Community | Do You Have The Guts Ep. 8
Welcome to Episode 8 of Do You Have The guts? We are talking about community today, where it can take you and what’s possible when you jump in, create your own or find that magical community of others who are seeking what you are seeking.
By the end of this sesh, you will think of community a little bit differently. I hope you will be encouraged to observe who’s hanging around you and how their vibe is helping create yours. Community is essential and it can be integral to transformation.
Have you ever heard that …you become the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. I’d like to offer that idea up for thought for just a few moments as we dive into community. There’s a large community and there’s an intimate community that we all have and how this group supports us can affect so much of our transformation journey. Even if it’s a day of transformation - the 5 you are with are key. If it’s a lifetime of transformation…yes, your 5 are still key!
Who are your 5?
Have you given this any thought? The idea that who you are spending the most time with is influencing you?
Are your 5 people real? LOL. You’ll never guess where this is going. But really, do you hang around 5 specific humans a lot or are some of your 5 podcasters, authors or bloggers?
Who is in your ear most regularly? This might be a tv show, a podcast, the news, or even what you are reading. When I take mental breaks from work I devour fiction at warp speed. And that particular author is in my ear a lot. Sometimes often enough to influence parts and pieces of my day. Who are you spending the majority of your free time alongside? Whomever these 5 people are, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time around.
There has to also be an exception to this rule though because sometimes someone in our intimate community of 5 will influence, motivate and drive us in a very opposite direction. We want to be nothing like them! We are stuck with them for a time. But even so, think about that. If that type of person were in your inner community, wouldn’t your entire personality be a reflection of trying to get away from them or trying to be different around them? So their influence on your average remains!
That said, what would happen if you consistently pumped some positive content or people or community into your life for 45 minutes -1hour every single day? Or at least 5 of 7 days per week? It would almost feel like a new person in your community of 5. That’s what happened to me when I read Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.
I began my fitness journey with an online bootcamp where I learned to life weights and eat clean. That was late 2018.
My husband kept recommending the book and he encouraged me to death so I finally gave it a listen. I listen to books when working out in the morning. Now I’ve heard that books don’t change your life…but I have to disagree. This book and its delivery changed my life. David Goggins was way ahead in the mind grind and he proved and continues to prove he can go beyond his current capabilities. I listened to that book 3 times and then went seeking a new member for my morning workout community. That’s when I found James Clean and Atomic Habits; Perfect timing and I began taking action inspired by Goggins in creating a home environment and dayily systems and routines as explained by James Clear.
I find it mind boggling when you get into an awareness head space. You’ve pushed back a little of the negative loss for a while, and you see you showing up. They say showing up is where it all begins. Showing up for you, and I couldn’t agree more. But when you get aware that, hey, I am doing a great job for myself and it’s paying off…it’s such a great and weird headspace. Though it’s only weird when it’s new. Once you get used to being conscious to life,
So as I am thinking If I can I must, and if I can I better per Goggins, I am also getting master training in eliminating, stacking, and mastering habits. Every single day during this year, my life changed just a little, at least.
For one thing, I kept showing up to be sure I didn't miss out on the big result. No idea when that would come and eventually I didn't care. My focus became getting the daily grind done and moving beyond my current status. Once the weight loss result hit, it was exciting and even unexpected! Which is probably why it took so dang long! I didn’t believe it was going to happen.
And I am telling you, right when I wasn't looking, my identity shifted.
I became the kind of person who stays the course. The kind of person who shows up for her.
All of this from changing up who was in my morning line up. I listened to both of those books so many times that it felt like I knew both authors. In retrospect, each of those voices became part of my almost daily routine, their influence became great, and the way I lived my life with them in it really began to change.
They were in my ear at least an hour most days - I def look at them and all the authors that followed as one of my intentional 5 and wow. It’s incredible how those voices and their input has changed my ‘average’ as a person. .
That was 2019. 3 years later I’m surrounding myself with specific kinds of peeps intentionally. I want to be around others who are just a few steps ahead of me, or a lot of steps ahead. I want to see how things work, see what comes next! I have to be in new rooms with new brains to understand that kind of thinking! That’s why I attended the Life Coach Live event all by myself a few weeks ago! I wanted to be around those driven, passionate entrepreneurs.
This is an intentional community I am building in an effort to continuously raise my average.
I wonder about that. What if I can get my average as a person to be a little bit better this year instead of getting a little bit worse? What if I continue to raise my average by bringing in new people and influences that build me up?
This kind of community offers forward momentum and a different way to think and approach problems. If two books helped create this version of me, I cannot imagine how unstoppable I will feel as I plug humans into this intentional model community. As I continue to surround myself with faithful and positive individuals who can teach and reveal truths and life lessons that I would not be able to find on my own…who am I becoming?
Now - if you could surround yourself with a specific group of people, who would they be? Would they all want personal growth? Maybe an exercise/food lifestyle group? Do you need someone in your life who meal preps and cooks healthy to help you level up?
Who can you plug into your life on an almost daily basis that will be enjoyable and help you fit in to the goal you are shooting for? Who would help support your mindset?
I’ve become lots of things. I am so many things I once was, like when I was much younger, and I am also so many things I never even imagined I‘d be:
Passionate about work (I used to hate work)
Nutrition Coach (I used to struggle with food and nutrition)
Holistic Health Practitioner (I used to live a very unhealthy lifestyle)
Mindset teacher (I didn’t know what a negative thought loop was until age 31)
Clean eater (The struggle is real.)
Gut health champion (Something I always wanted to be.)
