Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Happy Sunday. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the capstone. And, Whitney, it's good to see you, my friend.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: It's good to see you, too. I'm a little, like, scruffily with my voice today because I'm having these allergies. We went from snow to 75 degrees that my body can't quite figure out, like, what hemisphere I'm in.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I feel like our weather has definitely had some type of identity crisis, because, I mean, this is happening in February, you know? And so it was funny because actually last Sunday, I took.
I took my kids and my husband. We went to the quad, and there were so many students just out on the quad. You know, it's almost like thinking I didn't know that there were this many students that were actually in town right now or in Tuscaloosa or, you know, here this semester. And my husband had made this funny observation because I was like, oh, look at all these students that are, you know, playing, you know, football or kickball or they're studying. And he's like, sheena, he's like, some of these people are, like, laying on blanket just, like, straight up watching Netflix on their laptop. And I'm like, there's no shame in that. They just want to be outside. They don't have to do anything academic. Like, they're taking advantage of the good wiring that is on the quad that has enhanced WI fi. And they're like, I'm going to binge watch my show outside and not inside my dark room. So I just thought it was lovely.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah, I think it kind of like, you know, with it being sunny, it helps everybody's mood because, you know, of course, we're always going to bring up Covid until it's completely gone. But, I mean, it makes us feel better when we can get in the sunshine. And, you know, vitamin D is great. It makes us feel well. And I crave it. Like, I try to.
[00:01:54] Speaker C: I'm like a plant.
[00:01:55] Speaker B: I, like, gravitate towards the window, like, when I can't go outside, because it just. It just brightens your mood. And especially with COVID and being outside and having that air circulating and, you know, I.
I was at the quad, too, I think, or maybe I drove by, but I remember looking around going, wow, this is awesome. Because it feels kind of normal. Like, I'm not trying to rat anybody out, but, like, everybody was outside and they didn't have on face mask, and I was kind of like, you know, What? That's what's up. Like, we're outside enjoying nature. Maybe they should have had face mask on because they were, like, near people. But, you know, we just. I feel like sometimes we want to break from, like, what we're going through. And it was just a nice reminder of kind of, like, the end of the tunnel. Like, we're going to get there. We're going to make it through this, you know, like, this time. And it's already getting better. And so, yeah, the weather's been great, but it kind of got me a little stopped up with my nose and everything. So I've been, like, drinking tea and doing, like, you know, my little Vicks cough drops and everything. So I'll be cool. I'll be good.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Now you got doctor yourself up and. Well, you know, I'll tell you one thing that I also noticed on Sunday. The person or group of people that were the real MVPs, there was this mom with her daughter, and the daughter was real young, and mom was, like, pulling a wagon. Homegirl was selling some Girl Scout cookies.
She was pedaling around the quad, and little girl had, like, huge, like, poster board in front of her and straight up taking some Venmo. Like, that's a little entrepreneur right there. Like, you know, it is cookie season,
[00:03:29] Speaker B: and I know we always talk about, like, health and wellness and being healthy and doing the right thing, but I don't know, Sheena, and you'll have to tell me what you think. I believe in, like, kind of treating yourself and having some moderation within your, you know, kind of some grace within your, you know, nutrition and diet, and then also with exercise, you know, like, having a healthy balance. What do you think? Because, I mean, I'm down for some Girl Scout cookies.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. You know, I tell my students all the time, and I know a lot of our listeners know that I work quite frequently with a lot of students with eating disorders, disordered eating. And, you know, we talk about the fact that there are multiple reasons that we eat food. It's not for just straight up nourishment all the time. We have this gift of food as a gift of celebration. You know, sometimes we eat for social reasons, and all of those reasons are totally acceptable. And there is, you know, and there's a frequency that is appropriate for all of us. And so if we want to eat some Girl Scout cookies with the main goal of, I want to feel some joy from this, I want to get down with some Thin Mints, then that's amazing. And that's Wonderful. So, yeah, so I'm embracing it for sure.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: I think it's great.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: Yeah. I wouldn't say, like, oh, have Girl Scout cookie as, like, you know, your lunch, but, like, if we're doing it as, like, oh, I'm eating this Girl scout cookie because I want some. You know, I want a little happy today then. Okay, cool. So, yeah, well, sugar.
