Breaking Bad Habits & Building Your Future Self with Special Guest Michelle Ozymy

Summary

TheUPside Podcast: Breaking Bad Habits & Building Your Future Self

Host: Theresa Flood
Guest: Michelle Ozymy
Date: January 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this insightful episode of TheUPside Podcast, host Theresa Flood sits down with life and business coach Michelle Ozymy to explore the critical role of habits in personal and professional growth. Together, they discuss why bad habits are easy to form but hard to break, strategies for building empowering routines, and the concept of becoming your "future self" through intentional daily actions. The conversation draws on practical advice, relatable stories, and actionable insights—making the episode a valuable resource for anyone aiming to create lasting, positive change.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Habits: Foundation of Outcomes

• Habits are fundamental in shaping our results, goals, and, ultimately, our identities.
• Quote: "If we're going to have different results, we're going to do something different. We've got to create different habits." —Theresa (01:18)

2. Identity and Habit Formation

• Inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits: It's not just about what you do, but about becoming the person who does the things that align with your goals.
• Quote: "It's not about doing the thing, it's about becoming the person who does the thing." —Theresa (02:04)
• Focus shifts from achieving outcomes to embodying the identity of your aspirational self.

3. Why Bad Habits Stick & Good Ones don't

• Bad habits are easy because they often lack discipline and can feel more fun or freeing.
• There's a misconception that structure kills creativity or freedom, but in reality, structure creates space for both.
• Quote: "A bad habit can tend to be a little bit more fun... there's not so much discipline involved." —Michelle (02:36)
• Quote: "When you have habits and you have a plan and you stick to a schedule, it actually moves you the direction you want to go and then gives you the freedom that you're looking for." —Michelle (03:12)

4. Environmental Influences on Habits

• Small environmental changes can make or break habit consistency.
• Example: Theresa cut her nails short to make journaling on her computer less cumbersome, illustrating how tiny tweaks can remove barriers.
• Quote: "So many times our environment doesn't support our habits or our goals. And it can be something so simple." —Theresa (04:48)

5. Breaking and Replacing Habits

• Sometimes, what served you in a past season may not serve you now—habits should be adaptable.
• Both hosts share personal stories about replacing or letting go of habits:
  • Michelle gained nighttime productivity after losing her bath routine due to a move (06:45).
  • Theresa shifted her drinking habits to better support her role as a mother and her evening energy (08:02).
  • Associating positive or negative outcomes with habits speeds up the breaking/forming process.
• Quote: "If somebody is looking, saying, 'okay, there's a habit that I need to let go of or replace,' really connecting the dots between what that habit ... is doing and how it makes you feel." —Theresa (10:00)

6. Pleasure, Pain, and Motivation

• Negative emotions are sometimes more motivating than positive ones—people may be quicker to move away from pain than toward pleasure.
• Quote: "We tend to move away from pain versus towards pleasure." —Theresa (10:52)

7. Outcome vs. Action Focus

• Focusing on the action or habit itself, rather than just the result, builds pride, confidence, and resilience.
• Quote: "Being proud of ourself for accomplishing that action step and not being so interested in the outcome." —Michelle (12:00)

8. Consistency Beats Intensity

• All-or-nothing, intense approaches are unsustainable; small, consistent actions trump bursts of effort every time.
• Social media and modern culture feed our need for instant results, but real progress is gradual.
• Quote: "Consistency will always beat intensity." —Theresa (13:48)
• Quote: "It's very easy, though, to lose the motivation or to... we miss a day. And so then there's sometimes this feeling of, well, I broke my streak and I might as well just quit." —Theresa (14:33)

9. Resilience & Bouncing Back

• Breaking a streak isn't a failure; it's an opportunity to get back up and deepen your commitment.
• Quote: "You're becoming a person who bounces back. You're becoming a person who isn't knocked down easily." —Theresa (16:09)

