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We have talked about how your thoughts create your feelings, how to find your word on the feeling wheel, and how to name what you actually need. Today we go back to the thoughts, because the last question in the needs episode was “What do I need to think to feel what I want to feel?” This episode gives you a tool for exactly that. Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, coined a term for the thoughts that sneak into your head and ruin your day. He calls them ANTs, Automatic Negative Thoughts. Just like ants can infest a kitchen, negative thoughts can infest your mind. Every thought you have releases a chemical in your brain, and distorted, negative thoughts leave you feeling anxious, sad, angry, or out of control. The good news is you do not have to believe every thought that crawls through your head. In this episode I walk you through the questions Dr. Amen teaches (built on earlier work by Byron Katie) to challenge an automatic negative thought before you accept it as fact. And I share my simplified version: Is this true? Is this really true? Is this really, really true? Most ANTs cannot survive being questioned three times in a row. I also show you how this connects the whole week together, from the feeling to the need to the thought sitting behind it. You get to hunt these thoughts down instead of letting them run your emotional life. What we cover: Dr. Daniel Amen’s ANTs and why every thought releases a chemical in your brainHow feelings, needs, and thoughts connect from the last three episodesThe four questions for challenging a negative thought: Is it true? Can I absolutely know it is true? How do I feel when I believe this thought? Who would I be without this thought?Leslie’s simplified version: Is this true? Is this really true? Is this really, really true?How to turn a thought around and ask if the opposite might be closer to the truthWhy questioning your thoughts is different from forcing positivityYour tiny step from this episode: The next time you notice a strong negative feeling, find the thought sitting right behind it. Ask it three questions. Is this true? Is this really true? Is this really, really true? Then notice how much power that thought loses. Missed the first ones in this series? Listen to “What Are You REALLY Feeling?” and “What Do You NEED?” and grab your free feeling wheel and needs list: https://lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/feelingwheel Also listen: “You Choose How You Feel” for more on taking every thought captive. Next up: The Body Keeps the Score, and how unprocessed feelings and unmet needs can show up in your physical health. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: Dr. Daniel Amen ANTs, automatic negative thoughts, how to stop negative thoughts, challenging negative thinking, Is this really true, thoughts and feelings, Byron Katie questions, women’s wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, healthy mindset for women, anxiety and thoughts, taking thoughts captive, renewing your mind

My friend Julie is a mental health care provider in a school. She is wise, and she was so much fun to coach because she may have taught me more than I ever taught her during our seven to ten minute weekly accountability calls. She taught me about a comfort menu. Julie helps kids create menus of comforting activities they can choose from when they are stressed, sad, or mad, and she created one for herself to use instead of food. When she told me, I said one of my favorite coaching phrases: “Tell me more.” In this episode I walk you through how to build your own menu, set up like a restaurant menu. Appetizers take a few minutes, like a walk to the mailbox and back or ten deep breaths. Entrees take longer, like a cup of hot tea enjoyed mindfully or a long, leisurely walk with a friend. Desserts are more decadent, like a massage, a pedicure, or a long, warm bubble bath. You decide what goes on your list. I also share my own version. When I get worked up by stress or an emotional storm, I often do not stop to think about what I actually need. I just reach for my normal coping mechanism, which is food, and not the healthy kind. So I wrote a tiny menu on a notecard and hung it in my pantry. Now when I walk in looking for stress relief, I am greeted by a card that says “Stressed?” and a list of things to do instead. What we cover: Julie’s comfort menu and how she uses it with kids and with herselfHow to structure your menu with appetizers, entrees, and dessertsWhy we reach for food before we stop to ask what we actually needThe notecard in Leslie’s pantry and what is written on itHow this tool builds on the feeling wheel and the human needs listWhat is on Leslie’s pantry notecard: Drink a bottle of waterWalk to the stop sign and backText my coach with my decisionTake ten deep breathsAsk myself what I REALLY needYour tiny step from this episode: Make your own comfort menu. Write one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert on a notecard. Hang it where you will see it in a hard moment, like your pantry, your fridge, or your nightstand. Missed the first two in this series? Listen to “What Are You REALLY Feeling?” and “What Do You NEED?” and grab your free feeling wheel and needs list: https://lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/feelingwheel Next up: Kill the ANTs, a tool from Dr. Daniel Amen for questioning the thoughts behind your feelings. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: comfort menu, emotional eating, how to stop stress eating, coping with stress without food, self care for moms, women’s wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, healthy coping mechanisms, stress relief ideas, emotional regulation, notecard in the pantry