[00:04:51] Speaker B: Little sugar to the bloodstream.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: Yes, but. Okay, so before we go down the rabbit trail with the girl scout cookies, I guess we should take our break. We've got an amazing guest. As always, it's actually someone who's no stranger to the show. So I'll leave you on that cliffhanger, but you guys were taking a break. Grab something to drink, grab a snack, whatever you need to do. You were listening Fit to be Tied with Sheen and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:05:19] Speaker D: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:05:25] Speaker B: Welcome back, friends. You're listening to Fit to be tied on 90.7 the cat. So not 95.7jams, which is what I always want to say. Which we could play some jams if y' all wanted to. I don't know if my skills are up there with, like, rapping, but, I mean, we could have fun with it. We could wrap the wellness wheel or something. I don't know.
But it's a lovely Sunday afternoon, and, you know, we just kind of like to be on the air and talk about stuff that we know about or maybe don't know about. Who knows? And today we have a special guest on one of Sheena and myself, one of our good friends Nika Morgan, who actually is a clinical instructor and exercise science advisor over in kinesiology, and she's been on the show with us before. But with no further ado, Nika, welcome back to our show.
[00:06:08] Speaker C: Hey.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: Hey.
[00:06:09] Speaker C: Thanks for having me.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: So what have you been up to since? I guess the last time we recorded was last semester. And I know this sounds terrible. I don't even remember what we talked about. What does that say about me?
[00:06:21] Speaker C: I have just been busy, you know, trying to avoid Covid wearing my mask, socially distancing, while also trying to maintain some normalcy in my life like everybody else out there, you know, just been advising students, teaching, raising my two little girls, so trying to, you know, survive Snowmageddon from last week or two weeks ago.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:06:48] Speaker C: But other than that, just, you know, keeping at it.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: Yeah, well, you know, Nikka, we mentioned that you're no stranger to the show, but, you know, we. We get new listeners all the time. And so we've got to remind them, you know, what your, you know, what your background was prior to your current role. Tell us a little bit about your academic background and even professional background prior to your current roles at ua.
[00:07:11] Speaker C: Okay. Well, I am a proud two time graduate of the University of Alabama Roll Tide.
My undergrad degree was in communication PR with a minor in nutrition and I worked in PR for five years. And then I decided that I needed to really follow my talents and gifts, which were education and health promotion. I love health. I love keeping people healthy. I love teaching people how to
[00:07:41] Speaker A: be
[00:07:41] Speaker C: healthy and be happy and be well. So I went back to grad school at Alabama and got my master's. And then for the past 10 years, I've been a health educator for St. Vincent's Health System in Birmingham, which I love and adore.
Then also for the past four years, I have been so proud to return to my alma mater and serve as a clinical instructor where I teach and I advise and I am the program coordinator for kinesiology, which is a fancy way of saying human performance and exercise science.
So I just love it all. And I like to have my toes dipped in different kinds of pools. The health, but then also working with students and helping them figure out what they want to do with their life.
So that's what I do. So I kind of help coach, but then I life coach. I feel like an academic coach. Some of the students, I think it's,
[00:08:38] Speaker B: I mean, you kind of said it right there like, you know, advising is life coaching and because you're, you're literally sitting down with a student that may have an idea of like what they're like, major or their, you know, coursework is going to look like and then they can completely change it because, like in a good way because maybe they decided what they're into is not something that they really want to do and they've had that self realization. So I mean, what does that look like when you're, you know, talking with students? I know it's different for everybody, but what are some of the things that, you know, kind of pop up in those conversations that you're able to lead them, you know, in the right direction, Right?
[00:09:15] Speaker C: Well, I tell you, my little claim to fame was in graduate school. I had a health promotion class where we had to do health coaching. And guess who was assigned to be my health coaching client? Huh? Who is that one and only Ms. Sheena.
