at the beginning of my day. I did something, I checked off a box, my own box, and I had a win for the day. And it actually started to set me up for multiple wins throughout the day moving forward from that, which was really amazing.

JS: Okay. And I'm guessing that you're also like myself, a bit of a competitive person. Mm-hmm. Would you agree? Yeah. And so creating a, a streak. In terms of like, how long can I keep this going? And that, that competition with yourself of I'm challenging myself to do this. That, that was probably somewhere in the mix too.

VL: Yes, it absolutely was. So I think what's really impactful about doing something once and then again, and then again, and creating this streak mm-hmm. Is that you. Don't even realize how much making an X on the calendar or checking off a box on your tracker actually motivates you to do the next thing.

Because the biggest motivator for healthy habits is, is progress. So to be able to see your progress mm-hmm. Just keeps you moving forward. And what's really cool about these super small, seemingly insignificant habits is that, The progress can be seen really easily. 'cause it's like, yep, we checked the box, or yep, we, we have that streak going, but it's actually then those long-term gains in that long-term, bigger transformation that start to propel you and move you forward again and again.

So I started making my bed really simply. I fluff the sheet and then I put a couple pillows on it. Big deal. Now I take more time to fold the edge of the sheet and I like smooth out the bed because mm-hmm. The way you do one thing is how you do everything else in your life. Mm-hmm. And that's what's so cool about human behavior, is that we are kind of predictable as humans.

And you might have actually heard the heard of the book Make Your Bed, it's written by Admiral William h McRaven. But the very first chapter, like one of the first lines says, if you wanna change the world, start by making your bed. And I, as a certified health coach who specializes in healthy habits, I teach this all the time and I talk about not necessarily just making your bed, but all these other things that we can do for our own health and wellness.

And it's not about adding to our already busy schedules. It's not about, you know, changing your entire life or. Starting your day, two hours earlier, it's about those small things that we might already be doing, but with more intention behind them. And so how I help my clients and how I help other people is by working with them to create that dream life through.

The habits they're already doing and bringing that feeling into it. Bringing that intention, intention into it. So with making my bed, at first it was just like, yeah, I made my bed. Big deal. Okay. I made it again. That feels actually pretty good. Okay. I'm making progress. I'm checking off the boxes. I'm exiting off the calendar. Great.

JS: I'm becoming a master bed maker. I've improved my skill in it.

VL: I'm feeling better in my body. I want to get out of bed so that I can make it so that I can do the next thing, which was a huge part. Of my mental health. I was like, oh my God. Like I'm excited to get outta bed, to go live my life, to go make an impact, to go, to go do things.

And I hadn't felt like, felt like that in a very long time. And even on the days where it was really hard to get outta bed, you had that one win. Mm-hmm. You had that one constant no matter what happened to you that day. Was it? That's all I needed.

JS: And If that was the only positive accomplishment you made that day, yeah.

It was still a win for you. Exactly. Exactly. I love that. Okay, so you start to make the bed, you start to make, start loving, making your bed, you start getting better at making your bed. Then you started noticing how your mindset and you felt about yourself on the days that you made your bed. Where did that lead you?

[16:18] Making My Bed Daily Led Me To…

VL: Well, it led me to so many different things. It led me to getting excited about creating routines and rituals, but not just any routines and rituals, but systems and habits and behaviors that really elevated me to be the best version of myself. I. It got me asking questions like, who do I wanna be and how do I wanna feel?

And what are my goals in life? And then I realized, oh, it's the small things that I can do to get me to those bigger goals. So I started reading more. I read 30 minutes every single day. And I was reading books upon books upon books. What, what are some other habits that I did back then? I. I started my own business.

That was a big one. And so I would have like c e o dates of myself and, you know, accountability meetings. Some of these habits I still carry with me today, journaling in the morning, all that kind of thing. But again, it was just like I was excited to do the next thing. And then I started to do that with more care and more intention and more purpose.

And it wasn't just because someone told me to. I got curious about myself and, and it led me to that next thing. And so, Yeah, I, I think what's really important for people to remember is that the one thing, like one of your healthy habits trickles into so many other areas of our lives. Mm-hmm. And it's something that we don't see right away in the, in the immediate transformation, but we do see it in the long term.

