The Everyday Awesome Project

100: Centennial Episode Celebration & Self-Love Challenges

• Polly Mertens & Samantha Pruitt • Season 2 • Episode 100

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Today's confetti is flying, but this work is deeper: 100 episodes in, we’re celebrating by giving you two simple, life-changing practices to make self-love your daily baseline instead of a 'one of these days' goal. When modern life has you overcommitted, under-fueled, or just trapped in your own head, this empowering hour delivers liberation. 

Coaches Sam and Polly begin with the story of how they have kept the show sustainable—ditching impossible media production standards and choosing honesty over polish—then they zoom into the real theme that carried them to number 100: self-investment. From childhood imprints to workplace pressure, our inner critic often sounds like truth. But today Coach Sam unpacks that old  programming and replaces it with her beautiful 100-day practice: a nightly, handwritten love letter to yourself. Inspired by Author Elizabeth Gilbert, we choose a warm nickname, ask “What would you like me to know today?”, and write a short paragraph of compassion and wisdom. No confessions, no grading. It’s a tiny ritual that rewires self-talk fast. Become your own SOUL MATE. 

Next, Coach Polly guides a heart coherence reset inspired by HeartMath: hand on heart, longer exhales to calm your nervous system, then immerse in specific gratitude. Making gratitude more than just a memory, but instead an evolving moment. From that grounded state, add a gentle fourth step—visualize one next becoming that fits your season. This isn’t hustle; it’s alignment. Along the way, we share wins, stumbles, and why staying ad-free lets the conversation stay human.

If you’ve been craving steadiness, clearer choices, and a kinder inner voice, these practices are your on-ramp. Try one, or go bold with both for 100 days and notice how presence returns to your mornings and softness returns to your evenings. Subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and tell us which practice you’re starting. Your heart already knows the way—come make it your daily home.

Follow Coach Polly @getbusythriving and Coach Sam @thesamanthapruitt

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Polly Mertens:

Hey superstars, welcome back. Polly here. And Sam Pruitt. What's up, beautiful humans? I just want to say we're here to celebrate. Oh my gosh. Woohoo! Dance party in the house, hundredth episode, hundredth episode.

Samantha Pruitt:

Can you believe this, dude? And I'm standing because I have an injured back, but actually, this feels good to do a little bit of movement in my body. Yeah. So sorry for the bad lighting and the weird background and the fact that I'm standing, but it is what it is. I'm in a process of healing a back injury, and you can listen to all that on prior episodes. But today it's about what, Polly?

Polly Mertens:

Celebrating and self-love, I would say. Oh yeah. Like the core, one of the core messages that we're all about, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

I really say it's the complete through line. It is the thread that we have carried through a hundred episodes. And even before we committed to this podcast, and we'll talk a little bit about what our experience has been, it's just who you and I are in the world. Self-investment, self-compassion, self-knowing and knowledge, really self-love. And it's just what we stand for. The literal, you could just tattoo it to our foreheads, and it's what we're about. And so for our audience, it's really if they get nothing else from our last hundred episodes or our future hundreds of episodes still to be coming. It's that that is the work. That is the work.

Polly Mertens:

You know, I look at it as like you gotta fill your own cup before you can give to other cups. You know, you've got to pour into yourself, you've got to well up yourself, whether it's boundaries or taking care of yourself, or you know, build that foundation, you know, from health and vitality to mental emotional fitness, you know, and growth and contribution, and then giving back, right? And there are seasons in our life where things get, you know, the the proportions of all of that look a little different, right? You know, how much we can invest in ourselves versus we have, you know, giving to children or giving to whatever, caring for loved ones or ailing ones or elderly or whatever it looks like. But the foundational core, if we're not taking care of, we don't have our mask on first, nothing's really gonna work out in the world. Our work is, you know, it's like like running on empty, like a gas, a car trying to go 100 miles an hour and just totally putting, you know, not changing the oil, not putting gas enough gas in the gas tank and just flooring it. Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. Well, you know, a big story that people are telling themselves today is I'm exhausted, I'm overwhelmed, I'm this, I'm that, right? And we're not saying that those aren't real experiences that they're having too much on their plate, too much of a commitment, completely under-fueled, like we're talking about. You know, they don't have the health and the wellness programming and development underneath them in a physical or psychological way to facilitate this really big life they've committed to. But also, it's modern times are wearing us all down. So at the core of this message today, we're gonna give them two challenges. They will be hundred-day challenges, and we'll get into those in just a bit, but they are there to simply serve this need, to get reconnected with the self called you and give yourself some self-love. And they're short, simple, easy to facilitate daily rituals or habits that we'd like them to do for a hundred days. You've got one, I've got one. They can pick either, or they can do both if they want to be super radical. So we're gonna share that with them today. But before we do that, dude, we've taped a hundred episodes. It's total nuts. And you went back and looked at our first episode, which I think is hilarious. And now I've got to do that today. I haven't done that yet. And you even watched the video. Oh my gosh. By the way, we're on YouTube now. I should just drop that into the combo real quick. All our videos are loaded up on YouTube now, so go check it out, people. But what did you see in that first video that we shot the first episode?

