Babbles Nonsense
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Babbles Nonsense
Align Your Goals and Embrace Balance in 2025 w/ Meenu
#158: Kick off 2025 with us on Babbles Nonsense as we welcome back Meenu for a transformative conversation about setting sustainable goals that align with your core values. Ever wondered why your New Year's resolutions don't stick? Discover how understanding the "whys" behind your aspirations can build long-lasting habits and lead you to personal growth and success. Whether it's improving your fitness or nurturing family relationships, we promise insights that will help you make decisions based on sustainability rather than fleeting trends or external pressures. Join us and learn how to set goals that resonate with your personal passions and lead to meaningful change.
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What is up everyone? Welcome back to a new episode of the Babbles Nonsense podcast. This is our first episode of 2025. And, of course, none other than Minyu is back and we are talking about goals and like setting sustainable goals in 2025. And, interestingly enough, in this podcast which, in most of the podcasts that we do, being very therapeutic that it is or the therapy that it is we started reflecting on the things that we were saying and then diving a little bit deeper into those sustainable goals. So if you are setting goals for 2025 and you want to know how to do that, like more sustainable and that's going to keep you motivated to do that, this is definitely the episode for you.
Meenu:Welcome back, guys, into another episode with babbles, nonsense and transcend into wellness. We wanted to kind of do like a two-parter. It's not a little two-parter, but we talked about what we're leaving behind in 2024, what we're taking with us in 2025, so now we're going to talk about how to set up goals which are more sustainable for you guys in 2025. So when you're listening to this, obviously I do like two episodes in 2025. So when you're listening to this, obviously I do like two episodes a week. So you'll be listening to this probably either, or I think, on the Friday, that is like a few days after new year and for Donna, I think you're going to listen to this in the next week.
Meenu:Yeah, okay, so I'm always like very big on setting realistic goals, right, and that means not doing anything just because your friend is doing it, like just because she signed up to go to Pilates and she signed up for a gym membership, you don't have to sign up for the same classes and you don't have to do it. And we do a lot of decisions. We make a lot of decisions based on feeling. I want you to make a decision based on sustainability not feel right.
Meenu:Because you're always going to feel very motivated when somebody says oh yay, I'm so excited.
Meenu:Do you know this new gym, they have all these things and you should totally come, and you should. And then we get very excited and we make some decisions and we literally fall off, and then we ourselves and then we go down the rabbit hole and then we just stop doing it. So I would say, like my biggest um thing that I want to share with you guys is make decisions based on sustainability. And that may even look like when somebody's asking you to do something, maybe you don't give them a response right away. Maybe make a habit to say can I think about this and get back to you tomorrow, right?
Meenu:and can I?
Johnna:think I think that goes back to our podcast where we did um goal like um what, what was it um?
Johnna:motivation and discipline yeah, motivation and discipline like when we do goals out of motivation, like motivated based on peer pressure, motivation based on social media that's not true discipline. So that's going to be very fading. We talked about it in the last episode, where, like, new Year's Eve comes around and people are like, oh, new year, new me, I'm going to go to the gym, I'm going to do all these things, but how long does that last? How sustainable really is that? Because if that's not truly something you want to do, are you going to do it for a long term?
Johnna:So, like for me, people, we talked about this in that episode where you asked me, like where does my discipline come from for the gym? Mine comes from, like, the health issues I've had and I truly do enjoy going to the gym. There are times where I'm like I don't want to do this, I don't want to go, and it's taken me many years to be able to take days off and be like the gym will still be there. But if I go, like I could give myself a week off the gym and then I'm like I'm ready to go back because that's a true passion of mine, like I, I genuinely enjoy it Truly.
Meenu:Yes, and I think what is interesting with the point that you just made because this is another thing that I wanted to talk about setting goals according to your core values, right?
Johnna:And like and sorry, sorry to interrupt you, so like, even when it comes to health and fitness and stuff like that.
