The One-Minute Holiday Reset: Feel Better, Not Behind

Summary

Love Your Life Show with Susie Pettit

Episode: The One-Minute Holiday Reset: Feel Better, Not Behind
Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this empowering holiday episode, Susie Pettit delivers a transformative mindset shift designed especially for busy moms feeling overwhelmed by seasonal pressures. Susie explains why chasing perfection leads to exhaustion and disappointment and instead champions adopting a “good enough” approach, especially during the holiday season. She provides actionable, bite-sized strategies for movement, wellness, and stress management that help listeners finish the year feeling proud and at peace—not behind.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Burden of Perfectionism and People-Pleasing

• Susie acknowledges the societal pressure, particularly on women, to do everything for everyone else during the holidays. This often leads to neglecting personal wellbeing and “effort energy” regarding self-care (03:00).
  • “It’s easy this time of year to get caught up in, ‘Let’s make this amazing for everyone else,’ which can lead us to sort of the effort energy when it comes to our own care.” (02:50)
• The “all or nothing” and “not good enough” narratives only add to stress and diminish self-worth.

2. The “Good Enough” Mindset Explained

• Susie urges listeners to move away from perfectionist thinking and embrace “good enough” as the goal, noting this is what actually fosters pride, confidence, and lasting positive change.
  • “By starting here, instead of chasing perfect, let’s go for the good enough. Because good enough not only counts, it goes for the win. It’s the only thing that ever does.” (06:08)
• The misconception that only large actions count keeps people stuck. Sustainable change comes from small, manageable habits.
  • “Small is what works. Small steps are what stick. Our brain loves small.” (04:30)

3. Area #1: Movement as a Superpower ([06:23])

• Movement is framed as the single best gift for body and mind, outperforming even medication for many in terms of mood, depression, and anxiety relief.
  • “Movement is the single most effective thing we can do for our mental and physical health. Moving consistently performs better than any other treatment for depression and anxiety, including medication.” (06:57)
• Movement doesn’t mean heavy workouts—Susie champions “exercise snacks” like walking to the mailbox, dancing to a song, or stretching while waiting.
  • “Four minutes of walking a day reduces your risk of cancers by 30%.” (08:21)
  • “Just a warrior. Think of yourself—how can you move your body in a good enough way each day?” (08:54)
• Small steps (even 4 or 10 minutes) create huge benefits in energy, sleep, brain function, and resilience in family gatherings.

4. Area #2: Nutrition & Treats—Small Swaps Matter ([09:46])

• Ditching the all-or-nothing attitude around holiday eating and drinking:
  • “Instead, can we aim for good enough by looking at maybe, where can we have a little less this year? Maybe one less cocktail, one less serving of dip, one less bite of the fudge counts. Every small choice matters.” (10:16)
• Susie highlights that even a single serving less of alcohol or sugar can reduce cancer and inflammation risks, debunking the idea that moderation means deprivation.
• Choosing water some nights or one less dessert is self-care, not punishment.

5. Area #3: Stress Reduction—Tiny Habits, Real Impact ([11:54])

• Instead of skipping stress-reducing activities because you can’t do them perfectly, Susie encourages downsizing the expectation.
  • “Maybe your brain tells you you should be meditating for 10 minutes a day, and because you can’t find 10 minutes, you do nothing. Does that sound familiar?” (11:54)
• Example “good enough” resets:
  • Three deep breaths (12:31)
  • Six minutes of reading (13:00)—which can reduce stress by 68%
  • Brain dumping in a phone memo instead of a long journaling session (14:28)
• Reading functions similarly to meditation—both bring focus and calming benefits.

6. Applying “Good Enough” Beyond Wellness ([14:48])

• Susie prompts listeners to ask: Could you dress, decorate, host, or gift “good enough” this season, instead of perfect?
  • “What will you remember in March? Are you going to remember how your candles were coordinated with the tablecloth?...No. You are going to remember how you felt.” (15:15)
• Memories are about feelings and presence, not minute details or frantic perfection.

