Happy Anniversary to Us - Let's Keep Growing!

One year ago, I pressed record with just a hope—that sharing small steps toward peace might help someone else keep going. Today, we celebrate a year of reminders that change doesn’t have to be drastic to be powerful. 

Let's take a moment to remind ourselves how to let go, how to create our safe space, how to reconnect with others, and find your why. Remind ourselves of our power and our worthiness.

Here’s to another year of growth, healing, and peace, and let’s keep building this journey together and thank you so much for listening and being a part of this. 💛

Transcript

 Hey friends, welcome back. And if today is your first time, you picked a really special episode to listen to. This marks the one-year anniversary of Little by Little, Peace by Peace. Can you believe it? One whole year of showing up together, week after week, to talk about life, growth, change, healing, and peace. I’m so grateful that you pressed play today. Whether you’ve been here since the very first episode, or whether this is the very first time you’re listening, or anywhere in between, I want to thank you for choosing to listen today, for choosing you today. This space was created for you, for all of you no matter where you are in your life and where you are in your journey. This is and always has been just for you, for your growth, your peace, your healing, and your journey forward. And if someone sent this to you, send them a little thank you for caring so much about you and tell them I say thank you as well.

One year ago, I had an idea. I was benefiting from listening to mindfulness podcasts and they really got me to think in a different way, move in a different way and I wanted to use my experiences and try to do this same for others. Obviously I would not be on the scale of these huge podcasters like my favorites Jay Shetty and Mel Robbins, but I just felt like I had something to say and even if it only resonated with one person, helped one person, then that would be good enough for me and I’ve heard from so many of you that it really has made a difference for you. I hit record for the first time with just a hope—that if I could share even a little bit of my heart, it might encourage someone else to keep going. To believe that change is possible. To believe that peace is possible. And over this past year, you and I have been building something beautiful together. We’ve been reminding each other that life doesn’t change overnight. That we don’t need giant leaps or dramatic transformations. What we need is something far more powerful, small, intentional, purposeful steps forward. And that’s how the name of this podcast came about, little by little and peace by peace.

Looking back over the past year, we’ve talked about so many things. We’ve talked about letting go, about finding peace even when life feels heavy, about finding your why, about reconnecting with people we love, and how the power of a simple smile can positively affect not just those around you but yourself as well. We’ve talked about body image, about choosing the right tribe around and how that can change your life, about the healing power of nature, small steps to positivity, and about how healing often looks like slowing down rather than speeding up.

But if there’s one thread that weaves thru all of these conversations and weaves them together, it’s this and that is that you have the power to change your life. You. Right where you are. Right in the middle of whatever mess, challenge, or uncertainty you’re facing. You don’t have to wait for a perfect moment. You don’t have to fix everything at once. You don’t have to become someone else. You simply have to choose to take one small purposeful step forward.

That’s what this podcast is all about. It’s about refusing to believe the lie that you’re too broken, too far gone, or too stuck to change. It’s about realizing that change doesn’t have to be drastic to be meaningful. And it’s about remembering that you are worthy of peace, no matter what you’ve been through, no matter what mistakes you’ve made, no matter what story your mind tries to tell you about yourself. And that’s all they are is stories and as we’ve chatted about before, your mind is the pen and the paper, you have the power to re-write or change the story to whatever you need to move forward.

As we all realize, our culture often glorifies the big, flashy transformations from the big wins in school or on the field to all the social media BS that’s out there. The overnight success stories. The before-and-after pictures. The dramatic declarations of “I quit my job and started over,” or “I lost 100 pounds in six months,”. And while those stories might be inspiring, they can also make us feel like we’re not doing enough. Like if the change we are experiencing isn’t huge, then it doesn’t count.

But that’s not real life. Real life and real change is quiet. It’s subtle. It’s choosing to pause before reacting. It’s drinking a glass of water or eat something healthy when you’d rather grab something else that does not feed your body. It’s taking a short walk to clear your mind or practice walking meditation for your self care. It’s practicing forgiveness one conversation at a time, whether it’s with someone else or even yourself. It’s reminding yourself that you are worthy, over and over again, until you actually believe it in every fiber of your being. And that is possible, in fact, it’s really the goal we are all working towards.

And here’s the beautiful part is that small steps compound so it isn’t just one small step and then another. Each small step adds onto the next small step and you begin to see things differently, you begin to move differently and things begin to accelerate you forward. For example, you may want to get healthier so you decide to stop drinking soda every day, and that change leads you to maybe walking a bit more, and that change leads you to eating more fruits and vegetables, and that change leads you to quit smoking. A tiny shift today can ripple out in ways you can’t even imagine. You may not notice it right away, but six months from now, a year from now, you’ll look back and realize that the small, almost invisible choices you made each day have carried you somewhere new. Somewhere better. Somewhere more peaceful. That’s why we keep coming back to this truth that change doesn’t have to be dramatic to be powerful. The small things add up. The little things matter. And peace is built over time with purposeful and intentional changes regardless of how little they are.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, both in my own life and through this podcast, is that everyone has the ability to change. You might not believe it yet. You might think you’ve tried before and failed. You might think your past disqualifies you, or that your current circumstances are too overwhelming. But the truth is, change is always possible no matter how old you are or where you are,and in fact that part of true peace and lasting happiness is constant growth. As I noted in one of my podcasts about creating a mindset garden, constant pruning, watering and care of a plant nurtures it to grow in it’s natural healthy way and it’s the same for your mind. I too have learned and grown with you over this last year, I’ve addressed feelings of abandonment that I never knew were the reason why I felt like I needed to be in control so much. And I’ve been able to let go more and really focus on what’s mine to own and it’s been really helpful in strengthening my relationships.

