Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up tips to help you live a healthier, happier life.
In today’s edition:
💖Longevity & Wellness: A Free & Legal Performance Enhancer
😊Mental / Emotional Well-Being: Swap Curiosity for Judgement
🧠 Inner Reps: Self-Compassion & Gratitude
☀️Self-Care & Connection
🌱Trauma Healing: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn: Spotting Your Dominant Stress Responses (Day 5)
👇 And more good stuff!
Today’s Edition
Today is great! Because you are here reading this right now, and we are so grateful for you. For taking the time to be here, right now, engaging with us, and that makes us so happy. We are grateful for you, you beautiful being!
Fitness Friday: A simple, free & legal performance enhancer
There is a powerful performance enhancer you have free access to right now, and most people aren’t using it.
It is your self-talk. The way you talk to yourself in your head while exercising or playing sports can drastically impact your performance.
I have used this myself and with clients; the results are consistent. Performance increases when your self-talk is encouraging, motivating you to push forward. It shifts the mind’s focus from limits like how tired you are, the discomfort you feel, etc., to your ability and capacity.
To execute this, pick an encouraging mantra you can focus on and repeat it in your mind: “I got this,” “I am full of energy,” “this is easy,” “I’m a badass” - use whatever encourages you.
Having a standard mantra you can lean on can be great, but what works best in the moment might be different, so adapt and adjust when needed.
✅ Action Step: The next time you are exercising, use this and see how it makes you feel.
Note: if you have kids, this is an amazing thing to teach them as well.
Swap Judgment for Curiosity
It’s easy for our brains to jump to conclusions about other people, the world, and ourselves. But judgment shuts the door on understanding, while curiosity opens it. When you ask, “What’s really going on here?”, you shift from assuming to exploring ,and that can completely change the way you feel and respond.
Why curiosity helps:
🧠 It slows reaction time. Questions create a pause before automatic judgment takes over. If judgment is a habit, you can pause and ask, “What’s really going on here?” or “What else could be true?” once you notice that you auto-judged.
🌱 It invites empathy. Curiosity encourages you to see from another perspective. Seeing from other perspectives helps to foster connection and growth, both important factors in our well-being.
🔄 It helps you learn. Instead of reinforcing old stories, you uncover new possibilities. For example, ideas you learned as a child may no longer serve you as an adult. Curiosity will help you break those old patterns.
💛 It softens self-talk. You can be curious about your own patterns without self-blame.
✅ Action Step: This week, when you catch yourself judging (someone else or yourself), pause and ask: “What else could be true?” Notice how your perspective changes when you replace certainty with curiosity.
Today’s Mental and Emotional Workout:
In today’s Inner Reps, you will strengthen your ability to tap into self-compassion, gratitude, and to be mindful.
You can become a safe space for yourself. Speak kindly to yourself. Let go of what doesn’t belong. Choose actions that nourish you. Being there for yourself isn’t about perfection; it’s about small, steady acts of compassion.
📖Journal Prompt:
“You are worthy as you are.” Journal to understand this truth even deeper.
🌟Spark of Joy:
Look for something tiny and beautiful — like spotting a single wildflower growing through the sidewalk.
🦋Weekly Connection & Kindness Challenge:
🌺Bring Flowers to Someone
Handpicked wildflowers, store-bought, send an emoji, or homegrown. A little something to say I’m thinking of you. Not a flower person? Try a nice rock or a pretty leaf. As August is coming to an end, let’s connect with nature to share the love.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn: Spotting Your Dominant Stress Responses
These four responses are your nervous system’s ways of protecting you when it senses a threat.
Day 5: First Gentle Step
Pick one moment this week to notice your response in real-time.
Simply name it to yourself: “I’m in flight right now.”
Practice no judgment, just curiosity and compassion.
You can try asking, “Am I safe right now?” This can help you consciously reassess the threat.
If a past trauma is affecting current responses, you can try naming the date, the year, your age, and where you are to help yourself come to the present.
Finally, you can check in “what’s one way I can gently support myself right now?”
Darling, don’t give up on yourself, you’re so worth it. Sending love 💕
Thank you for being here!
Before you go, let us know what you thought of today’s edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!
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With love and care,
Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team
Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.
Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).