Habit Stacking for a Balanced Life with Ashley Legg and Cynthia Johnson

I. Introduction
Welcome to another exciting episode of the Get It Girl Podcast! Today, we're diving deep into the art of habit stacking with our fantastic guests, Ashley Legg and Cynthia Johnson. We all know forming new habits can be tough, but it's the consistent day-to-day actions that pave the way to achieving our goals and dreams. 

II. Get Clear on Your Why and Desired Habits
It all starts with clarity. Define your 'why' – whether it's being a stellar parent, feeling healthy and confident, or excelling in your career. Once you've identified your motivations, select two key habits to implement. For instance, dedicating time for healthy meals and incorporating daily movement into your routine.

III. Habit Stacking: Adding Layers
After mastering the initial habits, it's time to level up. Add one or two more habits each week, gradually building a routine that aligns with your goals. Whether it's increasing vegetable intake or staying hydrated, each new habit becomes a stepping stone towards your ideal lifestyle.

IV. Change Your Environment
Set yourself up for success by tweaking your surroundings. Schedule workouts, lay out workout gear, or invest in motivating tools like a fancy water bottle. Transform your environment into a supportive space that makes it easier to accomplish your habits.

V. Accountability
Accountability is key to staying on track. Share your goals with a friend, post about your progress on social media, or engage in discussions with colleagues. By inviting others into your journey, you create a support system that keeps you accountable and motivated.

VI. Overall Consistency
Consistency is the secret sauce to habit formation. Stick with your routines, even on challenging days, and watch as they seamlessly integrate into your lifestyle. As old habits solidify, make room for new ones, continuously evolving towards your best self.

Tune in to this episode for insightful tips and inspiring stories on mastering the art of habit stacking. Remember, consistency is the key to unlocking your full potential!

Podcast hosts:

Cynthia Johnson

• https://cynthialive.com
• https://amzn.to/3BKrcLl
• https://www.instagram.com/cynthialive/
• https://twitter.com/CynthiaLIVE
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynjohnson/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Johnson_(entrepreneur)

Ashley Legg

• https://www.leggday.com/
• https://www.ashleymarielegg.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/legg_day/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/leggdayfitness/

Transcript

Ashley: 0:01

Welcome to the Get it girl community where yes, you can have it all. We are redefining confidence and life, business health and happiness. If you are

Cynthia Johnson: 0:10

motivated, full of drive a go getter and looking for ways to achieve it all without losing yourself to the constant grind, this space is for you.

Ashley: 0:18

We're teaching you to take control of your life to boost confidence to feel good inside and out, which then spills into every aspect of your life. You show up better for yourself, your relationships, your career, your passions.

Cynthia Johnson: 0:31

We also focus a lot on bucket lists to help ignite that passion and adventure in you when it comes to differences in your life, to relationships, travel, food, and so much more.

Ashley: 0:42

So look in the mirror and say it loud and proud. Yes, you can have it all. Get

Cynthia Johnson: 0:47

it girl, we are changing the conversation around women and success, from empowerment to celebration of achievement.

Ashley: 0:57

Welcome back to the ghetto girl podcast. I'm your host Ashley leg with my co host, Cynthia Johnson. And I just want to welcome you guys back. We are talking about habit stacking today. And I love this, this is something that I'm continuously working on. And I think it's so important to think of habits as a positive way to get you closer to your goal or your dream. When you have a goal or a dream, you really do have to rely on what you're doing day to day to get you there over time. So it's all about being consistent with the habits that you are implementing. So habit stacking today, what do you think about this topic? And what comes to mind? First, when we talk about habit stacking,

Cynthia Johnson: 1:42

I don't know if this is a saying or I'm making it up but comes to mind is you want to have it you need to have it. Yes, it's really shouldn't be a thing. If it's not, it's ours.

Ashley: 1:54

I love that. That's perfect.

Cynthia Johnson: 1:56

It's true. We do we want it all when we can, but we have to plan for it. And we have to practice and that requires habits.

Ashley: 2:03

Yes, your day to day actions, the steps that you are taking to get you to where you want to be. So I love that you basically broke down what I said in the most like relatable way. So that's like a new slogan for a while. British or

Cynthia Johnson: 2:20

you've said it first. And I just, I'd say good habits, they're easy to create without intention. Hard to break with intention, or without intention, but not impossible. When done with intention. And end goal in mind can be extremely life changing.