If you think about the fact that every single day, you wake up with a brand-new chance. A brand-new 24 hours. Even if yesterday was hard, today holds possibility. Even if you feel stuck, you are not without choices. And even if you can’t change everything, you can change something, you can change one thing. You can change how you speak to yourself. You can change how you spend the next five minutes. You can change the story you tell about your own worth.

And maybe you don’t believe in yourself yet and that’s okay. Borrow my belief in you if you need. Borrow the belief of the people who love you. Borrow the hope of others until that hope becomes your own. Because I know without even knowing you that you are not stuck forever. You are not hopeless. You are not unworthy. You are human, and you are capable of growth. And here’s the part I really want you to hear and tell yourself out loud today, that you are worthy of change.

Sometimes we resist growth because we don’t believe we deserve it. We think, “I’ve made too many mistakes,” or “I’ve wasted too much time,” or “Other people are stronger than me, but I’ll never be able to do it.” But worthiness is not something you earn. Worthiness is not something you ever need to prove. Worthiness is your birthright, it’s mine, it’s yours, it’s every living human’s. You are worthy simply because you exist, simply because you were born.

You are worthy of peace. You are worthy of healing. You are worthy of joy. You are worthy of second chances or third or fourth. You are worthy of becoming the person you want to be. Not someday in the future, not once you check all the boxes or make all the right moves, but right now. In this moment, as you are right now. So, as we celebrate this one-year anniversary together, I want you to really let that truth sink in, that you are worthy of change, love and peace, no matter what.

So let’s go over a few things we’ve covered this past year that tie into this idea:

• Letting go – We’ve learned that peace often begins when we release what no longer serves us. Whether that’s an old grudge, an unhealthy expectation, or the pressure to be perfect, letting go creates space for growth.
• Finding our why – we explored how saying we “should” do this or we’re “supposed” to do that is really someone else’s thinking placed in our minds, from childhood, from society. But when we explore our why and identify what works for us, what we need to move forward, make ourselves a priority, that’s when change happens.
• Body and mind – We’ve explored how our thoughts about ourselves shape how we feel, and how making small, compassionate shifts in the way we view our bodies and minds can bring not just change but relief...relief from pressures, expectations and it helps create thoughts of acceptance of self love.
• Nature as healing – We’ve discovered that peace can often be found in the simplest of places: a walk outside, a deep breath under the trees, a moment of stillness with the sky above us.
• Reconnecting with relationships – We’ve acknowledged that sometimes healing means showing up differently with the people we love. It means adjusting, listening, and remembering that love is worth the effort but setting necessary boundaries with those we love is also worth the effort.
• Becoming your own safe space – We discussed how being kind and gentle with ourselves, creating our own home within ourselves and our thoughts creates that safe space for us to grow, to fall down and to gently lift ourselves back up with love and kindness.

Every single one of these themes connects back to that core truth which is that small, intentional steps can change everything. And if you missed any of these episodes, I hope you go back and listen if you think they will help.

As we move into year two of this podcast, I want to invite you to keep walking this journey with me. To keep showing up for yourself in all those small but powerful ways. To keep believing that peace is possible, even when life feels messy. And to keep trusting that small changes lead to big shifts over time. And here’s my promise to you - this podcast will continue to be a safe space where you are reminded of your worth. Where you are encouraged to keep going. Where you are reminded that you are not alone. And where together, regardless of what is going on in this big world, we will keep building self love and lives filled with peace.

So today, as we celebrate one year together, I want you to pause for a moment and acknowledge your own growth. Maybe it’s small, maybe it’s quiet, maybe no one else even sees it, but it’s there. You’ve made it through another year. You’ve shown up for yourself in ways that matter and I know this because you showed up here today. You’re still here, still learning, still becoming. And that is something to celebrate and that acknowledgment and celebration is your show of self love.

Remember that you don’t need to change everything overnight. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to keep taking the next small step. Thank you, friends, for being here with me for the first year of this journey. Thank you for listening, for sharing, for reaching out, and for allowing me to be part of your life in this small but meaningful way. Thank you for following my positivity only Instagram page which is peacebypeace24...you have shown up for me by quadrupling my views in the last few months and I so very much appreciate each and every one of you. I can’t wait to see what year two holds for us. 

If this podcast has encouraged you in any way over the past year, I’d love for you to share it with someone who might need it, who might benefit from our next year of learning, growing, and being kind and gentle with ourselves. That’s how we keep spreading this message that change is possible, that peace is possible, and that we are all worthy of it. 

And please feel free to leave a comment, I’d love to hear your reflections on this past year and what small steps you’ve been taking toward peace. Let’s keep encouraging each other as we step into year two together. Let’s keep supporting each other as we navigate this crazy world we live in. Here’s to another year of growth, healing, and peace so let’s keep this movement forward, little by little, and peace by peace.