[00:09:32] Speaker B: So I was her health coach.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Yeah, she was my guinea pig. And Sheena, I'm Sorry, I have come a long way, but thank you for letting me start out with you.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: No, no, no, you did a great job because, you know, part of that is, you know, walking through someone, someone through like realistic expectations of what their goals are. Because I'm sure, you know, when you're advising students and they do have these, these goals academically or what they're looking at and you know, from like, based on what you know about that student, like, maybe you should kind of gently shepherd them in a different direction.
I think in I told you, I was like, oh, every morning, five days a week, I'm going to go work out at the wreck at 5:30 in the morning. No, I'm not a morning person, but I think I'm going to do this. And you were so encouraging about let's pivot, like, let's make this a little bit more realistic. And I think there was like one morning I actually showed up at 5:30 and you were working with like the Crimson Nets or Crimson Cabaret, like doing workouts with them. And I think you were like in complete shock when you saw me, like 5:45 in the morning. And I'm like, I'm going to do it. It's a sense of pride, you know, and then that like the only day that actually showed up at that time.
[00:10:43] Speaker C: Well, that's very interesting that you said that. I think our pride gets in our way.
[00:10:47] Speaker A: Sometimes.
[00:10:47] Speaker C: We, we tell ourselves, this is what I've always said I'm going to be. This is what I've always said I was going to do. And sometimes life humbles us and makes us realize, well, maybe that's not where our gifts and talents lie. Maybe that's not what we were called to do. So a lot of things that I do with the students is I just make them defend. I kind of, I kind of push back a little bit and say, well, why do you want to do that? And it seems like it's negative, but if I can hear passion in their voice and I can tell that they really want to do it, it comes through. And if they're just giving me like generic answers, like, well, that's what I said I was going to do when I was in high school and I've gotten this far and that's what I need to do because I don't want to be here for another two years because I'm already in debt or, you know, I have to tell them, hey, Listen, you've got 40 years of a working life ahead of you. Don't let a year or two or you know, couple thousand dollars hold you back from what is going to make you truly happy and to be really a benefit to society, giving your gifts and your talents. I just keep going back to gifts and talents because we all have our own, we all have our place in the world. And a lot of that's just figuring out what that is. And sometimes that's process of elimination. So I'll talk to students and say, well, do you like blood? Do you like legit question?
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: Do you like standing up all, do you like talking to people or do you like, are you very introverted? Do you really get exhausted with talking to clients all day? Maybe this is not for you. So it's a lot of self exploration,
[00:12:22] Speaker B: you know, usually each semester and you know, with COVID hitting and all that, I haven't gotten to come and speak to your class, but normally you'll have me come in and you'll have me talk about like my job, my profession, what I do, kind of how I got there, the field of fitness, personal training, all that kind of stuff. And you know, the funniest thing to me is, and I was the same way when I was a student, fitness is very glamorous because of the media and you know, just the way they make everything look is like, you know, if you, if you want to be a fitness professional, it's going to be this glamorous job you're going to make. You know, being a trainer, you're going to make like 100 bucks an hour. Well, it can be that way for Jillian Michaels, but for the rest of us that live in different towns, like in Tuscaloosa or even like Birmingham, I mean you're not really going to make that much. And it's, we always talk about this, it's a hustle, it's never as easy as they make it look. And you know, we got to know each other really well when we worked together at the rec center as personal trainers. And we didn't really get paid very much because, you know, it's state job university. It's geared more towards student positions, but they do hire non students. And so we don't get benefits, we don't get those things because our hours are under that 40 hour work week limit. And you know, being in the fitness world is pretty tough sometimes. And so I think that's what's great about your class and the advising that you do because a lot of these students kind of need that reality check. There's nothing wrong with having dreams and wanting to achieve them. It's understanding, you know, how you're going to get there and what those dreams really actually are.
[00:13:56] Speaker C: Right. Because we can do anything we put our mind to for a year or two. But then that's when you start suffering burnout and you get tired and bitter, and that's when you find you're not.
Your personality doesn't fit into your profession. And you better figure out your personality really early on because you've got 40 years. And that doesn't mean that you can't change professions. But a lot of times, like you said, that requires a lot more hustle. It requires money, time, commitment. And why not just figure that out on the front end if you can?
