Mindful in 5 Podcast

Embrace Radiant Growth

• Spiwe Jefferson • Season 5 • Episode 160

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Meet the Mindful in 5 Crew

What if you could step into 2025 with a renewed sense of purpose and joy?Let's explore the transformative practice of "Phoenix Rising Intentions." Together, we'll tap into the magical energy of new beginnings, using affirmations to envision and illuminate your brightest self. Use the power of  affirmations to reshape behaviors and set a solid foundation for your personal and professional growth. 

You'll also discover how creating joy anchors can help you start each day with peace and alertness, aligning with natural rhythms to reduce stress and boost success.

Learn the art of balancing meditation, affirmations, and setting priorities to foster continuous improvement. We'll celebrate the small wins together and look forward to a year filled with peace, purpose, and endless possibilities. 


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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy professionals find your peaceful oasis to thrive in complex work environments. I am Spiwa Jefferson attorney, certified mindfulness practitioner and author of the Mindful in 5 book series. Here to guide you to a clearer, softer and more supported life. Join me and your fellow Mindful Ninjas as we explore science-backed mindfulness strategies for successful leaders that you can implement, starting with just five minutes a day. Elevate your work, empower your life, work higher, live stronger. Let's go. Are you feeling that magical energy of new beginnings, that sparkling potential just waiting to unfold? Today we are celebrating the dawn of 2025 with intention, joy and a touch of mindful magic. Wow. As we step into 2025's fresh possibilities, let's explore a powerful practice that I call Phoenix Rising Intentions. This isn't about harsh resolutions. It's about joyfully emerging into your most radiant self. So here is how we are going to soar into 2025. We're going to take three steps. The first thing I'm going to invite you to do is envision your light. Then we are going to create some joy anchors. Then we are going to celebrate every spark. And here is how we're going to do that. So, step one envision your light Instead of setting goals or resolutions, which a lot of people ditch by March, according to studies.

Speaker 1:

Imagine who you are becoming and create affirmations that align with your transformation. At the beginning of every year, I create five to seven affirmations that I carry through for the entire year. This practice creates a powerful foundation for profound professional and personal transformation. Like seeds planted in fertile soil, these intentional statements take root in your subconscious mind, gradually reshaping your thoughts, actions and ultimately, your reality. Because, as I like to say, first we think, then we do, then we become when you consciously choose affirmations that align with your deepest aspirations. So you might say, maybe I navigate challenges with calm clarity. I create meaningful impact through mindful leadership. I am mindfully calm, I am calmly active. I mean pick. I am always on time and reliable. Pick whatever speaks to you. But when you select your affirmations, you're not merely speaking words, you are programming your internal GPS for the journey ahead. Each morning, repetition acts like gentle rain, nurturing these seeds of transformation, while evening reflections allow you to witness the gradual blossoming into new behaviors and perspectives. The magic of this first step, envisioning your light, lies in consistency rather than intensity. Just as a river shapes stones not through force but through persistent flow, daily affirmations reshape your neural pathways through gentle, steady repetition. Over time, these empowering statements become your default internal dialogue, naturally guiding your decisions, your responses and your behavior toward your highest vision for yourself.

Speaker 1:

And if you're thinking to yourself, hmm, sounds interesting. Does that really work? Let me tell you a true story. Once upon a time I had an affirmation. My affirmation was I am thin. So you can kind of tell what I was trying to get to there. And it wasn't so much that I wanted to be some objective classification of thin, I just wanted to be my healthiest self, and that was the quickest, easiest way to get there.

Speaker 1:

So I had to take my car in to the dealership for servicing and in the waiting room was this huge platter of free donuts. Can you imagine it? I mean, they weren't Krispy Kreme, but a donut is a donut. You know what I mean. So I see the donuts and it was just like radar or magnetic. Pull my feet, just immediately start walking towards the donuts. I mean, I am not even thinking and processing, I am just walking towards the donuts and I am so excited and so delighted to take at least one, maybe more than one depending on how long I'm in there, right.

Speaker 1:

Then, all of a sudden, this thought pops into my head. I am thin. This thought pops into my head. I am thin, thin. People do not eat free donuts while they're waiting for their card to be serviced. And literally my steps turned right around and I went to the far end of the waiting room, turned my back to the donuts and cracked open my laptop and started to work. I did not eat a donut that day, and some of you know I love me some donuts, and so that was. I was so surprised, and it didn't even take that much willpower. I mean, I wasn't fighting the desire to jump up and go get a donut that whole time. It was like my mind made itself up. Now, I am thin, thin. People don't do this, and so my body just followed suit. So do affirmations work? You best believe they do work. You best believe they do. They absolutely do, because your body is going to want to move in the direction that your mind has been saying.

