Back to Basics When You Need a Reset

Summary
In this conversation, Susan Sutherland emphasizes the importance of getting back to the basics when feeling weighed down or burdened. She discusses the power of affirmations and the need to be aware of the words and beliefs we are affirming. Susan also highlights the significance of checking in with ourselves and rating how we are showing up in different areas of our lives. She suggests setting goals and taking small steps to lift ourselves up in areas that are important to us. Additionally, Susan shares her personal experience of getting back to the basics in her own life and the importance of authenticity.

Takeaways

• When feeling weighed down or burdened, it is important to go back to the basics.
• Be aware of the words and beliefs we are affirming, as they shape our reality.
• Check in with yourself and rate how you are showing up in different areas of your life.
• Set goals and take small steps to lift yourself up in areas that are important to you.
• Authenticity is key in finding your own path and feeling aligned with your actions.

Keywords
basics, affirmations, awareness, goals, self-care, authenticity

Transcript

Hi, my family. Thanks for joining today. Today, we're going to talk about getting back to the basics. And this is really important. If you go through a period, a season where you are struggling in

aspect of your life, but especially if you are just feeling really weighed down or burdened, the best thing you can do is go back to the basics. And I know if you've been on a spiritual journey,

it is hard sometimes to think that that's the answer. Like we've done all that before. So surely we're at a different place, but we did all those things before. And I'll talk about what those things are. We did those things because they work. And so it's really important if you find yourself in a spiral and momentum balls can go in either direction. We can either,

be gaining the momentum away from the direction we would like to choose or gaining momentum in the course, the path that we would like to be on. And so if you find yourself day after day really struggling, it is very important to pause and kind of have the awareness that, wait a second, I'm not showing up. Things are not going the way I want to. And if you've been on this path, we know that we are

creators we are We are dictating the script here and so if things are not going the way you want them to Then it's really important to have that reset So that you can say wait a second. I have to like ball up this script and start over writing a new one But a lot of times it is hard to break that cycle. It is hard to say I

wait a second, I'm in control here. I'm the boss of me. And when we're not showing up like that, we can get that momentum ball rolling in the wrong direction. And so the more awareness you have for how you're feeling,

quicker you can tap into, wait a second, pause, let me do things differently. And I even see it as if you are going to the gym every single day,

even if it's a 30 minute workout, you go to the gym every single day, then when you miss that workout, it doesn't feel right. You are so conditioned to showing up that way for yourself that not doing it would impact you. However, give yourself one week of not doing it and getting started again feels like work. And you may know, I feel better when I go to the gym, but getting that momentum going again,

It takes conscious effort. And so a lot of times we have to have the discipline to stop ourselves and say, wait a second, are things going the way I want? And until I have the motivation, I'm going to have to have the discipline to do the things that I know will put me back on the path that is headed down the direction that I want to go.

and I'm working with somebody right now who is really having to have a hard reset. And so we're kind of going back to basics in a different way, but I have also needed to go back to basis in a different way. So that's why we're talking about it today. But in speaking with her, she's having a really hard time now and she has done a lot of work and seen how removing blocks can.

you know, change your money mindset. She knows that this work works, this work works.

when you start having bad days, when things aren't going your way, it's really easy to slip back into that victim consciousness, that victim mindset that everything's happening to me, that this is really hard. And so when I was talking to her,

She's saying, I'm just so tired. I'm so exhausted. I don't have support.