[00:14:26] Speaker A: Oh, no, I totally agree with you guys. And you know, even challenging those students to ask, like, what are your priorities in life and if their priority is, well, I want to stay in, you know, such and such Alabama because I told Mama, you know, this is where I'm going to raise my kids. But if, you know, the type of industry you're looking at, you're going to have to move to California for the actual job market. Well, there's going to be a disconnect there. So I love the fact that you bring that kind of stuff up with them.
[00:14:50] Speaker B: Let's be real. Who wants to live in California? I'm sorry, I should have said that. It's way too expensive. But, like, really, I mean, anyway, it's
[00:14:57] Speaker C: too far from home for me. I'm an Alabama girl. Yeah, yeah.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: No, for sure.
[00:15:03] Speaker B: All right, well, we are going to take a quick little break and we'll continue our conversation on the other side. Just talking about some healthy tips and things that you can do to just maintain your health and wellness. So you're listening to Fit2v tie with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 to Capstone.
[00:15:23] Speaker D: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Welcome back. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone. And if you are just now joining us, we have the very wonderful and lovely Nika Morgan, who is with us.
The break we were talking about her role in advising her basically kind of doing a reality check with her students when it comes to aligning, you know, their gifts and passions and interests with their priorities and what that academic and career future looks like for them. And, you know, as we transition our conversation, Nika, you know, we have to bring up Covid. You know, I hate to say that we're acknowledging it, but we still are. But, you know, when we think About COVID And we think about health. You know, for you as a health educator, you know, how do you feel like Covid has really affected making the right choices and being healthy, being affected, you know, in terms of fitness, wellness, nutrition. What have you observed in the various roles that you interact with people?
[00:16:24] Speaker C: Well, I love behavior change, and I love studying people, their habits. And we are creatures of habit.
And a year ago, we, every single one of us, had our routine and our lives and our habits as we know them thrown up to the air, Thrown up in the air and scattered to the four corners of the earth. Now when we are asking someone to change something about their lifestyle, whether it be reducing their caffeine intake or stopping smoking or increasing their exercise, we want them to do it incrementally on their own terms.
Small steps. None of us had a chance to do any of that with COVID Everything got turned upside down, and we were asked to make huge changes overnight and be okay with it.
And I love the fact that so many people are honest and transparent that it is okay not to be okay, that there's this thing called toxic positivity where saying it'll be okay, everything's great.
Sometimes people are like, I'm really hurting. I'm really not okay. Please don't make me feel even worse by saying that I'm not strong enough to pull myself up by my bootstraps.
So I think that physically, emotionally, and mentally, we kind of got thrown into a topsy turvy with COVID We are starting to find our footing again, which is great. We're turning the curve. People are starting to say, hey, yes, this year's been hard, but here are some ways that I can regain control of my life again and regain control of life as I want it to be and I know it to be.
And I have this quote in my office that says we tend to forget that baby steps still move us forward.
So I think, yeah, one of the things that we can do to make our lives healthier in any realm that we're thinking of, environmentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, is small steps, little small steps. I think we were handed such a huge task a year ago as a country, as a world, hey, work from home. Now. Hey, your kids. You're now their kindergarten teacher. Hey, you know, you can't go out to eat anymore. Or, hey, you own a restaurant and you can't have anybody come in it. There's been so much big change that I think we need to go back to the basics and start back again small and have really great successes with those accomplishments and build ourselves back up. Because I'm telling you, we've all taken a beating this year, every one of us.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: You know, I do not have children. I have a little dog that is my child.
And you guys do. And honestly, I cannot imagine having to go through Covid and work from home and do all those things and maintain sanity and keep my kids well, myself well. And so I think about our faculty staff on campus. I think about you guys and how y' all balance that. I mean, what did y' all do? I'm just curious. I mean, was it just chaos? I mean, that's okay if it is. Maybe everybody else would be like, okay, good, it's chaos for everybody. But, like, were there specific things that you tried to do or time that you tried to carve out or. I'm just curious.
