EP:100 | Your Best is Enough

[00:00:00.320]

Welcome to hello, welcome to Episode 100, 100, 100, 100 of the Think Happy Podcast. Gosh, it feels like it has been such a long time coming. But at the same time, it also feels like episode one just came out. This show, this community, it just continues to be such a huge blessing. And I hope that the Think Happy Podcast gives you just as much, if not more, than what it gives to me because it gives so, so much to me. And honestly, the truth is that podcasting takes a lot of time and it is not this fancy-schmancy, sparkly thing, which I think that a lot of people think that it is.

[00:01:39.540]

I'm literally sitting in my closet right now recording this episode. There was a time when I did record in very cutesy, super awesome recording studios, but that is just not where I am in physically where I am right now. But also it's just not where I am in my life right now, that's not where I am with my business. And that's okay, like that's totally okay. I'm sitting here in sweats, like a sweatshirt and shorts, little outfit. My hair has not been washed in many days. And guys, this is just me. This is just me. But like I was saying, podcasting takes a lot of time, like so much time, especially if you're producing consistent content. So back a hundred episodes ago, when I started the Think Happy podcast, I knew that not only was it something that I wanted to do, but I wanted to do it well. I wanted to do it really, really well. And looking back over the past 100 episodes, I know that there are things I could have done better. But at the same time, just like I say to you guys, I try to give myself grace. A lot has happened over the past 100 episodes.

[00:03:06.720]

The most obvious thing is when the show first aired, Eleanor was only nine months old. And at the time of this recording, she's just two months shy of being three. And now James has also been added to the mix. He's going to be one next week. Yeah, he's going to be 12 months next week. So before we start with today's topic... Well, speaking of today's topic, I really debated on what to share with you guys for this episode. It felt like a big decision. Like, what are we going to talk about for episode 100? This is a huge milestone. And for a while I thought I was going to do and ask me anything, but for some reason that just like wasn't feeling right. When I do ask me anything that takes like a lot of posting on Instagram and sending emails like getting you all's questions in. And I wanted that time, that posting time to be spent really promoting the giveaway that we're doing this week. I'll get to that in a second. But yeah, I decided just to speak from the heart. And so today's episode will be covering something that I have been thinking a lot about lately.

[00:04:34.370]

But we're just not going to talk about that just yet. I'm going to leave you on a cliffhanger because first I do want to just reflect on a couple of highlights specific to the Think Happy podcast that I want you guys to celebrate with me. So the first highlight is this show ran for 80 weeks straight without taking one single episode off. Okay, it ran... That's almost a year and a half, 80 weeks straight without a single episode off. And then when we did take the break, it was just four weeks. And then we got right back to our regularly scheduled content. So that means for 80 weeks on every Wednesday morning, your podcast feed was updated with a new episode of the Think Happy Podcast. And now this is the 100th time your feed has been updated with a new episode. So over the past two years, really, since I started the show, I've interviewed over 55 guests. That is truly, truly amazing. And I am so thankful for every single woman who has been on this show with me just taking time out of their day to pour into me and most importantly to pour into you.

[00:06:03.570]

And through all of those interviews, I have built some truly, truly beautiful, amazing friendships. And it's just it's special. It's really special. Okay, so like in the same vein, but a little different. The next highlight that I want to share with you guys is the Think Happy podcast is currently booked out through April of 2024. Okay, so that means I have no room to take on any other guests, right? And so at that point come April 2024, I plan on taking another break for probably another 4-6 weeks at that point. So yeah, that's a lot more content. Let's see. I'm just going to do a quick Google how many weeks until April first, 2024. Actually, it's more like... Let's see here. Okay, so there's 25 weeks until April first. So that means the show will be at... If things go according to plan, that means the show will be at episode 125 when we take the next break, which is wild. Okay, so anyway, next highlight. This one I am so insanely proud of and literally 100 % is because of this community. So The Think Happy podcast has a five star rating on Spotify and a 4.7 star rating on iTunes.

