Have you ever found yourself wondering if you're truly living life as your genuine self or just reflecting the expectations of those around you? This episode share's Charlie the hippo's story, who believed he was a rhino, to highlight the profound significance of embracing our authentic selves. We dig into the impacts of societal pressures and the importance of knowing who we are.
This episode calls on you to consider the influences in your life—from friends to social media—and to make intentional choices that foster growth and positivity. With a nod to Charlie's need to find his tribe among other hippos, we discuss the impact of aligning with a support system that resonates with our core values. Tune in as we explore the importance of tuning into our body's needs over conforming to external expectations, all the while learning from the valuable lessons of a hippo's endearing friendship and the quest for personal well-being.
Have you ever found yourself wondering if you're truly living life as your genuine self or just reflecting the expectations of those around you? This episode share's Charlie the hippo's story, who believed he was a rhino, to highlight the profound significance of embracing our authentic selves. We dig into the impacts of societal pressures and the importance of knowing who we are.
This episode calls on you to consider the influences in your life—from friends to social media—and to make intentional choices that foster growth and positivity. With a nod to Charlie's need to find his tribe among other hippos, we discuss the impact of aligning with a support system that resonates with our core values. Tune in as we explore the importance of tuning into our body's needs over conforming to external expectations, all the while learning from the valuable lessons of a hippo's endearing friendship and the quest for personal well-being.
What's up? Okay, I am so excited to have this conversation with you today. The question is is are you acting like a hippo? And this is a wonderful story to share with your kiddos when or if they ever struggle with trying to fit in. Now, let's also be honest that as adults, we also compare ourselves, we're trying to fit in and all the things. So it's a great story for us, but especially for kiddos and obviously, as working with girls, I think that this story is so cool and powerful, so let's jump in.
Danielle La Rose:
Okay, first, I need you to know that I'm obsessed with rhinos. Like I love rhinos, there's a book called Rhinoceros Success and I read it, I don't know 10 years ago, and I instantly became obsessed with the idea of being a rhino, having, you know, thick skin and, you know, just like, being like just yourself. And I like they just charge towards their goals and towards what they want and they, like they don't care what other people think, and so I've always had this obsession with rhinos, and so we follow a lot of rhino sanctuaries in Africa. It's my dream to go to Africa and see all my rhino friends. So, with that being said, we found this story not too long ago about a rhino and a hippo that became besties. I mean like bestie besties, like attached to the hip, did everything together, like they were living their best friend life. You know, it's like goals, like best friends, and so it's the cutest story ever. And you're like, oh my gosh, like a hippo and a rhino are best friends, like how did this happen? And it's so exciting.
Danielle La Rose:
But yet something did happen. See, this hippo had never been around other hippos. They didn't know how to be a hippo, they had only been around in this rhino orphanage and so they had only been around rhinos. So they didn't. They started acting like a rhino because they didn't know how to be a hippo. They started doing things that rhinos do. Rhinos don't need to be in the water. So what did they do? They weren't in water.
Danielle La Rose:
So what ended up happening is that this hippo, whose name is Charlie, this hippo, baby hippo, the cutest thing ever thought it was a rhino, and so it started having negative consequences. For example, a hippo has to be in water because if not, they get sunburns. Like their skin isn't tough, like a rhino, like a hippo has to be in water. And so, if a hippo has to be in water to survive, to thrive, to take care of its body. But it's not going in water because it doesn't understand that it's supposed to do that, like it's literally hurting itself just because it doesn't understand that it is a hippo and it's supposed to do hippo things, which is get in water, whereas the rhino didn't know that it was hurting his hippo friend, like Charlie's his bestie. So like he didn't understand to say, hey, hippo friend Charlie, go get in the water. What he didn't say was like, let's do rhino things because that's what we know. And so this hippo is living its life as if it's a rhino, because it hasn't been socialized to understand how to behave like a hippo and it's literally killing itself.
Danielle La Rose:
So the people that take care of this hippo, all the rhinos, they start doing things as best they can to you know, they're hosing them down with as much water as possible because again, he refuses to get in water because he's never seen an animal do that. And so Charlie keeps doing things like that, like he starts getting water sprayed on him and then they're like hey, come on, like let's go to the little water. And he won't get in because he doesn't understand that that's what he's supposed to do. He's never seen an animal do that before. And so eventually they have to take the hippo and they re.
Danielle La Rose:
They introduce an older hippo to show Charlie the way, and so that hippo starts saying, okay, like I, get in water. That's what we do, and slowly but surely, charlie takes, step after step after step and he gets in the water and his skin is starting to be taken care of. They slowly pull apart Charlie and his rhino friend. They let them still hang out sometimes, but for the most part they're trying now to get Charlie to hang out with the hippos that they now have at the sanctuary, because he has to know how to operate, because otherwise he's going to keep operating as a rhino, and he can't do that because his body cannot do that physically. And so this is a funny. And then eventually, yes, he gets in the water, he lives a happy hippo life, and him and his rhino friend still they let them hang out every once in a while, but he now knows how to be a hippo, he knows how to get in water, he knows how to take care of himself, he now has hippo friends, which is so fun.