[00:19:50] Speaker C: Well, Sheena, if you don't mind, I'll go first. Yes, please do.
I had a big piece of advice given to me when I was a brand new mom and when my baby was really cranky and somebody said, hey, take them outside or put them in water. That always changes a child's outlook. And so I would put them in the bathtub to play and they would stop the whining and the crying or we'd go outside.
One of the things that I did is now my children are seven and four is every day we went outside.
We had to get some vitamin D, we had to get some fresh air. And I, you know, just kind of let them be.
That was one thing that I could do to take control.
You know, you can do all the great things that they tell you to do, Make a list, keep a routine, get up at the same time.
That's hard.
And you did not decide on your own. But this is the change I want to make. It was put upon you. And you're like, but I like the way I was living, you know? So the biggest thing I can say is you just had to be very flexible.
You had to be okay with not being okay.
You had to be okay with not having sanity. Things just. You had to lower your expectations a little bit.
And we got outside, and I'll tell you, being outside saved us.
[00:21:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:09] Speaker B: What about you, Sheena?
[00:21:11] Speaker A: So, you know, it's funny because when the pandemic first hit, you know, for one, I was in my early stages of pregnancy, was super sick at the time, and then I had, you know, an 18 month old at home. And it was funny because our preschool was trying to be good about sending us at Home lesson plans to implement. And so after they kept sending them in the little group messenger, I just messaged back and I said, okay, this is our lesson plan today. Frozen 1 at 8am Frozen 2 at 11am and then frozen, frozen margaritas at 4pm Because I am, like, literally struggling right now. And I had to. I had to really convince myself my child is not going to regress in, you know, mental capacity just because I'm having to go in survival mode with.
With, you know, them getting a little bit more screen time than usual. You know, we were still, you know, monitoring that. But I think that what was helpful was the fact that everybody was. Was in the same storm. You know, obviously we all had different boats that we were riding in as far as, you know, how we were set up to handle it. But I think that there was, like, a set of intimacy that people got with co workers, because now all of a sudden you're doing Zoom meetings, and everybody is, like, in the same situation. Everybody has, like, kids crying in the background, running around each other's like, homes. As far as, like, okay, I'm glad that, you know, who. Ms. Who I thought was put together is, you know, hasn't washed her hair in eight days either.
I like you even more now. Like, this is great. So I think there's a lot of bonding that happened during that time.
[00:22:44] Speaker C: It leveled the playing field and showed everybody that we're all human and no one has it together 100% all the time. And there's comfort in that because people shy away from people who are perfect because they feel like they can't ever live up to it.
So I do agree with you, Sheena. It's like it was a sigh of relief for me to see somebody else struggling like I was.
[00:23:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I kind of feel like people have started opening up more. Kind of going back to what you were saying, Nika, about, you know, the false positive. Like, you know, how you pass somebody, you're like, hey, how you doing?
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Oh, I'm great.
[00:23:18] Speaker B: How are you? And it's just kind of like you have what you say. I've noticed more people that I talk to when I'm at the rec center. We just stop and have a conversation because we haven't had that personalized. Like, it's just been, like, on Zoom and stuff like that. Now that we're in person and we're seeing each other more, I'm actually stopping and having actual, real conversations with people. And it's been interesting how I've had people within this past week say you know, I'm just kind of struggling, and I was like, you know what? And then in my mind, I'm thinking, yeah, we've all had a struggle, whether it's mentally or, you know, we're having trouble, like, getting back on track with our nutritional needs and exercise. And it's just like, now that we can kind of see what normal is, we're a little bit more grateful that we can be around people. And, I mean, the mental and the spiritual side of things has, I think, really been great. But, you know, I am kind of curious, like, you know, when it comes to maintaining or even starting a healthy lifestyle, we're still in, like, the first part of the year. I mean, people are still doing their best to stick to their new year's resolutions, goals. We've talked about that. But, I mean, what are some tips if we run out of time? We can always talk about on the other side. But what are some tips that you have for people, you know, looking to stay healthy? Looking to. And actually, okay, I'll tell you what, listeners. I know you're like, whitney, where are you going with this? I don't know because I really never know anything. My brain's always scattered. We're going to take a break, and I'm going to give Nico a little time to think about this. So we're going to take a quick little break here. You're listening to Fit to be tied on 90.7, the capstone. And we'll be right back.
