This Is the Message You Need on Your Hardest Day

Transcript:

You know those mornings when you wake up exhausted and your first thought is, “Maybe today… I just skip it all.” That was me the other day. Our Mr. Cat had kept us up all night. After refusing to take his energetic self outside all winter and becoming incredibly fat - honestly like a badger - his energy seemed to wake up that night. He paced under the bed, over the bed, scratched the furniture, took bites out of the plant on my nightstand, and leapt across the room like a wild animal finally set free. My sweet Ty, he sleeps with earplugs but me? I literally got zero sleep - and when my alarm clock went off, my head was already spinning, and prewriting how the day was going to completely suck. And my mind? It went straight to sabotage. “Skip your journaling. You don’t need lemon water today. What’s it really going to hurt if you miss one day of Bind, Remineralize, and Balance CBD?” That voice was loud. But I’ve learned that voice is not my truth - it’s a tired, protective part of me that thinks skipping the things that support me will somehow make the day easier.

And here’s the hard truth: when things are hard, when we’re tired, when life feels heavy - that’s when we are most likely to sabotage our growth. It’s also the exact moment that matters most.

We make 35,000 decisions every single day. That’s not an exaggeration — it’s from a study by Dr. Joel Hoomans, a behavioral science professor who studied the mental toll of decision-making. Thirty-five thousand. No wonder we’re all exhausted. We are drowning in decisions from the moment we wake up. What to eat, what to wear, when to answer that message, what to say, what to skip, what to push through, where to turn, should I pass that slow poke in front of me? Oh probably not, it looks like someone is on coming - no I probably have time. I don’t know about you but I am exhausted just thinking about all of the decisions we make every single day! It’s nonstop.

And when we’re already tired or overwhelmed — when we ourselves are sick, or we’re caring for a child who’s struggling with symptoms — decision fatigue hits even harder. Of course our brains want to take shortcuts. But healing, growth and momentum? They live in the rhythm. And on that morning, I told myself: This is what I do every single day. I don’t need to decide. I don’t need to negotiate. I don’t need to exhaust myself with internal debate. I’ve already chosen who I’m becoming and I just need to show up for her.

And you know what? That day turned out to be a pretty beautiful day. Not because it was easy, not because I wasn’t tired, but because I didn’t give in to sabotage. That decision shaped the next day, and the one after that. This is how we rewire our bodies. This is how we heal. This is how we thrive — by showing up on the days we’d rather hide, and trusting that consistency is the shortcut.

So, how does all of this relate to our gut health?

Here’s the science behind why this matters so much: your gut and your brain are in constant communication. In fact, through the vagus nerve alone, hundreds of millions of signals are sent back and forth every single day. It’s a nonstop conversation — and when your gut is imbalanced with too much bad bacteria, yeast, mold, fungus, or parasites, that conversation gets noisy, confused, and overwhelming.  It triggers anxiety, brain fog, cravings, even that mental spiral that whispers, “I can’t do this today.”

And this communication goes both ways. All of that internal debate, the decision fatigue, the stress of trying to hold everything together? It sends signals right back down to your gut — and that stress disrupts your microbiome even more.

Do you see this cycle? It can be so hard to break — especially when you don’t even realize you’re in it.

So, how do you know if your gut is out of balance? The truth is, unless you are intentionally nurturing balance every single day, you likely have some level of imbalance.

A 2021 study published in Cell, one of the most respected scientific journals in the world, analyzed the microbiomes of people across the globe — from industrialized cities to remote, traditional communities. What they found was staggering: people living in modern, industrialized societies had lost nearly 40% of their microbial diversity. That means the very microbes that support immunity, digestion, mood, and mental clarity they’re simply missing in most people today.

And it’s not because we’re doing something wrong — it’s the world we live in. Our soil has been stripped of good microbes through industrial farming. We’re exposed to pesticides, antibiotics, plastics, chlorine, mold, heavy metals, medications, stress, processed food — even the air inside our homes can disrupt the balance of our microbiome. So if you or your child are facing symptoms, mood swings, fatigue, anxiety, skin issues, or chronic infections — you aren’t alone. Your gut is at the foundation of this.