Johnna:Like everyone's not going to have a passion for the gym and a passion for nutrition, but I guess where the goals in my mind should come in. Which, I'll be honest, if I didn't have my thyroid issues and my autoimmune issues, I probably wouldn't be as disciplined in the health arena as I am. But I think that if we think about it in long terms whether whether you have children or whether you have, you know like, I know like because I still do nutrition coaching and a lot of clients that I coach nutritionally their mothers, and they're like I just want to be able to. Like the goal of theirs is to be able to chase their children around. Like that is their goal and I think that's wonderful. Like we we all have to realize where we are in our life. Like the goal can be I want to chase my children around and the side effect be I'm losing weight and looking better. The goal doesn't always have to be I want to look better.
Meenu:Right, right, that could be the side effect of the goal. That is so true, that is so true and I think, like you've also like touched on your whys, which is I think defining that is so crucial when you're setting goals like oh, I'm gonna go to Pilates, why right? Why are you going? Are you wanting to strengthen yourself? Are you going there for flexibility? Is flexibility your long term goal for your body?
Johnna:Don't get me wrong. It is completely fine to have that goal of I want to, I want to six pack and I want to look good. If that is your goal and that is your why and you're passionate about it, go for it.
Meenu:Go for it Exactly Like. Some people will be like, oh, I don't want to do it for the abs. I'll be like, no, don't shame the people that do it. Like, do it, you know, like that's your thing. So I will really say like, be very true to yourself and really question your why. For example, for me I am not very big in the gym Like I like to swim and my why for swimming is it's extremely therapeutic for me and when I'm in the water, it's me in the water, right.
Meenu:I don't think it's a very meditative experience for me when I'm in the water and it's very low impact for my joints, like when I do something in the treadmill, when I'm running or when I'm. I mean, I I don't do heavy weights, I do very light weights, and when I'm doing something else it's it's heavy for me and it's just. I just don't not yet right, because I never say permanently, because anything, anything can change.
Meenu:Anything can change so um for now, like I feel like this is very sustainable for me, I like it. My why is really anchored in it's meditative, it's therapeutic, it helps strengthen my joints.
Johnna:Well, it's funny that you say that because, like I was lifting really heavy, like really heavy, and then my why was I? Literally I was opposite. I was like why am I doing this? I'm not competing, I'm not. I was like why am I destroying my joints in my back to lift, to, to be able to deadlift 220, to be able to squat 210?
Meenu:why why?
Johnna:am I doing this? I told my coach I was like we're gonna lower these weights because there is no reason or why that I need to be doing this. I'm not a heavyweight competitor, so why am I doing this?
Meenu:I think that's also really good, the fact that you're even asking why am I doing this? Right, it's like I did.
Johnna:I was telling my coach. Yeah, why are we doing that? Why do I keep increasing my? Why? Because I can.
Meenu:Yeah, oh my gosh, and it's so important guys. It's like, yeah, oh my gosh, and it's so important guys. It's like, like, like you know, and so define it for yourself. Like, don't define it because society is saying it, don't do it because your friends are doing it, don't do it because I will even go ahead and say don't do the whys, and then and then redefine it Right. So I think that is very, very important for sustainability.
Meenu:Yeah, another thing that I really believe in sustainability is creating systems around you, so it makes it easier for you to stick to your goal. Yeah, for example, if I want to drink like I don't know, like 2.5 liters of water I don't know that in ounces I'm going to get a big water bottle and I'm going to make sure I fill it up three to four times. That know, I'm making it easier, I'm making it more sustainable, I'm building systems. So build successful systems in whatever you want to do, like you want to wake up early and go to the gym, pick out your gym clothes the previous night, if you have resistance, if you're already good, then go for it.
Meenu:But some people may have resistance when they wake up and they're like, oh, I have to go now choose what I have to wear. I have to decide this. Like you know, some people will struggle with that. Make it easy. Keep everything ready. Pull up your water bottle, make your protein shake, put it in the fridge like. Do whatever you have to do to make things easier. I believe that you can make your goals easily. Sustainable systems.
