Embracing The Discomfort Of Change

 

There are shifts in our lives we would like to take but are afraid of what will happen. Change sounds scary, and it’s easier to live our lives with the familiar. But what if change is needed for us to be better persons? In this episode, Whitney Lauritsen announces that Jason Wrobel isn’t co-hosting with her anymore. She discusses this shift in her life and the podcast and reflects on how we can embrace the discomfort brought by change. We have to nourish our growth mindset into these things continuously. We shouldn’t live a life of fear because we’re afraid of what’s inevitable. Tune into this episode as she explains her view on change and how this moment of her life is terrifying but makes her stronger.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

Embracing The Discomfort Of Change

A Big Announcement About This Podcast

In this episode, I have a number of announcements, and this will definitely be uncomfortable for me, at least, and maybe for you, I’m not sure. Part of what’s uncomfortable about this is that I want to be fully transparent. I don’t want it to feel rehearsed. When people do apology videos, is that what they are called on YouTube? When public figures apologize, this is not one of those videos. I have nothing to apologize for that I know of. Sometimes people do them and they feel way too scripted. You are like, “I wish this person would talk from their heart.” That’s what I want to do, and I’m committed to doing it but it felt tempting to plan this episode out a little bit more. I’m not going to do that.

However, I may be reading from some notes I have been writing to prep for this. Maybe that will be apparent. I don’t know. It’s okay to read notes. I think that’s the other thing, too. It’s finding that balance between coming across authentically and with transparency. Acknowledging transitions is a big theme here. Being someone who’s committed to growth and change, that’s the whole theme of this show. I feel like we are constantly changing. I think it was on a show that I was on. I’m pretty sure it was on this show called Joseph Jaffe.

I was on his show and now I’m like, “Am I pronouncing his last name properly? I’m not sure but I have trouble pronouncing people’s names. It’s Joseph Jaffe Is Not Famous. I was on this amazing live stream show. It was him that had asked me, “What was the definition of discomfort or getting uncomfortable?” My response at that moment was about the fact that we are constantly changing in life is constantly uncomfortable. For a good part of my life or definitely different phases of my life, I believe that there were ways to find comfort long-term but ultimately, I’m finding that life is constantly uncomfortable.

The only comfort may be in acknowledging that instead of trying to force something that’s not possible. A lot of us, especially in the wellness world, people that are very interested in our health, it’s like looking for a place where you can get where you have achieved things and feel satisfied. If you examine your life, I think it’s very rare for anyone to feel fully satisfied. There’s always more work to do.

Sometimes that in itself can feel uncomfortable, thinking like, “I’m never going to feel satisfied in life.” What if we twist that and think that it’s okay to be uncomfortable all the time and maybe it’s beneficial to us or maybe we can’t control it, so it’s about embracing it. Joseph Jaffe is amazing. He’s in the Web 3.0 space along with me, which, if you don’t know about, is something that I plan to cover in some upcoming episodes. I’m curious where you are at and if you are interested in it because I’m very interested in it.

Web 3.0 is essentially blockchain technology like cryptocurrency, NFTs, and the metaverse, which, even if you are not interested in, is an incredibly important topic to learn. Now we are in what’s called Web 2.0. It’s the phase of the internet, and Web 3.0 is the next phase, whether we like it or not, that’s going to happen and something that we need to embrace. I’m very passionate about prepping for things and learning things. I will be talking about that more in the future. If you want a little glimpse, his show is wonderful and I was honored to be a guest.

Something a lot of people struggle with is recognizing that not everybody is going to like you or want you or be interested in you and that’s okay. Share on X

It’s interesting too because I was on the 308th episode of his show. This is the 303rd episode of this show. We are in similar timelines for an episode. The number three has always felt powerful and significant to me. The number three feels strong my whole life and perhaps because I was born in the third month of the year in March. I liked that number. The fact that this is episode 303 is cool. I confirmed that the very first episode of this show was released on December 13, 2021.