Free Feeling Wheel & Human Needs List: https://lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/feelingwheel There is one question that people who feel like powerless victims, heroes, or bad guys really do not like to answer. What do you NEED? I had to learn to ask it in my codependency recovery journey, and I had to ask myself first before I could ask anyone else. I was not good at knowing what I needed when I needed it, and it led me to burnout two separate times. In this episode I tell you about my very first Codependents Anonymous meeting, where a woman shared that she knew she was relapsing when she used dry shampoo instead of showering three days in a row. I remember thinking that sounded completely normal. It was not. Showering is a basic human need, and I was too busy meeting needs nobody had even expressed out loud. I share the story of the day I cooked my family’s dinner at a struggling friend’s house, cleaned her home, folded her laundry, and came home to a wrecked house, no dinner, and a heart full of resentment because nobody asked what I needed. Then we get practical. Once you know what you are feeling, the next step is naming what YOU need. Not what you need someone else to do, because you cannot control another person. When the answer to “what do I need” lives outside of you, it leads to more painful thoughts and feelings. When the need is a basic human need, you can find ways to meet it yourself. What we cover: Why “what do you need?” is such a hard question for so many womenLeslie’s first Codependents Anonymous meeting and the dry shampoo storyThe difference between the needs people express and the needs we assume they haveThe day Leslie gave away everything she had and came home with nothing leftWhy “I need my husband to stop drinking” is not a need you can act onHow to use a list of basic human needsTwo follow up questions: What do I need to think to feel what I want to feel? What do I need to do?Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you notice a hard feeling, ask yourself what you need. Skip what you want someone else to do and look at what is actually yours to meet today. Free human needs list: https://lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/feelingwheel Missed the first one? Listen to “What Are You REALLY Feeling?” and grab your free feeling wheel. Next up: the Comfort Menu, a simple tool for giving yourself real options for meeting your needs. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: what do I need, human needs list, codependency recovery, Codependents Anonymous, self care for moms, burnout recovery, people pleasing, women’s wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, healthy boundaries, emotional needs, basic human needs, mom burnout

When you are worked up, anxious, or standing in the pantry about to eat that second handful of chocolate chips, what are you actually feeling? I have done a lot of therapy in my life, and the first thing our marriage coaches ever asked me was “What are you feeling?” I did not have feeling words in my vocabulary. They had me point to an emoji. Years later, my eighty year old therapist told me to buy a feeling wheel off Amazon, and it changed everything. In this episode I walk you through how your thoughts create your feelings, how your feelings drive your actions, and why the thoughts that follow the first one are the ones that build a nest in your head and decide how you feel. If I cannot name what I am feeling, I cannot find the thought behind it. I cannot capture the lie and replace it with truth, and I cannot take every thought captive and make it obedient to Jesus. I also show you exactly how to use a feeling wheel, starting in the center, moving outward, or starting wherever you can when the center word is hard to find. Then I give you three questions to ask once you know your word. This journey takes grace if you have used food, alcohol, or anything else to numb, avoid, or meet your needs for a long time. Practice the tools slowly and keep moving forward. What we cover: How thoughts create feelings, feelings create actions, and actions create resultsWhy the thoughts that follow the first thought are the ones that matterLeslie’s story of pointing at emojis in her first marriage coaching sessionHow to use a feeling wheel to find your wordThree questions to ask once you know what you are feelingA preview of the next episode on human needsYour three questions after you find your word: What thoughts have I been thinking that led me to feel this way?What would I rather feel instead? (Use the wheel again to find that word.)What do I need right now?Your tiny step from this episode: Print a feeling wheel and keep it somewhere close. The next time you feel worked up, pause before you reach for the food and find your word on the wheel first. Free feeling wheel: https://lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/feelingwheel Next up: the human needs list, and what to do once you know what you need. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: feeling wheel, how to identify your emotions, emotional eating, thoughts feelings actions, women’s wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, naming your emotions, emotional awareness, taking thoughts captive, coping with stress without food