Johnna:And there's also the whole like it takes 28 days to form a habit. So like, even if you're resistant against it initially, like, just give yourself 28 days.
Meenu:That's so true. That's so true, like one thing I'm like I am like struggling with right now which is like really interesting is my circadian rhythm.
Johnna:Mine has been that way since I was six, so I'm used to it. Girl, If you need any advice on that, I'm up down all around, not sleeping. Sleeping all the time. That that's just my life.
Meenu:So the way that I'm sustainably achieving this goal of mine is that every day I'm waking up 30 minutes to an hour before the previous day. That's the way it works for me. Like, for example, my goal is to wake up at like 530. Right, and let's say I'm waking up at nine, so the next day I'm like okay, 830. And the next day is like eight. But I know that it like goes against a lot of people that have scientific evidence that they say well, my thing is is, I guess I guess my question to you is why is that your goal?
Johnna:Why is your goal to wake up at five 30 in the morning?
Meenu:Okay, my that's my wise right. Okay, so my why this is what I love is that then I wake up at five 30 in the morning, I feel like I have so much time to do so many things. Because the one thing I feel like I'm struggling with right now is I feel like I don't have time to do all the things I want to do in a day. So I want to, for example, show up more in my business. I want to show up more for my fitness, I want to show up more for, like, meal prepping, which is really important for my health condition, and inflammation, and all those things. I just feel like I'm out of energy and out of time. When I don't and I've tried this experiment, like I've accidentally like woken up like 530 or six and I'll just be like oh my God, it's so quiet, this is so perfect for meditation, this is so perfect for doing all this. It's so quiet. Nobody wants me, nobody needs me for anything. So I guess that's my why.
Johnna:But here's my advice. I guess and it's unwanted advice because you didn't ask for it, but so I'm a naturally I wake up early, like four o'clock in the morning, and people, people tell me all the time they're like I wish I could be like you. That's just my natural. But I also go to bed at like eight or nine o'clock, but that's just my natural circadian rhythm, that's. I've always been that way. I've never had to have an alarm clock to wake up, ever.
Johnna:Yeah, now it can be annoying sometimes because I would love to be that person that sleeps until nine o'clock and gets really good sleep. Because if, if, if, if we have an event, let's say New Year's Eve, and we're up till 12, 1, 2 o'clock in the morning, my ass is waking up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. That's just how it is, like there's no, there's no, like I went to bed at 2, so sleep till 9, but that's just not how I work. But regardless, I guess my advice to you would be if that is not your typical circadian rhythm and that's not the way your body, your biological clock works, why not adjust your, your schedule? In the daytime, your body, your biological clock works, why not adjust your your schedule in the daytime to accommodate your circadian rhythm? Since you are self-employed, you could start your clients at 10 or 11 and work till 7.
Meenu:Yeah, so that's really interesting. You say that I don't think I'm planning to change that. I'm already doing that. Yeah, I've seen clients until 11 yeah.
Johnna:So I mean if you, I mean obviously, if you get up at 9 and you don't see clients till 11, then of course you're only gonna have two hours. You're not gonna have enough time to do the things that you want to do. But 5 30, that's pretty early for someone that doesn't typically get up at that, or that time, like if your own circadian rhythm is like, I think seven is a good time.
Meenu:That's so interesting. You say that because when I was meditating this morning I was thinking about it. I was thinking about is that a sweet spot, you know, like?
Johnna:yeah, because I think you're forcing yourself into something that isn't like. This podcast is about sustainability, right like I think you're trying to force something that is not sustainable into your lifestyle, because that would be the same thing as if someone said Jonna, I want you to stay up until 11pm every night. That's not sustainable for me. Could I do it maybe two nights a week? Yeah, but that's not something that is sustainable for my body and my clock.
Meenu:Okay, but what about? I'm going to argue with you here because you're also, you know you, you, you're more experienced in the health aspect of things. Background but isn't it also like better for your body if you wake up early, and isn't that better for?
