266 | I guarantee you're NOT doing this for your health -- but you NEED to.

Ever feel like your brain won’t shut up? We dig into the one habit most people avoid—intentional quiet—and show how a few minutes of real stillness can ease racing thoughts, improve sleep, and make everyday decisions feel lighter. No incense required, no rigid poses, no perfection. Just simple practices that clear mental clutter and give your nervous system a chance to downshift.

We start by challenging the always-on grind with a better model: seasons. Nature cycles through growth and rest, and our minds need the same rhythm. From there, we reframe meditation as “space to think,” exploring accessible options like shower thinking, slow walks in nature, yin yoga, and even cozy video games with low stakes. You’ll hear why these low-input moments work, how they help the brain sort information before bedtime, and what to do when emotions surface in the quiet.

We also share practical tools for busy lives. Try a five-minute brain dump to pull thoughts out of your head and onto a page so your mind can stop clutching them. Watch for signs you need a reset—doomscrolling, snapping at small things, decision fatigue—and match the practice to your mood: walk when you’re restless, stretch when you’re tender, write when you’re foggy. The result is more presence, steadier energy, and a clearer path back to healthy habits.

If traditional meditation never clicked, this conversation offers a playful, flexible alternative you can start today. Subscribe, share with a friend who can’t sleep, and leave a review telling us which practice helped you find your quiet.

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Case For Quiet
• 2:15 Seasons, Slowdowns, And Being Human
• 5:45 Meditation Beyond The Stereotypes
• 9:40 Racing Thoughts And Sleep
• 12:30 Shower Thinking And Walking
• 16:30 Journaling And Brain Dumps