[00:24:56] Speaker D: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:25:02] Speaker B: And welcome back. You're listening to fit to be tied on 90.7, the capstone. And I think I have my thoughts together now. So I really appreciate our listeners for letting me take that break. We have Nico with us, and she's always been a wonderful guest to have on the show and to talk about wellness and some nutrition and fitness and all those things that fall within her scope. But, you know, we were just talking about, you know, some tips for maintaining or starting a healthy life lifestyle. Covid is definitely, you know, in our thoughts, but now we're kind of moving into this more normal phase of life. So I'm just curious, Nika, what are some, you know, advice and some tips that you would give maybe people that you're working with, students for maintaining those health goals. Right. Okay.
[00:25:42] Speaker C: So you kind of alluded to it when you close this out, when you said your thoughts are not in the right place or they're. You don't know where your thoughts are. I think that's what's right. With a lot of us right now, we have trouble concentrating. Our thoughts are pulled into a million different directions. And I feel like a lot of people are suffering emotionally and mentally. So I'm going to start there. I'm going to start with people who are emotionally healthy are more in control of their thoughts, their feelings and their behaviors. And we know that behavior directly relates to our health. You know, like, how do we cope? You know, does our thoughts cause us to behave in a way that is unhealthy? Like, we drink too much, we smoke, we don't eat a meal until 9 o' clock at night, those kinds of things? Do we hold our frustrations in until we have a migraine and we run our blood pressure up? So I think it needs to start with our emotional and our mental health and then I think it will go trickle down from there.
Now, I am not a therapist, but what I'm saying here is like, your first step is to be aware of your emotions and how you're reacting.
You know, feel those emotions, be, allow yourself to feel frustrated, allow yourself to be angry, allow yourself to be, you know, upset.
But don't live in it. Let it hit you like a wave in the ocean.
Accept it, let it fall off of you and learn how to manage them. Which leads me to number two.
Know how to manage your stress in a healthy way. Is that going outside for you and getting some exercise? Is that going in and decluttering a closet for a moment? Is it going and just screaming into a pillow? But know how to manage your stress in a healthy way. And that first starts with knowing how you react. How do you react to things that's happening in your life?
And then at least number three, you've got to know when it's too much for you and when to ask for help. You either can ask for like professional help, call a therapist, you know, reach out to someone, or just ask for help from your partner or your friend and say, I can't be in the house with these kids one more minute or I'm going to lose my credentials as a mother. So can you just come over here and watch them for a second?
Ask for help.
And then I do want to give. So those are my three things.
The big ones is know your emotions, allow yourself to feel them, and. But know how you react. Then learn how to manage them in a healthy way, and then know how to ask for help when you're just not managing in a healthy way. But I like tangible things. I'm a, I'm a Go get it kind of person. And I like to do things right now. So here's some ideas that you can do right now to help your emotional and mental wellness. Okay, first things first. Create a morning and a bedtime routine.
When we wake up and we are foggy and we can't remember what day is it? What is it that I'm supposed to have done today? Oh my gosh, I, I know there was something big, but we're so tired we haven't had our caffeine.
Have a morning routine that consists of something that you actually have done at bedtime. So your bedtime is going to start with your bedtime routine. And I call this collecting your thought residue.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: I like that we have a bunch
[00:29:18] Speaker C: of thoughts that go through our mind. Like, oh, I need to pay the mortgage. Oh gosh, I supposed to send $3 for my child's party at school. Or I have that exam I've got to study for or I have the exam I have to grade.
Our minds are racing a thousand different ways. So get a notebook, write it all down. Big things, little things, everything.
But at the top of the list, write the big things that you are scared that you're going to forget the next day. Like, I got to pay the power bill today.