We talked about comparing yourself to other people last time. Today I want to give you another way to think about the same phrase. You vs. you. The past can educate you. The future can inspire and compel you. But you are only actually in this game today. The decisions you make today are what lead you to that future version of yourself, and those same decisions are informed by the former version of you. There is real research behind this. Psychologist Hal Hershfield has spent years studying something called future self-continuity — the extent to which you feel genuinely connected to your future self, like she is actually you and not a distant stranger. His research found that people who feel a strong sense of connection to their future self make better long-term decisions, report better health outcomes, and are less likely to choose a small immediate reward over a bigger future one. The more real your future self feels, the better your choices become today. In this episode I walk through how to let your future self compel you forward and let your former self coach you from behind, all while remembering you only get to actually play the game today. What we cover: Hal Hershfield's research on future self-continuity and why it predicts better health outcomesWhy your future self is not a fantasy but a real compelling force in your decisions todayWhy your former self is a coach, not a source of shameThe one question to ask before every decision that honors both versions of you Your tiny step from this episode: Ask yourself this question before your next decision. What would future me thank me for right now? And what has former me already learned that applies to this exact moment? Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: future self continuity, Hal Hershfield research, long term decision making, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, delayed gratification, self improvement psychology, future self visualization

If you compare your journey to someone else's, it will always, ALWAYS get you off track. In one direction or the other. In this episode I break down the real psychology behind comparison. Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory from 1954 shows we evaluate our own worth by comparing ourselves upward, to people doing better, or downward, to people doing worse. And research specifically on weight loss found that women with a stronger tendency toward upward comparison actually had LESS successful outcomes overall. I walk through both directions of comparison and why each one sabotages you differently. Comparing up can spiral into a "whatever, I'll just eat the cookies" mentality when you're in a stuck mindset. Comparing down gives you permission to stay stagnant because at least you're doing better than someone else. Either direction pulls your eyes off your own lane and onto someone else's journey entirely. What we cover: Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory and what it reveals about self worthThe research connecting upward comparison to less successful weight loss outcomesWhy comparing up can either inspire you or completely derail you depending on your mindsetWhy comparing down feels like relief but actually keeps you stuckHow to keep your eyes on your own lane and your own progressYour tiny step from this episode: The next time you catch yourself comparing up or comparing down, say this out loud. This is me versus me. And bring your eyes back to your own lane. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: social comparison theory, comparing yourself to others, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, upward and downward comparison, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, weight loss motivation, Leon Festinger research, comparison and self esteem

Hear me out today, mama. Criticizing your body hurts you. But it also hurts your daughter. Curse your body, and she will look for flaws in her own. In this episode I share the story of a client whose parents were morbidly obese, and how her fear of becoming like them pushed her to the opposite extreme — overexercising, overthinking every health decision, and sacrificing friendships in the process. And I talk about the equally real danger on the other side — the mom who is constantly critical of her body out loud, in front of her kids, without realizing her daughter is absorbing every word as her own future inner voice. The daughter who hears her mom criticize her own body will do as you do, not as you say. Your outer voice becomes her inner voice. So this episode is a call to a both and. You have a responsibility to learn to love your body WHILE also being willing to work on learning and growing healthier. What we cover: Why a mom's self talk about her own body becomes her daughter's internal scriptTwo different extremes that can result from a mom's unresolved body imageWhy loving your body and working to improve your health are not oppositesA pointer back to Leslie's gratitude episode as a practical starting place Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you catch a critical thought about your body forming, especially out loud, in front of your kids, pause. Choose a different sentence. She is always listening, even when you think she isn't. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: body image and daughters, self talk and motherhood, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, breaking generational body shame, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, modeling self love, raising confident daughters

You are more powerful than you realize. If you can talk yourself into eating something off your plan, compromising on your goals... you can talk yourself out of it too. You are just that powerful. That expert negotiator in your head is so good at making the case for "just this once." It's a special occasion. You've had a hard day. You'll get back on track tomorrow. In this episode I show you that the exact same negotiating skill can work in the other direction — if you just give it the chance. I walk through a real weekend scenario — a plan packed with healthy, protein-forward snacks, and the rationalization that creeps in and talks you right past it. And I show you how pausing for even thirty seconds lets that same brilliant brain argue FOR your goals instead of against them. What we cover: Why the same mental skill that talks you into a compromise can talk you out of oneA real weekend scenario of rationalization in actionHow to pause and let your inner negotiator argue the opposite caseWhy this is a skill you already have — you just need to aim it differently Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you feel yourself being talked into something off your plan, pause and ask your inner negotiator to argue the opposite case. Let it talk you back into your goals. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: rationalizing bad food choices, mindset for weight loss, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, self talk and willpower, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, weekend sabotage, negotiating with yourself, staying on track at parties

