119. Being the Boss of Your Own Life: Health and Wellness Lessons from Dr. Seuss on His Birthday

03/06/23 • 20 min

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This week, in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, the conversation started with a tribute to Dr. Seuss. The topic then shifted to the universal psychological needs of agency, autonomy and mastery, which are related to our relationship with food and our bodies.

The conversation then referenced Dr. Seuss's book, Oh, The Places You'll Go and the quote “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose.” This quote represents autonomy, agency, and mastery values which are important for psychological and emotional well being.

That’s why for today’s Health Bite, I’m going to discuss three important psychological needs that if you could understand and apply in your daily life, could help improve your relationships with others, with yourself, and of course, with food.

Join me today as I shed light on how surrendering to what you can’t control could help you redirect your attention toward the things you have control over.

What you will learn from this episode:

Learn about agency, autonomy, and mastery and how they affect our lives:

Agency: The power to make choices and have an impact on our lives.
Autonomy: The freedom to act independently and make decisions.
Mastery: The feeling of being skilled and in control of something.

Understand "status syndrome" and how letting go of what we can't control can help us focus on what we can:

Status syndrome: Judging ourselves by external factors like wealth or job title.
Letting go of what we can't control: Focusing on what we can control, like our actions and attitudes.

Discover the potential of agency, autonomy, and mastery to create positive changes in our lives:

The benefits of agency: Feeling fulfilled by making choices that align with our values.
The advantages of autonomy: Being able to make decisions that are best for us without external pressures.
The rewards of mastery: Feeling accomplished and motivated to keep improving.

“Surrendering to what we cannot control allows us to direct our attention towards what we can control.”

– Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Today’s Health Bite:
We have choice. We have choice in the way in which we live our lives. We have choice in how we treat our bodies. We have choice in the words that we use towards ourselves. We have choice in how we nourish ourselves with food and by other means. We have choice in how we respond to life's circumstances. And in the end, that choice is so much more powerful than the notion of control.

Ways to Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim:

Email: [email protected]

Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You

Join the Monthly Free Mind-Body Workshops: Participate in engaging mind-body practices designed to help manage your stress response. Register here.
Sign Up for the Newsletter: Stay updated with valuable insights and resources by subscribing to the newsletter. Sign up here.
Freebie alert. Register for our monthly free MindBody Workshop and receive a downloadable guide on emotional labeling to help you manage your emotions effectively.

Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Website :https://www.dradriennespeaks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Leave Health Bite a Feedback.Click This Link.

Join me today as I shed light on how surrendering to what you can’t control could help you redirect your attention toward the things you have control over.

What you will learn from this episode:

Learn about agency, autonomy, and mastery and how they affect our lives:

Agency: The power to make choices and have an impact on our lives.
Autonomy: The freedom to act independently and make decisions.
Mastery: The feeling of being skilled and in control of something.

Understand "status syndrome" and how letting go of what we can't control can help us focus on what we can:

Status syndrome: Judging ourselves by external factors like wealth or job title.
Letting go of what we can't control: Focusing on what we can control, like our actions and attitudes.

Discover the potential of agency, autonomy, and mastery to create positive changes in our lives:

The benefits of agency: Feeling fulfilled by making choices that align with our values.
The advantages of autonomy: Being able to make decisions that are best for us without external pressures.
The rewards of mastery: Feeling accomplished and motivated to keep improving.

“Surrendering to what we cannot control allows us to direct our attention towards what we can control.”

– Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Ways to Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim:

Email: [email protected]

Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You

Join the Monthly Free Mind-Body Workshops: Participate in engaging mind-body practices designed to help manage your stress response. Register here.
Sign Up for the Newsletter: Stay updated with valuable insights and resources by subscribing to the newsletter. Sign up here.
Freebie alert. Register for our monthly free MindBody Workshop and receive a downloadable guide on emotional labeling to help you manage your emotions effectively.

Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Website :https://www.dradriennespeaks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Previous Episode

118. The Weight Gain Enigma (The Truth Why Your Bestfriend Stays Skinny)

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Do you find yourself an easy target for excess weight gain even when you’re already trying your very best to lose and stay away from those pounds?

Do you wonder why some people tend to gain weight more easily than others even when they’re keeping their activities under strict check while others do not?

As cases of obesity become more and more prevalent, it is important for us to understand why it is called a disease and why there are some people who are more likely to be overweight than their pal.