And I think. The long-term gains are what healthy habits are really made out of, whereas short-term gains are kind of those bad habits, but then they have the reverse, right? Yeah. Like long-term, not so good. Yeah. So this was one of those small things that actually was like a quick win and then led me to get excited and motivated for pro, like more progress in other areas of my life too.

JS: Okay. So, As you're telling me this and I'm listening to you, you know, unpack this part of the story and, and who you were becoming. It's making me think of Hal Elrod. He's the author of The Miracle Equation, as well as the Morning Miracle, or it's something about waking up at 5:00 AM which is not me at all, but I recently read his other book.

BOOK: The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

BOOK: The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod

Called Miracle Equation and he decided to go and run a marathon, I believe it was. And he, he defined himself not as a runner either, but what he said is like he wanted to meet the person who could do that. Right. And it wasn't actually so much in the running of the marathon, but becoming the person who does something like that.

And that's what was. I was thinking of you as sharing this part of your story if you wanted to meet the person. You wanted to become the person who did these things.

VL: 100%. And that's really the key to creating lasting change or creating those transformative habits is becoming the person is, is creating an identity based habit.

So what is incredible about all this is that. Your habits shape your identity and your identity shapes your habits so you can kind of, it doesn't really matter which one you start with, they're both gonna impact one another. Mm-hmm. However, if you can think of that blueprint or that plan of who do I wanna be, or what does that person do every day?

Like, what would the ideal version of me do first thing in the morning? Does that like future version of me check their phone? Do they wake up at 5:00 AM Do they go for a run? Probably none of those things for myself, but those are questions that it's like, well, why haven't I ever asked myself this before?

Do they make their bed? Mine does. My ideal version of me makes their bed. Mm-hmm. And so when we think of that big picture and we look at all the little details of what is that identity that we wanna become, who is that person we wanna embody? You're like, okay, well this person has this really luxurious life that is always with their friends or traveling or walking on a beach, or whatever it is.

Okay, what are some of the small things that this person does that I can start to implement and embody now? Mm-hmm. To, to become that person now and to meet them there

JS: To become her. Yeah.

VL: Yes, exactly. And so sometimes that's just. The small thing, making your bed or only taking calls for your podcast episodes after 10:00 AM or making sure that you get your workout in before noon and eating healthy meals and whatever it is, whatever that version of her is for you or whatever person, whatever version of you that is for you.

[20:45] Manifesting “HER”

JS: Yeah, I love that because that is really truly the exercise of manifesting the life you want, right? You have to envision who is it that I want to be? What kind of life do I want to have? What? What am I doing? What am I not doing right? And if you can, then, Have at least like a little bit of an outline of that life.

It might seem so foreign to you now because it's not the life you're living now, but if you can get that manifestation and get that visualization exercise going on and see your future self in living the, the version of the life that you want, and see what that person's doing, then like, okay, this is what she's doing.

She's doing, she's, she's exercising, she's eating a lot, whatever. Okay, now I just need to start those things today. Even in my Mess Messier version of myself, because that is the path to get you to who you wanna be in the future.

VL: Exactly, and it's not just what is she doing, it's what is she thinking? Who is she interacting with, what questions is she asking?

It's things that don't necessarily have to be tangible because I hear the excuse all the time like, oh, I don't have the means to do that. I don't have the time and I don't have the energy. Whatever it is, you have you, you are capable. You are capable of becoming that person today through other ways. So let's like, let's.

Pull apart that blueprint and see where we can get started. And a lot of the times it's with the mindset and again, like those small little things. So I think it really starts with asking yourself the, the question of how do you wanna feel? Just when you wake up in the morning, how do I wanna feel today?

That's it.

JS: But I wanna feel energized. Yeah. I wanna feel inspired. I wanna feel, you know, like I can actually achieve anything.

VL: Amazing. Exactly. So energize inspired, like you can achieve anything. And if you think about those feeling words, what habits do you already have or have you already done? Or even if they're not, you're not consistently doing them.

What makes you feel energized and inspired? What are some of the things, like what are actions you've done to feel that way?

JS: Well that is definitely moving my body. That's definitely journaling, right? That's definitely taking time for me in the morning before everyone else's things start loading in.