Johnna:you? I don't. I think that's a myth. I think that I used to believe in that. I used to think that get up do all these things work out. Actually, it's been proven that it's better to sleep and miss a workout than to get up early for a workout.
Johnna:Yeah because, because sleep is rejuvenating to the body. And if you, let's say, you go to bed at 12, because you're not, your body just won't go to sleep and then you're yourself to get up at 5 30, you've slept five hours. Right, that is not as good as if you're like you know what? I stayed up till midnight. I'm gonna sleep till seven. I got seven hours of sleep, but I still have four hours to do what I need to do right, I have a question for you.
Meenu:I was listening to another podcast, um, this was, uh, by this functional doctor who's also, like an m, very famous. I forgot his name but I'll send you the link after. But I was listening to another podcast where he said it's really important not just to get sleep but to get restful sleep right. And he said the most restful sleep will be the sooner you can go to bed before 12. So he said, if you can go to bed at 11, or if you can go to bed even at 1030, get like two, one or two hours of restful sleep. And that restful sleep apparently is before 12am. What do you is?
Johnna:it is that true, they say that, but like there's like I don't know, because I'm not a sleep scientist, and there's like neuroscientists that like study, sleep and everything. But I do think, like, after talking to multiple people, like my aunt, for instance. She is 67. Hopefully she's not listening to this because I could have got her age wrong but she is 67 and she conformed to society because she had to with jobs when she was working. So she retired I want to say when she was 45 or 50. So average 17 years ago. And she told me like so she stays up.
Johnna:Now, at 67 years old, she will stay up till two o'clock in the morning and she will sleep till 9am because that is what is comfortable for her body, that is her biological clock. She, when she was working and she had to be up at five o'clock in the morning, she would force herself to go to bed at nine. But she told me I was miserable, I hated it, oh my God. She was like if I could have done night shift, I would have, because some people love night shift because they're just night owls and some people are morning people. When I was on night shift as a nurse, I wanted to die.
Meenu:Okay, I'm so sorry for connecting this with evolution, but can I just do a quick side note? Yeah, um, I read this somewhere. I cannot for the life of me remember. I want to say, oh, I want to say it's the sapiens book. You know, there's this book called homo sapiens, um, and it's like new york times bestseller. It was like really good and it's about all about evolution, right right. So I want to say it was one paragraph in that book which said that the reason we all have different circadian rhythms is because back when we were cavemen and you know, back in those times, different people had to stay up at different hours.
Johnna:That makes sense.
Meenu:For protection and safety, and that you know.
Johnna:I was like cool, I mean, if we think about any of that, so like, maybe you know this, maybe you don't. I mean, if we think about any of that, so like maybe you know this, maybe you don't. But there was something that someone told me and it stuck with me. So, breastfeeding, so why did the breast turn down so that the baby can easily get to it? Why do women's cycles sync up? Because back in the day, when someone would have a child, if they could not feed it, if they could not breastfeed, there was no other form of feeding the child. So there was another woman in the camp to be able to breastfeed the child.
Meenu:Wow. So, it's all.
Johnna:Yeah. So to answer that question, there is no answer, because that is when it comes to the human body, like sure we can say, like here's a passage of what we think. Now I will say that they have determined. I want to say, between the hours of 3 am and 5 am is our best REM sleep. That's right, yeah, and so like when I kept waking up at 3.30 in the morning, I felt miserable all day but I wasn't getting any REM sleep, even though I was going to bed at 8, waking up at 3.30. That was plenty of time to sleep. I wasn't getting that good restful sleep, right. So I would say do what works for you and your body, because when we're talking this whole podcast is about sustainability and you're trying to conform into society when that's not what's working for you, oh, absolutely, absolutely, I think.
Meenu:For everything we have to find a very sweet spot, and it will never look like the person next to you, and I think that's the point of it. I think the point of it is to not you know and be okay with that. You know, there is this particular human design gate which is called rhythms and rituals, which I see in people's charts, which means find your own rhythm and do your ritual in your rhythm one with yeah and I'm just like you have you own your own business.