And so when you wake up in the morning and you're still kind of stumbling, you can look at that notebook and it's just a no brainer. It literally takes so much pressure and stress off of you to have to recall the responsibilities of the day. And then as you go through the day and you think, you know what, I've really got to change that light bulb or I've got to get the oil change in the car. Write it down in your notebook. Because a lot of our stress comes from this constant electricity buzzing in the back of our mind, which I call residue. And it's all the, I can't, I can't forget to forget this.
[00:30:19] Speaker B: You know you're saying this and I was literally, I was trying to find a quote and it's a Robert Frost quote. And I can't find it like right now because I'm just having trouble finding it. But my brother gave me a journal for Christmas one year and in the journal he put a little Robert Frost quote. And it was something like you write to find out what you don't know.
[00:30:39] Speaker A: And I think, oh, I like that.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: It's something that journaling is so important. I don't consistent with it. But I think journaling can be whatever it can be just, you know, Your thoughts. It can be lists of things. It can be whatever. And I think kind of what you're saying, Nika, if you go through and you actually write your thoughts or you have some sort of process that you can, like, get it out, that's a really good. Yeah, just dump it. And that's a really good way into, you know, kind of sticking with your goals, whether it's fitness, nutrition, you're trying to stop doing something that's more of a negative impact. And so maybe if you're having these issues, you can just write it down and then at least it's out rather than holding it in.
[00:31:15] Speaker C: Exactly. It's not ruminating and marinating in your mind and you don't feel like, what was that I was thinking about that I needed to do? It's written down, you know, and you can choose to ignore it if you want to after that point. But then my second thing, before we run out of time is, okay, let's get out of our mind now. Let's get active.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:33] Speaker C: And I don't just mean, like, go exercise and eat. Right? Because I'm going to leave that to you guys, because you guys are the professionals on the, the diet and exercise. But what I mean is, like, go home this afternoon and set a timer for 30 minutes and find 10 to 20 small things that you've been tolerating that are getting on your nerves, like that light bulb that's burnout, or that stack of magazines that you keep meaning to go get recycled. Or, hey, when you open your cabinet and all your Tupperware falls out, don't ignore it. Fix it right then.
And 30 minutes, just 30 minutes, and tackle those items and get them done. And that's going to make you feel accomplished. It's going to brighten your mood and your resolve, and it's going to make you feel more motivated. And then that is going to trickle out to who? I feel better. Okay, I think I'm going to cook dinner now. I was going to order pizza, but I'm on a roll. I got this, you know, or, hey, I think I am going to. To go for that walk. It's the little. The little successes. Look for the little successes, the things that have been bothering you, get rid of them. Because it puts so much control and power back into your life. In a year where we feel like we have lost all power and control.
[00:32:49] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. I so. I love everything that you've said, especially just how practical and how immediately applicable all of these things are. I will say, though, you know, at the top of the segment when you, you know, we're talking about emotions and even just that term emotional health, because I think that, you know, in the media, including regular media, social media, you know, there's a lot of talk about mental health. And unfortunately, I think that term mental health is still very taboo to a lot of people. Like, people shy away from it. Like, they don't, they don't want to acknowledge, like, oh, there's something wrong with my mental health. But when you say emotional health, it's. People embrace that and they don't even realize that that's something that as part of, like, a health component, they can actively work on it and change it. And emotional health can be in a sick state at some point in time, too.
[00:33:42] Speaker C: I love that you say that because research shows that emotional health is a skill and we have to work on it every day. We can't. Yeah, it is a skill. So to be emotionally healthy, you have to work on it. Just like you have to work on it to be physically healthy. I mean, you're not just going to, you know, have this great physique unless you're just genetically less. But I mean, you have to work on it. You have to work on your diet, you have to work on everything.
But the good thing is you do it in small steps because baby steps still move us forward.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: See, girl, I love this so much. And, you know, this is why we have you on the show all the time, because you are just a wealth of knowledge and, well, you know, because of that, you know, we've got to take another break, but we want to keep you for that last five minute segment. We want to squeeze out everything else we can still get out of you while you're a guest on the show. But, you guys, we got to take a break. You're listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:34:38] Speaker D: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
[00:34:45] Speaker B: Welcome back. You're listening to Fit to be Tied and we, you know, have had just an awesome conversation. I'm a little biased, but, you know, what can I say? We have the best radio show on 90.7. The cast, and I'm just kidding, all of you other guys and colleagues that are out there, we're all just amazing. But Nika has, you know, given us lots of great information and just little tidbits and things that are easy. You know, it's not hard.