7. Rewriting the Narrative: You Are Not Behind ([16:55])

• Susie powerfully asserts that it’s never too late and you’re not broken. Small steps started today have compounding, lasting effects.
  • “Small hinges move big doors. Small is sustainable. Four minutes of walking today builds momentum.” (17:46)
  • “You are not behind, you are not broken. You are right on time. You’re hearing this mindset shift at the exact right time in your life." (16:55)
• The ultimate win is feeling proud and peaceful in January because you practiced self-care, not because you did everything perfectly.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Perfectionism:
  “My belief is that we are here to live lives that we love... The more we do things that light us up and excite us, the more we’re fulfilling our purpose here on Earth.” (01:00)
• On Movement as Medicine:
  “I say every day I move my body for my mental health. No prescription required.” (06:57)
• On Moderation:
  “Each serving of alcohol increases our risk of 10 to 13 types of cancers. I just thought this was understood… Alcohol does a really good job of hiding these stats.” (10:42)
• On Stress Relief:
  “Liz Moody cited another study about how reading for just six minutes decreases stress by 68%. That’s powerful.” (12:47)
• On What Matters:
  “What do I remember after events? The energy of the other people there... if the host is frazzled and frantic, that’s what I remember.” (15:55)
• Empowering Reframe:
  “Today is a good day to start with the good enough mindset. You are not behind, you are not broken. You are right on time.” (16:55)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening & Mindset Primer: 00:23–03:53
• Introducing the “Good Enough” Mindset: 03:53–06:23
• Movement as a Holiday Reset: 06:23–09:46
• Wellness without Perfection (Food & Drink): 09:46–11:54
• Stress Reduction Made Simple: 11:54–14:48
• Applying “Good Enough” Across Life: 14:48–16:55
• Final Pep Talk: You’re Not Behind: 16:55–18:22

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Recap: Susie’s Holiday Reset Formula

• Movement: Four minutes is enough. Just move.
• Nutrition: Less, not none. Small choices add up.
• Stress: Breathe, read, or brain dump—small acts count.
• Overall Life: Lower the bar from “perfect” to “present and peaceful.”

Susie’s closing encouragement:
“This is such important work…If you could share this episode, that would be great. We need more people who feel inspired to care for themselves not perfectly, but lovingly...Good enough for the win. Let’s go.” (18:22)

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For moms and busy women everywhere, this episode is a permission slip to stop striving for unattainable holidays and trade it for small, daily acts of self-respect and joy.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

Hi. This is the Love youe Life show with Susie Pettit, certified life and wellness coach. Join Susie as she helps you with your wellness and mindset so you can live a life you love. Let's go, warriors.

Oh, hello, dear warriors. I am so excited you're here. I am hyped up about this episode. Whether this is your first episode of the Love youe Life show or the 384th episode, the Mindset shift and concept I'm teaching today has the power to add so much goodness to your life all over. It has for me and so many clients and students, and I am. I'm just so excited you're listening in. By the end of this episode, you will have specific things you can start today to help you not only feel better physically, but also mentally to feel better about yourself, feel more confident and more like the badass warrior self you are, which is what life is all about. If this is your first episode, seriously, this is my view is that we are not here to walk around this Earth as little robots who keep needing to add more and more pressure and more things that we need to do to be acceptable or worthy. Like with this. This. This wound on ourselves that we're not good enough. Hey, that. No. My belief is that we are here to live lives that we love. We are here to feel lit up, to enjoy this life we're living. In fact, the more the way we get to this life, satisfaction and purpose is to do more of the things that light us up and excite us. The more we do that, the more we're fulfilling our purpose here on Earth. Which then would also mean that the less excited we feel about what's going on in our calendar or the more exhausted we feel about our life, and doing everything for everyone else is a bit of a sign that we're off course.

Totally reasonable, right? And I guess I've gotten a little ahead of myself, especially if you're a new listener. I haven't even told you who I am.