[00:07:36.630]

And I just want to say, PS, shout out to the haters who felt so strongly about not liking the Think Happy podcast that they took the time to give it a poor rating. And honestly, I cannot believe that there are people out there who care enough about the content I'm creating to do that. And literally, like I am not being sarcastic at all when I say that it's a little bit of like a pinch me moment that there are people out there who care enough about not liking my content to go and give it like a one or a two star. Like, that's just wild to me. And then the final highlight that I wanted to share with you right now is there are listeners tuning into this show every week that are literally all across the world. So definitely in the United States, we have friends over in Italy, Ireland, Australia, just to name a few locations. And so to all of you out there listening, I love you. I appreciate you. We would not be at 100 episodes were it not for people tuning in to listen, tuning in to give me ear space every single week.

[00:08:47.300]

So thank you. Thank you. As I'm sitting here, I'm drinking the most delicious cup of Kirbeans coffee. Kirbeans is a wife and husband duo who turned their passion for coffee into a business. They are so sweet and it makes me so happy seeing their business thrive. Now, let me tell you why Kerbyn's is thriving. To put it simply, it's because their coffee is amazing. Think Happy has had the honor of getting to pick a Think Happy Signature roast. These dark, roasted, Mexico beans smell like a good day waiting to happen. When brewed, they create the smoothest cup of coffee you have ever tasted, and it is even still good after being preheated. If you're like me and frequently get pulled away from your coffee, you know that's important. And I have a special treat for you. Think Happy listeners receive 15 % off their order of Kirbeans. Head to Kirbeans Coffee. Kirbeans is spelled K-I-R-B-E-A-N-S, and use code Think Happy at checkout for your 15 % discount. Again, that's Kirbeans coffee code Think Happy for 15 % off. Now, I could sit here, I could continue telling you just all of these highlights.

[00:09:59.190]

But if you're listening to this, you probably already know how awesome the Think Happy podcast is. I'm kidding, but not kidding. But anyway, if that is the case, the absolute best thing you can do to support this show is to share it with other people. So word of mouth is absolutely the best way to grow podcasts. And that's my goal for the Think Happy podcast. I do not have any plans on going anywhere. I want to continue pouring into you each week. I want to continue bringing on amazing guests. And I want the message that the Think Happy Podcast promotes to reach far and wide. Okay, like just talking about it literally makes me so happy. I have the biggest smile on my face right now and 100 episodes, you guys. Okay, let me collect myself. So before we get to today's topic, I do want to give a huge thank you to the ladies who've partnered with me for the episode 100 giveaway. So there is Kirby from Kirbeans Coffee and also her amazing husband, Luke, who, side note, has been with me for all 100 episodes. He edits and he schedules every single episode you have ever heard from the show.

[00:11:18.880]

So thank you, Luke. But anyway, so they have donated coffee beans and mugs from Kirbeans Coffee. And then there's Katie over at Katie Hillburn Interiors. There's Jordan from Wildly Organized. There's Carly from Balance to Mom Nutrition and Elizabeth from Emotionally Healthy Legacy. Each of these women have not only been guests on the show, but they also all own their own businesses. I believe with everything inside of me that we are stronger when we work together and when we support one another. And from the bottom of my heart, ladies, thank you for being part of this celebration. And to everyone who entered the giveaway, thank you. To everyone who has already won something, congratulations. To everyone who will be winning something in the upcoming days, future congratulations. Okay, so let's get to today's topic. So I hinted at this earlier. This is something that has been on my mind quite a bit lately, and that is how doing your best is enough. So fair warning, there's a good chance this episode is going to turn into more of a Ted talk. But I'm cool with that if you're cool with that. Cool? Cool. Awesome. Here we go.

[00:12:41.890]

So I know that I am not the only one who feels like I myself am my own worst enemy. So I have a tendency, as I'm sure many people listening right now will be able to resonate with, I have a tendency to set the bar just so high for myself. I expect more out of myself than I would ever expect out of others. I nit-pick at myself. Sometimes I feel like my flaws outweigh my strengths. I doubt myself. The list could go on and on, but it's not going to. I'm not going to let it. Because at the end of the day, when I turn off the light and put my head on the pillow, I can confidently say, Kaitlin, I did my best. Like I really did my best. And do you want to know something? I think the same is true for you too. So here's the deal. I believe that we all do our best. That actually all we ever do is our best, okay? But your best might look differently each and every day, okay? So here's what I mean. You're best on a day that goes totally according to plan will look differently than your best on a day that's totally derailed by who knows what.