Right? That's definitely nourishing my body with, with nutrient dense foods so that I actually have the energy to do the things. So yeah, so those are all the tiny little. Mundane things that actually support me in being the version of, of the person that I wanna be.

VL: Exactly. And does that version of you, that person you wanna be, do they get caught up if they eat something that wasn't part of their nutrient dense, normal, or routines?

Or would they get caught up or feel frustrated that their movement wasn't the best workout they ever had?

JS: No, because it's one day. And you just restart the next day.

VL: Exactly. And that's what's so powerful about these small things is that like it doesn't matter if you do them today and tomorrow and the next day if you skip one day, you just keep going back to it and it's easy to just get back on track 'cause you know you've done it before and that progress just keeps building over time and already within.

Whenever you took that action, you've done it, you've done, you've gotten yourself closer, you've raised your energetic vibration, if you will, to get closer to that manifestation of you and I. When people start to realize this and take action on it, not just listen to the podcast episode, but actually take action.

Mm-hmm. That's when the transformation happens. It's almost immediate and that's where I kind of start to nerd out a little bit. 'cause I get really excited about that part.

[24:32] Bigger Transformations from Small Changes

JS: All right. So like, let's, let's, let's take it back to you. So what were some of the, those bigger things that you started noticing from these, these.

These small habits that you were stacking together to create, you know, the version of Valerie who you wanted to be, what, what, what gifts from the universe started showing up your door, girl? Because I know some really good things started to happen.

VL: Yeah, so, well, let me think back. That was kind of a while ago.

So a couple things that started to happen were I got some really interesting job opportunities that I never thought I would be doing. So at the time, I was teaching yoga, and then I stumbled into the Pilates world, which again, at the time I didn't think it was a big deal. I needed a job. This was open and available to me.

So I started teaching Pilates and. Then a few years after that, I got this incredible opportunity to drop everything and take a trip through Central America. So I bought a one-way ticket to Guatemala. I left my job and my family and my boyfriend at the time, and I backpacked around Central America. And it was just like one new invitation led to another and another, and another.

And what was cool was that even though I was traveling for seven months, By myself with like no end in sight. I was making my bed every morning. I was prioritizing hydration. I was journaling some of the other small things I was doing, even while I was traveling were was just having conversations with people, was reading.

I kept reading even while I was away and. New habits formed. Like again, meeting new people, I was doing things out of my comfort zone every single day. I was like, okay, I've gotta do something that scares me. And most of the time I didn't even have to plan it out. It just was like, oh, this is so new. I don't know this language.

Okay, I'm learning this language. I am, you know, jumping off bridges into the water. I'm snorkeling and scuba diving and surfing and all these cool things. And what was really incredible was at the end of that trip, I had another opportunity to. Become a certified health coach. So after seven months of this, you know, transformative journey of mine and doing little things every day, it brought me to this new adventure and another adventure.

And the adventure of being a health coach was pretty interesting because even though I had the certification, right, I, I did the actions and the motions. Mm-hmm. I wasn't in the identity yet. I hadn't become her yet, so even though I had this, I was very nervous to, to announce that to the world. I didn't embody and step into it, and so my business didn't perform very well.

That being said, I did still have my wellness fitness part of my, my whole umbrella wellness business, and so I continued working on that and eventually my small habits of being a health coach and embodying that version of me, I really stepped into that role of this is who I am, and that's when clients started coming to me for health coaching and not just Pilates and yoga and all that good stuff.

So a couple more things happened through all of this. One of the things that I was doing for a couple years was like instead of journaling, every morning I would do a meditation and I would ask myself, okay, how do I wanna feel today? Who do I wanna show up as? And I was really, I. Putting in there like a business owner, a studio owner.

I really wanted to own my own studio for a very long time. And I did have a few people who came in and outta my life who were very encouraging of this, who wanted to either partner with me or, you know, was, would pump me up and motivate me to say like, yeah, you'd be a great studio owner. Like you should do it.

And for some reason I just knew that the timing wasn't right for those things, like the location wasn't right or the timing wasn't right, or money wasn't working out the way it was supposed to. And I just kept trusting myself to say like, this isn't the embodiment that I wanna be. This isn't the, the person that I wanna be.