I cannot coach what I cannot see. Often when I am coaching someone and they are not getting results, I have to make the invisible visible. And one of the best ways to do that is by asking one simple question. Pretend you are a high performance coach looking at your own life. What would you say? Because here is the truth. I am not in your real life. I don't see the moments you are standing in the pantry when you should be out for a walk. I don't know the nights you are lying in bed scrolling when you should be asleep. I don't know the times you should be connecting in community and instead you are isolating. But you know. You know the nooks and crannies of your life, the stressors, what you are REALLY eating during the day, which scroll holes you disappear into, and exactly what you choose to avoid. In this episode I walk you through the exercise I use with clients to make their own blind spots visible — and why you are the only one who can actually coach yourself through what you already know. What we cover: Why Leslie says "I cannot coach what I cannot see"The exercise of imagining yourself as your own high performance coachWhy you already have all the information you need to answer thisWhat to ask yourself to stop and what to ask yourself to startWhy you are the hero of your own story, and a coach is just the guide Your tiny step from this episode: Sit down for five minutes. Write down what you would tell yourself to stop doing, and what you would tell yourself to start doing. Then go do it. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: self coaching exercise, blind spots in health journey, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, accountability tools, coaching yourself, honest self reflection

I was interviewing a high performance coach. And as the interview went on, he started asking me questions, and I was giving him all the right answers. I knew what to do. I knew exactly how to get to the goals I had set. I was exhausted with the lack of progress, but I was feeling pretty confident. Like... I've got this. I probably don't even need the coach. Then he asked me about Brendon Burchard's framework on the three kinds of lives people live — caged, comfortable, and charged. And he asked me which one I was living in. I realized, in a lot of areas of my life, I felt caged. Trapped by expectations. Tethered to where I was. Imprisoned by fear even though I knew exactly what to do to get free. There was a pause. And he said something I have never forgotten. "Common knowledge is not always common practice. That is why you need a coach." I paused. And then I purchased the full program. In this episode I unpack what that line taught me about the gap between knowing and doing — and why that gap is exactly where a coach lives. What we cover: The interview that revealed Leslie was living caged in several areas of her lifeThe line that made her realize knowledge alone was not enoughThe real difference between knowledge and practiceWhy coaches exist to close the gap between what you know and what you actually doHow to get out of your own head and move knowledge into action Your tiny step from this episode: Ask yourself honestly — am I caged, comfortable, or charged right now? And if you already know exactly what to do but you are not doing it... that is your sign you might need more than knowledge. You might need a coach. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: why you need a coach, knowledge vs action, Brendon Burchard caged comfortable charged, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, accountability coaching, closing the knowledge gap

Life feels serious and hard when you constantly measure yourself with the measuring stick of Pinterest boards and little peeks at the slices of perceived perfection in other people's lives. It leads to heavy mom guilt. Crushing comparison. But around here, we say shame OFF you. When the voices in your head have been saying shame ON you for all the different ways you feel like you have not been measuring up. In this episode I want to help you be free of the shame that tells you there is something wrong with you. We talk about lifting the mental load of seeking perfection and rehashing failures, and getting rid of the weariness that comes from being tired of measuring up to a standard that was never real in the first place. What we cover: Why the Pinterest board and highlight reel comparison is quietly wrecking your peaceThe difference between shame ON you and shame OFF youHow to lift the mental load of perfectionism and rehashing old failuresReleasing the weariness of constantly measuring up Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you catch yourself measuring up against someone else's highlight reel, say it out loud. Shame off me. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: shame and body image, mom guilt, comparison culture, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, releasing perfectionism, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, Pinterest perfection, self compassion for moms, faith and shame

Dieting in the dark. Not telling anyone what you're doing. That is a problem. In this episode I make the case for living your health comeback out loud instead of hiding it. Tell a coworker. Tell a friend. Tell your Bible study girlies. Tell your family. They need to know you have a plan, that you are prioritizing your health and yourself, and that you want to be lean and strong for your longevity. Most people will cheer you on when you have a goal. I also talk about why this matters even more given the culture we live in. We are in an obesogenic environment — it is truly an uphill battle to get healthy right now. Your friends and family need to know what you are doing so it is easier for them to support you as you move forward, instead of accidentally working against you. And here is what usually happens when you share your healthy habits out loud. Other people contribute things that have helped them. You likely have friends quietly on the same journey who can now cheer you on instead of struggling in separate silence. And you very likely inspire someone you have been worried about — someone who needed to see it was possible. What we cover: Why keeping your health journey secret works against youWhat to actually say when you tell someone what you're doingWhy we live in an obesogenic culture and what that means for your comebackThe three things that happen when you share your healthy habits out loudHow sharing turns your private struggle into shared accountability Your tiny step from this episode: Tell one person what you are doing. Out loud. Today. Tell them you are prioritizing your health and you are thankful for their support. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: accountability and weight loss, sharing your health journey, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, obesogenic culture, healthy habits for women, community and accountability, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, telling people your goals, support system for weight loss