A Change In The Podcast

I wish I had realized that earlier because I would have acknowledged it in an episode released on December 13th. I missed the mark there but that’s fine. This happens. That was the 301st episode. It would have felt timely. The reason I didn’t do that is because of what I want to talk about, which is something that you may have been wondering about or noticed but has not been confirmed because I haven’t announced it.

That is Jason’s departure from this show and Wellevatr as a brand. We have mutually decided to part ways. He is no longer co-hosting the show with me. I’m going to, in essence, do this on my own, except for the guests that are on each Friday episode. It’s uncomfortable, even though I have been reflecting on it. It’s a lot to process and a big change for me. It may feel like a big change for you, too.

We were in this together truly, hopefully. There’s that insecurity. I feel that people who like Jason are not going to be interested in the show without him and that’s okay. I can’t prevent that. My old tendency is like,” Let me see if I can win you over and prove myself to you.” That’s something I’m working on not doing and being okay with people who are not a fan of me. It has taken me a long time and something a lot of people struggle with is recognizing that not everybody is going to like, want or be interested in you. That’s okay.

If you are one of them, I want to be very clear. It’s me moving forward. I also don’t know what the future holds and none of us do because things are constantly changing. Did I know that this was going to happen? No. I knew it was a possibility that at some point I would continue the show on my own. I’m grateful that it was mutually decided because there was a possibility when Jason decided to leave the show that he would ask me not to continue and start from scratch.

I was concerned about that because I love and am committed to the show. It’s nuts that it has been 303 episodes but it’s also felt very easy. I have mentioned this in the past. This show has been a passion project for me. It has been years since the show was started. All these episodes flew by. It’s not always 100% easy. Certainly, there are days where I don’t feel like it. I have been procrastinating doing this episode because it feels overwhelming to me but I’m committed to it.

Once I start, it always feels a lot easier. It’s usually a lot of things in life. It’s the process of getting started and I’m sure you can relate to this. Exercise immediately comes to mind. I often dread exercising but once I start it, I’m like, “This isn’t so bad.” Most of the work is done because I have committed to doing it. Although I will admit exercise does not always feel pleasant at the moment, what always feels good is how I feel after exercising. I never regret doing it.

 

There’s the pride that I feel from accomplishing it. I feel that way with this show during all of the challenges. I want to acknowledge you. This is so important and a big message here is to tell you what’s going on and also say that, A) I’m so grateful that you have been along this journey with both of us. If you do decide to continue listening when it’s just me and the weekly guests that I will have, I’m so grateful for that.

I am in a place of transition and thus open to feedback from you. It also ties into a huge motivation, for continuing is not just you but it’s also partners. Now, the sponsor of the show is SimplyCodes. I certainly don’t want to let them go. As I have talked about in previous episodes, I’m so grateful for them. I was thinking, “I don’t want to let them down. I want to keep going forward. I have committed to something with them.”

What was interesting as I went on their website to think about how I wanted to talk about SimplyCodes moving forward, especially during this transition period, and I found something amazing. If you have not heard me talk on previous episodes, they are a coupon app. SimplyCodes is this web browser extension and now they have this new iOS app. You can find coupon codes easily and virtually automatically through either method.

Basically, when you go onto a website, it will show you codes that are available. These codes are coming from the community and this is why I’m tying them in. Their whole thing is about a crowdsourcing community for sharing deals and coupons. Also, distributing rewards and ownership to their community members, which ties back into the Web 3.0 stuff that I was talking about earlier.

Part of my vision for the future of this show is to offer you rewards for reading, which is the first time I have said that out loud, much like a lot of things I’m going to share now. I have been thinking about it a lot. If you go to that episode with Joseph on his show, which is mostly on YouTube, by the way, we talk about this platform called Rally that we are both on. That’s how Joseph and I met.

