Welcome to The Spark Show! In this episode, I talk to certified integrative wellness & life coach, health blogger, lifestyle influencer, content creator and mental health advocate, Katja Lillian about ways you can implement a healthy routine into your lifestyle!

We discuss the key takeaway to living a balanced lifestyle, why it's important to have a coach / mentor if you want to focus on health and wellness, and how she impacts women and helps them to live a healthier life mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

How to Live a Balanced Lifestyle 

"My one answer would be time management, some more time management, and then some more time management," said Lillian. "I think there were just a lot of hours that I discovered in the day that I didn't know I had. How many times do we just kind of sit around or we postpone things? We procrastinate. So, I really needed to challenge myself by raising my productivity with every single hour that I had. I think for the audience that is listening, some of the ways I did that was really heightened my concentration and focus with mindful work. What I'm talking about is doing one thing at a time. Many people don't do that because we live in this multitasking society, but that leads to feelings of stress and I felt scatterbrained, I could not do that. So, focusing on one thing at a time, even on your computer, closing extra tabs, having one tab open for the tasks that you're about to do.

"Then, I'm a huge fan of time blocking my calendar," added Lillian. "I have work calls for my tech company and I have emails, but I have to work around that, so I'll have a coaching call before, I'll have a coaching call after, I just make it work." 

Incorporating a Healthy Routine into Your Life 

"From a basic level, it's really just taking those small steps, right? Drinking a glass of water when you first wake up, that helps your energy levels throughout the day, and making sure I give myself time to stretch and take breaks and take a walk," said Lillian. "Like, I know that sounds cliche, and people are like, 'okay, that's a simple answer,' but it's so true, because I need to keep my energy levels high in order to do everything I do. I think we often overlook that. I think people look for this big answer and, you know, they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and it's like, come back to the basics. Let's start there and that's when it can become habitual. We want to create this into a lifestyle, not just eight weeks to lose those pounds for a vacation or something. We really want to have a healthy lifestyle for years to come." 

What Katja Lillian Focuses on in Her Coaching 

"My whole program is built off of four concepts - it's mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual," said Lillian. "Now, I know there's different coaches out there and they all have their place - fitness, nutrition, business coaching, those are all so important. My personal reason of why I became a life coach is because I believe everything starts with us, mainly our mindset and once we work on that, everything else can blossom in our life, like our business."

"I think Tony Robbins has a great quote, and he's like, 'you are your business,' so if you're not taking care of yourself, what's going to happen to your business?," added Lillian. "For example, so I focus on the self. Mental is pretty obvious. It's our mindset -so, limiting beliefs. Are you still hanging on to anything like that? Understanding that you are in control of your thoughts. I think often we think, 'I am who I am. It is what it is.' But, we actually can control our thoughts into more positive thinking which can really help us in turn with our emotions. Thoughts affect emotions. That goes into the second pillar, understanding you can control your emotions so that you're always excited and inspired. Now, I know everyone has their bad days, but, 80% of the time, we do want to be in that good zone of positive emotions, and if you're not, don't spiral. We don't have to soak in that - know and understand how to get yourself out of that, you don't have to waste days, let's reduce it down to hours."

"Then, the last two [pillars] - physical, I do touch on elements of nutrition and exercise, but my main focus is also our reality, so I go through visualization practices," said Lillian. "I ask, 'what are your goals?' and then the key part there is to turn it into action steps and show them what are you actually doing every single day to get you to a place of happiness and mental freedom. And lastly, spirituality is more of this idea of surrender. I don't want ever someone to put their happiness on their outcomes. Goals are attached to outcomes, which are great. I think we need it for direction. But, we can't get lost in that, right? So often people say, 'when I buy a house, I'll be happy,' 'when I get that raise, I'll be happy.' And my thing is, well, what about all the time in between? This stuff could take years. So, finding happiness in the everyday I think is super powerful and it's this idea of surrender - control what you can control." 

Tips to Start Prioritizing on Wellness Now 

"I think [Gwen] already said it - start small. Like I mentioned before, I think people always think they have to get the expensive gym membership or now all of the fitness apps out there," said Lillian. "And again, they're all great and maybe it's good to learn and discover new things. Of course, I have also different fitness apps and things I follow because it's more from a place of curiosity really. But, I don't need that to be healthy, right? You can start with the basics. I guess if you define wellness, what is wellness? It's just focusing on your daily habits, both physical and mental - to really prioritize your mental health and your physical health. But, for what? Why are you doing this? So, really check in with yourself. I guess another action step is kind of sit back, take some time for yourself and check in - what do I need right now? Do I need sleep? That's a big one. Do I need movement, more water? Do I want connection with family? With friends who I haven't spoken with in a long time? All of those go under this umbrella of wellness."

"I think on a deeper level, I think a lot of people don't allow themselves to prioritize wellness because it's this idea of, well, if I'm taking care of myself, I'm not taking care of others, it's taking that time away," added Lillian. "And, I don't know where that comes from, to be honest with you, but it's, in my opinion, very wrong, because I need to fill my own cup first in order to share with others. So, it's this idea, I'm a huge advocate of self love. I always say that self love is not selfish, it is self-less. When you prioritize you and what you want to do, whatever that looks like, and whatever that means for you, you will then have this life of wellness and health because you don't feel guilty of putting yourself first, so that's on a deeper level there, but I really believe that it goes so much further than just, you know, drink your water." 

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Listen to Previous Episodes: 

Influencer Success Roadmap

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2021 Word of the Year

3 Ways to Practice Self-Care and Put Yourself First

Connect with Katja Lillian

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Connect with Gwen Lane

The Spark Society | Instagram | Facebook