I was in a hotel room, overwhelmed, anxious about going downstairs to add more chaos to my already full life by walking into a conference I was there for. I could not get any traction with the anxiety. It just kept swirling. And I felt the Lord ask me to do something simple. Sit down. Write down the five most pervasive thoughts circling my head and my heart. The first thing I noticed shocked me. I was not thinking in complete sentences. I was thinking in one massive run-on sentence packed with unfinished thoughts crashing into each other. Writing them down forced me to finally finish them. Then He said something that changed how I have handled overwhelm ever since. "Go one by one through these sentences, and ask me for wisdom." In this episode I walk you through exactly what happened next — one thought I had to fully surrender, one I was told to lay aside for tomorrow, one that just needed a quick action step, and one that required a decision I already knew but had been avoiding. Overwhelm often is not actually five hard things. It is one tangled sentence made of five different things, none of which have been separated out or dealt with individually. What we cover: The hotel room story and the moment God asked Leslie to write down her five most pervasive thoughtsWhy writing thoughts down reveals how tangled and unfinished they actually areGoing one by one and asking God for wisdom on each specific thoughtThe four different responses — surrender, lay aside, take quick action, or make the decision1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 6:34, and James 1:5 and how they apply directly to overwhelm Your tiny step from this episode: Sit down. Write out the five most pervasive thoughts circling your head right now. Go one by one and ask God for wisdom on each one specifically. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: overwhelm and anxiety, prayer for anxiety, sorting your thoughts, faith and mental health, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, casting your cares, biblical anxiety relief, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, James 1:5 wisdom, 1 Peter 5:7, Christian mental health

The thoughts you think matter. Not the first thought that pops into your head uninvited — that one is not a big deal. It is the thoughts you allow to build a nest and live there. The ones you ruminate on. Those thoughts determine how you feel. Your feelings determine how you act. Your actions create your results. And your results become your habits. Most people try to just change their behavior. But your thoughts are what is actually running the whole show underneath it. In this episode I walk through what the Bible says about taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ, and how that lines up with something called the CBT triangle from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy — thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all continuously influencing each other in a loop. I give you a practical tool called auditing backwards, where you trace an unwanted result all the way back to the thought that started it. And I walk through the exact reflection questions to help you identify unhelpful thoughts and build new, healthier loops. What we cover: Why your thoughts, not your behavior, are actually running the showTaking every thought captive and lining it up with what is true, noble, and rightThe CBT triangle — how thoughts, feelings, and actions continuously influence each otherHow to audit backwards from an unwanted result to the thought that triggered itReflection questions to identify unhelpful thoughts and build new, empowering ones Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you notice a strong feeling, pause. Ask what thought came right before it. Write it down. Ask if it is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy. If it is not, choose a new one. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: thoughts feelings behaviors, CBT triangle, taking thoughts captive, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, cognitive behavioral therapy, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, renewing your mind, Philippians 4:8, mindset transformation

Imagine a line running horizontally right in front of you. Everything in your life falls either above it or below it. Above the line is ownership, accountability, and responsibility. Below the line is blame, excuses, and denial. Above the line you are open and curious. Below the line you are closed and defensive. Above the line we see solutions. Below the line we see a lot of problems. In this episode I walk you through this simple but powerful framework and show you why the goal is never perfection — it is awareness. Where are you right now? Above or below? That is not a judgment. It is just a location. And once you know your location, there is one more question that can shift everything. If you COULD... how would you do it? That single question moves your brain from stuck to creative, from closed to open, from below the line to above it. What we cover: The full above the line, below the line framework and what lives on each sideWhy most of us default below the line without even realizing itWhy awareness, not perfection, is the actual goalThe one question that shifts you from stuck to creativeHow to use this tool in real time, in any hard moment Your tiny step from this episode: The next time you catch yourself below the line, ask the question. If I could, how would I do it? Write down whatever comes to mind, even if it feels small. Grab your free Everyday Comeback Guide + join the newsletter: lesliebegin.myflodesk.com/comeback Connect with Leslie: 📱 Instagram: @lesliebegin 📧 Email: [email protected] 🎙️ Subscribe to Dare to Begin wherever you listen to podcasts Keywords: above the line thinking, conscious leadership framework, ownership vs blame, women's wellness podcast, health coach, everyday comeback, healthy mindset for women, Leslie Begin, dare to begin, comeback mindset, self awareness tools, accountability mindset, getting unstuck