I'm sick of struggling with money. Now, if you're listening to this, I guarantee you, you know the power of affirmations and affirmations are not just affirming what you want. But a lot of times when we're stuck in that slippery slope, what we are affirming,

is what we would not choose. I am tired. I am not supported. These are your I am statements and they have a lot of belief behind them. And that's what makes them powerful is that you are believing this to be true. And therefore this is what you're creating more of. We know that the energy we put into these beliefs is what creates our reality. And so when you have shifted out of

Conscious creating consciously choosing your words and your beliefs and checking yourself When something doesn't align with the path that you would want when you get back into that negative pattern your mantra your affirmations are now I am tired I am Sad I am unhappy and if those are not the words I

that you would write and consciously speak to yourself, then you need to hit a pause and say, wait a second, what am I doing here? And so basically, the first step when you have created this

to say, to take your power back and say, I'm in charge of this, I'm in charge of this, and I'm not gonna choose this anymore, and I'm gonna catch myself.

when I say those things and I'm gonna reframe it with what I would choose to say and to make those conscious choices to change your mindset and your beliefs. And it's not like saying, I have energy will make you not tired, but I can 1000 % guarantee you that consciously.

repeating all the time, I am tired will also not make you not tired. You will create opportunities to be physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted when you affirm it to be your state of being. And so it is really pausing and saying like clear cancel, I am not tired. And finding other words. And if there are different,

paths in your life that excite you, then maybe you just find little things that you can

I am excited to get up and see my husband this morning. I am excited to go to bed and feel rested in the morning. Whatever the little things are that you can say, it is really important that you have enough awareness to catch yourself.

when you are affirming things that you do not wish to be so. And so bringing that awareness back into your life is how we get back to the basics, how we start checking ourselves. Because the more you know, the more you're able to correct and move forward. What I really like to do when I'm working with people is have them use a wellness wheel.

and you can look up images of a wellness wheel online. There's different things and there are different things that might be important and relevant to you. And we all know what hits for us. I know that when I am really focused in one part of the wellness wheel that something else may dip. And so this could be like occupational, spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, environmental, social.

What are the things that really matter to you? But if you will start rating how you are showing up, if not daily, at least weekly, how are you showing up and feeling in these avenues? If you were sick all week, physical would be really low, social would be really low. And so then it's like really for the next week setting goals.

that would lift you up. If you are not getting outside in nature, can you make a plan in your calendar, in your diary, whatever you call it, for the next week that you're gonna take a walk three days a week and really get outside? When I am in an emotional or even spiritual slump, when I am not feeling high vibrational, you know what? One of my favorite things to do is declutter.

is to just get rid of some things. It moves energy. But also I know for me, having a untidy home really makes my mood dip. And we got five people and a hundred animals living in this house. It's not like it's a rare occurrence. It happens. But I know then I need to focus on getting things tidied up. It makes me feel better.

It makes me feel so much better to walk into a kitchen that doesn't have stuff on it. You know, every like our dining room table and our kitchen counter can become a landing zone. And when people's stuff just starts accumulating, it really impacts how I feel. And so when I am aware, I'm not feeling my best. What are little steps that I can take to make sure that I'm showing up in a way that

that promotes me feeling better, that puts me at least at the trailhead of the path I wanna go on. I know in January, I wasn't feeling my best and it was the Australian Open and I was not getting the sleep that I require because I'm watching freaking tennis matches. What am I doing? I'm very aware that when I don't sleep well,

I may not go to the gym as often or get as much activity. I definitely do not make the same nutritional choices when I'm tired. When I am tired, I grab for what is easy and convenient and easy and convenient are rarely the most nutritious healthy choices, but it becomes the slippery slope where you're not sleeping well and so...

then you're not getting the activity you need. Maybe you're grumpy and so less social. And then you're not eating as well. And it just becomes this ball headed in the wrong direction that's picking up steam. And so it's really important to be like, whoa, wait a second. What are some small steps that I can take if it's getting up 15 minutes earlier so that you can have a five minute meditation?

say some positive affirmations and then set your intentions for the day, you would not believe how important that 15 minutes is to shifting how you show up in the world. And that momentum ball in the positive direction doesn't take a whole lot to get it going either, where you're like, okay, today was a better day. I'm gonna do this tomorrow. And you start making better choices and...

are able to shift how you are. I think we, when we've been on this journey, it's easy to think that getting back to the basics is too little or somehow, you know, not enough, like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But if you go to a band concert, what do they start with to warm up? Scales.