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Tired Button Podcast. Today, perfect for the title of this podcast. We are talking about the one thing that you're most likely not doing that you absolutely need to be doing. This thing people always put off, they push to the back burner. Um, I've seen it more than ever now, um, especially in our culture, in the American culture, and I think we need to lean into it more. Um, and that is sitting alone with our thoughts or meditation, whatever you want to call it. Um, I'm gonna get a little bit more into meditation because if you're like, ugh, I hate meditation, it's you know, you think of someone sitting cross-legged, they just have to sit still there, um, and they're saying, Oh, you know, for for hours on end. That's not what I'm talking about. There's so many ways you can quote unquote meditate and get some alone time with your thoughts, uh, and it will help a lot. Okay, it's about giving yourself space to think. And I know many of you listening may have like crazy lives. You may work crazy hours, maybe you're in a crazy phase of working in your life. Um, you know, you could have a child or multiple children, maybe fur babies that take up all your time. Um, there could be just a lot of things. You're you're a caregiver, you have all these extra responsibilities. Now, with that being said, this isn't my choice, but I do recommend as somebody who has done this many times throughout her life, is take a look at your life and see what is absolutely essential, right? Especially if you're in a season of busyness and overwhelm. And maybe meditating and sitting alone with your thoughts will allow you the time to bring you clarity on this. Because I think that's another issue, is we're always running, running, running, going, going, going, doing, doing, doing because we're taught that more is better. You're doing more. That's great, great, great, great. And it's like um it's kind of symbolic of a lot of companies in America. Um, you know, they're always looking for, well, we need our quarterly earnings to be up. And it's like, that's great, you know, but you can only go up, up, up, up, up for so long, and at what cost? These companies, you know, they're not necessarily necessarily making more money from customers, they may be making more money because they're cutting the quality of the product or they're firing people. And um, while I'm all for innovation, like I think it's healthy for a business to have slower periods, you know, where you're gonna be down a little bit. It's not always going to be up, up, up more, more, more. It's just not realistic. And that goes the same thing for human beings. You're not always gonna be happy, go, go, go. Like, we need to sleep at the end of the night, we need to recharge. Look at the seasons. Um, I'm sorry if you don't experience all four seasons wherever you live, but look at the seasons of nature, you know. Um, we have spring, which is birth, renewal, summer. We're, you know, in that growing, going steady phase. Fall is when things start to die, we get to kind of reap what we sowed. You know, it's a harvest season, enjoy that. And then winter is when things die and go to sleep, and we rest for reflection. It's a big cycle, and um, again, we need to be doing this on our own in some way as well, and everybody's seasons will look different. Um, but in busier seasons of life, or maybe you're not in control of your health and fitness as much, I would encourage you to lean into this kind of meditative sitting still practice. Um yoga can be a great way to do this as well, um, particularly like yin yoga. Okay, um, now, and again, everybody's gonna be different. Some of you may struggle with like ADHD, um, or you don't know that you have ADHD, that's also common. Um, some of you, like I know me personally, I was kind of a person who has always enjoyed being by themselves. Um, even as a kid, there were many times I would just sit out in nature, be alone with my thoughts. Um, so I feel like I've always leaned towards that. Um, and it's been hard in a world that tells you to be busy, busy, busy, go to all these social outings, you know, this is what you should do. And I'm kind of the opposite. But even me who enjoys alone time, when I have more of that concentrated um meditative space, it makes a world of a difference for my brain. Like, if I miss a week of my yin yoga, or if I don't go on walks, because I'll get into that, like walking is a form of meditation. Um my life feels more chaotic because your thoughts start to jumble up. And again, I think that's a big root cause. I used to know so many people, um, especially moms, people I train, excuse me, they say um, I can't sleep at the end of the night. Nine times out of ten, if you cannot fall asleep, it's usually because the thoughts in your brain are racing. And I remember this actually used to be an issue for me. Um, and your thoughts are racing in your brain because your brain's trying to sort out all of the input that it's gotten all day. You have not given yourself time to do that. You've just been pushing through from one thing to the next, but it does need to sort through that. And usually when you sleep, it does kind of organize everything. Your brain actually gets washed. I know that's really weird, but your brain does get washed of like toxins and things like that in when you sleep, and it's like your body's way of resetting and having a clean slate when you wake up in the morning, which is why sleep, rest, um, again, having that quiet time to allow your brain to sort through things is so important. Okay. Um now, a couple of things though to think about, like as far as how to do this meditation or sitting with yourself. Um you can do something as easy as when you're in the shower. For my super busy people thinking in the shower, men love to do this, and they always say, Oh, my greatest ideas come to me when I'm in the shower. And it's like, well, you kind of create an environment where you're forcing yourself to really only focus on one thing or let your mind wander. You're in there to wash your body, and it's very isolated. Hopefully, sometimes your kids might come in or your animals. If you can shut the door, give yourself some quiet time, maybe make it a little more like light a candle, play music, whatever, and stay in there a little bit longer if you need to, or a bath. Um, this can show up as walking. Again, walking is a big one for me because I wasn't a fan of the traditional meditation. I kind of, especially when I first started, that I really disliked that, and I was like, I can't do this. Um so walking, especially for my restless people, you know, you're moving your body. Um and sometimes that can be a great way to process information, and I will literally just walk in nature. Nature's preferable, but you know, a treadmill could work, and um, I just let my brain go. I let my brain think, and I usually walk until my brain kind of quiet down. Um, and it's really great. And like I said, if I don't do it, I notice it. And sometimes I have really great ideas come to me while I'm walking. Sometimes I just work through things, sort through things uh mentally while I'm walking, uh, just processing different things. Okay. Journaling can be a good one, or brain dumping. That's what I like to do, is brain dumping. It sounds like crazy and it might feel stupid the first time you do it. So you if you want to journal, feel free, you know, write more um organized stories or thoughts. You can also write whatever you want. It doesn't have to make sense. Nobody's gonna see it. You're not like publishing this, so who cares? Um, but you know, brain dumping is just setting a timer and writing out all of the thoughts that are in your head. Because I think if we keep all the thoughts in our head, we kind of get nervous that we're gonna forget them. So then we constantly think about them. But if you write it out, my notes app is a perfect example of this. Like just write out all the ideas, and then you can either sort through them right there or leave it for another day when they start to pile up, which is what I usually do. I kind of sort them, and I'm like, what is an idea that I'm like, oh, that was kind of cool at the time, but I'm not gonna really focus on it. Um, you know, I can let that go. Or what's oh, you know, I like this idea, but I'll save it for a later