I cannot even believe who I am today - from any aspect really. I could not have predicted this outcome! I am the kind of person who does what she says and shows up. I couldn’t say this 4 years ago. That is the power of community and seeing the people around me do the same. Community is almost like motivation. They cheer you on and support your choices with understanding and compassion.
The Plexus Thing
Another thing I am is a Plexus Ambassador. Plexus is a high quality nutritional supplement company that happens to make the gut health system that changed my life. I sell Plexus supplements and that income actually sponsors this podcast! The community that surrounds me with Plexus from the corporate culture to our team culture is positive, supportive and inspiring. I’ll talk a little more on this in a minute, but this community is one I had to dive in to. The doors were wide open and waiting, but I had to step through to make these influences part of what would shape me as a person.
The Result
As I’ve surrounded myself with these specific types of people - people a little ahead, people thinking the way I want to think…people living lasting transformation…Heather 2.0 is so fun and surprising. Life in general is more fun as this person I’ve become.
So who might you plug into your time on purpose, and who might you become if you did? Such good journaling questions for you this week!
Community is a huge part of the transformation equation.
When I began the fitness and food bootcamp, being in that online space with others who were striving to eat clean and lift weights was essential! It was so fun to be around others who were learning the same thing, stretching themselves in the same ways and sharing healthy foods they were creating. I loved it! The group made the journey so much easier. It made watching weight lifting instruction videos easier. It made learning how to eat to feed muscle growth easier. The community around me was inspired when I was not and I was encouraged when I needed it. The community was essential to my growth, progress and ultimately - transformation. I do not think I’d have found lasting transformation without this community in the beginning. I don’t think I would have stayed the course and changed my lifestyle. No one else in my inner circle - my circle of 5 - was doing anything like this! I needed the support.
Creating Community when you have none
Adding specific voices of authors or podcasters to your daily routine can work as one of your 5 if you want to level up your average as a person. This worked beautifully for me and the key is taking action. The books did not tell me what action to take. I felt as if I could get beyond my own limitations because Goggins was in my ear surpassing extreme and overwhelming limitations that I’ll never have to deal with! I began thinking that the least I can do is show up for this weight lifting routine 4x a week! I learned a deep appreciation for not giving up or persevering from having David Goggins in my head for almost two months. And learning about the art of habits with James Clear for over two months…I was able to revamp so much in my life. So part of your community, your mentors or your close in 5 can be online or even in the form of an audio book when getting started.
If you want more out of life, finding a community of people who are striving for the same fun or same learning experiences as you is genius. It gives you a foundation to build upon as you grow and changing the information you are pouring in from all angles, including the 5 people closest to you, is one of the fastest ways to begin feeling supported in your transformation.
Transformation can feel a little lonely as we change and develop new ways of being and thinking. BUT, if you are going to stick with being transformed and continue your journey, a strong community is essential!
This is the work of life and it truly never ends. We can create communities to support our growth and potential for the rest of our lives! You never know what lies in store!
A few tiny steps to take this week:
Who are your 5? Give this a think and decide if you need to make any changes.
Determine one thing/skill you’d really like to improve.
Who can you plug into your life on an almost daily basis that will IMPROVE how you think and feel about this thing/skill you desire?
Ask yourself what kind of person you might become if you changed one of the main influences in your life? (One of your 5)
Start by Starting
I offer hope for change and a way to make change happen. Honest to goodness, I would not be living this life if I had not found the probiotic in our gut health system. That and the daily drink I know have truly changed how I think, my mental clarity and even lightened my mood. My brain works exponentially better these days and it is free and clear of fog.
My result can be your result. I bring this up because I became a hermit in life. I spent time with very few people and my world became so very small because my brain really wasn’t working right.
There are so many stories from customers I can share, but mine alone is wild. I began my gut health journey in April 2020 and I was feeling so different by May that I began to share the products and what I was seeing and feeling…I went from a quiet, chill person online to a very vocal and educated gut health champion because of the changes I experienced from a probiotic and prebiotic drink that balanced out the types of microbes in my gut. When they say heal your gut, change your life, it is no joke.
In all of the transformation over these last few years, my biggest deal to date is how my brain changed and functions again. 11 months in weight began dropping off my body and I went from a tight size 8 to a loose size 4 which is what makes the headline stories. but I was also making good, consistent, sound food choices too -because my brain was working again.
I found leveling up my nutrition to be easier after getting started with Plexus. So good habits, good mindset, exercise and a balanced microbiome came together and I became a new Heather. I jokingly call myself Heather 2.0
Weeks in I felt a difference in my brain and that year I signed up for training with Kerri Glassman of The Nutritious Life and became Master Certified as a Nutrition Coach! An entire program and certification from a girl who could barely juggle a to do list when everything began. Then a second certification with Clarity Catalyst, a mindset program based on a Stanford University Business course. Now I am teaching others and helping others change their nutrition, gut health and love for themselves one thought at a time. There is no way my former brain could have handled this much stretch!
I could NEVER HAVE IMAGINED this path! I could never have imagined the community that would support and surround me through Plexus, the friendships and the new found friends in clients.
What can you NOT imagine that might be around the corner for you if you felt clear headed and energized?
So join me!
This company’s culture and the team culture I am honored to be a part of is bright and welcoming. All who hop on board with us are plugged into our Monday night community, so there are options and opportunities to add new voices to your 5 all around you! We talk mindset and empowerment on Mondays and I love just being part of a group who want more out of life!
The doors are wide open to join me in your health journey. I would love to support you via the Consistency Club full of free information and inspiration online, in The Inner Critic Workship coming up in January. I’ll have info up on the website this week all about the Inner Critic Workshop the 3rd weekend in Jan! This is such an amazing investment to make in you! You can also learn more at the workshop about how to work directly with me.