Speaker 1:

Think of your chosen affirmation as a lighthouse beam illuminating your path through 2025. Steady, unwavering guides that keep you aligned with your true north, especially during challenging moments. Through this mindful practice, transformation unfolds, not as a harsh demand or change, but as a natural evolution into your most authentic, empowered self. So that is step one. So that is step one. Step two create joy anchors. Choose a small daily practice that lights you up. Maybe it's a five-minute morning meditation Well, that's what I recommend or a mindful walk. Whatever it is, just choose. If you already have a routine and you love it, choose to double down on it.

Speaker 1:

I have a very consistent daily routine. I like to come into the day slowly and with joy, because it allows my body and mind to harmoniously align with the natural rhythms of awakening, honoring the daily transition from rest to activity. This gentle approach activates our parasympathetic nervous system, reducing cortisol levels and fostering a state of peaceful alertness that creates an optimal foundation for the day ahead. When we rush into our mornings, we trigger our sympathetic nervous system's fight or flight response, potentially creating unnecessary stress and anxiety that can ripple through your entire day, or it might even create a freeze response that makes it harder to get out of bed. How about that, however? By mindfully easing into our waking hours, we allow our bodies to naturally complete their sleep cycles, while our minds gradually emerge into consciousness with clarity and purpose. So this intentional morning rhythm supports healthy cortisol awakening response, enhances cognitive function and emotional regulation. Activates the prefrontal cortex for better decision-making, allows for natural melatonin dissipation, creates space for mindful intention setting.

Speaker 1:

Now you might be wondering that's interesting, spewey. What is your morning routine? Well, I am not a big fan of jumping out of bed at the crack of my eyelids, so while I'm still in bed, I like to listen to a daily Christian meditation. And because I'm married and my husband's still sleeping, I put on my headphones and I listen to my meditation. And because I'm married and my husband's still sleeping, I put on my headphones and I listen to my meditation. It centers me and it's usually about 18 minutes long. So, frankly, it buys me 18 minutes before I actually have to get out of bed and it's delicious.

Speaker 1:

Once I am up, I like to listen to peppy, positive, joyful music that puts me in a good mood. And because I'm a God lover, I tend to listen to either something that is gospel, or I listen to African gospel, or I will listen to worship music, just whatever I feel. That just moves me in a positive way. I have been known to dance around as I brush my teeth and because now I'm awake and I woke up gently and now I have filled my soul with joy. Then I go to my meditation spot. I read my affirmations, I open with a prayer, sit in stillness anywhere from five to 30 minutes, depending on how much time I have. One of the things that I like to do during that time is I like to think of what are the three priorities that I have to do today at work, and so I set my intentions. I make sure I remember those three things. I put them on my to-do list as the top priorities, and that is part of how I start my day when I actually get to work. So once I am done with my meditation time, my centering time, then I head off to the gym and then I shower and off I go to work.

Speaker 1:

Now, your routine does not have to be this involved. If you're sitting there thinking, wow, 30 minutes of meditation and then you go to the gym, how much time are you spending in the morning and what time are you getting up? Well, usually I'm getting up at about four. I'm a morning person, so I like to be in bed by nine. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not, but typically this routine for me. If it's really going to work like I want it to, I get up at four, and so it's usually about 4.18, 4.20 by the time I'm rolling out of bed. I try to be at the gym by somewhere between five and six, and I usually am in the office right around eight o'clock. So it requires discipline and consistency. For sure, your routine does not have to be this involved. Mine evolved over time and it works for me, so it's habitual for me now.

Speaker 1:

Even if I don't have time to go to the gym, like if I have to work late, which I often do, and I don't get to go to bed on time and I'm not able to get up at four. Because I like to prioritize sleep, because if I have at least enough sleep, then I can be fruitful for the rest of the day, even if I don't get my entire morning routine in for the rest of the day. Even if I don't get my entire morning routine in. So I always make time for at least five minutes of centering meditation, because it makes that much of a difference to the rest of my day and because I'm a God lover, I actually do like to consult God. I'll sit down for my meditation and I'll say okay, so you know the day ahead. What do you suggest? My three, my top three priorities should be Sometimes I get clarity, sometimes I don't get clarity, in which case I decide for myself, and so that is how I like to start my morning routine. So figure out what your best morning routine is, even if it's just adding one new thing. Create that joyful anchor that you can start your day with. So that takes us to step three. Celebrate every spark, track your bright moments, letting each small win illuminate your path forward. If you take time to reflect every night or every morning, it gives you a chance to think back on what happened the day before. Mindfulness is being present in the moment, without judgment and without being overwhelmed by what happened or what's happening around you. So, even if yesterday didn't go well, you can use your reflection time for self-forgiveness or to plan corrective action that you need to take today. Either way, get into the habit of sitting in stillness. If you would like a step-by-step guide, you can pick up your copy of Mindful in Five, either the classic edition, which is called Meditations for People with no Time, or the God Lovers edition, and you can learn.