The studio owner doesn't push this way. They don't force things in this way. And so a couple years went by, I'd say like maybe two or three years of, you know, this kind of mindset. Not every single day, but. I would do my monthly accountability meetings. That habit of my business and like what I wanted to create and, and manifest, if you will, since we've used that word already today.

And it was in June, may or June of 2020 when my now business partner reached out to me and said, Hey, The Pilates studio that we met at is for sale, and I wanna know if you wanna buy it with me. And right away I said, no, no I don't. But that was because I had just turned down two other partnerships I. That I didn't feel were right.

And so this third person said, just think about it and get back to me. Like, just take a little bit of time to think about it. And I was like, okay, okay, fine. So I thought about it and, and a few days later, actually, she needed an answer sooner than I expected. A few days later I said, yes, let's do it. Let's, let's start this new adventure.

And so, I was already stepping into that embodiment of being a studio owner even before I actually became one, because as I sat down in my car every day with my Pilates clothes on, I would say, I'm driving to my studio right now. It's my studio. Even though at the time it was not my studio, but this is how a Pilates studio owner would drive to their studio.

This is how my Pilates studio, studio self or studio owner self would think and dress and start the day and answer emails and sit at her desk. Little tiny actions. Little tiny behaviors, brought me to that place and brought me to my health coaching business. And now my Pilates studio, which you came to, thank you so much for visiting us.

JS: That was awesome. Yeah, I, I loved your studio. It was a great workout. And I love that story. I love, I love the fact that. It is not an overnight, you know, blow up your world. It is those incremental tiny little things, which you and I have talked about many a times as we, you know, you asked me about my dragonfly and, and you know, that, that, that story of a dragonfly.

Transformation from a nymph to, to a dragonfly. It is, it's partial metamorphs. It's tiny little changes each and every day that gets them to, from where they are to where they wanna be. And you just need to also have a very clear vision of who you wanna be and what you wanna be doing. So that the actions that you're taking every single day are leading you to be that.

Right? So I love, I love the story. I love how it was all incremental. It was not just a big boom. There was probably a few like really big things that happened that were very noticeable, but most of it was kind of transformation creep, as I like to call it. Right? It like creeps up on you and you're like, oh my goodness.

Like. This, this, this is huge, but you did it in, in small, tiny ways, which is totally manageable for everybody. It's not like, oh, I, I went and did this huge thing, which is not necessarily possible for a lot of people, but every single person on this planet owns their own body. It owns their own actions and has the ability to do something every single day to set them on the path in the right direction and to keep them moving forward.

[32:00] Permission to GLOW + GROW

VL: And it's cool because I really did it for me and other people were noticing and then started to feel permission to do those things for them. So I was putting my needs, my self-care, things that I mm-hmm. Wanted first and foremost, and that gave me the energy and the strength and the motivation to also, Be the person I needed to show up as, whether that was the sister, the coach, the daughter, the partner, the boss at later, the employee, whatever it was at the time, and it gave the people around me.

I. The permission to do that for themselves too. And then that ripple effect is not only in my life with my habits, but the people around me and the people around them. And so you're making this greater impact and this greater transformation. And it's funny 'cause if the story just told was obviously a very quick story of like the last 10 years or so of my life, so obviously it's a lot longer than that.

And some people would think like, oh, she's so lucky. She just. This opportunity to own a studio and to travel just fell on her lap. And that's not true at all. And actually it was because of the effort that I put in because of all of the work that I've done over time. My now business partner has known me for almost 10 years now, probably eight years.

I. And she, she saw me right at the beginning of my Pilates journey. Mm-hmm. She saw that I checked the box every day. Maybe she didn't see my check boxes, but she could see that transformation. You doing the work that was going on. Yeah. And, and when she chose me again, air quotes to partner with her, it wasn't because she was just like, oh yeah, that's the only Pilates teacher I know.

No, it was because she's seen that growth and through that transformation she knew that okay, she, she puts in effort, she shows up this way. Mm-hmm. And, and we make a great team because we compliment each other's strengths and, and. Differences and all these amazing things. And yeah, it's, it's pretty cool.

But again, it's like a lot of people don't see the work that you're putting into. And I think, I don't like saying winners and losers, but I think that's the difference between the winners and the losers or the achievers and the people who aren't meeting their goals. Maybe we'll say it that way, is that the achievers check off the box and even if they miss a day, they keep going.

