In this episode, we’re getting real about what it means to take radical responsibility for your health. No more excuses, no more waiting for the perfect moment—it’s time to own every aspect of your wellness journey. I’m breaking down why our culture’s obsession with quick fixes is holding you back and how a complete mindset shift can empower you to take control of your health. We’ll dive into practical steps you can start taking today to stop blaming external factors and start making real, lasting changes. If you’re ready to get serious about your health and start living life on your terms, this episode is for you.
SHOW NOTES
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Transcription
Welcome to the crying in my cheesecake podcast, where we are in pursuit of living life abundantly, not held back by our body size or symptoms. Nor are we held back by our hurts, habits, or other obstacles in life. Learn the secrets to crush it in your health, wellness, relationships, and spiritual life. I am Dr.
Danielle, your host and practitioner. And in today’s episode, we’re going to talk about something called radical responsibility. Guys, I am ready for you today. I hope you’re ready for me. Um, so we are going into a topic that is literally the very core of Everything I teach, whether it is in person to the patients that walk in my doors, whether it is to someone on the street, that’s asking me a question of things, um, whether it’s in my spiritual relationship, prayer time, um, my online virtual people, my community, the wilderness of wellness, the core of everything I teach.
And I was just thinking about this to my kids too, like everything I teach because I am a teacher is about taking radical responsibility. And in this case, taking radical responsibility for your health. This isn’t just about eating better and exercising more. It is so much more. It is a complete mind shift or mindset shift that can transform your entire life.
And I’m not trying to say that this is like, Like crazy like this is going to transform your life, but it really it really is I just hung up from a zoom telehealth appointment with a patient And i’m actually going to see if I can open up my notes from her just to see if I can read some of the notes I took because The transformation that this lady has had is like is so It’s so beautiful to watch.
So I asked her something. I said, how has self control changed you? And what she said was, the biggest thing is that I’m prioritizing myself. That’s my biggest change. Like last week, last year, um, or last year, I would not have prioritized myself in these situations. So she had three things happen this week, plus, or three events happened, plus a couple of things that popped up where a friend’s mom was passing away and she wanted to love on her.
And then she also had a family member who had a child in the hospital and all of that. And She said that the biggest thing that she’s taken away is that last year she would have prioritized everybody else’s needs and not her own. So then, thus, she gave not as good of love and support and encouragement and just quality time to people because she was stretched so thin.
And she just said, She still walked, she still did all of her classes, her exercise classes. She still made dinner plans at home to cook food at home before she went to three different concerts or three different shows and took care of everybody else. She said the awareness of knowing what is happening on what day and making sure I’m mindful of doing those things I still need to do and I think we forget about that.
Don’t we it this all of this is a mind shift All of this is a mind shift. So I want you to go ahead and grab your coffee if you’re not a coffee drinker Uh, okay. Um, go grab your beverage or if you’re in the car or you’re just hanging out with me folding laundry. Actually, I would love to know what you do.
What are you, what are you doing when you, um, listen to my podcast episode? Why don’t you take a screenshot of you listening to this podcast and then post it and show me what you’re doing. Cause I’m just curious because I listen to podcasts probably. 80 percent of the time if there’s audio going. I’m listening to podcasts when I’m cooking dinner, when I’m moving, like doing laundry, when I’m exercising, I do flip it over to music, but when I’m exercising because I just need a little bit of a, you know, a little push, um, I’m, I’m listening to podcasts in my car.
I’m not listening to much music anymore. I’m realizing that, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but just show me what you’re doing with that. So, Grab your coffee, grab a notebook or whatever you need to get focused because we are going to have a real no nonsense conversation about what it truly means to take radical responsibility for your health.
And trust me, this is not going to be your typical take care of yourself pep talk because if you’ve been here long enough, you know I’m not that kind of girly. We’re gonna go deep and we’re going to, uh, we’re going to challenge some of the beliefs that might be holding you back. So. The problem with the status quo, here we go.
Status quo is basically the idea of what’s been going on is normal and the things that we normalize. So let’s start with this. Our culture is obsessed with quick fixes. Everywhere you and I look, there is a new diet, a new supplement, or some new magic solution promising to solve all of our problems. But there’s one truth, or here’s the truth.
None of that is going to work if you or I am not willing to take full responsibility for our health. And when I say full responsibility, what does that even mean? I mean owning, owning every single aspect of it. The good, the bad, the ugly. It means acknowledging that where you are right now in your health journey is a direct result of the choices that you have made.
Acknowledging that. That might be hard to hear, but it’s the first step in making real lasting change, because if we can’t acknowledge that we are the problem, we’re not going to change that diet plan where you’re eating 700 calories. It’s going to make you lose weight, but you’re going to keep it off. Is it going to cause other problems?