Johnna:So if 10 o'clock saying clients is too early because you don't get up till nine, push your clients back to one and work till nine mm-hmm, mm, hmm, you know like, yeah, that's actually really.
Meenu:Yeah, I need to, yes, I need to. I think there is. I think this is where my conditioning comes in. I need to decondition mom. If you're listening to this, she listens to my episodes.
Johnna:Hi, mom, hope to meet you someday.
Meenu:She's listening to this, she listens to all my episodes and she, I think, was responsible responsible for this I'm not blaming you, mom, but I think you're responsible for this where you said wake up early and take a shower and start your day, and I think I think that was super helpful when I was in high school, because my classes would start right right and that was the hours.
Meenu:I can't change the hours of my school. I can't change anything. That's something I can't control, right, well, I think it was beneficial for that time, but that's what I'm saying.
Johnna:Like, going back to my aunt's example, like she said I conformed to society for years, but that she said the moment I retired I did what I wanted to do. Like she was like I will get up if I have to, if I have, if the doctor can't get me in past 11. And I have to be up at eight, Sure, I'll be there at eight. She was like, but that is not my first choice.
Meenu:Right, Right, oh my God. Look at us deconditioning in the podcast.
Johnna:I'm telling you, sometimes podcasts are so therapeutic because you can really like you don't realize you're doing something until you say it out loud and you're just like huh, never thought about that Preach what I say to my clients.
Meenu:You know like sometimes I forget it, sometimes, mostly, I do it, but sometimes, like you know, like this one, it just slipped right out of me. So I agree with that.
Johnna:I'm going to have to sit with that and find my sweet spot, yeah because you can figure out like and here's something like I'm like, if you think about it, most of your clients work correct uh, yes, actually yes, and some of them that don't work work from home, so even then it's super convenient if I start at 12 or 1 that's what I'm saying, because when you used to offer class like you would only offer when I was working with you you would only have a few spots after five.
Johnna:That's very true. I had a. I had a job that I couldn't. I couldn't like, I wasn't off till 4, 35 o'clock, so if you didn't have a open spot then I was screwed because I worked. And if I had to guess, 75 of your clients have a nine to five and they probably would appreciate you starting later in the day, yeah, because if you started at a lunch break time, they could either get you on their lunch break or they could get you after work.
Meenu:Right, right. No, I think that's very accurate, and some people that come in person, oh my God, they have to struggle with traffic. So, yeah, more time after evening is definitely good.
Meenu:Look at me finding sustainability and what do you think, john, like, what do you think is something I don't want to say, like struggling with, but what are you finding balance in 2025? Or you're not getting out of that all or nothing mindset and something that you know that is very beneficial for you and you know you're wise and you know you're anchored in that, why and you're you know that is very beneficial for you and you know you're wise and you know you're anchored in that, why and you're you're wanting to do it. Is there something for you?
Johnna:yeah and I mentioned this in our last podcast, which is something that I'm trying to let go of in 2024 and to try to do better in 2025 is like that every day is groundhog's day, like getting up at four, you know, not sleeping in, not skipping the Like. I am so structured that it can be a problem, so I'm trying to be. It sounds crazy. I'm trying to be a little less structured and a little more go with the flow in 2025.
Meenu:So my, I guess my curiosity kicks in and because I can't understand it, my logical brain can't compute. So tell me and educate me. What is the struggle with that? Because for me it's like very inspirational I'm like struggling, letting go or what?
Meenu:no, it's like like uh, you're an inspiration to me in in terms of discipline and in terms of waking up, because I am not, so for me it's a scarcity that I'm seeing in you, so I'm so. I'm not able to comprehend what struggles you might have with that, so tell me about that so I will say it's not discipline at all for me to wake up.