Welcome. I'm Susie Bennett, your coach and host of the Love youe Life Show. My mission here on Earth is to help as many women live lives they love. I am a master at helping people see where they are, adding angst and drama to their lives, and then to support them to feel better. Why? Because I lived a life I did not love for many, many years. And there are lots of episodes like, Reach out to Me. I can give you some good episodes. And yet my job here now to help people feel better. This is the greatest feedback I get people say I help them feel better, which is especially important to me if you're listening live time. As it is holiday season, okay, feeling better matters any time of the year. Yet during the holiday season, there tends to be more pressure, more stress. We're putting more pressure on ourselves to take care of all the people and their feelings and their thoughts and their experiences. And it's easy this time of year to get caught up in this. Let's make this as amazing for everyone else. Energy, which can lead us to sort of the effort energy when it comes to our own care, our own wellness, which really stinks. Because when we do that, how do we end up feeling long term, cruddy down on ourselves? Some of that like, oh my gosh, why did I have that extra cocktail? Or why did I eat that last cookie? Or why did I stop stretching in December? Energy.

And it doesn't have to be that way. By the end of this episode, you'll see how this mindset shift could change everything for you. Not by being this, like, slave driver, like you got to do it all harsh, but in a much kinder way. It helps me and so many of my clients and Love youe Life school students get to January feeling proud of ourselves and our decisions. And the beauty is, it's a small thing. It's a small shift. Basically, what we're trying to do is get rid of our perfectionist thinking and adopt a good enough mindset.

Many of us, myself, my past self included, carry this belief that if it's not big, it doesn't count. If we can't do the full 45 minute workout, why bother moving at all? If we can't meditate for 10 minutes, why even take a breath? If we had a glass of wine last night, well, we might as well have two or the whole week is ruined. Might as well have another one tonight. Sound familiar? Okay, but here's what I know. Being a habit change expert and studying the brain. Small is what works. Small steps are what stick. Our brain loves small. When we try to do big.

Maybe we can do big for a little bit. But ultimately you start Sunday and you're like, okay, this week I'm going to do whatever. You know, the 45 minute workout, or I'm going to skip the wine or whatever. What I'm telling you is you're not broken. When by Wednesday, you're like, what workout? When you're like, you know, your bag of chips is finished or whatever. Okay. When we try to do big, our brain gets overwhelmed. Plus, it brings up all this past trauma stuff that we don't need. Whereas when we do small, you guys, our brain feels safe. It's like, I can do that, and it lets us. And then we get to repeat it. And repetition is how we create lasting change. So we're going to try to not create the repetition that we just sort of give up on ourselves in December and start January feeling like crud. And mentally and physically.

By starting here, instead of chasing perfect, let's go for the good enough. Because good enough enough not only counts, it goes for the win. It's the only thing that ever does.

Let me give you specific areas to focus on when we're bringing this good enough mindset into our life, because these are the areas that will help you the most. And that's what I want. I want to give you a short, impactful episode that helps you the most. So let's start with your holiday. Your holiday superpower. This big secret, and it's movement. Truly, movement is the single most effective thing we can do for our mental and physical health. Moving consistently performs better than any other treatment for depression and anxiety, including medication.

I say every day I move my body for my mental health. Like, how cool is this? No prescription required. I'm not discounting medication. I've been on my share of them, if you know my story. And. And yet I'm pointing out that movement is amazingly healthful. The most grounded, emotionally healthy, successful people I know are the most active. Period. They look for ways to add movement into their day. Not necessarily in these big dramatic ways like training for a marathon or spending hours a day in the gym. They're simply active. They walk. They get up from their desk and stretch.

As I said, they're looking for ways to add movement into their day. You want to meet up? How about we walk and talk instead of meet? Get up together for lunch. Okay. Or waiting for a kid to come home from school. Let's dance to a song. Heating up dinner. Do 10 squats early for a pickup. Take a lap of the parking lot. Movement gives you energy. It helps you sleep better. It clears your head. And guess what? When you're more rested and energized, you're naturally happier.

And far more equipped to handle the people and pressure of the season.