No, it’s us. That’s the problem. And our society loves to point fingers and to blame external factors for our struggles, but the moment that you stop blaming and I stop blaming and start taking ownership is the moment that everything can change. This isn’t about shame. This isn’t about guilt. It’s about, it’s all about empowering you to take radical responsibility because what radical response responsibility is, it’s actually taking back your own power.
And I want to talk to you about why radical responsibility matters. Why is this idea of radical responsibility so crucial? And that’s because without it, you’re stuck. How many times have you said, I just feel stuck? I feel stuck in this situation. I feel stuck at this weight. I feel like stuck being overweight forever.
I feel stuck being underweight. I feel stuck with the people I’m, I feel stuck. How many times do you say that? You are at the mercy of whatever happens to you and you’ll always be waiting for someone or something else to fix your problems. Every time that we say we’re stuck and we don’t take radical responsibility of ourselves and of our health, we’re always going to blame someone else or something else and we’re going to be waiting for someone else to fix our problems.
Hello politics. Hello. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Hello. Taking away your rights. Hello. You not having a choice.
It’s all connected. If we are wanting the quick fixes, we are going to vote a certain way. And then it’s not going to match up with the things that we believe are biblical. We’re going to vote for abortions because we feel sorry for those who are raped. And while rape is something that almost every single woman that walks into my office has dealt with.
Rape, sexual molestation, all of that kind of stuff. It happens to three out of four women. Three out of four women and that other fourth one, it’s either not happened to her yet, or she knows and loves someone that has. I’m not saying that we, that we do, um, that we negate the sin that has happened on the woman, but abortion, voting for abortion is not, is not birth control.
It is murder. If we, if someone is, if a woman is pregnant, and she is murdered. That person is charged with double homicide. Why? Because it took two lives. That murder took two lives. I can go on and on about this and if this makes you not like me, that’s fine. Maybe I’m not for you, but I would like to plant a seed that when we live in a world of quick fixes, wanting people to fix our problems, we want policies to fix our problems.
We have given up every piece of our responsibility. We’ve given up every piece of our power. And I don’t know if anybody needs to hear that today, but it’s all connected to our health. The way we live, the way we vote, the way we worship, the things that we make priority with, the people we are with, the people we are sowing relationships with, all of this is alarming.
It’s alarming. And I am waking up to this too. I’m waking up to this idea that my power is only as strong as my radical responsibility. Because I don’t want to have to depend on anybody to fix my problems. Other than Jesus, but I don’t want to be stuck at someone else’s mercy. Because when we take radical responsibility, we finally get to become the driver of our own life.
And I wonder. If that’s actually the reason why people don’t take radical responsibility because they don’t want to take, they don’t want to be the driver in their own life. They don’t want to feel like the excuse is on them. They don’t want the responsibility of that because taking responsibility is counter cultural.
It’s different and we live in a world that encourages us to avoid discomfort and to take the easy route for crying out loud. Discomfort is taking meat out of the freezer and letting it thaw all day while you’re at work. But comfortable is opening up Uber Eats, opening up DoorDash, getting in the car and going to a restaurant instead of going home and cooking nourishing meals for your family.
The easy route is going to the concert venue, going back to the patient I saw earlier today, going to the concert venue and getting the pretzel and dipping it in cheese or mustard and calling that a meal with a soda and popcorn and cat and candy, whatever in the name of Oh, it’s so much fun. It’s gluttonous.
It’s like, I deserve this. I’m here. I’m going to experience the whole thing. Not mind you thinking that taking responsibility of our health is counter cultural. So, you know, I think I’m gonna make a wholesome deal, uh, dinner for my family before I leave. Make sure that they’re taken care of and fed and nourished well from the inside out because health happens from inside out, top down and, uh, non vital organs to vital organs, I’m sorry, vital organs to non vital organs,
it’s counter cultural. And it’s going to take some massive mind shift because when we are uncomfortable, we’re told we need the easy route. I’ve got a headache, go pop the medicine. I have PMS, go get Midol. I have um, constipation, go get Miralax. I have reflux, go get the Tums. I have chronic reflux, I go to the gastroenterologist or to my normal doctor and then they hand me a prescription for or however you say it or some other kind of medicine.
Or they do an endoscopy and they, whatever, I’m not saying, again, I’m not against this stuff. I am against those, those pharmaceuticals I just mentioned. We don’t want to feel pain. That’s what it boils down to. But here’s the thing, the real growth, real change comes from doing the hard work. It comes from facing the uncomfortable truth about your health and making tough choices that lead to lasting change.