On that platform, we can give cryptocurrency rewards to people. That’s what Rally is. What’s called the Creator Coin and I’m going to come full circle in a lot of ways. The Creator Coin allows me to give you equity in what I’m building. I have kept that separate from this show for the most part. I have mentioned it may be a few times at most here.

Subtle changes are slow but they're more noticeable in certain chunks of time. Share on X

It wasn’t something that Jason was working on. It didn’t feel appropriate for me to plug it. Now that I’m doing the show on my own, I would love to incorporate this because you could literally own part of my work, which makes Web 3.0 exciting and simultaneously very confusing. What’s also needs tying this back into SimplyCodes is they are on a similar mission. In fact, they have used the phrase decentralized on their website. Demand.io is their umbrella company.

If you go on there, they are also in that same mindset. In fact, it says, “Forward-thinking decentralized shopping.” Decentralized is a fascinating term that I’m still learning about and I will share in future episodes but it is a huge part of Web 3.0. It excites me that they are forward-thinking. I consider myself someone that’s forward-thinking. I will tell you more about Rally and the opportunity to own and drive the work that I’m doing as Whitney Lauritsen.

Along with every project that I’m working on, I truly want you to feel a part of that. That’s why SimplyCodes, even on an unconscious level, felt like a great partner. It turns out they are a great partner for this transition when I’m thinking, “How can I make this show valuable to you?” It’s rooted in that value. What’s also neat on the SimplyCodes website, one of their core missions is about change. Their business model is founded on change.

They said, “We embrace the opportunity to build new things that people in businesses adopt. It’s the courage to solve problems that others don’t that fool fuels us. We see life as a continuous process of growth learning developmental skills, increasing the size, reach, and progression towards goals.” That’s the core of this show in a lot of ways.

Continuous Process Of Growth Through Change

I want to give a shout-out to SimplyCodes. Remind you to check them out because they have been incredibly useful to me. Their main website is Demand.io but SimplyCodes.com/wellevatr. If you visit that, you can check them out. Install them and try it out either on your iOS Apple device or your web browser. I love this concept of continuous growth because that’s what I’m committed to but I cannot drive home more about how important community input is. That’s where you come in. Truly now, I’m trying to think, “How can I add more value to you on my own?” Ideally, could I add greater value to you even though I’m doing this without Jason? Some context or fear from maybe a scarcity mindset.

 

It’s like, “Is my value cut in half because I don’t have a co-host?” I know deep down that’s not true. It’s a pivot but I want to ask you, and I’m asking you at this moment, “What do you want? What would you love to shift?” Maybe there’s something you have always wanted from this show but you haven’t asked? Now is your time. I was thinking about putting together a survey or something but I’m asking you to reach out to me and tell me, “What do you love about this show? What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of?”

If you want to see less of me, this wasn’t the show for you anymore but I could make that happen in a very humble way of making shorter episodes. I had a meeting earlier with Tracy Hazzard, who I work with separately. She has an incredible company called Podetize. They are, in essence, the production company that does the show. Meaning they have a team that helps produce this. Their team edits the show and makes the transcript you see. They are such a huge core of the show. I also have the honor of working with Tracy on her social media marketing.

We had a meeting. I asked her, “What’s the ideal length for an episode?” She’s like, “Between 10 to 20 minutes.” I was like, “That’s a big difference given that the average length of this show is 60 minutes. Sometimes we go 90 minutes, especially if there’s a guest involved.” In my head, I felt insecure about that. I’m like, “Do you want to listen to a 60-minute show?” Now is your opportunity.

Do you want shorter shows? That’s organically going to happen because I’m here on my own. I could probably talk for 60 minutes but I don’t need to. On my YouTube channels, I can very comfortably talk for 30 minutes, especially if I’m flushing out an idea. The shows may be shorter, which I would love to know. Do you like that? Maybe you like longer episodes. I want to hear it all. You can reach out through Instagram, either on my personal, @WhitLauritsen account or the @Wellevatr account, which I will continue to run.