Like they start with the basics every single time because it's the foundation. And so when you are struggling, I really urge you to take note of the things that really impact you. I know I can go way too long without being social if I remove...

gym and tennis from my life because I don't have as much interaction. I have one -on -one interaction with clients, but I would put that in my spiritual and occupational bucket and to just to have fun socially. When I am not feeling great, I can withdraw in that area and that's really important for me to have that kind of connection. And so I have to...

be mindful and

let me schedule a lunch date, let me schedule something that I can do to go connect with other people, it's really important. And so knowing what you respond to, what's really important for you,

Some people are so much more sensitive to sleep than others. Some people thrive on five hours. Some people really need eight hours. It is important for you to understand what you need, what your requirements are, so that you can be sure you're getting those. I have a friend who is not sensitive to food and when I went out to dinner with...

with her and her husband, she was like, do we eat or do we feast? And it was decided that they feast and they ordered everything on the menu. And she gets to do that and really have this fun relationship with food, which is also social and connecting and gets to thrive in that way. Whereas me and having to pay attention to food means eating clean.

because that's what my body responds to. And so it is, her way is perfect for her, but I have to understand my body and know that when I'm not feeling well, I need to almost eat like a raw diet until I start feeling better, like eat just whole foods until I feel better. And then I will, it just kind of lifts up my spirits by eating healthy nutritious foods, but.

That is not what I wanna do when I am tired and when I'm feeling low. I want to grab the garbage and lay on the couch too. Like it's for real. But you have to know what are the steps that I need to take. For me, journaling is so important and we can get in.

busy ways and I'll start just, you know, channeling for clients or something, but I need to connect with me. I need to write for me. And so if I have gone,

and started not feeling great, that is a really important step for me to take to get back to the trail head. I want to walk down. And so really tune into yourself.

the girl I'm working with too.

also made a great point to me the other day that she absolutely knows affirmation works. She has posted notes all over her house and part of our giving back to basics program for her was to be, was to remove those posted notes because now they've, they've come just part of the scenery. They're not grabbing her attention. So she's going to take all of those down and write some new ones and put them in a different place.

so that they're not just part of the background that she has grown accustomed to. She needs them to catch her eye and to remind herself of them. And so if you've got cute little notes all around the house, but you don't even notice them anymore, take them down. Swap them out for new things. And I would say even just choosing four things to focus on and you can put it on the home screen, on your phone.

so that each time you open your phone, you are reminded, I am happy, I am supported, I am abundant. And I would choose those based on when you start catching yourself in a funk, what is the mantra that you have? What is the mantra that you're saying? What are the needles that come up of your negative thought pattern?

And whatever those negative thoughts are, like, I'm so unhappy, I'm so exhausted, I'm so broke, whatever are the things that come up for you, I would find how you wish it was. What would you say instead?

like if you were saying,

I am abundant and you know, your account is in the negatives and your conscious mind is going, no, you're not. And you can't think of other ways to, to say I am abundant in health.

whatever you feel abundant in, that's what you can focus on. But if you still have the nuh going on, I really, really recommend listening to subliminals.

can make them yourself by recording your voice and then putting a track over it that's louder, or you can find them on

you look on YouTube that have hundreds of thousands of views or they have written what the affirmations are that they're saying in there. I would trust those more. You can make your own with apps like think up, but if you've got if you've got that conscious like no, you're not.

and like I am at my peak health and and your your ego is saying no you're not then subliminals may be the way to go until you start feeling better and I started listening to tennis subliminals because I was feeling really low about my game

know if I'm saying I serve with power and precision I can promise you Susan would be like no you don't.

And so I needed to listen to subliminals until I started shifting my confidence. Well, how do you shift your confidence? You win matches. Like that's why people are, they say they're streaky players. Well, it's because they are gaining confidence and then you play better. And as you build your confidence, you are able to do more because it's freaking all about mindset. Same as life people. All right. So I'll tell you.