And when you embrace, when I embrace radical responsibility, we are saying, I am in control of my health. And what that’s really saying, I’m in control of my life. And that, my friends, is incredibly powerful. So this mind shift that has to happen for this work. This mind shift that has to happen first, you need to believe that change is possible.
If you have a family lineage like mine that is full of heart disease and diabetes on both sides, you have thyroid problems that you just find out when you’re in your like late 30s from my mom. Um, I find out in my late 30s that, uh, my mom’s, All, all the women had thyroid problems, which led to heart failure and heart disease and all this stuff.
I’m like, Oh, that, that, that’s great, mom. Thanks for letting me know that as I’ve been dealing with thyroid problems since my early twenties. Um, and actually when I look back, probably since I hit puberty. Anyway, all that to say. We need to believe that change is possible. Just because our genetic lineage says that everybody has heart disease, so I’m going to have it too, then I don’t watch what I eat, I don’t watch my lifestyle, don’t watch my toxic intake on eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and not deal with my childhood trauma, not deal with my relationship with Jesus, not deal with those things, then sure I’m going to, I’m going to go ahead and become them.
I’m going to become my family. But if I choose and I say change is possible, I then can believe that no matter where I am, wherever I’m starting in my health and wellness, that I know that I have the power to change my situation. And this is where faith plays a huge role. When you trust that you’re capable of change, that you have the strength to do what it takes, especially with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, you know that, you know that, that tiny little power of the Holy Spirit that part of the Red Sea is to flip and dry dirt.
Yeah, the same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Yeah, that’s the same power that we have within us. That’s the kind of strength that’s within us who are followers. That’s when real transformation begins because we believe we have the strength then. But it’s just not about believing it, it’s like we have to act on that faith and that belief.
Faith works, faith without works is dead, really. Faith without, like we can have faith, but if our behaviors and our actions don’t represent what we believe, that’s a hypocrite. That’s what the other side is waiting for us to fail and see, is the hypocrisy in us. And by no means am I over here sitting on a, uh, tough at a, what is it called?
What do they say? Um, sitting on my own throne or whatever it’s called. I’m not sitting on it guys. This is me. I’m talking to me. And if you happen to understand this or it’s hitting you at home, then it might be for you too. But if my faith, if I profess something with my lips and my actions and behaviors behind closed doors and in, you know, out in public, whatever, are not the same and they don’t match up, that is not someone who has radical responsibility.
And we also need to stop waiting for the perfect moment to start, to start changing. We have to get rid of that. There is never a perfect time except now. Life is always going to be busy. There’s always going to be a challenge. And if you’re waiting for everything to line up perfectly, you’re going to be waiting forever and you’re just going to fall into being shoved around every way the wind, the wind blows with your politics, with your health, with, you know, Oh, I’m just waiting for so and so or the perfect diet to come or what, you know, whatever it is.
I’m, I just turned 40 this month or this past month and I’m not letting anybody control me anymore. I’m done. I don’t know about you. I feel like my 20s was about addressing some really hard things, like digging my deep, my roots deep with Jesus. 30s were about learning who I actually am, letting go of some things, healing some things.
And my 40s, here I come. I get to live out of that freedom and peace of all the work I’ve done beforehand. I got a lot more to go, but you know, um, But we just need to stop waiting. We need to stop letting ourselves be controlled by everyone and everything else. And the mind shift here is that understanding that now is the time.
It’s right now. Right now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not tomorrow morning, like when you’re in bed and talking about it. You have everything you need to start taking responsibility for your health right now. And every day you wait, is a day lost. We are here but for a split second on this earth. Why would we waste another day?
So here are some possible practical steps to take radical responsibility. Here’s what I’ve done. Here are some things that I want to just impart upon you. and support you. Because really when I’m talking about radical responsibility, it’s like, oh gosh, dang it. How do I, how do I even start? How do I actually put this mind shift?
Okay, Danielle, I’m hearing you. I’m hearing you that I need to shift my mindset. I understand what you’re saying. How do I put that into action? Let’s break it down. Okay, let’s break it down. I got five things for you. All right, we got five things. We’re going to first evaluate our current choices. Okay. I want you to think about, when I say choices, first of all, I want you to think about what does that even mean to you?
Evaluate your current choices. The word choices. If you’re like most Americans, you’re probably thinking, especially this is a holistic health podcast, you’re probably thinking food. If that’s okay, if that’s where you’re at, that’s fine. But I want you to go deeper than food. Start taking an honest look at your life.
What are you doing right now that’s contributing to your health? What are you doing right now that is not contributing to your health? And I’m meaning physically, mentally, spiritually, relationally. What’s going on? What’s contributing to health and what’s taking away from your health? What habits do you need to change?