10. Habit Stacking

• From Atomic Habits: Attach a new habit to an existing one ("habit stacking") for easier integration.
• Examples range from building writing routines to incorporating lead-generation calls at work.
• Quote: "The concept on habit stacking is that you just add a habit to whatever you're already doing." —Theresa (17:50)

11. Start Simple, Progress Over Perfection

• Overwhelm comes from trying to overhaul everything at once. Instead, start with one manageable change and add on over time. Small, imperfect action is more important than waiting for the perfect routine.
• Quote: "It can be simple and start simple. Start with one thing, allow it to become a habit, and then add to it." —Theresa (19:45)
• Quote: "Progress over perfection." —Theresa (20:46)

12. Creating Identity Through Habits

• Repeated choices create identity and self-belief—one slip doesn’t define you.
• Let go of habits that make you complacent, not just those that are "bad."
• Quote: "It's the choices that we make over and over that define us and create our identity 100%." —Theresa (21:28)
• Quote: "We limit ourselves because we think it's just about things that are really bad as opposed [to] things that are just mediocre. Things that are keeping us average, things that are keeping us complacent." —Theresa (21:39)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Nothing changes if nothing changes." —Michelle (01:51)
• "You earn the freedom." —Theresa (03:21)
• "Sometimes a habit that serves us in one season is not a habit that's gonna serve us in the next season." —Theresa (07:41)
• "The hardest part of the habit is the showing up." —Theresa (16:47)
• "When you invest in your growth every single day, when it's a habit, it will yield you great returns." —Theresa (23:46)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:34–01:18: Introduction of Michelle and her coaching background
• 02:04: Discussion of identity-based habits (Atomic Habits concept)
• 02:36–03:21: Why bad habits are easier to make than good ones
• 04:31–04:59: Theresa’s journaling habit & environmental tweaks
• 06:45–07:41: Letting go of past habits for new growth
• 08:02–10:00: Changing daily drinking habits and “replacement” rituals
• 10:22: Connecting emotions to habit change
• 12:00–13:48: Value of actions over results, consistency over intensity
• 15:21: The difference between hollow streaks vs. meaningful growth
• 17:49–19:45: Habit stacking and building routines
• 20:46: Importance of progress over perfection
• 21:39–22:26: Breaking free from complacency and settling

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Final Thoughts & Resources

• Michelle's Parting Wisdom: Habits are essential for becoming who you want to be. Small, daily choices accumulate and ultimately define us.
• Theresa's Action Steps: Don’t obsess over isolated slip-ups; focus on returning to your desired habits and shed behaviors that keep you stuck—not just the overtly “bad” ones.
• Resource: James Clear’s Atomic Habits is recommended as a practical, go-to guide for anyone seeking to understand and rework their habits (23:23–23:43).
• Upcoming Tool: Subscribers to Theresa’s site will receive a “Habit Audit” worksheet for self-reflection and improvement.

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Episode tone: Energetic, supportive, and practical—filled with relatable stories and encouragement to make small, intentional changes for big impact.

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Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Upside podcast, where we help you get unstuck in your life and your business by elevating your thinking and provoking meaningful change from the inside out. I'm host Teresa Flood, and I have with me today one of my dear friends and the amazing coach Michelle Ozzini. And one of the things that you're going to notice throughout 2026 is we're going to be doing more collaborative episodes on the Upside. So you'll see interviews and you'll see just me, and then you're going to see me bringing people in like Michelle and Tommy, and we're going to just have some really great con. So today we're going to talk habits.

[B]

Oh, I love it. I love habits. I love habit stacking. I love habits. Just kind of go along with all of those things. I'd like as far as, like, scheduling and planning. Kind of excited.

[A]

Just feels so orderly to you. It does, it does. Okay, well, for people who are listening and maybe don't know, you tell everybody who you are a little bit about your coaching background. I think that's what makes you perfect for this conversation.