Speaker 1:

There is a practice section where you meet two characters Chantel and Akar. Chantel is a mindful ninja. She has been meditating for years. Akar is a frazzled. I think he's a. What is Akar? He's a sales executive and he is frazzled because they have a terrible CEO and he is trying to figure out how he can get her peace because he's looking at her like you know what? She is faced with the same pressures and the same stresses that he is, and yet he can see the difference between how she absorbs the things that happens and responds in a way that is always calm and never seems to ruffle her, while he is like panic city and he's always stressed out about everything, and so he's like I want your peace, how do I get there? And so she teaches him chapter.

Speaker 1:

Every chapter is short, and every chapter deals with one thing that each of us struggle with when we are trying to start a mindfulness practice. For example, a car has a hard time taming his racing mind and he feels like a total failure. So he comes in, he talks to her about that and she gives him some pointers. He has a hard time finding a place in his house where he can have his meditation habit. Every day he has a hard time. He tries laying down, he tries sitting, he falls asleep and he's challenged. These are just common problems, right? He tries to sit for just five minutes and it feels like forever, and so these are the problems that many of us face when we are learning.

Speaker 1:

These are the problems that I faced when I was learning, and I was just tickled to bits to find out that a lot of the monks that I listened to and that I learned from had exactly the same experiences. So you are not alone. If you tried in 2024 to do this mindfulness stuff and it didn't work out and you felt like a failure, come on back, because whatever you experienced is something that everybody or at least most people, I'm sure have experienced, as we have all worked through it. But you can find success and success is not hey, I finally figured it out. Success is I am showing up and having this habit every single day. That is success, kind of like if you want to get buff or in better shape. Success is not. I went to the gym this one day and I came back with muscles. No, no. Success is I have built a habit of going to the gym and over time I am going to see results.

Speaker 1:

Mindfulness, meditation is exactly the same. Just build the habit and get into a consistent habit. So back to the value of affirmations. Research shows that when we align our actions with our deepest truths, transformation flows naturally and joyfully. So what I'm trying to get you away from is that cycle of I'm going to make all these resolutions and you make all these resolutions, and then a week later, two weeks later, real life has stepped in and you're all these resolutions. And then you know, a week later, two weeks later, real life has stepped in and you're like, ah. And then, by the time February, march roll around, you have just given it up because you're just like this is not working and I'm a failure, and I'm sad and I'm just crying about it. I'm just crying about it.

Speaker 1:

Yes, so 2025 is not about becoming someone new. It's about letting your authentic light shine even brighter. How about that? Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't it be nice? Yes, so here we go, your first 2025 mindfulness challenge. Start by setting your affirmations and establishing a time and place each morning or evening when you will read them and take at least five minutes for yourself. And take at least five minutes for yourself To help you soar into 2025,. Take advantage of the discount code in the show notes for everything in the online store at spewyjeffersoncom, available for a limited time.

Speaker 1:

Whether you want the classic book Mindful in Five A Year of meditations for people with no time, or the God Lovers edition, if you want to center your mindfulness meditation practice around deepening your relationship with the Lord, you cannot go wrong by committing to elevating your work and empowering your life by harnessing the power of mindfulness in 2025. And if job hunting is in your future, take heart. Use the link in the show notes to pre-order a copy of your upcoming Mindful in 5 Practical Practice Guide for Job Seekers, where you will learn how to combine the power of AI, online job resources, networking and mindfulness to soar into your next role. So this year is not about pressure. It's about presence. Small mindful moments create magnificent transformations. I am wishing you a year filled with peace, purpose and endless possibilities. Let's make 2025 our most mindful year yet.

Speaker 2:

Until next week. This is Be Well saying be mindful and be well. Our unsigned copies from Amazon Barnes Noble are wherever you get your books. Visit SpeedwayJeffersoncom to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.