More good news. I recently heard a study by Liz Moody that just four minutes of walking a day reduces your risk of cancers by 30%. Four minutes. I talk about getting little exercise snacks in your day. Four minutes. We can all do four minutes. Seriously, like, look at your social media on the phone. We could do four minutes. Another study showed the best thing we can do to reduce dementia and Alzheimer's better than medicine is to walk for 10 minutes a day as if we're late.

10 minutes. That's good enough. That's not some complicated movement routine or whatever. Just a warrior. Think of yourself. How can you move your body in a good enough way? Each day, our bodies are meant to move. How can you move in a good enough way? Could you walk to the mailbox? Could you park further away from the store? Can you do some squats while your coffee's warming up? Can you take a quick loop around the block after dinner? Every little bit count. And here's the bonus. It's your coach who loves you. Since movement reduces stress and anxiety, you'll have more brain power and patience to handle those family gatherings and do some of the work I talked about in the past episodes about setting boundaries. Win, win, win, win. Next up with our good enough mindset, let's look at our overall wellness. Because I am not here to tell you to give up on all the holiday treats and drinks. That's perfectionist mindset. That's the all or nothing. That mindset is what gets us into the effort eating and the effort drinking. As I said, you know the drill. You're like, I won't have dessert at the party tonight. Then you see they have your favorite cookies, and you're like, I'll just have one. And then before you know it, you're eating all the other desserts that you don't even like.

So instead, can we aim for good enough by looking at maybe, where can we have a little less this year? Maybe one less cocktail, one less serving of dip, one less bite of the fudge counts. Every small choice matters. Each serving of alcohol. A serving of alcohol is one glass of anything or a shot. Okay? And actually, so anyhow, I was going to say, actually, our glasses of wine are more than a serving. But anyhow, each. Each serving of alcohol increases our risk of 10 to 13 types of cancers. I just thought this was understood that everyone knew that alcohol raises your risk of cancer. And I've just recently talked to, like, several people that they're like, what, cancer? I'm like, yeah, alcohol does a really good job of hiding these stats. Okay? It increases our risk of 10 to 13 kinds of cancers. One drink. So when you scare that second glass, that matters. How about sugar? Sugar is inflammatory. When you have one less bite of cake or fudge or dip, you're not depriving yourself. You're taking care of your future self. How about when you choose water one night instead of wine? You're giving yourself a better night's sleep, a clearer morning, more energy to show up for the people and moments that matter to you.

Good enough is not giving up. It's showing up for yourself.

And the third thing I want to focus on, on our good enough is stress reduction. I can't even say it. Stress reduction, which this time of year, we all need more of. Okay, maybe your brain tells you you should be meditating for 10 minutes a day, and because you can't find 10 minutes, you do nothing. Does that sound familiar? I have been there. But what if your baseline was smaller? My baseline is three deep breaths. That's it. At some point during the day, I take three intentional breaths. I do a deep inhale.

Exhale out of my mouth.

Repeat that twice. That's good enough. Or maybe you used to read at night before bed, and now it feels too busy.

Could you read for six minutes at some point in your day?

Liz Moody cited another study about how reading for just six minutes decreases stress by 68%. That's powerful.

That's powerful. And since we were just talking about meditating, I just want to point out how reading also is a form of meditation. Reading anything from nonfiction to the lightest, most frivolous beach read, fiction.

Reading requires us to focus our brain on one thing. It does that similar thing in our brain that meditating does. So we're meditating or our reading, our focus goes away. And then we bring it back meditating. We bring it back to our breath reading. We bring it back to the words on the page. So even more good reason, read a chapter and escape those looping, anxious thoughts. Why not have this nervous system reset? I just heard recently someone was like, you know, successful people carry books with them where they go. And I was like, oh, my gosh, why don't I do that? Because when I'm in a waiting room, what am I going to do? I get out my phone.

Instead. Get out your book.