[B]

Well, my name's Michelle Ozemi. I've been a realtor for the last 20 years. I am now with Keller Williams, Dallas Preston Road.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Well, high five.

[A]

High five. Yes. An amazing recruiter.

[B]

She is.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And for the last five years, I have been a life and business coach, and I absolutely have a passion for helping people build their business and live a life they love all at the same time.

[A]

Well, you are very great coach.

[B]

Oh, thank you.

[A]

And I believe that habits are one of the key things, um, that will either help or hinder our goals. So I'm a fan of the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. And we're doing that currently in Dallas, Preston Road, Morning huddle. And I think this is our third year. Is it really? Yeah. So it's a habit now that we do atomic habits for the first month of every year, because I just believe that that is what solidifies our goals. Happening was, is if we're going to have different results, we're going to do something different. We've got to create different habits.

[B]

Nothing changes if nothing changes.

[A]

Yes. So good. So one of the things in that book that he talks about is that it's not about doing the thing, it's about becoming the person who does the thing.

[B]

Yes. And I love that.

[A]

If you heard my episode last week, we talked about going from A to B or going from where you're at to where you want to Be. Or even more importantly, who you are to who you have to become.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think the practical way of how we become the person who does whatever it is on that goal list is that we create new habits.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And yet that is so hard.

[B]

It is so hard.

[A]

So, Michelle, as a coach, why are bad habits so easy to make and so hard to break?

[B]

I think because it's about choice. And a bad habit can tend to be a little bit more fun.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Can be a little bit more fun. And even in the bad habit, there's not so much discipline involved. It's kind of a you're not gonna tell me what to do type of thing. And what I have found, especially in my coaching journey, because I'm mostly coaching entrepreneurs, is that the idea of the habit, the goal, the schedule, creates this idea of stringency and that you're going to lose your freedom and your creativity and who you are, when the truth is, it does just the opposite. When you have habits and you have a plan and you stick to a schedule, it actually moves you the direction you want to go and then gives you the freedom that you're looking for.

[A]

Yeah. You earn the freedom.

[B]

You earn the freedom.

[A]

And so much of entrepreneurship is learning how to manage your time, or more directly, learning how to manage ourselves.

[B]

Ourselves, 100%.

[A]

Which is about making the right choices. And when you make those right choices over and over, it's what creates the habit.

[B]

What do we tell our children? Make good choices. Yeah. It's hard for us.

[A]

It is hard for us. So thinking about habits for next year. So, for instance, I have a really strong morning routine, and one of the things that I want to become that I know I need to become, to make the upside more powerful, to accomplish some goals that I have around, that is I need to become a writer. And so I am working to establish that journaling habit every single day.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

And so I've started this prior to this year, but that is gonna be a big focus for me in 2026.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

And it's not an easy. For some reason, the reading is easy. Okay.

[B]

An avid reader.

[A]

I'm an avid reader.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Can I tell you, though, what I have done that I think is actually helping me? This is gonna sound so silly.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

I cut my nails because I journal on my computer.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

And I one day had this revelation that I think I actually resist doing a lot of typing because I'm slower. It's cumbersome when I have my long nails.

[B]

Oh, yes. Okay.

[A]

And so I have clever. It was such an aha. But so many times our environment doesn't support our habits or our goals. And it can be something so simple.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As my nails were causing me to dislike the process, I hand written. But I'm seeing different results because I have short fingernails. And of course the last time I went, they look like Chiclets on here. But we'll talk about that another time. Yeah. That was a whole thing. So we were not going for that look. But a short Sherlock was actually strategic as a environment inducing way to help me support my goals.

[B]

I think that's fantastic. And so it's allowed you to be consistent in your writing.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's cool. And so now that you're doing that, how much is it growing your writing skills?

[A]

I think time will tell that. Okay. It comes easier to me. Yeah.

[B]

And you look forward to it. No. Oh, okay.

[A]

I will get there. I think we'll get there.