In full transparency, it’s possible I may pause or archive the Wellevatr username and move it all to my personal accounts, which again are @WhitLauritsen, my username. Wellevatr was created as a joint venture between Jason and me. Without his involvement, it doesn’t feel as necessary. In this transition period, I will keep that there. The show notes will continue to be there. There’s the timing remains to be seen but I have been leaning towards putting the show notes on my website at WhitneyLauritsen.com. All of these things I want to make decisions on.

I will do everything possible to make a very seamless transition for you. The name Wellevatr will remain there because it has been mentioned in all the previous episodes. This is the part of what makes something like this a longer transition and a bit complicated, and that’s a bit uncomfortable. I also think this is a great example of that continuous growth mindset and what I said at the very beginning, which is, “Life is constantly changing.”

In times like this, it’s a very obvious change. This is an abrupt change. That feels very different than a subtle change. Most of our life is very subtle. Age is a great example. I think about this a lot about how I’m slowly getting gray hair, as I have talked about in previous episodes. I don’t know how many new gray hairs I get each day or each week but sometimes I look in the mirror, and I’m like, “There are more gray hairs than I remember seeing before.”

Since I’m not that into biology and hair growth, I’m sure they are slowly growing every second but they are more noticeable in certain chunks of time. You could line up pictures of somebody and see the age difference if it’s like one year versus another year. If it’s day by day, it’s more subtle. That concept does not get talked about enough, in my opinion. We talk about more abrupt changes. That’s why change can sound scary.

There’s often negativity associated with change. My big message for this episode is that change is not necessarily bad. Change can be uncomfortable but that discomfort could be temporary because we can adapt to change. I believe the more comfortable we are with regular change, and adapting and acceptance, it becomes a lot easier than trying to resist it and being afraid of it.

A change is an opportunity for you to become stronger. Share on X

Fear of change is a very common thing, too, and maybe that’s part of the human experience. It’s a bit as ironic as the best word to use here. I’m not sure this is where Jason will be very missed. He is so good with words, and that has been challenging for me but this is an opportunity for me to become stronger. When we are used to leaning on somebody for help or filling in the gaps, and they are no longer there to support us, that can feel scary and vulnerable.

Empowerment In Change

Some people stop altogether because they were like, “I can’t do this on my own.” I do not have that feeling now with this show. I feel excited, empowered, interested and curious but there’s going to be that transition of me being like, “Jason’s presence is missed here.” I’m going to have to do some things on my own for the first time and that’s going to feel uncomfortable.

I was using the fact that it’s interesting that as human beings, we fear change. Change feels uncomfortable and yet we are changing all the time. How is it that we are afraid of something that we are always experiencing? It reminds me of the metaphor of a river. If you look down at a river flowing and this is a Buddhist meditative example that’s brought me a lot of comforts, you can look at a river and you are never going to see the same part of that water go by again. It’s constantly moving and changing.

People also bring up the snowflake metaphor, which is great and some of you may have some snow. I don’t have that in Los Angeles. The snowflake is literally true. It’s interesting to see if it was a misconception that every snowflake is unique, which makes sense because the snowflakes are natural. They are not manmade. A lot of our manmade things can be duplicated technically but nature doesn’t duplicate itself.

Every leaf is going to be a little different and that change is all around us. Those differences are all around us but if we look at snow, we think, “It all looks the same from a distance.” I’m looking out my window and seeing a tree and all the leaves look the same with their subtle differences. If I compare each one to each other there, I would see their difference magnified. Maybe this is a good opportunity to embrace change, differences, be okay with it all, and practice being uncomfortable.

It’s one thing I have been thinking about for weekly episodes and this is where I would love your feedback. What if I summarized the things that made me uncomfortable each week? What if I leaned into it and started journaling about my discomfort? I bet I would find a lot of things to talk about. I would love to encourage you along the way. This may be the theme for the next episode. We will see.