Polly Mertens:

Our shiny little faces of excitement and like giddy playfulness, like, oh my God, look what we're creating, like, you know, just like that bubbly, you know, you know, like, oh, we have this gift for the world, and we're just excited and exuberant about it. And and we went out in nature where we love and you know, under the beautiful sky and the sun was setting, and it was like, and then we're like, that was too much work. What the hell? We're like, we're not doing it that way. That was what we're learning. It was like, if we have to do this for every episode with the current state of our lives, and I can what one of the things we were talking about is how you know some wonderful um podcasters out there who didn't keep, you know, they haven't made it to 100, you know, they they stopped at 50 or whatever it was. And I think if we had kept the format from the first episode alive, you know, like, oh, we have to, you know, be together.

Samantha Pruitt:

Be together and be this and be on location, right? Have the video and everything perfect, have the audio perfect, be somewhere really incredibly beautiful. I mean, we were sitting in the middle of the desert, literally.

Polly Mertens:

I mean, we had the hope treat. We were like, oh my god, we're gonna take this on the road and we'll do this. And then I was like, that sounds amazing. Then we failed, we did the first one and we're like, hold up. I don't think this is sustainable. You know, like we're the production crew and we're the beauty crew and we're the the director and all this and the editor. And it was like, yeah, I don't think we're gonna do it like that. So I think that could be on our future, you know, like that could definitely be like, you know, as we we grow and we evolve. You know, it's funny, I was um listening to a lot of YouTubers who say, just get started, you know, like if you don't like just start making, you have to make 500 crappy videos before you make, you know, you know what you're doing, kind of thing. And I was like, Yeah, so we're in that. You know, I look back at the videos I made when so when I was an eating disorder coach, that was my primary focus. So like I look back at some videos. I made like a hundred videos seven to nine years ago. If I look at those, and I was like, hey, I was so young. I was like, oh my god, look at me. Look at me, you know, just out there just sharing and you know, and doing all this stuff. And I was like, that's the phase. And we'll look back at this time and be like, look how young we were, and how you know we were so whatever, you know, full of ourselves or vibrant or you know, play whatever, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's so awesome. Well, here the reality is that you know, we do all of the things. We don't have an army of people behind us, we don't monetize this in any way, it's completely free, and it's basically free coaching, us in dialogue, free coaching for the world, which we feel passionate about delivering that and continuing to deliver that, but we don't make money doing this, right? We don't have ads and commercials, so it's a very different experience for the audience. A, it's incredibly authentic. It's you and I in conversation about a topic that is totally relevant to all humans, right? And we want to be of service in this way. We want to continue to provide this for people. We're very passionate about that. And us showing up for the audience, but really showing up for each other and ourselves is absolute pure freaking magic. And it has been so much fun. I mean, really, sure. Okay, it's been some work, but it's been incredibly fun because you and I haven't had this kind of really tight locked-in project together ever before. We've done things.

Polly Mertens:

Oh, this is totally selfish for me. Like, I'll just admit this flat out in case there was any hiding going on. I completely do this for selfish reasons to get to talk to you for an hour, whatever, you know, our chit chat. And just the the, you know, it's like I I've looked at uh episodes with Oprah, and I, or anyone like Ritual or whoever I admire, and I just see the evolution of who they are when you talk to people about things that that grow you, that you discover new things. It's like reading a hundred books, right? Or having a hundred new conversations. Like there's something in you that that there's a different dimension to you, right? And so you pouring into me, me pouring into you, us pouring into the listeners, and what we create out of these. It's like I'm I'm just saying I'm totally selfish because I get to listen to you, you know, back and forth, and it just feeds me so much. So yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. Likewise, my sister, likewise, absolutely a hundred percent. We learn something during the process every single episode. And yeah, a lot of that is just you and I being in dialogue, talking about hard shit called being a human. Yeah, right. And a lot of it comes from, yes, of course, we're professional coaches and we have a whole background in, you know, coaching humans in all these different capacities, but they're really personal experiences as well. We bring that to the table in a really authentic way. And I do think our audience really appreciates that. Um, that we don't show up and, you know, pose to be the experts of the thing and telling them what is right and wrong and all this stuff. We are here for creating a safe space and dialogue for people to understand themselves better and ultimately build a better life for themselves. That's what we want.