This is where radical honesty comes into play. You have to be willing to see the truth, even if it’s uncomfortable. So number two, number one was evaluate your current choices. Number two is to set clear, actionable goals. Once you’ve evaluated your current situation, okay, Set some clear goals. And I’m not talking about things that are like, Oh, I want to lose weight.
I want to get healthier. We’re done with that. We don’t play those games here because that’s what that is. Those are games. I mean, specific actionable goals like I’m going to walk 30 minutes every day. That 30 minutes could be 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, and 10 minutes in the evening.
That 30 minutes could be one time. Maybe you save a Netflix show that you want to binge during that walk and maybe that’s the only time you do that. Or maybe it’s a podcast episode that you listen to during that walk. 30 minutes. That’s, that’s a simple actionable goal. I’m going to walk 30 minutes every day or I’m going to cut out sugar for the next 30 days.
These are goals that can be measured and tracked. Okay. Number three, create accountability. Accountability is the key. Find someone who will hold you accountable. I’m going to tell you this right now. Your spouse is not your accountability buddy. Your friend that you hang out with is not your accountability buddy.
You need someone who is willing to tell you the hard things in love, but to see through your words and see if you’re trying to play the games with yourself and give yourself an out. It’s great to have a coach, a practitioner like me, like Aria, inside the Wilderness of Wellness, the ladies inside the Wilderness of Wellness, they know what accountability does and what it looks like and how it feels and what freedom is in that.
Surround yourself with women who are on the same journey who will support you in taking responsibility for your health. The Wilderness of Wellness ladies are phenomenal, I can’t brag on them enough. They are truly amazing. They are ladies that keep me going. I love them dearly. Four, we’re going to take action every day.
This is where the rubber meets the road. You have to take action every single day. It doesn’t have to be perfect. And let’s be clear, if I see perfection in my wilderness of wellness ladies, like them posting things, it looks perfect. I’m going to start asking, what’s going on? I don’t ever want to see perfection.
Perfection, to me, is real life happening around these habits. These habits happening around real life, these habits integrating and changing the family, the kids, the husband, all of the things. But what has to happen is it has to be consistent, small, daily actions. It could be, I’m going to do the 30 minute walk, right?
Every day I’m going to do 30 minutes of walking. Or maybe it’s, I’m going to drink half my body weight in ounces of water up to a gallon. every day. That’s it. Those simple things can lead you to massive change, but you have to do them daily and you have to do them consistently with accountability and radical honesty.
And then number five, reflect and adjust. This is why quarterly inside the Wilderness of Wellness we have this quarterly breakthrough party and this quarterly breakthrough party is really truly to celebrate you. It’s to celebrate those days that you did more drinking of water than you did Diet Coke or you drank more water than you’ve ever drank in your life or you walked and you walked every, you know, for five days, you said you’re going to walk five days a week for the next three months and you did it.
We celebrate you driving through the drive thru, we celebrate you, um, saying no to somebody, saying yes to the things that help you, saying no to the habits and breaking, breaking generational legacies. That’s why we do this. We reflect on what worked, what went well, what did not go well, and then we adjust for the next quarter.
So, this is a time in this breakthrough party, so I bring in non alcoholic champagne, the ladies bring in whatever they want, um, but we make time to reflect on our progress and love on each other and celebrate each other and cheers each other and I think that this is a piece that is missing is that we have to be willing to adjust our plans as needed.
So then not only do we do this quarterly breakthrough party, but then every Monday we have an accountability post. So we have everybody post their accountability sheets. And so we can help you, Ari and I and Laura, our social worker, um, she, we all three can go in there and help you adjust to make sure that your plans are actually working for you and not setting you up for failure.
Because how many times we make a plan to do such and such and then we like, Oh my gosh, I can’t do it. So then I’m just going to not do it at all. So, we help you adjust that and help you have, um, true support. And I coach every single one of the ladies, uh, that on the breakthrough parties, making sure that it is possible for you.
But taking radical responsibility also means being flexible and being willing to change course when necessary. So, I just wanna, just wanna pop this in here. If you’re ready to make this shift. To stop waiting for someone else to fix your problems and to start taking control of your health, then I am here to support you every step of the way.
I think it’s important to know that making a commitment to yourself, making, when I, when someone starts to, wants to work with me, whether in my membership, the wilderness of wellness or one to one or however, I put in as much as you do, if not more. Because I want to see you succeed. I don’t want you to be controlled by anyone or anything else.
And what really lights my tail on fire is seeing you take back that radical responsibility because it gives you your power back. Thanks for listening to the crying in my cheesecake podcast. I hope it encouraged you to make a next best step for your health. Take a look at the show notes for more information or other links I mentioned in the episode.
And if you got to this point, come find me on Instagram at crying in my cheesecake and send me a DM. Tell me you listened to this episode and what you got out of it.