Ashley: 2:39

Yes, there's small actions, they can build up over time. And they allow you they give power to shift your life they really do. So we want to talk about first getting clear on your habits and what you want to implement in your life. So you got to get clear on your why I think that's number one, because it's gonna be hard to introduce new habits, if it's not exciting or not something you want, like you have to be clear. So for example, I want to be an amazing mom and have the energy to show up for my kids. I want to feel healthy, calm and confident. Okay, so that's a big why. So what are the habits for that that are going to get you closer to how you want to feel. So I feel like you need to choose two habits in this category to start to implement in your life. So example is if you want to feel energized in work and mom life and you want to take care of yourself, you can make a goal to moving your body at least 30 minutes per day. And this doesn't have to be seven days of hit workouts. This could be one day a strength training workout one day, a nice walk one day stretching, any kind of movement. Okay, so That's habit number one, the next habit could be to plan at least one healthy meal per day. So whether that's lunch, you want to make sure you're preparing a healthy lunch for the work day or you're like, I want to make sure my family is going to have a healthy dinner plan at least one meal per day. And that's going to set you up for success in the fact that okay, these are two habits that I want. So I need to figure out how I can take action to get there. And I feel like if you spend a week there trying to tackle those two habits, you're going to feel more confident you're going to see what's doable. You know where needs a little more effort before even thinking about adding in new habits. So the idea is picking two habits that you can commit to one week at a time. And then from there you stack. So that's a lot I know sometimes introducing new habits can be scary and daunting for people. But I feel like you said if you really want something. It's all about your daily actions to get you there. Yeah, you're

Cynthia Johnson: 4:56

really good at finding the habits and implementing them. Like making, making it a consistent thing with a clear outcome. For those of us who can be a little bit more reactionary times I like excitable for me it's removing habits is always been the core of, of I think I can just add a habit to habit. And next thing you know my day is gone and I can't. So looking at what is in your day, spend a week write down the things you do and then look at the things you shouldn't be doing anymore. Because that that's what creates the space to fill. For me it's it can be exhausting sometimes trying to add something when I feel so overwhelmed with what I have to have to let go first,

Ashley: 5:42

it goes back to saying like you have to learn to say no, it's okay to say no, you can't always say yes. Otherwise, like you said, it's going to take away from some other things that you want to do. So I love that there's totally a different perspective. And I think that a lot of people can relate to that. Because many of us take on way too much. So it's so hard to think about adding something new. Yes.

Cynthia Johnson: 6:03

But once you've removed it, then the next step is to fill it with intention. Because if you don't, you're going to fill it with something you have to be you have to exist. Yes.

Ashley: 6:15

So true. Okay, so first, we need to remove some habits then implement some new habits that you want that are cater to your goal or your dream. The next big point is to change your environment. And what this means is to make your habits easier to accomplish. An example of that is let's say you know that you want to work out first thing in the morning, you're going to wake up extra early so that you can work out before your kids get up or before your work. Making your workout easier is by setting out your clothes ahead of time. Something so simple, but like your wakeup they're right there. Like you know, you just have to put them on and get to your workout. So I feel like that's an example. Or if you have a goal of wanting to drink more water, let's say you want to hit 64 ounces, get a nice water container that's motivating, that's cute aesthetic, something that's gonna motivate you to drink water. I have mine right here. And I know Cynthia just got like, a nice one too. But it really does make a difference. If you have a container rather than just thinking you're gonna just drink a bunch of glasses per day and lose count. Yes,

Cynthia Johnson: 7:22

I saw Ashley's water. And I was like, This is great. It tells me I'm doing a good job through the day. Love that. So then I got well, I got a water bottle that was inspiring. And I posted people were going crazy there. Every time I saw someone I knew they had this bottle because they saw it and it was just incredible, incredible thing. I ran back into you Ashley and you up leveled, right, like you went, you went with a big game Baron beggar, boy. And so I thought I'll get the big boy I didn't realize habit stacking how often I was not filling my own bottle until I got the big one. And then my husband was like, You're gonna have to fill your own bottle.

Unknown: 8:01

My God, Ryan, always just three minutes of my day is filling up your water. I like already cozy up in bed like taking my last day can you up so I'm prepared.

Cynthia Johnson: 8:16

That's when your habit becomes their habit. To adjust. I had to go back to the medium size to make it work for us. But

Unknown: 8:25

now you know, I love this. I love this so much I can totally see your husband doing that

Cynthia Johnson: 8:30

which he was like, I'm not going all the way and that defeats the purpose.

Ashley: 8:36

Okay, so going back to tune your environment. Another one I wanted to add is if you want to start practicing positive affirmations, I think another great way to set yourself up for success is to write some affirmations on a sticky note and put them up on your mirror. You're going to see that every day. So you're going to read it, you're going to start to say it it's just going to start getting you're going to start to believe it because you're you know speaking to your mind more kindly, so I love that. And then one other example for our business minded people like let's say you want to be better at blogging or writing a habit would be to dedicate 20 minutes a day of undistracted time to write that is a habit that you can build upon. And then you're going to get inspired. And let's say you do reach like a writing block or roadblock or, you know, lose momentum, you could take that 20 minutes to try to become more re inspired in some way. If you have a goal, if you have a dream, these habits are what's going to get you there. So you really do have to prioritize it.