date. Um, or there's maybe one that I want to focus on right now. So I kind of sort my thoughts that I have, and it's kind of funny. It you know, you might have a lot of thoughts and ideas, and uh it's amazing which ones are important and which ones aren't. And you know, if you're not a business person or a creative person, these thoughts may be um, I felt fat today. Um, you know, I was really worried about my coworker today. I was really annoyed by this, and these can be helpful too because they can help you find patterns and don't be afraid to write out everything. You know, don't hold back. It's only you who's seeing this. This is meant for your eyes only, the world isn't seeing it, and I think it's healthy to um own up to our thoughts, right? Because it can be scary, it can be really scary to face our thoughts, and I think that's one of the reasons a lot of us don't do it, because we are at this point, many of us, where our thoughts are kind of all wild and we can't sleep, and our mind's always going, and we never got enough time to properly rest. So when you first initially sit down, it's gonna feel like a lot, it's gonna feel like a lot, and um you're gonna have to face it, and you're gonna have to get used to it because it's a skill, it's a skill. I remember when I first started um yin yoga because of my hip and groin injury. You know, I couldn't work out any other way, so I was kind of forced to do yin yoga, right? I originally didn't like yoga, and so I I started doing it. It was really uncomfortable because my brain was racing everywhere, I felt all these different emotions. There's been times that I've actually gotten teary-eyed at yoga just because of thoughts that I've processed and things I've experienced, so it's really it really is a therapy in a way, um, but I got better, like you kind of learn to find your quiet space the more that you do it, and it's really nice because I use that throughout the week if I feel you know a little crazy. Like yesterday, for instance, was a crazy day. Okay, um, everything was challenging me, we'll just say that. And by the end of the night, you know, I really I I I allowed myself to get some emotions out, like it wasn't towards anybody, but I just allowed myself to experience those emotions um, anger, frustration, annoyance, all those things. And then um I went and I got a shower, so that was that mental reset, the cleansing, you know, you're washing everything off your body, it's a good reset. Um, I got tea, chamomile tea, and my brain naturally went to that state that I'm kind of in when I do yoga, where I can kind of just relax, be in the present moment. Um, something that I love that they teach you, at least in my yoga class, is to be in this present moment. You have everything that you need right now, and whether you're uncomfortable, like whether it's a more positive feeling, a neutral feeling, or a negative feeling, just be in this moment. And I can tell you there's been times that I felt uncomfortable during yoga for one reason or another. Maybe I was anxious, maybe I was in pain, maybe um I ate a little bit too soon before yoga, so I felt like bloated and full and very uncomfortable. Um, but then there's times I felt really good, and then there's times I felt neutral, and all of these are okay. You know, the only moment we have is the present moment. If you waste your time thinking about the past or worrying about the future, you miss what's going on right now, right? And that is the whole point. I literally have the words be present tattooed onto my arm. It's funny because it was definitely like a thing before I got into yoga, but I realized because I was always a worrier, um, and I learned the importance of being present and being living in the now, because again, like if you're always worrying and and off, you know, you miss what's going on right now, the most important part. Um, and it it really does become a skill and a practice. So as I kind of wrap this up, I'm just gonna kind of review um again some common symptoms uh that you might be experiencing, um, and then a little challenge for you, a little action step for you. So symptoms, right? If you're somebody that you feel like you can't fall asleep at the end of the night, you're tossing and turning, your brain can't shut off. You might need to sit alone with your thoughts. Um, maybe you're feeling emotionally reactive, like you're very on edge, uh, everyone annoys you, you're ready to snap, right? Now, listen, especially my girls, if it's that time of the month, like sometimes this can happen, right? Like sometimes it's an emotion thing. But this can help in those higher intensity times, not saying that anything's wrong with you or you're broken, but I think it's a tool that you can use to help kind of bring you back to a baseline. Um, if you have racing thoughts, you're constantly doom scrolling, you can't sit still, right? How many of us can't sit still? We have to open our phone, look at our phone. Uh, like next time you're in the doctor's office, try to just sit there. I challenge myself to do that all the time. Sometimes I look at my phone. Um, it's funny to see even the old people look at their phone, but like see if you could just sit there. Maybe watch whatever's on TV, or if they have a magazine, look through the magazine. Um, don't always instantly grab your phone. Um, that is a really big one. The new the doom scrolling because we don't want to sit alone with our thoughts. We'd rather just get those little dopamine hits. Um, and decision fatigue. Right? If we feel like we have decision fatigue, all of these signs are that your your brain just never gets a chance to shut off and be calm, right? And that builds up. So, so what can you do? I want you to be open-minded because again, I think another thing that deters people, I know it's always deterred me, is when I don't fit into that box that they prescribe. Like anytime you hear about meditation, they're gonna show you again that cross-legged position, um, and you're singing, oh, you know. Um, no, I want you to find a meditative form of any activity that feels good for you. Like for me, I said the walks. Um, I love drawing, so drawing sometimes when I put on music can be very, very meditative for me. Um, you don't have to be an artist for this, you can just doodle, scribble. Um, adult coloring books are great for this as well if you just prefer to color. Um, and again, music can be very powerful here. Um, hmm, I was just thinking, oh, playing video games. I know sounds a little bit different. I know for me, uh lately I've been leaning into more cozy games. So, like Animal Crossing and Hello Kitty Island Adventure, these don't have high stakes, so I'm not stressing out about beating something. It's more so I'm playing the game, you know, you get to like fish and uh collect flowers, and and it's very low stress, low stakes, um, and in its own form, I 100% believe that it's meditative. So, again, you can do these different things. Um, and if it allows your mind to relax a little bit, do it, please. Um, again, just listening to music. Um maybe doing a little stretch uh workout on YouTube or yoga, it could be five minutes. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. Um, so any of these things can be good, and there's about a billion more that you could pick, but I I encourage you to go in with a playful, experimental, open mind and you know, try different methods and see what leaves you kind of feeling relaxed and refreshed after and continue to do more of that because we need it, we all need it. Um, when you have a clear brain, you make better decisions, you feel better, it's a lot easier to stick to your workout routine and eat uh properly because you you don't feel like everything's like crazy and all over the place. Like you can see things from a clearer perspective, and it feels a lot more like, oh yes, I just have to show up for this workout. Oh, when I choose this food, I will be healthy, and and there's just a lot less noise. Um, and you can come from a grounded place. So please, please, please. I I guarantee you 99% of you probably don't do this, at least on a consistent basis. So incorporate this into your daily life. It's kind of one of those where you do less, it actually gives you more. Um, and who wouldn't want that? So, thank you for tuning in to today's episode, and I will catch you in the next one. Bye.