Danielle La Rose:
And so this is a fun, cute story. That's real, it actually happened. But, at the same time, this is a great story to remind ourselves of asking ourselves are we operating based on the people that are around us, like Charlie did? Are we operating based on what the mindset and the actions are of the people around us, or are we operating in a way that is actually positive and nurturing to us? Right? So the question is to us, right? So the question is is what do I need? If Charlie was a human and could have asked himself that, charlie would have realized dude, I need some water, I need to get in water. My skin is literally burning. I need to get in water.
Danielle La Rose:
And so we get to use this story as a reminder to ourselves and to our kiddos that we have needs, and we're either putting ourselves in a situation with other people and other environments that aren't supportive of that, that are literally killing us, that are breaking down our spirit, that are breaking down our mindset, that are breaking down our goals and our dreams, and it's not impacting us in a positive way, and instead we get to ask ourselves okay, what do I need? When was the last time you sat down and actually said is what I'm doing in the environments that I'm in, are they serving me? Or what do I need Not? What do my other friends need? But what do I need to survive, to thrive, to take care of myself, to be in the mindset that I desire to be in?
Danielle La Rose:
Then the other thing comes to right with Charlie, what we realized it was about his body. Right, charlie needed water for his body to operate the way that it was supposed to. When was the last time that you asked yourself what does my body need, not? What does my friend Susie's body need Not? What does society tell me my body should need? None of those things are actually important to your body. Your body has needs that aren't like anyone else's. So we get to come back and ask ourselves what does my body need to feel good, to operate with so much energy, to have confidence, to feel empowered, to be a great example to other humans? Because I'm taking care of my body. And just like Charlie the hippo and his rhino friend, they needed different things for their bodies to operate to full impact, to be the most powerful rhino and hippo they could possibly be, they needed different things.
Danielle La Rose:
So, just because your friend Susie Q is doing some sort of meal plan or doing some specific workout, or is trying something new doesn't mean you need to Hello, can I get a high five? Yes, or is trying something new doesn't mean you need to Hello, can I get a high five? Yes, girl, that's not right for your body. Now it could be so, do you? But make sure that we're asking ourselves what does my body need? So often we're like Charlie in this situation and we're just going about our days just saying, well, what does everyone else tell me that I should do? Oh, I should cut carbs, I should cut this. Told me that I should do? Oh, I should cut carbs, I should cut this, I should stop that. I should do that workout, I should do that. And we overcomplicate it when.
Danielle La Rose:
If you took a second like Charlie, if Charlie could have just been like what does my body need? How does my body feel? What's making it feel bad, what's making it feel great and how can I do more of that? Right, if Charlie would have paid attention and when the water sprayed on his body, he was like oh, this feels so good. This is what I need in my life all the time. This is what I'm thriving, I'm like I'm on cloud nine, like this is this is. This is how I'm supposed to operate. If Charlie could have done that, charlie would have gotten more of that. He would be like let me jump in this water because this feels good. But instead he kept listening to his rhino friend and watching his rhino friends who didn't do that because it's not what they needed for their bodies.
Danielle La Rose:
And so so often in our society we get so wrapped up in what everyone else is doing and what we should look like and what we should be doing for our bodies, without taking ownership and being powerful and taking our power back and saying no, I listen to my body because I have a healthy relationship with it and I know what it needs and I know when it's operating right and I know what fuels it and feels good and I know what doesn't. So our story with Charlie and his rhino friend is an important story about number one the importance of socialization. Okay, I know my sociologist is showing of socialization. Okay, I know my sociologist is showing. But the importance of socialization, of what? Like, if you're a parent, the things that you're saying to your kids, the way that you're what you're doing, they're not necessarily going to do what you say to do. They're going to do what you do, just like Charlie. Charlie did what he saw because he knew nothing else, just like Charlie. Charlie did what he saw because he knew nothing else. And so so much of our lives is socialization. And if you're hearing dogs growling, it's because my humans they're not humans, my homies are. I let them stay around and I didn't think that they were going to bark. That's crazy. They're two German shepherds, so of course I should know they're going to bark, because if the wind blows they bark. Okay so, but it's an important story, right Of the importance of socialization, of how we operate and what we do affects everyone around us.