[B]

Yeah. I still don't look forward to it.

[A]

In the way that I do the reading.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I believe I'll get there. So it's not enjoyable yet, but it's getting easier. It's flowing faster.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I feel like it is becoming a habit. And so I am becoming. So my goal in 2026 is I will become a writer. Doesn't mean I'm going to be a published author. 2026, but I'm going to become a writer.

[B]

I mean, if you're journaling, you're a writer.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

I'd love that. So exciting.

[A]

So I think the question is, you know, for our listeners is what is that? What are those goals and who do you have to become? And then what are the habits that that person does?

[B]

Yes. Agreed. Agreed. And I love that. I love that. And it's looking at, in some cases, it's maybe even taking someone you admire and what is their morning routine? What are they doing throughout the day? What habits have they stopped doing? You know, how are they spending their time? Sometimes it's habits that we need to. We need to break.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So to give us more time. So I actually have. It's a funny story, when we moved, we accidentally moved into a place that didn't have a bathtub. Like we didn't even think about it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I love to take a bath in the evening. Well, now I can't do that. And as a result of that, I've actually gotten time back and I have found that now I'm doing my devotional and my journaling at night.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

And it's not as rushed. So I will listen to the same thing in the morning and then I'll go back and listen to it in the evening. And that's when I journal about it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And I am seeing a different result from that. So it's a habit. It was a good habit. It was a bad habit. But now I'm realizing that I was probably spending too much time on that. So I do still miss my bathtub.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Kind of makes me sound. But something good came from it. And it's a time habit was the issue as I was spending too much time. And now I've got time back to do something different. And it's been productive.

[A]

Well, and I think that's a great point because sometimes a habit that serves us in one season is not a habit that's gonna serve us in the next season.

[B]

Oh, so true. It is.

[A]

It may not necessarily be a bad habit. Absolutely. It may not be wrong or bad or harming us in some way. It may just not be helping us move forward.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

So I'll give you an example. So last year, it was in February of last year, I decided that I wanted to change my. My drinking habit. Okay. And so I'm not a. Wasn't a big drinker. As in I didn't drink in excess.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I drink often.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I'd come home from work, I'm cooking dinner, I'd open a bottle of wine, I'd make a cocktail. I love to bartend, so I love a good craft cocktail.

[B]

So fun.

[A]

But I had noticed that even just one glass of wine made me tired.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And of course I get up at 4:30, so I'm already tired at night just because of my light and my schedule. But my girls are older and so they need me at night later. And parenting isn't done anymore at 8 o'. Clock. And so I decided that I needed to make a change for that. But one of the things that I did and I have drastically. I mean, now I drink just rarely on occasion as opposed to on a regular occurrence. And I thought I would get skinnier and lose weight. That didn't happen because I think I just eat more dessert. So I think I just replaced the calories.

[B]

So that wasn't about that.

[A]

It wasn't about that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It really wasn't about. But that was just kind of like I had hoped that would be a silver lining. Sure.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But what I really intentionally did was focused on when I did have a drink, how did I feel afterwards. And I Associated the drink with feeling tired. And I would tell myself, oh, I feel so sleepy right now. I feel so tired. I wish I didn't feel tired right now. And then how I felt in the morning versus how I didn't. And so eventually it really wasn't a hard transition for me. And the other thing was replacing it because I love a great. I love a great wine glass or a great cocktail glass. And so I got this stuff called Moment. It's a splendid drink.

[B]

Fantastic.

[A]

It's an adaptogen drink. It is really carbonated water. It is.

[B]

It is.

[A]

But I use that to create. To make the habit.

[B]

The experience.

[A]

The experience.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yes. And now I don't even do that anymore because I've just kind of transitioned out of it. But I think if somebody is looking, saying, okay, there's a habit that I need to let go of or replace with really connecting the dots between what that habit, that detrimental habit. It may not be a horrible habit again.

