Do you put your time and effort into people or places that don't value you or meet your needs? In today's episode, Kirsten talks about Matthew Hussey's "one-day wager" as applied to business and life and how, when you are in alignment with your values, it is easy to walk away from situations that don't serve you.

In today's episode Kirsten talks about affirmations - positive and negative and how you can actively cultivate more positivity in your life by reframing negative thoughts.

Kirsten welcomes her first guest to Graceful Rulebreakers - known as THE Business Coach for Misfits, Maria Kathlyn Tan empowers non-conformists across the globe to create success tailored to their lifestyles. In this episode she shares her journey as a graceful rulebreaker and practical tips for people who want to be the CEO of their business (and life!)

That is exactly what I want to talk about today: making decisions. The easy ones, the tough ones and everything in between, because the quicker and more confidently you are able to make decisions, the happier and more free, you will feel. And over time I continued to use this process and refine it, and it's evolved into a set of three questions that I use when I'm making decisions, and that I use to reflect back on and evaluate decisions. Here they are…

To kick off these more intimate, Graceful Rulebreaking conversations, I wanted to do an episode on my personal experience with Graceful Rulebreaking; share some lessons I've learned and a bit more about my story, because I believe that when we are authentic and honest, and share our stories, we inspire others to do the same, and that makes the world a better place. I also really value being practical.

It is so important to commit to yourself and to just commit to this idea that you are enough. I am enough. And I think this is something that can be really difficult to do and something that's also just really critically important.

Mattering is such a big topic and I think that there are a lot of ways to approach feeling like you matter, but at its core, I really, I think that the key to mattering is self-compassion, and that's what I want to focus on today.

Thinking differently is important; it can push boundaries, it has the potential to make life better. But to create change, I believe that you still have to operate in reality, in today's society. Let me give you an example:

Today, I'm coming to you with my second bite-sized tip to bring more self-care into your day, and I am super excited. There is one non-negotiable that I have with myself every day, and I've had it for… gosh, a lot of years, at least seven, if not more. This non-negotiable, is the one thing that I do every single morning.

I truly believe that you can have whatever you want in life, and that good things are coming to you. I've actually been thinking a lot lately about something called Pronoia, and it's well… It's the opposite of paranoia. Pronoia is believing that the world and everything in it is conspiring for you… not against you, for you and for your highest in your greatest good, and it is. But, that doesn't mean that you just sit around and wait for the magic to happen.

I felt that once I had straight A's or got into that great college, or earned this degree or that certification; that I would feel valuable, that I would be worthy of my dreams, that I would matter. But I'll tell you what, no matter how many awards, accolades or degrees I racked up, I did not feel any more valuable or worthy. Here's why; we define our worth. You define your worth. Chasing external validation won't pay off because until you believe that you are good enough; no amount of praise is going to convince you.

Today, I'm sharing the first of many bite-sized tips for how you can incorporate self-care into your daily life. These episodes are intentionally short and sweet. My goal is to offer you a practice to try on for size. If it resonates with you and feels good, give it a go. If not, no worries. You can just leave it. So, with that said, let's get right to our first bite-size tip; get grateful.

Self-care is a powerful practice, emphasis on the practice. I don't believe any of us are ever going to achieve self-care mastery or be perfect. It's a journey and it involves constant learning and iteration, trying out what works to make you feel better and energized, and light… and what doesn't. Today, I'm excited to share a bit about my self-care journey with y'all and focus in on three principles that guide my practice.

I don't think that creating change or being a Graceful Rulebreaker has to be hard. I think that it often is, it doesn't need to be, it's not necessarily set in stone that this is going to be hard and you must suffer to do this. But I think a lot of times that's how it ends up going. And that's what I want to talk about today. What does it actually take to create change? So to really, really oversimplify things, I think that in order to create change, you need three things: you need passion, you need humility and you need persistence.

A podcast for anyone out there who wants to drop the struggle and redefine success on your own terms while letting it be easy, taking care of yourself, and standing up for what YOU believe in, in a graceful, compassionate, empowered, and powerful way. This is my very first podcast episode, and I am really excited.