[00:35:06] Speaker C: It's just easy.
[00:35:07] Speaker B: Little things that you can do, do to make yourself feel better. So Sheena and Nika and I were talking during the break just about, you know, some other little things that we can think about doing. And Nika, you mentioned that one thing in particular is saying no, making sure you're not, like, taking on more than you can handle. So can you elaborate on that?
[00:35:26] Speaker C: Yeah, we think no is negative. You know, it's always say yes. Yes, you can, you know, but no can be positive if it's protecting you.
We don't want to disappoint people. We don't want people to think that we don't care. So a lot of times we say yes when really we don't have the resources, whether that be, you know, financial resources, your time, your energy, or that you even really care. I mean, you know, just. And we say yes because we feel compelled to.
Sometimes saying no can be the healthiest thing. And people are scared to say no because they don't want to hurt people's feelings. So I, you know, I've kind of. I'm kind of like that. I don't like to tell people no. I'm a yes person. I'm like, if I can help your life be easier than.
[00:36:14] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:36:15] Speaker C: Even if it means, you know, I think about, like, being a lifeguard. When you go in to save somebody, you don't want them climbing on top of you because then there's going to be two drowning victims.
[00:36:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:28] Speaker C: You know, so think about that. Are you drowning? Drowning yourself to save somebody else? Who's drowning?
Nobody is going to benefit. So when you say no, sometimes you can say, hey, you know what?
In this season, I just can't do that right now. The season I'm in, it's going to be impossible for me to serve on that committee. But please know that I am interested in it and please follow back up with me around next time because I'm hoping my life will be, like, more sane or my schedule be more clear or I'll have more energy. So that way you're not just saying, no, I can't. No, I want. It's no, not now.
And the saying, the not now people get that, especially say right now is just not a good time. And you can tell them why or you don't have to tell them why.
Depends on what kind of people pleaser you are.
[00:37:19] Speaker B: If they get upset about it, that's on them, not you. Yeah.
[00:37:22] Speaker C: You know, telling people, just saying no. Saying no to a lot of things, saying no to sleeping in. Like when, you know, the night before you had really gotten excited about all the things you were going to tackle the next day, and it was making your mental and emotional health feel really great because you're like, I'm going to get this done tomorrow and I know how great I'm going to feel. And then the morning comes and you're going to just like, keep hitting, snooze, tell yourself no. There's all kinds of different ways we can say no, and it protects.
[00:37:51] Speaker A: I think you're so right. And there's been situations where I've told some people no to opportunities, and I've just been transparent with them in the sense of saying, if I say yes to you right now, I'm not going to be able to give you the best of what I could. And I would rather you ask me at a time where I can, you know, say with pride that I gave you the effort that your class deserved or your church group deserved or whatever the case may be of what they're asking. Asking for. So. So, yeah, I think that. I think that people are giving themselves a lot more grace with saying no and then also not getting in their head of like, oh, no, she said no to me. Does she hate me? Blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, no, she just has life going on and that is okay.
[00:38:34] Speaker C: So, yeah, absolutely. So that is the only, like, you know, kind of negative thing is just saying no. But saying no with grace, like you said, and sometimes with explanation, people understand, I think a lot more. This past year has taught us how to be a little bit more tolerant of each other and each other's time now.
[00:38:53] Speaker A: I love that. Oh, my gosh. So, you know, we're leaving on a note of empowering people to say no. Empowering people to embrace their emotional health and, you know, and to really seize the moment and things in terms of, you know, jotting things down as you think about of them so that you can get pick up those residuals that are happening in your thoughts. And so, Nika, just thank you so much again for joining Whitney and I. Of course we're going to have you on again. So this is not goodbye forever, but. But this is goodbye to the end of this show, you guys. You have been listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Whitney on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:39:36] Speaker D: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