[B]

Right, of course.

[A]

But something that's not serving you and how it makes you feel.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Good or bad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you go to the gym and you get home and you feel really great and proud of yourself, really taking a moment to feel that and connect it with the feeling of going to.

[B]

The gym so that you will keep.

[A]

Going so that you will keep going. Or when you make those calls and you book an appointment, really connecting the dots between this is the activity I did and this is the great feeling that I have.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So whether it's a positive or a negative, I think sometimes negative feeling tends to be more motivational for us. We tend to move away from pain versus towards pleasure.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

And so if we can connect the dots with a habit that doesn't serve us with. With a negative emotion. Correct. It's really going to help us break that and move forward.

[B]

And we can also look at. So for things. So, like the gym, for example.

[A]

1.

[B]

It gives us that positive feeling, but instead of, you know, we're here. We've just passed National Quitters Day.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So the gym has thinned out a little bit already.

[A]

I can't say I hate that.

[B]

I can't say I hate that. I agree. But associating.

[A]

And that's only good because upside listeners don't go to my personal gym.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

So it's a. Yes, exactly. I'm not talking about y'.

[B]

All. Not y'. All. Not y'.

[A]

All.

[B]

Y' all keep going and we're happy to see you there. But when you're looking at habits, don't Associate them necessarily, only about the outcomes. So I'm not just going to the. I'm not going to the gym to lose weight. I'm not going. I'm not making the calls to get a listing. Being proud of ourself for accomplishing that action step and not being so interested in the outcome and focused on the outcome.

[A]

That's so good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because again, you're becoming the person who does hard things. You're becoming the person who keeps promises to yourself.

[B]

Yes. Because over time, you will lose the weight, you will get stronger. Those phone calls will result in appointments.

[A]

But never fast enough.

[B]

But never fast.

[A]

Never on the worthwhile things. Never fast enough.

[B]

And that's why if you focus on the habit and the action steps that you're accomplishing and not the outcomes, it will feel better.

[A]

Why do you think so many people focus on intensity, bursts of intensity over consistency? Because I think that is a, a real challenge where we go all in for 30 days or one week.

[B]

I think it's more like one week.

[A]

One day and we just, just give it all we got and then we completely tap out. What is the psychology behind that? Why do we tend to dive into intensity over consistency?

[B]

I think it's our need for instant results. Like we go all in. And I would be curious, as you were asking the question, I was thinking, I wonder, 75 years ago when people set their goals because we weren't so involved with social media and seeing everything happen so quickly.

[A]

We're in a microwave culture, we.

[B]

And we're in a microwave culture now. So 75 years ago, if somebody went on a diet, like, were they upset that they didn't lose five pounds the first day? Or did they even know?

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

Did they have scales? Did they have. I don't, I don't know.

[A]

I think so.

[B]

Surely they did.

[A]

I mean, not electronic scales.

[B]

No. Like a horse and buggy or something. I don't know.

[A]

I don't know. 75 years ago, that was.

[B]

Okay, so maybe I went a little too far back. But. Yeah, like, I wonder how, like what that looked like as far as a timeline for them. Like there wasn't that need for instant gratification the way we have now.

[A]

Yeah. Well, consistency will always beat intensity.

[B]

Every time.

[A]

Every time consistency beats intensity. And I think what happens sometimes is we take on too much and go intense.

[B]

Well, it's January 1st and we go all in. We're going to lose £20. We're going to make 150 phone calls. We're going to keep our space clean. Like we're going to do all the things.

[A]

All the things.

[B]

And then January 2nd, we're exhausted. And nothing great has come from all the things that we did. So we're hungry, we're still fat.

[A]

And it's like back when I was. I could hate a carrot and be skinny again. Those days, long gone.

[B]

Oh, yes. If I wanted to fit into a dress, I just couldn't eat all day. And then we could go out that night and it was great.

[A]

It was just nothing. Those days are gone.