What I have been struggling with personally is that I was making these videos. I was making TikToks and reels and actually enjoying doing it. I really, there's certain things that come in and I really do want to share them. And there I can have a larger audience than my podcast. I don't

we have, we definitely have a society that is more inclined to watch you for a minute.

than for 60, but I was enjoying it. And then it started. I started getting caught up in the shoulds. Like you should be posting three videos a week. You should be doing this and you should pay attention to algorithm and blah, blah, blah. And it started feeling so unaligned for me. I really enjoyed doing it until I started putting all of these.

parameters on what success looks like and all of those were coming from other people. What I should be doing or seeing other people who are successful and what they are doing and just feeling kind of burdened by it. And then I was like, wait a second, their journey is not my journey. Their path is not my path. And so my back to basics with that.

is to stop doing it. And it's not that I'm not gonna restart, but I needed that break to kind of examine why is this not feeling good for me and to pull back. And so sometimes if you're going down a trail and you thought it was right, but suddenly it starts not feeling good in your body or you start questioning what you're doing, take a pause. You don't have to keep doing that. I mean,

if it's your job, keep going to job or whatever. But sometimes it is just like, wait a second, let me, let me take a minute and reevaluate this. And so for me, it's been really pulling back and I know that this summer is meant for me to connect with myself, connect with my family, connect with my purpose, but that doesn't have to mean doing more.

And it is really hard in our hustle society, in our, how many followers and downloads and whatever do you have? It is hard not to get in that rat race. And I have to be reminded all the time that somebody else's perfect path has nothing to do with me. And so for me, it has been really important to get back to the basics of why am I doing this?

what is impactful for me and when does it feel really good? And if I am focused on creating something, but in the creation of that, I didn't allow myself time to meditate or journal because I have to get these things done. That's actually not aligned for me, for other people that may be totally aligned. And I will tell you, I mean, there are people who are out there,

putting stuff out and it seems so purposeful and so aligned and so much so that I think that it's my journey too. And I have to wait until it doesn't feel good to be like, whoa, what am I doing? And I have a long history of...

emulating others. Is that right? Yeah, kind of emulating others, but more trying to receive others validation by doing what I think they want and so far beyond people pleasing, right? I think tons of us are people pleasings, but have you gotten a tattoo because you thought your boyfriend of a month might like it? Cause I have and that's ridiculous. And so,

I have gotten to know myself so well now that it's like, wait a second, are you doing this because it feels good to you or because you want to show up for other people in this way, which I think is very much not in alignment. When you're doing something for other people's validation, that's not in alignment.

even if it's helpful to them, even if your intentions are good, I don't think that's how we show up as our most authentic self and authenticity is even a higher vibration than love. And so for me, because I know that patterning, I know like you can, you can see.

who I had crushes on based on the music I was listening to for a solid decade of my life. I would choose my music based on the people that I liked. I didn't choose people I liked based on their shared interest in my music. If I had a crush on them and they liked these bands, then so did I. And I just can recognize those patterns when I look back and it's like,

Why did you never feel comfortable finding what I like? What draws me in and finding people who align with that? I don't know, but I'm telling you, it is a big old pattern. And so now I even, I mean, I don't listen to a ton of podcasts, fortunately. I have lovely people who send me really great ones where it's like, you have to check out this episode. And I love that so much.