This is why I am obsessed with gut health. It’s why I’ve recorded almost 150 episodes connecting every part of our health — our energy, our sleep, our mood, our hormones, our symptoms — back to the microbiome. Because it is the foundation. And this is why you’re here. Because something deep in you knows that this isn’t just about symptom relief — this is about taking your power back. This information is empowering you to actually stand a chance at living your most thriving life. And not just for yourself — for your children. For your future. For everyone around you. 

And here’s the most empowering part: every time you choose to nurture your gut — even on your hardest days — you’re restoring that inner ecosystem. You’re calming your nervous system. You’re strengthening your intuition. You’re lifting the fog and clearing space for your truest self to lead.

I want you to leave this episode with an action plan. So here’s what I want you to do: Write your list of non-negotiables. These are the things you do every day no matter what. And not because you’re forcing yourself, but because they are the foundation of the life you’re building. On your hardest days, they become your anchor.

I’ll share mine, just to inspire you — but this isn’t a prescription. This is simply what I’ve found supports me in staying grounded, clear, and in alignment with the woman, the mother, and the leader I choose to be.

My day actually starts the night before. At the end of the day I take 15 minutes to get myself ready for tomorrow. I put my towel, yoga mat, leggings and tank in the bathroom. I cut a lemon and leave it next to a clean empty cup, I make sure the house is tidy so that tomorrow I am not starting in the negative. in the starts early. I wake up at 5:00 AM — hours before my family — because I know I need time to ground before I’m in full mama mode. I drink lemon water. I dry brush with the Pathway Dry Brush. I take a bath — and I am sharing a little secret here with you — soon, I’ll be launching a new product called Soak. It’s a magnesium-rich bath salt blend I’ve been working on, and it’s been a beautiful part of my daily rhythm.

After my bath, I journal. Then I go outside. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, snowing, or sunny — I either go for a walk or a run. Sometimes I go in silence so I can really hear my thoughts and receive clarity. Other times, I listen to a podcast — just like this — to feel inspired and supported.

Then I get home and it’s almost breakfast time. I check in with Ty and each of my kids, and we take our Bind, Remineralize, and Balance CBD. During breakfast, we say what we’re grateful for, who we love the most (every one of us says, “I love myself the most.” Because that’s where love really has to begin and I want to normalize this for my children), and then we share something we are really happy that is happening for us.

We jump into collective clean up, homeschool, a lot of time outside and movement (some days we have snowboard team or climbing team and then in the evening we sit down for dinner all together. We each share something that was hard about the day and something that went really well. We read a book out loud. We take our Cleanse and Nourish, we do our handshakes and then my two older babes head up to read their own books while I read my own book and snuggle my youngest two to sleep. Then I journal again,  just a short check-in. I don’t look at my phone once I’ve laid down. And one of the most important non-negotiables of all: I go to bed between 8:30 and 9 and wake up at 5. That’s my rhythm. That’s how I protect my sleep, my microbiome, and my energy. 

I want to mention really quick that even though we are not actively rebalancing right now, we still take Bind, Remineralize, Cleanse, Nourish and Balance CBD every single day. Why? Because our mission is to stay in balance. I want to protect my family’s gut-brain connection and remove as many obstacles from our brains as possible. That mental clarity, that grounded energy, it’s no accident. It’s microbiome-supported. It’s intentional.

And when it comes to food? I don’t make decisions every day. I already know what we’re having every Monday. Every Tuesday. Every Wednesday. Our breakfast, lunch, and dinner themes are already set. Monday dinner is always Mexican. I don’t reinvent the wheel — because I don’t need to. Every meal is chosen with intention, to nourish our bodies and feed our good microbiome.

This is what it looks like to trust the process. To remove the guesswork. To fully show up. Even on our hardest of days when we need it the most.

So write your rhythm. Even if it’s just three things. Even if it’s different every season. But get clear. Put it somewhere visible. So when your brain says, “Eh, just skip it today…” you can say, “Nope. This is who I am. This is what I do. This is who I have chosen to be. I’ve already decided.”

Your future self is being built in the small moments, on the hardest days. And the truth is — your dream life is already forming. One clear decision at a time.