Polly Mertens:

You know, we're seekers too. I mean, you are such a walking, you know, just the consumer of more information on health and well-being than I have ever, and I am over here in the woo-woo, you know, like I watch just as many videos, and you know, you're reading all kinds of books on science and the mind and Dr. Gabor Mate and all that stuff, and I'm like watching near death experiences and like Alan Watts and Carol Cards reading too. Yeah, totally. What are we doing in our life? Are we doing ask humans and stuff? Okay, you know, and then we pay it for it, and then we want to share it, we want to contribute it. And so my my intention, my soul's work in this is that it benefits people that, you know, just like the people who we've learned from, we've discovered from. They took, they either got in the science lab and they did some work and they discovered something, or in the life of the lab of their own life, you know, they learned and they share, and we we take those nuggets and we pass them along. So thank you for being on this journey with us, as Samantha and I have fumbled in ups and downs and you know, probably bloopers along the way and whatever.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah. Thank you for not making me put on hair and makeup and getting dressed to come to this party because that just is not an authentic way of me in the world anyway. People really barely recognize me when I get dressed and put my hair and makeup on. They're like, that's not you, right? Or what's up there? So I so appreciate that our audience um doesn't have that expectation of me for sure. You know, you come much more beautified and have a great background, all that stuff. And I love that about you because you're a very creative person and that is a reflection of who you are in the world. Love that. But for me, I'm kind of, you know, not a shit show, but I sort of just roll with whatever my life is. And it could be I'm here today, and tomorrow I might be taping this from somewhere else and whatever, whatever. So I do love that we have that flexibility and that our audience is cool with that.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

And it's it's we're just committed to the work. Whatever. Exactly. We're committed to the work and we're committed to our audience doing the work with us.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

So let's um here's to the next hundred. Yeah, yeah. Come play with us. Stay tuned. Hi five. Hi five, babe. Yes, yes, sister, high five. Love you. All right, let's get busy on these challenges for people.

Polly Mertens:

Whoa, yeah. And just, you know, that when you hear the word challenges and like more to do. When we think about self-love and self-care, um, it's just as you would care for someone that you care about, you know, you make dinner for them, or you, you know, take them to the grocery store, or you brush their hair, or you whatever, you make their lunch or something like that. These are little gifts to you, right? So exactly. Think of it that way. Think of it that way.

Samantha Pruitt:

All right, tell us about yours. What are what are you up to? So, my hundred-day challenge is called a love letter challenge. Okay. So I came across this challenge. So I should back up the story a little bit. Um, I had a professional sports production company for 15 years. And even when I would send out emails to the audience, I would call them love letters. That's just how it's part of my messaging and who I am in the world for a really long time. But that was me writing love letters to other people, you know, my audience, my customers, my participants, and all of those things, you know, all, you know, whatever, 30,000 of them or whatever. But but this experience of writing a love letter to myself was new. And the way I found it is through one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Gilbert. She's phenomenal. If you have not read any of her stuff, people Eat, Pray, Love, etc. But her latest book is All the Way to the River. And I was reading that, and it's about the story of her and her partner, it's about love, it's about addiction, it's about some really hardcore stuff. It's a very heavy read, but also in Elizabeth Gilbert's incredible tone and beauty. It's just, she still makes it funny and just really, really rich to enjoy. So I highly recommend that. She mentioned it very briefly somewhere in this read. Um, when I was done with the book, I went online and I actually looked for this project she's had going for years. Okay. She used to uh write a column called Deer Sugar. So this is a kickoff from that. And it's it's on Substack. So if people are on Substack, and I'm on Substack now, and I'm gonna start writing, so everybody should follow me. But she's on Substack with this project, and basically it is a love letter project. And the goal that she set for people was write a love letter to yourself, and then she basically shares these publicly. She shares her own, she shares other people's. Now that is hardcore bravery right there and vulnerability to write a love letter to yourself and then share it publicly. What the hell? Okay, so I'm not asking people to do that, and I didn't take that on, except maybe I'll share them at some point on Substack, but we'll see. But the way I created the project for myself, and I've been doing it for months now, and what I'd like to offer to our audience is write this love letter to yourself. It's completely private, okay, totally private. And the reason I want you to write this love letter to yourself is because what I have experienced, and you and I have talked about many times, you know, we've literally coached thousands of people, is that many, many times we find that people speak to themselves so harshly. The inner critic, the inner dialogue going on in a majority of humans is very negative. It's very judgmental, it's very harsh.