I’m going to challenge myself in you to start documenting discomfort and notice how you feel about it. My lips feel dry and that feels uncomfortable. It’s simple little things like that. I feel uncomfortable on two levels. One is dryness in general. For me, it feels uncomfortable. I want to put chapstick on. I talked about this in either an episode of this show or the private podcast, This Hits The Spot, but I love this chapstick from Ladybug Jane. They have the most amazing flavors. There’s beeswax, all organic. They have a Vanilla Cupcake flavor.

 

It’s literally delicious. Now I feel comfortable because I noticed my discomfort and solved the problem. What I still feel uncomfortable about is the insecurity of are other people get to know that my lips are dry. That feels uncomfortable. I can work through that by thinking, “Does it matter if they notice? Why does it matter? It doesn’t matter if they judge me.” These are the mental processes I go through, and I would love to share more because these tools are helpful. I also think it’s helpful when other people tell you about what’s hard for them.

If you feel like that’s hard for you too, there’s comfort in knowing that you are not alone. That was the other thing when I met with Tracy from Podetize. One of the first things she said to me was, “You are not alone. Plenty of shows go through transitions like this, where either they start with one host, and they bring on another or vice versa. They start with two people. One of the hosts leaves and it’s more common than you might realize.” That gave me comfort. I was like, “Thank you for reminding me that I’m not alone.” Community is the big theme here, discomfort and change.

I want you to know that your input matters so much to me. I mentioned reaching out on Instagram and again, send me a DM. I’m going to post about this on Instagram. I don’t know if that post will be up probably by the time you read this. You can comment on there if you would like. If you feel comfortable with writing something public, that post will be centered around asking for your input. I haven’t written it yet, so I don’t know.

You can also DM me on Instagram. I try my best every day to read DMs or at least a few times a week. That could be either @WhitLauritsen or @Wellevatr. I also have the Eco-Vegan Gal account but I’m not going to direct you there because I’m trying to transition away from that. It’s interesting because I have talked about my transition away from Ego-Vegan Gal for a long time and now I’m in the midst of another one.

Sometimes when you are going through multiple challenges at the same time, they cancel each other out, and it doesn’t feel challenging. That’s basically where I’m at. The other place that you can reach me is at [email protected]. That’s the email. That may change too to be a Whitney Lauritsen domain. I will give you plenty of heads up. It will probably be quite a long time before the Wellevatr domain name is no longer active, if ever. I also don’t know at this point but for now, [email protected] is a way to reach me.

I’m very easy to find. If you type in This Might Get Uncomfortable onto your web browser, you will find plenty of ways to reach out. I truly mean it. I also want to be transparent that I get overwhelmed and feel anxious about communication sometimes. I love receiving it but responding to it is tough. That’s another place if you didn’t know this about Wellevatr and the show is Jason was in charge of that. The reason he was in charge of correspondence is that it’s tough for me.

I’m a little slow. I feel overwhelmed and anxious by responding to people. Jason did 90% of the responses. He wouldn’t always sign his name but if you heard from one of us or us collectively, it was likely written by him and that’s going to be tough, too. I might have to bring on an assistant or someone because I feel guilty about not responding quickly.

Regardless of how long it takes for me to respond to you, I am very good at reading every single email, direct message and comment. In fact, that was always my strong suit in my partnership with Jason, I would read something, and then I would pass it to him to read it and respond. Now, it’s going to be all me or the support of somebody external. I’m not sure yet. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I want to hear from you.

What do you want from the show? What do you love? What do you want to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Are there things that we have never done that you would like covered? I have a few outstanding topics suggestions from one of our regular readers and supporters. Speaking of support on Patreon, it’s a transition period but if you are a Patreon supporter, I want to acknowledge you and how much of a difference that makes, especially now that it’s me running the show. I have to take on all the financial responsibilities, which have always worked out fine. I’m not concerned about it. I may be even more grateful for the Patreon supporters.