I also love being in a waiting room and just letting my brain idle, just sitting there. But sometimes I'm human. I get out my phone. But so now I'm going to start packing my book. We need these nervous system resets. Another nervous system reset that I often talk about is journaling. You know, I love my brain dumps as a way to manage stress and reactivity. And let's dump the perfectionist thinking here that we have to sit down with a fancy notebook and light A candle with that perfect pen and write for 20 minutes. No. 1 of my clients recently shared her good enough fix. She opens her phone's voice memo, talks to herself in there. She dumps her brain and her thoughts in her phone. Good enough gets the job done. It gets us out of our head and lowers our stress.

You see how this good enough mindset could change your holiday season and change how you approach your wellness overall. Where else might you be able to look for good enough done is better than perfect. Could you choose a good enough outfit? Do your makeup? Good enough. Get a good enough gift? Host a good enough party? Put up good enough decorations?

Seriously, this is secret warriors. Don't let your perfectionist brain speak up here. Because think ahead. What will you remember in March? Are you going to remember how. How your candles were coordinated with the tablecloth you ironed and that outfit you wore? No. You are going to remember how you felt. That's what we remember. We remember if we felt calm and grounded, if that felt like a peaceful event. Did we feel connected to the people around us? Or did we feel stressed and exhausted? Like get this frickin night over with already. I spent all day coordinating the candles and ironing and.

Or maybe we feel regret or shame thinking that tablecloth was wrinkly. Give yourself a freaking break. I have never, not once, been to someone's house and judged their tablecloth decorations or whatever. What do I remember after events? The energy of the other people there. It could be the most beautifully laid out event. And if the host or hostess is frazzled and frantic, that's what I remember. Or are they shoulder shrugging and they're like still in there like yoga pants. Like whoops, I haven't changed yet. Here I am, my lovable self. Oh, how good does that feel? So we want to remember it's good enough for the win. Take care of yourself in a good enough way and that will help you be the person you want to be this holiday season. Present peaceful light. Give yourself some enjoyment of what's going on.

Because here's the truth warrior. This is what matters. And today is a good day to start. I don't care what has happened since Thanksgiving, how you've been treating yourself, or since September, or even since last December or your whole frickin life. For goodness sake. Today is a good day to start with the good enough mindset. You are not behind, you are not broken. You are right on time. You're hearing this mindset shift at the exact right time in your life. And so we get to Start right here. Drop the perfectionist, bossy bully with yourself and start small. Small hinges move big doors. Small is sustainable. Four minutes of walking today builds momentum.

Small leads to feeling more pride, peace and progress. The stuff that lasts. So that's my wish for you as we're in the middle of this holiday season. If you're listening live, that we enter January not feeling behind, but proud. Proud that we took care of ourselves in the middle of this busy, beautiful, messy season. Proud that we chose the good enough mindset over the effort mindset. You are here to live life that feels good. And we get there, ironically, by lowering our exacting standards of ourselves.

This is such important work. In fact, if this episode spoke with you, will you share it with a friend? We need more people who feel inspired to care for themselves not perfectly, but lovingly. To see the truth of it that we. If we focus on what other people are thinking and feeling and we are always going to feel behind, there will always be more to do. We get to draw the enough line with ourselves. That's it. And we need more people in this world inspired to care for themselves. So if you could share this episode, that would be great. And if you're looking for a gift to give yourself this holiday season, I invite you to join me in the Love youe Life School. Super cheap each month and yet changes your life. If you commit to one hour of doing anything I do in the Love youe Life School, your life next year will change. Small for the win Last year, several students joined because they had asked their husbands for membership. So they gifted themselves the Love youe Life School. And I was just chatting with one of them about how it was the greatest gift they can ever remember receiving. They don't remember what else they got that holiday season. What necklace, what sweater? Sweater? What? Whatever. Okay. Tchotchke. For their shelf. They couldn't remember the other things under the tree, but the support, the connection and the tools that they get inside the Love youe Life school has changed their lives. I'd love that for you anyhow. Cheers to you. Cheers to that. Let's go, warrior. I love you. I'm cheering for you. I'm here for you. Good enough for the win. Let's go.