What you will learn from this episode:

Understanding Obesity: Exploring the Physiology of Excess Weight Gain
- Defining Obesity and its impact on health
- Exploring the biological mechanisms behind weight gain
- Understanding the role of genetics and environment
Why Some People are More Prone to Obesity: Unpacking the Factors
- Exploring the influence of genetics, environment, and lifestyle factors on weight gain
- Understanding the role of metabolism and hormonal imbalances in obesity
- Highlighting the impact of social determinants of health on obesity
Normalizing Obesity: Approaching the Condition with Compassion and Understanding
- Examining the prevalence of obesity and its impact on society
- Challenging stigmas and biases associated with obesity
- Highlighting the importance of empathetic and non-judgmental approaches towards people with obesity
- Discussing effective strategies to promote healthy lifestyle changes and improve the overall well-being of individuals with obesity.

"If you find yourself in a difficult situation...I do recommend that you reach out to a medical professional that has been trained in this area." – Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Today’s Health Bites:

"Excess weight is not insurmountable."
"Adverse childhood events caused changes in the DNA cause epigenetic changes and methylations in the DNA that put these individuals at greater risk for developing obesity."
"Verbal abuse was the adverse event that put people at the greatest risk for developing obesity."
"People who had adverse childhood events are not necessarily using food to soothe."

Recommended Healthbite Episodes

Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You

Join the Monthly Free Mind-Body Workshops: Participate in engaging mind-body practices designed to help manage your stress response. Register here.
Sign Up for the Newsletter: Stay updated with valuable insights and resources by subscribing to the newsletter. Sign up here.
Freebie alert. Register for our monthly free MindBody Workshop and receive a downloadable guide on emotional labeling to help you manage your emotions effectively.

Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Website :https://www.dradriennespeaks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Next Episode

120. The Cat in the Hat's Guide to Agency, Autonomy, and Mastery (Boost Your Emotional Well-being and Habit Change)

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Do you feel like you can’t change your life for the better if you’re going to do it alone?
Do you feel like you don’t have within you all that’s needed for you to live a life that’s healthier, and happier?

On last week’s podcast, we talked about the determinants of emotional and mental wellbeing, including something called environmental mastery, where we discuss how we already have what we need in order to deal with life’s hard times. But then again, even I would scoff at that notion sometimes, so I get it, that there are also people who find it hard to embrace that.

So for this week’s episode, we will focus on how we can cultivate our inner wisdom, and in doing so, be attuned to that environmental mastery that we all possess that will make us live more fulfilling, more nourished lives.

After all, our inner wisdom always has something it wants to communicate with us. We just got to learn how to listen and act upon that.

What you will learn from this episode:

Cultivating inner wisdom can lead to greater self-awareness, understanding of values, and deliberate decision-making
Developing a connection with your inner self can provide a sense of mastery over emotions and thoughts, leading to greater resilience and confidence
Empower individuals to exercise agency and autonomy, making choices that align with their goals and aspirations

“Trust yourselves, my friends. You have everything that you need inside of you right here, right now, and just as you are.”

– Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Today’s Health Bite: Trust yourselves, that you have everything you need inside of you; all that you need to be able to live a more fulfilling and more nourished life. You just got to learn how to listen.

Recommended Health Bite Episode:

Being the Boss of Your Own Life: Health and Wellness Lessons from Dr. Seuss on His Birthday

Resources Mentioned:

Ways to Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim:

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Ways that Dr. Adrienne Youdim Can Support You

Join the Monthly Free Mind-Body Workshops: Participate in engaging mind-body practices designed to help manage your stress response. Register here.
Sign Up for the Newsletter: Stay updated with valuable insights and resources by subscribing to the newsletter. Sign up here.
Freebie alert. Register for our monthly free MindBody Workshop and receive a downloadable guide on emotional labeling to help you manage your emotions effectively.

Connect with Dr. Adrienne Youdim

Website :https://www.dradriennespeaks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradrienneyoudim/

Health Bite - 119. Being the Boss of Your Own Life: Health and Wellness Lessons from Dr. Seuss on His Birthday

Transcript

Dr. Adrienne Youdim

This week, in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we will be starting with a tribute to Dr. Seuss. We will then veer towards talking about the basic and universal psychological needs of agency, autonomy, and mastery. Basically being the boss of your own life. Want to know what this has to do with our relationship to food in our bodies? Keep listening.

This past week was Dr. Seuss's birthday, and I was reminded of my all-time favorite book - not just of Dr. Seuss, but