Polly Mertens:

And I just want to separate those words just a little bit. The way they speak to themselves, no, the way that their mind, the programmed mind, talks to them because they are the listener. They're not that they're not that mind, just you know, so yeah. Yeah. Sometimes we forget that separation. Like you're the soul listening to the chatter in your mind, and the mind is just a whole nother little wacky animal sometimes. So sorry, go on.

Samantha Pruitt:

Well, actually, let's pick that apart for a second. So, how I kind of think about it, and I've spoken about this before, is like I have a good twin and an evil twin, right? So the evil twin is the one who's saying these things. So I do kind of put it in a third-party or third-person way, is my beautiful, innocent, pure self has nothing to do with these shenanigans. But this evil twin over here is incredibly opinionated, shows up on a regular basis, seems to have a lot to say, and she's very loud, by the way. And I continuously have to knock her off the shoulder and basically eliminate her or put her in the back of the bus or whatever the dynamic is, depending on what's going on. Hold on. So that's how I kind of think of it. And if you're talking to somebody and they have a relationship, unfortunately, with their own inner critic, um, is that sort of how you would help explain it?

Polly Mertens:

Or well, yeah, yeah, I used to call her Miss Perfect, right? Yeah. So I wrote a whole blog.

Samantha Pruitt:

You have a name for yours too. See, I have the evil twin, you have Miss Perfect. Ooh, okay.

Polly Mertens:

You know what came out to me is um the two sides of you, like you talked about, like a devil and an angel on your shoulders kind of thing, is like, guess what? Well, for me, I think most people their voice sounds like what they think of their voice sounds like, right? So we think it's all us. Like we think all the communication, quote, from our brain is us, whether it's polite, friendly, supportive, empowering, whatever, critical. Um, it's almost like I wish um each player, you know, there's this work called um uh family interfamily systems, which talks about like we have different, you know, personalities. Personalities, yeah, avatars inside of ourselves. We can label them or whatever. And it's like if they each came to us in a different voice, we could distinguish them. Like, oh, that's such and such, whatever. But you have to pay attention to what they're saying in order. I think, you know, I don't do this work, I'm I have a different belief about all that. But if they came to us with like a you know, a different voice, you know, we would go, oh, that's Aunt Myrtle. She was always mean to me, you know, or something like that, right? Then we could go, that's just Aunt Myrtle, and we'd like to write it off, like ignore her. But the evil twin or the good twin, whatever that you were talking about, they both sound like us. So we start to hear it, and we're like, oh, that's me. Okay, let me hear what it's saying. And then we go, we think it's us.

Samantha Pruitt:

So yeah, we think we have to pay attention. And I'm gonna even walk it back further a little bit into how these how this programming, this storytelling begins, right? So the human is born, and the minute they're born outside of their mother's body, first of all, there's conversation happening while they're in the womb, but I won't even get into that. Okay, so they've done that right on the DNA level. On the DNA level, dude. Mind-blowing science in this area, people. Mind-blowing. And if you're interested in that because you want to learn more about yourself and where you came from in terms of your genetics and all that jazz, or you're pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant, or currently pregnant, or whatever. Everybody came from a mother's body, okay? So now they've exited the womb and they're in the real world, and then this conversation begins with the newborn and the outside entities, which generally is their caretakers, it's mom and whoever is all there, right? The dialogue begins. The dialogue begins, and basically we're just little sponges, we're the most pure, innocent things, and all we know is I need to be fed, I need to be held, I need to be loved. That's it. It's the most simple, and every human, by the way, I'm still need that, and you still need that. This is just what we need, and all living beings, this is what they need, right? They need these very core, simple, foundational elements. Um, but then this conversation of dialogue begins between that, you know, I'm now outside the body, mom's body, and now I'm hearing things, and people are talking to me, and whatever. So you might have been brought up in an environment where it that dialogue, as you were being raised from a young child to a young adult to a grown adult today, you might have been raised in a family unit or in a community where it was very negative. Those imprints, those conversations, the dialogue was negative, okay, and harsh. And that is gonna be deeply ingrained in you. And you are gonna have to reprogram that shit. First of all, you're gonna have to understand that none of it was true. And you need to do the work to release it so you can move forward and change the conversation. Some people were raised in really great environments and had love and all this other unconditional, yummy things that we all long for, but then maybe now they've ended up in a work environment or a home environment with a partner or others where it's harsh and critical and negative, right? And so now they're being programmed later in life. Either way, most humans have some pretty warped programming around this, and that's how this happens. So don't feel like guilty, don't have shame about it, don't feel like you're broken, you know, nobody else has this negative inner dialogue. It's just me. Like, this is just life.