[00:14:05.870]

Your best is going to look differently when you're feeling 100 % versus when you're feeling under the weather. Your best when you're well rested looks differently than your best when you haven't slept well for a night or two or five or seven or a month. It looks differently when you're happy versus when you're sad or frustrated or overwhelmed. One thing that you can always expect is for the unexpected to happen. I like to call it Lemons. Life Lemons get thrown at us constantly. That is one of the main reasons why I believe and teach the importance of building flexibility into habits and routines. Your best will look different on a day without lemon than a day with lemon being thrown at you left and right. And like I said, I've been thinking about this a lot. I've been thinking about trying to shift this narrative of being my own worst enemy. And what's really interesting to me about this is that I truly believe that I have a healthy relationship with myself. I mean, for goodness sake, you guys, I spend half of my time on this show preaching and teaching and inspiring you to have a good relationship with yourself.

[00:15:25.420]

In the background, I better be practicing what I preach or else I would be setting myself up to be the world's biggest hypocrite. And I do practice what I preach. I love the person that I am, but this is an ongoing journey. It's not a cross the finish line or check it off the list thing. Every single day we start fresh and we get a new opportunity to either be our own biggest cheerleader or our own worst enemy. I want to be my biggest cheerleader and I want you to be your biggest cheerleader, okay? That is why I sit here in my closet office saying your best is enough. My best is enough. The other day I had a handful of Lemons thrown at me. So Eleanor was home sick. Oakley was out of pocket. I had a busy, busy work day. It was just one of those days. And one sick day turned into two sick days. And I ended up rescheduling two days worth of work calls and what felt like 200 to-do's so that I could be with her. And after those two days when she was feeling better and back at school, as I started playing catch up with work, I caught myself thinking, I should have stayed up later and worked to avoid getting behind.

[00:16:56.040]

I should have done this. I should have done that. But then I had a follow-up thought. My follow-up thought was I didn't want to stay up late because I was worried that I would be up with her in the middle of the night since she was sick. And normally she's a fantastic sleeper. But when she's sick, I mean, we all have bad nights when we're sick. And all I was doing was my best. My best on those days was putting work stuff aside, being with my sick girl and simultaneously making sure that I got enough sleep so that I could be the best version of myself for her. Here's another example. I recently found myself in a situation where I was trying to make some plans that involved multiple people. So while making these plans, I was having to think not only about myself and Oakley and our kids, but about lots of other people who I really care about. And in the moment, it felt like a lot. And I was really stressed about it. And ultimately, when I finally landed on a plan that I thought was a win-win for everyone involved, I communicated this plan.

[00:18:12.470]

And what I ended up doing was hurting feelings. And God, it made me feel so bad. I felt terribly. And similarly to when I was diving back into work after Eleanor was sick thinking I should have done this, I should have done that, I found myself thinking, I should have planned this better. This is my fault that feelings are hurt because I didn't do a good enough job. I tried to please everyone. I failed. But then after apologizing, after sleeping on it, I realized that all I had done was my best. I did not set out intentionally trying to hurt feelings. In fact, I was actively trying to do the opposite. I was in a situation where no matter what I did, I felt like I was going to hurt someone's feelings. And I'm sure that you can relate to that. I'm sure you have found yourself in a similar situation. And I'm sure all you do is your best. And that's what I did. I did my best and that is enough. Your best is enough. So as we wrap up episode 100, I hope you found some inspiration. I hope you found some peace from my Ted talk.

[00:19:27.760]

I am always here cheering for you. And I want all of us to step into the role of being our own biggest cheerleaders. Doing your best is hard, but I see you and I know that day in and day out you continually do your best. So keep it up. Keep doing your best. You have so got this. You are rocking it. With that being said, I will be back in your ears next week with another brand new episode of The Think Happy Podcast. I will be joined by Angela Duncan to talk about morning routines and crushing it in the first hour of your day. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for being part of the first 100 episodes of the Think Happy Podcast. And do not forget to share this show with a friend. I will be just so thankful for that. Just thank you so much. I love you guys. And I'll be back next week. Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of the Think Happy Podcast. I would so appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review. And if you just can't get enough, find me on Instagram at thinkhapy_co.

[00:20:41.140]

that's co, and online at thinkhapyco.com. I'll be back in your ears next week with another episode of The Think Happy Podcast.

Previous
Previous

EP 101: Morning Routines with Angela Duncan | Part 1

Next
Next

EP 99: Physically & Mentally Taking Care Of Your Body As A Mom with Katie Muller | Pt 2