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.

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.

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)

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

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)

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.