Mm-hmm. And the people who aren't reaching our goals are giving up because. They aren't reaching perfection in their streak or they aren't re reaching the most perfect workout, the most perfect. Like if I didn't make my bed perfectly today, big deal. I especially made my bed perfectly tonight because I knew I was doing this podcast, but, but if I didn't, big deal.

Like who caress the tomorrow's a new day. And that is what brings you to success is that progress over time. So, really, Just keep going. just keep setting up.

JS: Yeah. It's, it's not about making it perfect, right? It's about the action of doing the thing to become the person, right? So you're not gonna do it perfectly every single day.

None of us can execute perfectly day in, day out. But it's just the, the action of doing it. And then, and when you fall off the wagon, you get back on and you do it again. There's, i, I know so many people who struggle with the. The stop and the start and they beat themselves up and say, oh, you know, I keep stopping and starting, and I, I start again and then I stop again and whatever.

I'm like, that's life. Right? Like that is, that's, that's, that's how we do it. You just need to keep going and never stop on a stop. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Exactly. Like your last, your last chest move on the board just can't be to the stop position. The last chest move. Is the start one and you, and you keep that one going.

And if you end up on a stop again, that's okay, but it just can't be like your last move. You gotta then make another move to get back to the start. Okay, so what I always love to ask everybody at this point in the show is now what? What's going on? What do you have happening? You know, where have your tiny little habits led you to this moment in time right now?

What's going on?

[36:06] Where Val’s At Today

VL: Well, I mentioned I am a Pilates studio owner, so that has been a very exciting part of my journey in terms of the healthy habits that have brought me there. I kind of mentioned those already for that part of my life. In my health coaching, what I'm really excited about is that I am specializing more in healthy habits, so, I'm a certified health coach who is a Healthy Habit mentor in that health and wellness realm.

And what I'm very excited about in this new chapter is that I have a one-on-one make habit mentorship program where, where I'm working more closely with people, but I also have this community that's growing in my Healthy Habit membership program. And part of that is that seasonally we do a healthy habit challenge and our next one isn't until Early 2023, but we do them every season, which has been really cool because I think we've done three officially now.

And it's really amazing to see now the momentum of what other people have been because of the support that I've been able to give them and the the things that I've been able to teach them through this. So honestly, I'm really excited about it because I am currently in the backend of overhauling my.

Coaching business. But these are the three things that I'm really excited about that we're offering in the business. And so I don't know exactly what's next from there, but that's what's happening right now. And that's, I mean, it started with making my bed and now I help people. Change the world by making their bed too.

[37:41] Connect with Val

JS: So I love it. That's what's, I love it. Ah, it's so good. And now is such an amazing time. Obviously this is early 2023 right now as this is airing, and this is the time when a lot of people start evaluating their lives and you know, what they want this year to be for them. And so I don't like to call them resolutions, right.

Because, but what are some of those habits that all of us are going to implement? On the regular for 2023 so that at the end of the year we are embodying that person we truly wanna be. Love it, Val. Okay, so that is it for us for today. I'm so grateful for you for coming on the show. Where do you like to hang out, Val?

Where can people find you in the interwebs?

VL: Totally. Thank you. You can find me on Instagram or TikTok @vallavignelife, or on my website, which is valerielavignelife.com that's where I'm at

JS: Excellent. Alright everybody. That is it for us. If this episode resonated for you and I. Hope it did. Please give it a like a share.

And if you know somebody who is going through something similar and could use some support in the Healthy Habits space, please, please, please share this episode with them. It just may help them figure out their own. Now what? All right. That's it and we will see you next week for another episode of, I Just Blank.

Now what? Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it more than I can say. Did you love this episode of, I just blank now. What? If you did, be sure to subscribe on your fave podcast platform. And if you're on Apple Podcasts, please leave a review. I do love reading them, and if you know somebody who's experiencing this story or something similar, please share this episode with them.

It just might help them figure out the answers to their own. Now, what questions have you recently had? A now what moment and aren't sure what to do? Reach out to me at jessicastevens.ca and submit your story and I'll help you figure out what to do. How to move forward and help you answer now what? See you on the next episode.

Podcast Host

Valerie LaVigne

Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!