Danielle La Rose:
You know, I was just not just a few hours ago. I was at Barnes Noble and I heard a woman telling another person. And if you're on my Turn Up Tuesday emails, heard a woman telling another person, and if you're on my Turn Up Tuesday emails, you got that email today. But as I was writing my email, I heard this woman telling someone that they couldn't eat this stuff, they had to be on a diet and they had to lose 30 pounds before they could do some activity. I didn't hear the activity because I was trying not to like eavesdrop too much, but I mean they were being really loud, but anyways, I didn't hear what the activity was.
Danielle La Rose:
But the point is that she's waiting to live because she thinks she needs to change how she looks, because nothing about what she said was like, oh, I get to be healthy. Everything that she said was about I need to lose weight, I need to change my body, and now there's nothing wrong with that. That's what you want and desire to do. But what I'm saying is that when we speak those things out into the universe, when we speak those around other people, what other people are doing is they're absorbing that. They're saying okay, if you need to lose weight, then maybe I need to lose weight If you can't eat that, but that's what I'm eating right now. So now I feel weird and should I not eat this? Am I a bad person because I'm doing this?
Danielle La Rose:
So, again, it's all about the environment that we're in, and the question then is do we need a new crowd? Do we need new homies? Right, my homies are yelling at me right now because I hear the wind blowing. But do we need new homies? Do we need a new view on social media that is positive and uplifting? Do we need to be around people that have bigger dreams and bigger goals and bigger desires. Do we need to switch it up? And do we need to switch around the people who are building up our energy, versus pushing it down? So, just like Charlie, you might need to switch your environment. You might need to bring in some humans that inspire you and push you to be the best version of yourself, and you might need to slowly distance yourself, just like Charlie had to be distanced from his rhino bestie but you might need to slowly distance yourself in order to live your best, healthiest, happiest life. So, again, the questions from Charlie, then, are what do I need? What do I need and what does my body need in order to live that life?
Danielle La Rose:
And if we're talking about kiddos and trying to fit in, right, this is the story. This is a great story that I would share with my kiddos if I had any. It's just that, if you're trying to fit in, are you trying to fit in with the rhino, who isn't really your person? They're not actually going to help you reach your goals and feel good about yourself. Maybe you need to remind yourself to be more like Charlie, and Charlie liked the rhino people. He liked the rhinos, he wanted to hang out with them. He thought they were cool, he thought that would be his way in, right, like yeah, I'm hanging out with rhinos, I'm a rhino.
Danielle La Rose:
But when he tried to fit in and he kept going on their path, he realized that it was hurting him even more. He realized that it wasn't helping him. He didn't feel better about himself. Actually, he realized that it was hurting him even more. He realized that it wasn't helping him. He didn't feel better about himself, actually, he felt worse.
Danielle La Rose:
And so what Charlie needed to do, what? Maybe you kiddo, if I had a kid, this is how I would talk to them. Maybe what you need to do is go find more kiddos that are like you and I know that's easier said than done, but that's how I would use this story. And so if you're listening to this and you're like, oh my gosh, I love this story, what a fun, cute story. There are videos that you can watch about it on the internet and you could share with your kiddo if you wanted to have this in-depth conversation. But it is again just for me. When I watch this story, number one, I just I'm obsessed because I love rhinos, but at the same time. It was just this, like this, is what we do in real life.
Danielle La Rose:
We're so obsessed with trying to hang out and fit in with other people and do things that they tell us we should do and listening to. You know the multi-billion dollar industries that tell us there's things wrong with our bodies, without actually coming back to ourselves and saying what do I need to thrive? And if we don't know that, we can take a second to write it out. We can work with a coach, we can work with a mentor and really try to dig deep into that. What do I need in my life that I don't have right now? That would actually help me live a great life? What do I need to get rid of? What environments do I need to get out of? What friendships, friendships or family do I need to step away from that are actually pulling me down and not serving me?
Danielle La Rose:
And what does my body need to actually feel good? Not to get smaller, not to change, but simply to feel good, to thrive. Because I don't know if you know this or not, but a calorie is literally a unit of energy. So, like our food fuels our energy levels, our food fuels our bodies and helps them operate the way that they are supposed to. And so we get to tune into our body and say, what does my body need? And we get to do that, we get to take those actions, my friend, and we get to again ask ourselves am I being like Charlie, to where I'm fitting in with the rhinos? And I really need to go back to my hippo friends and family and like get real there because that's where I thrive.
Danielle La Rose:
So again, I think it's a cute, fun story of a rhino and hippo who were besties. You got to see them. They're the freaking cutest. But again, just coming back to where am I fitting in? What am I doing to try to feel better? That's not actually helping me. And how can I tune more into what I need and what my body needs? All right, that's all I got for you. You got thoughts, comments, concerns, all the things. Drop them. Let's hear them, let's talk it out. And I'd love for you to go see pictures of Charlie and his rhino friend because it's so stinking cute. All right, have a powerful day. I'll talk to you.