Polly Mertens:

Every so just life. So you know, so uh Tony Robbins has worked with I don't know, three million people or something like that, you know, had them in and he's had hundreds of these, you know, one-on-one conversations. I mean, thou whatever. And oh, he does them live, and he does and he's tested this all over the world, whatever. So people are walking around with two, let's call them core wounds, you might call it today, or whatever, but believe something like that. I'm not enough and I won't be loved. And if you think you don't have that, think again. It's the core, core, core of any walking human being, however much love or however little love, however much abuse, however little abuse you got. It's just a fun he says it exists in every human brain. I don't know if it's a survival thing, whatever it is. So don't blame your parents, don't blame your this, don't, you know, you didn't do anything wrong. We all got it. Like you said, the inner critic just has levels of uh intensity, I would say. Some people it's a little more intense, you know. And I would say, so I went through a reprogramming from myself probably like 10 years ago of flipping that dialogue, and now I have very little inner critic. Very like she does not talk to me like she's like miss perfect. Nope. No, like it's just you know, like I reprogrammed I'm amazing many years ago to to change the inner dialogue, you know, because of what I was walking around with was what you were talking about. Anyway, so yeah. So we all have it. Don't feel like you're you're pointing to it's normal, it's natural, it's not anything wrong with you, and work with it. And work with it.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah. And for some people, it can come out in behaviors. They might not see it as a dialogue per se, but their behaviors will reflect that.

Polly Mertens:

That's a belief system, that's an identity and a belief. So it's gonna drive the it's the lens through which you see the world. I'm not enough, and the you know, I won't be loved. Yeah. Walk, you're just you're in it. It's like water in for a fish. You don't know you're in it, and so you swim around in the sea of I'm not enoughness, thinking that you know, this belief. Guess what? That's gonna show up unless you just flip the switch. You know, you you don't allow it, don't allow that to be the confines of how you operate in the world.

Samantha Pruitt:

And that wound can either be still an open wound, so anytime you touch it or anything, of course, it's gonna be excruciating. It can be a really old wound that is completely scarred over at this point. But the problem is scar tissue also keeps you stuck in place, is hard, is rigid, is also not serving you as you evolve in your life. It's holding you back. So, yeah, this is big work, and this is to, I think, fun challenges for people that we're gonna give them. So let me give them my challenge and then we'll get to move on to yours. Let's do it. Okay, people. All right, so first start by getting a journal. Okay, any type of journal, but you know, make it beautiful, pretty, colorful, fun, and a pen. I have a purple pen, but get a something that feels good to you in your hand because you're gonna actually be writing this. This is not something you're gonna touch on your phone. There's no digital element to this. It is you with a piece of paper, a notebook, and a pen.

Polly Mertens:

And this the writing, I don't know if Elizabeth shares that in hers, but it activates from a hypnotherapy perspective, it activates the different parts of your brain. So that's why you don't do it digital. Is different things are happening when you actually are in the form of writing. So yes, yes, don't resist this. Or if you've got resistance, just let it go and just do it, just do it anyway.

Samantha Pruitt:

Totally, totally. Okay, carve out a little bit of time every day. So it doesn't have to be much. This can literally be three to five minutes at any time of day that you are alone. So you need to be alone and you need to have space to allow emotions that might come up. So that's why you want to be alone and you want to be in a place where that feels comfortable to you. Okay. Not like let's go to Starbucks and sit down with all the chaotic Yahoo-ness going on in there and try and do this homework assignment. That's not the right environment. I'd rather you be sitting in your car on a park bench or in your bedroom or whatever that looks like. So I personally do it in the evening after I've unwound my entire day and I'm literally getting ready for bed and I'm decompressed and I've done all the other things I need to do for the day, and then whatever comes up comes up.