Johnna:I wake up regardless, like my body just wakes up, and it's honestly annoying. Half the time I'm like I don't know how to sleep. But it's hard for me to not do anything because in my mind there's this voice that continues that you're lazy, get up, get up. You're lazy, why are you sitting there? Why are you sitting there? Why are you doing that? You're doing nothing, you're being like. So I have this. It's probably my own voice, I don't even know, but like this voice in my head when I'm sitting there doing nothing, just just constantly nagging me to get up and do something.
Johnna:So I'm trying to be more like and I'm also very like okay. So for instance, we're planning a trip to New York for my friend's 40th birthday and it's two weeks until the trip, and I'm also very like okay. So for instance, um, we're planning a trip to New York for my friend's 40th birthday and it's two weeks until the trip and I'm like, hey, we don't have a flight, we don't have a place to stay, like. And she's very like, kind of go with the flow and like I'm over here, like stressing, like when are we gonna book a trip, like when are we? And she's like I'm aware of the timeline, I will get it figured out. So I it figured out. So I want to be that person. I want to be that way. I need to let go a little more.
Meenu:Okay, and that's also not all or nothing. I think it's almost. It can even I'm just telling you this take it or leave it. It can be a fun thing, and it doesn't even have to be oh, I'm going to master it. It can be like how can I let go a little more tomorrow? Yeah, let go a little more this week, and how can I let go a little more of this particular situation with my friend?
Johnna:I think it's conscious awareness and I'll tell you, you know, you know the stuff with my house because we've talked privately about that. We mentioned it sporadically on the podcast. I think that alone in itself has has allowed me to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more like things aren't going to go the way I want them to go, you know, and just in just relinquishing that control of like sometimes you just don't have control of situations, um, so I think that would make me a much happier person in 2025 if I could just let go of these things that really don't matter, you know, right.
Meenu:I mean, guys, if you're listening to this, jonna's overly critical of herself right now. She's already made so much progress, she's come such a long way.
Johnna:I mean, I will say I have, Like I have come a long way. But then there's those moments where I see like old glimpses of myself peep through and I'm just like, oh, what are you doing?
Meenu:And that's perfectionist is right there. It's like you know, maybe that's also a form of letting go, letting go off, not wanting to be perfect, yeah Right.
Johnna:That's for sure.
Meenu:Reflections, reflections, so many reflections. Yeah, I would say those are the main ones for me. Like, did you want to add anything to it?
Johnna:no, I think that's like the. The biggest things I want to focus on is like kind of like just being less structured, being like everything's gonna be okay, like we, everything always ends up okay anyway. So why the hell do I worry non-stop about it, like you have proven that to me. Yeah, you have proven that to me. Yeah, you have proven that to me through so many sessions. So it's like I need to get with the program, just trust the universe. But it's like and I'll do it for like weeks. And then it's like pull the reins a little bit like oh, I've relinquished too much control.
Meenu:Yes, no, I totally agree. I think the summary of this episode will be literally like find balance, just yeah and whatever you're doing, and it doesn't have to look like anyone else. It just has to make sense to you and that's okay as long as you can keep it going consistently. You. You have your own system and and I make it work for you. Exactly, make it amen make it work for you, exactly. Make it work, amen. Make it work for you and sustainable.
Johnna:Make it sustainable for you, yeah.
Meenu:No, that's so accurate. Like one of my clients was also like telling me I have so much struggle meditating every day for 30 minutes, I cannot do 30 minutes. I said, can you do five? She's like five, that's, I can do 10. I said, good, just just do 10. That's it. Yeah, you know, and she's doing a great job, like you know, and then when she's comfortable, she'll increase it to 15 eventually if she wants to. But it's not about that. It's right Getting it going. Yep. Well, thank you so much, jonna once again for all the reflections and all the deconditioning, but thank you so much, guys for listening. I hope you guys set goals sustainably in a way that works for you and I hope you achieve all your goals again in a way that works for you. Yeah, and we will catch you guys soon. We definitely have more very interesting topics coming up. So we'll catch you guys soon. And thanks, jonna, for the time.
Johnna:Always Thank you guys. Bye, catch you guys soon and thanks jonna for the time. Always thank you guys, bye you.