[B]

Long gone.

[A]

The consistency, though, is definitely harder.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And yet if we. If we look at it over time, you see just massive results from consistency. And it just adds up so slowly. It's very easy, though, to lose the motivation or to lose or we make a mistake or we mess up, we miss a day. And so then there's sometimes there's this feeling of, well, I. I broke my streak and I might as well just quit or I might as well just wait and start over in.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

After spring break or what have you. As opposed to just taking the miss and getting back in the game.

[B]

Well. And letting the mess. So I'll give you. Sometimes I think I'm so cheesy, but I will give you. So I'll give you an example. I have the YouVersion Bible app. I think I'm on, like, day 1400.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I have not missed a day, which sounds amazing, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Except that really I just wake up, I roll over, I hit the thing. So my habit is really hitting the thing. I vaguely read it, but has it helped me grow more spiritually? Probably not. It's the time I spend at night because I can't take a bath anymore. Actually spending the time and the devotion that has helped me. So on some occasions I'll miss a day on that. But I have no idea what the verse of the day was today. Couldn't even begin to tell you. Yeah. But I got. I got my streak, so it's making the habit matter. So when you miss a day going back. Okay, so I missed Tuesday. Well, on Wednesday, really dive deep and make it count. So.

[A]

Well, and I think you're becoming a person who bounces back.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

You're becoming a person who. Yes. You're becoming a person who isn't knocked down easily. You're becoming a person that's hard, um, to. To quit. And I think that those kinds of resiliency. I've had some issues with my shoulder recently at the gym. Has been a little bit more of a challenge as far as heavy lifting and So I have worked out less. And yet I still go to the.

[B]

But you still go.

[A]

I go do the red light, I go sit in the sauna, I do the stretcher. I walk like an old lady on the treadmill. I. Because the hardest part of the habit is the showing up. Yes, by golly, it's not hard to do the weights once I get there, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And sewing up is the hard part. By golly, I am not going to let go of the habit of getting up early and of doing the activity. I don't go to the gym until 5:30. Okay.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So guarding that habit of just continuing to show up even if it's going to look different in a season. Yeah. Giving yourself some grace for that. It's okay.

[B]

100.

[A]

And yet I don't want to go allow myself too many permissions or too many excuses, if you will, just because I'm dealing with this at this point.

[B]

Oh, it's easy to find excuses. But yeah, you can go to the gym and you can work out your legs. Yeah.

[A]

Well, lower back problems. So that's out too. I now have problems with my shoulder and my lower back. I can't stand, I can't sit, I can't lay down.

[B]

Well, we'll work on that later.

[A]

I know that's a whole other podcast episode on now you're 45. So anyways, okay, so let's talk a little bit about and kind of relate it to habit stacking, which is a concept from Atomic Habits.

[B]

Yeah. So fun.

[A]

So this is one of my favorite habits and that. That concept on habit stacking is that you just add a habit to whatever you're already doing.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So for instance, if you already get up and read, it's like I do, then add a habit to that of also reading the Bible, or add a habit to that of journaling or add a habit to that of praying and meditating. Add a habit to that of 15 push ups. Whatever it is, it can actually be an unrelated habit. Yeah. It could be when you take your vitamins. It could be when you write a thank you note. It could be when you.

[B]

When you go to the office meeting or the title company for the class that you don't probably, maybe you don't need. When you get there, get to the class an hour early and make your calls. That way you've been productive. Then you go to the class and.

[A]

Just create a habit of how you work the schedule.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Every time you have a class scheduled, get there 45 minutes early or an hour. Make Those calls do what you need to do from a. From a contact standpoint.

[A]

Yes. Well, my morning is very routine. And so we do the office huddle at 8:30.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And so we do as a staff. We do a staff huddle after that. Oh, so they stacked that habit. We get off the office huddle and jump onto our staff huddle. Our agents do a conversation practice, which you lead off into the idea of habit stacking. And then the idea is to have it stack, then lead generation past that, where you actually make the calls and pick up the phone and do the things perfect. And so if we can nail one anchor habit, then the other habits, they.