Just $2 a month adds up collectively because we are in a community and I’m planning, not 100% sure but very likely we will be integrating the Creator Coin I mentioned, Rally, into Patreon. Essentially, what that will be like is to think of it as a point system for airline miles or even SimplyCodes, which has a rewards program or they are working on it. It’s coming soon. If not out, by the time you read this.

When you buy something, you will get points in exchange, and then you can use those points to buy something else or cash out the Rally Creator Coin that I have, which is called $WELL, which you can buy outright or get as a bonus reward for your support. I’m planning on integrating that into Patreon. When you are contributing $2, you are not just getting the satisfaction of support and access to the perks like This Hits The Spot episodes, a private podcast but I plan to reward you with some of the Rally coins.

That is a cryptocurrency that will grow in value ideally over time and you can cash out. It’s so cool. I’m so excited about that. I can’t wait to share all of this. There is a lot unfolding. I will keep you posted all along the way. I hope that you reach out and check out the sponsor, SimplyCodes because as I have shared, they have been a phenomenal partner but their company is so amazing. I love their mission of continuous growth. Their business model is founded on change is amazing.

The fact that they are always working on introducing new methods, ideas, and products like they talk about on their website is so great. A perfect example of it is their new iOS app. If you want to check them out, if you want to use the Wellevatr language, it doesn’t benefit us beyond tracking. It allows SimplyCodes to see that you came from the show. You can go to SimplyCodes.com/wellevatr. Check it out. It’s completely free to use. You can install it on your computer and/or your iOS device.

When Jason and I did the first episode about SimplyCodes, we did the process ourselves and shared our first impressions of it. That was fun. I was amazed by how easy it was. I talked about in the previous episode how I have applied the codes to my purchases and I love it. I love always finding a discount on things that are expensive. I hope that it brings joy to your life and helps you save some money that you can apply to other things and also gives you the perk of rewards and supporting a small business that’s committed to amazing work like SimplyCodes.

Thank you for all of your support in general. I’m still on track with two episodes a week. There’s an amazing guest coming up. There are many amazing guests lined up. It brings me so much joy. My heart is filling it up with joy telling you about this. It is Jake Steiner, and we talk about eyesight and vision. We talk about Web 3.0 in that episode, too. His perspectives on the metaverse, for example, are interesting.

When we are used to leaning on somebody for help or to fill in the gaps, and they're no longer there to support us, that can feel really scary and vulnerable. Share on X

Next, I’m excited about the episode with Elizabeth McDowell. She talks about her history and all of that. She’s amazing and a friend of mine. She came out with an amazing book, which I have but not right in front of me. I absolutely adore her. It was pure joy. The episodes that I have been recording are so exciting. This is part of where I would love your feedback on them. What do you want to hear from guests? What type of guests would you like?

I have been lining up, booking them, and trying to bring you a diverse range of people, perspectives, and information for you. If there is a gap that I have not filled with a guest yet, please let me know and I will seek them out. If you have a specific guest in mind, let me know. If you have a topic, all of this, give me the data. I love the data coming from you because you are the reason ultimately that I do this show. Thank you for being here all along the way. Thank you for being part of this transition. I will be back with that guest episode and then the next solo episode. If I hear from you before that, I will incorporate your suggestions into it. Bye for now.

 

Important Links

• Joseph Jaffe Is Not Famous – YouTube
• 308th episode – This Might Get Uncomfortable with Whitney Lauritsen
• SimplyCodes
• Rally
• Demand.io
• Podetize
• $WELL
• @WhitLauritsen – Instagram
• @Wellevatr – Instagram
• YouTube – Whitney Lauritsen
• WhitneyLauritsen.com
• This Hits The Spot
• [email protected]
• Ladybug Jane
• Vanilla Cupcake

 

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