But for a long time I was listening to so many podcasts and now creating my own. I guess I don't want to listen to so many people and then question my authenticity. Like am I saying this from my heart and from

what I want to say and not regurgitating other people, if that makes sense. And so I switched to books. Now you can totally regurgitate other people's books, but you understand what I'm saying where I get so caught up in following somebody else's path that I lose sight that I'm actually able to create my own and that's the one I should be on. And so understanding that about myself,

I really have to pay attention to why I am doing something and how it

And I do want to grow my business. I do want to impact millions of people, but I have to do it from a place that feels authentic for me and to me.

don't know. I don't want to copycat. I don't want to.

even if somebody is wildly successful and, and the most inspirational person to me, I know that their journey is not my journey. And so when I say back to basics, it can be because you're not feeling good or because you just need a reset to find, to find you, to find,

what makes you feel good and feels aligned in your life. And so,

Anytime I just have questions. So what back to basics means for me is showing up with my journal for myself, not just my clients

time and nature and sitting outside on my bench. I mean, I realized, I mean, it's been beautiful for so long and I have gotten to where my days I go to gym, come home, shower, and then start,

the process of work, be it real estate or my spiritual work or whatever, but I get my day going and I have this bench that I spent hours and hours and hours and hours and hours on when I was really in the hermit phase of my awakening. And it is calling me again, like come and sit and be out here and connect with yourself. And that feels intentional for me right now, as opposed to,

wanted to create three reels a week and see effect. You grow my Instagram audience and, and maybe that kind of inspiration will come back to me when it is feeling. I don't know.

And not about metrics and algorithms or whatever, because the more I thought about that, the more unaligned I felt. And so now my bench calls me. And so back to basics for me means.

a journal and a pen and a tree and a bench and resetting myself. And I know if I keep showing up for myself in that way, that is when the next step on my path comes. It is not going to come from worrying about all of this stuff that for me doesn't matter. Now, if you, if you are here to be a content creator,

then you have to pay attention to that. I just don't feel that aligned with me or else I'd be better at it. I assume.

and so it is really getting back to the basics of where do you feel the most connected and allowing carving out that time for yourself?

If you are struggling in relationships, it is important to say, okay, in order for me to have a reset in this relationship, what do I need to do? And it all first starts with, I am not a victim. I am not a victim because you cannot be the hero if you are the victim. Those are two separate sets of consciousness. Victim consciousness is this is happening to me. And awakened consciousness.

consciousness is this is happening for me. And so when you can shift and say, what is the lesson that I'm meant to learn from this? And how can I reset and see this situation through the eyes of love? When you can start seeing it through the eyes of love, what would be the reset for that relationship? Maybe just say, Hey, would you go on a walk with me? Could we have a conversation about this? Could we reset?

Could we reset together and see, you know, what is it that would really help you in this relationship? And I'll let you know what would really help me. But if every avenue of struggle, we could say, wait a second, let me get back to the basics. Let me sure up my foundation before moving forward. Then we make sure that we are building.

the house with the bricks we want,

So if you are struggling, if you are going through a dark night of the soul, know that the light is coming, but it is important regardless if this is like a little swell that you're going through or a massive typhoon, like whatever feels like it's taking you down.

come back to your heart center and say, wait a second, let me start over. Let me get back to the basics and do the things that I know are important for me to show up in a way that I feel good in my body, that I feel connected spiritually, that I feel healed emotionally. And it is really figuring out what those important things are for you and catching yourself when you are

speaking and acting in ways that are not aligned with what you choose. And so if your mantra has turned into a negative affirmation of, of constantly saying all the things that you don't want, you have to check yourself. You have to say, wait a second, I'm not doing this anymore.

And we have to start at the beginning. And that's a very good place to start. I mean, Julie Andrews told us that. So it must be true. And also she is the voice of Lady Whistledown. Did y 'all know that? See, not only do you get advice, but you get trivia here.

a little Bridgerton trivia for you. Anyway, all right, everybody, I am getting back to the basics right now because I'm going to take my journal and I'm going to hit my bench and I am going to connect with myself for a little bit and I hope you find what works for you. Find some music that lifts you

some things that are not on your not on a screen that lift you up that help

you find the trailhead and head in the right direction. Get enough sleep, get healthy food or find your feast however food nourishes you to be your happiest. Find those things and have a great week. I love you.