Cynthia Johnson: 9:33

Yeah, and I think the writing is really, really important. Whether it's a gratitude journal or it's something else in you know, five minutes a day, seven days isn't really part doesn't matter. But if you want to be inspired, again, the word is inspired. You need to know what's in there, and you got to get it out and order to really understand it.

Unknown: 9:53

I love that so much. I've never thought of that that way. Oh, that's inspired.

Cynthia Johnson: 9:58

Everyone's looking for it and outside. have an outside way to get inspired. And it's actually very counterintuitive. If you look at the words,

Unknown: 10:06

I love that you're seriously opening my

Ashley: 10:08

mind to new things today.

Cynthia Johnson: 10:12

Every day, they take everything from exactly the way it's oh my god, it's literal. Yeah, it's very literal. Thank you.

Ashley: 10:20

So we talked about changing the environment. So accountability, I feel it's a next big part of habit stacking, you know, sometimes it's fine to keep things to yourself. But when you do keep habits in secret, it's sometimes easier to give up, which is a little bit scary. So I feel like if you share your goal, it doesn't have to be on social media or some major public thing. It could be to a friend or your partner, or family member, it adds some positive momentum. I don't want to say the word pressure. I don't really like that word, but positive like reinforcement that you can get these habits to stick. And especially like, if you're having temptations to give up. You could always go to that person that you know that you confide in. And, and you might get some new insight or inspiration, just like Cynthia gave me and like it might just totally inspire you and shift your mindset to continue to work for that habit. Having an accountability partner is really, really powerful. And it's just something that's going to help you long term.

Cynthia Johnson: 11:21

Yes, the accountability partner can be different for lots of situations.

Ashley: 11:26

Yes, you can have a business accountability partner, another boss, babe, you could have a workout accountability partner, you could have a friend that you just talk about, like the marriage ups and downs, like yes, he for anything like think, broad here. Everyone needs someone I feel like to lean on. Like, I love the term of we're strong alone, but we're stronger together.

Cynthia Johnson: 11:50

There's really small things in your life that have a huge impact and are easy to avoid. So for me, this is might sound crazy to some people putting pants on jeans, like flying in a pair of like pants, or going out in pants or getting a pants or going nowhere in zoom world has a profound impact on my day. So my husband I'm like, if you see me sitting around in some kind of sweats, you need to it's a bad day you need to tell me

Unknown: 12:16

to I don't miss those days i my heart for you right now. But these are like, these

Cynthia Johnson: 12:22

might be unique to me your community. But it sounds ridiculous. But I know for a fact that I show up better in a day if I'm and not just pants like being dressed like actually being in clothes.

Ashley: 12:33

Yes, you feeling better about yourself, like putting yourself together versus just lounging around and not taking care of yourself or and it's fine to have those days every once in a while. But it's easy to get lost in those days. So

Cynthia Johnson: 12:46

easy, like zoom, or makeup for you. It's like not, I

Ashley: 12:50

know. And that's actually hard for me because I work from home. So it can be sometimes lonely as an entrepreneur where I don't have to dress up or anything. And I'm always in fitness where and I have so many cute clothes. And I love I love fashion. So I'm like, even if I have nowhere to go, sometimes I just need to get dressed to just connect with that part of me.

Cynthia Johnson: 13:08

Yeah. And you might find somewhere to go if it all fits. Yes, exactly.

Ashley: 13:12

Come on. Let's go on date night, let's go shopping. I don't know something. So overall, you guys, we just wanted to inspire you to look at some of the habits that you want to introduce into your life that are going to be positive that are going to get you closer to your goal or your dreams stay consistent. Because those habits are going to give you the power to get you to where you want to go. At the end of the day. We are our daily habits. And I just think that's very powerful. Because you can choose it's a choice. You just got to do what you want to do for yourself and just show up and put in the work. Yes,

Cynthia Johnson: 13:49

because if you want to have it, you need to have it.

Unknown: 13:54

But it's so good. How does it Oh yeah.

Ashley: 14:00

On the best note ever, because I love that sane. And literally I have that in my mental toolbox for life. So thank you,

Cynthia Johnson: 14:08

girl,

Unknown: 14:10

girl. Well, as always, thank

Ashley: 14:12

you guys for your support and for listening. Please feel free to review. Please feel free to share this episode with someone that you might think might love it. All of this really does help us and keeps us motivated and inspired to keep showing up here which we're having so much fun with. So we really appreciate it.

Cynthia Johnson: 14:28

Thank you so much.

Ashley: 14:30

We'll see you soon. Thank you for listening to the gadget girl podcast. If you're not already, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a new episode.

Cynthia Johnson: 14:38

Our number one goal is to connect, inspire and to build a movement where you never feel alone. See you in the next episode.