[B]

Just fall into place and you become consistent with it. So if you've gotten consistent with doing the morning huddle, then you'll do the conversation practice, then you'll do the lead gen, and then you'll do whatever's next. If you're already doing all three of those things, add something else. Yeah, it doesn't have to. And I think we feel like we have to make it huge and grand and it can just be simple.

[A]

It can be simple and start simple. Start with one thing, allow it to become a habit, and then add to it. It doesn't have to be the perfect goal all at once.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And I think that creates a. It won't be. I think that creates a lot of overwhelm sometimes when we think we have to do all of these things or make it the perfect workout routine, make it the perf perfect morning routine, or make it the perfect lead generation system. Whereas if we would just do one thing consistently that would be perfectly different was that last year. We underestimate how powerful that's going to be and how the results that's going to take. And then going forward by saying, okay, now I've got the water habit, for instance, now I'm going to eliminate sugar and then I'm going to do this. We just tend to be so much about intensity and it's not always very.

[B]

Sustainable because we think if we can jump in with all of these things, it's going to create this massive, just earth shift immediately. And then when it doesn't, we're defeated.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So.

[A]

So progress over perfection.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I love. That's where Ed Mylett's theory of one more comes in. And I love that. I love that. So if again, it's with the habit stacking, just add one more. Keep it simple.

[A]

What else about habits, Michelle, that you want to leave everybody with?

[B]

Oh my gosh. I just can't Emphasize how important they are. Like just. It's how you develop. It's how you grow. It's how you become the person you want to be or the person that you're striving to become.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And I think that's so crucial.

[A]

Anything we do one time doesn't define us.

[B]

No, no. It's how you grow.

[A]

It's the choices that we make over and over.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

That define us and create our identity 100%. And so don't beat yourself up when you make a one choice that's off and not in alignment to who you are.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Get back in the game and get really intentional about shedding the things that don't serve you. Again, not always bad things. The word bad is just so. I think sometimes we limit ourselves because we think it's just about things that are really bad as opposed things that are just mediocre. Things that are keeping us average, things that are keeping us complacent. Things that are keeping us. We're settling for less than what God has for us.

[B]

Absolutely. I love your choice of the word complacent. Complacent and apathetic is where we've seen so many realtors over the last couple years. And I think by adding just a couple simple habits to their daily routine in 2026, it can really help them very easily and slowly get out of that mindset.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

So there you go.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Leave you with that.

[A]

I think that's a pretty good episode.

[B]

I think so too. Thanks for having me. Oh my goodness.

[A]

Okay, so we. If you are a subscriber to teresaflood.com which makes you an official upsider, we'll send out an email on Thursday and we're going to give you some habit questions to do a habit habit audit.

[B]

Oh, that's so fun.

[A]

That sounded. That sounded really hard to say. A dabit audit.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

And that will be a tool for you to take it and do some self reflection and hopefully really help you with your goals in 2026 and making some minor little changes. And if you're listening to this our our Market center daily huddle. Even if you're not in real estate and you want to pop on in the mornings, join us 8:30-8:45. Just shoot me a message and I'll get you the zoom link. And you're more than welcome to join us. I encourage you to get that book because it is a free, phenomenal book to really help you understand the psychology behind why we create habits. How do we break the bad ones, add the good ones in. There's a lot of really, really practical information on there. It's kind of.

[B]

It's the type of book that's almost like a workbook. Like, you can go back to. It is.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Over and over again. So, yeah, everyone should have it in their library.

[A]

I totally agree with that. All right, everybody, be sure to go subscribe teresaflood.com and as always, remember, when you invest in your growth every single day, when it's a habit, it will yield you great returns. And we will see you next week. On the upside.