Polly Mertens:

Okay. And I just want to say, I think the first act of self-love is the first part of this. Just gifting yourself three minutes. Yeah. Quiet time. Like people don't even do that anymore. So, like three minutes without gotta, gotta, gotta, this, that, you know, phone in hand, whatever.

Samantha Pruitt:

So that's or just, you know, they're so busy being in the service of others, like you mentioned earlier. You know, it's everybody else's needs met.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. So that the first step of the gift is that.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, you're doing this for a hundred days. So we already mentioned that. You're gonna either write a full paragraph, okay? Not a huge thing, a full paragraph, or you can write a page. You could actually write multiple pages. But when I first started, uh, a paragraph was very hard. Okay. And I was already like, what I got, I what I gotta say here. This feels so awkward. This is weird, la la la, because you're talking to yourself, and I'll describe how this is gonna go. Uh, paragraph felt like plenty. So again, there's zero judgment. No one is gonna see this, no one is gonna read this, you don't have to share it with anybody. Um, so however much comes up for you. Okay. Obviously, we mentioned writing it by hand. Uh, this is not a confessional or a dissertation. Okay. No, it's not today. I ate this for breakfast, and then I went, this is not what that is. And it's also not, oh my gosh, I can't believe I did this thing. This is not a place to grade yourself, judge yourself, criticize yourself, take inventory of your day and all your imperfections and all that jazz. That is not what this is. And I do feel like unfortunately, journaling a lot, people will do those things. And to me, you're just doubling down on the negative, you're just absolutely inking in bad habits, bad behaviors, negative thoughts, and all this stuff. So, this is the polar opposite of that. Yep. And if I just called you out for doing some really toxic journaling, call me up and we'll have a conversation about it. Okay. All right. The next thing is really fun. You pick a nickname for yourself. Oh, okay, because you're writing this love letter to yourself.

Polly Mertens:

I was like, Elizabeth probably was dear sugar. Is that what is that what that means?

Samantha Pruitt:

She just calls herself love. Yeah. Oh no, she has all these other things. Actually, I think she changed. Yeah, she doesn't use deer sugar anymore, but she uses all these little quips and cutie things, but it kind of rotates. It can be whatever the heck you want. So it can just be dear love or dear love of my life or dear one or whatever. It can be kind of nice and fluffy and generic like that. It can also be some nickname that you either feel positive alignment with that resonates with you, or one you just make up. Like it could be, yo, badass, hey, you know, you can say whatever. Um, for me, I picked little sister or little sister Sam. So I kind of go back and forth. A, I am the youngest child in my family, so I am technically the little sister. Um, also, this is really important for me. How would I speak to my little sister? How would I speak to another female in my life? And how would I relate to her? How would I want her to feel? How would I communicate with her? So, in me saying little sister, it brings a lot of connotation there that's really deep compassion and love and respect and all that kind of stuff. They're in your trink. Okay, so pick whatever nickname you want for yourself, and then you're gonna ask yourself this question so I'll use myself as an example so there's more clarity. Yeah, exactly. So, dear little sister Sam, what would you like me to know today? It's very simple. If that feels awkward, what would you like me to know today? It could be, dear sister Sam, what would you like to share with me today? And again, we're not sharing an inventory of what you did and all these litanyes of stuff. It is I'm gonna impart on myself deep love and compassion and some wisdom, some nuggets about how did I evolve today? So, like, today, these are examples I'll just give from my own life, not verbatim from my obviously love letters, but just kind of throw them at the wall. Um, I'm caring for some people who are ill right now. I've got a lot of stuff going on with my family, and I have a lot of stuff going on with my body. So I might say to myself, dear little sister Sam, you are an amazing caretaker. This is incredible how you're showing up for these loved ones and offering your gifts. Blah blah blah blah blah. Or it could be, dear little sister Sam, I know you're in pain. I know this hurts. Hurt this too will pass. You are strong. You're healthy. You know, it's something along those lines. So I'm imparting a great deal of compassion, love, and wisdom upon myself. And that is what the assignment is.

Polly Mertens:

Wow.

Samantha Pruitt:

Isn't that beautiful?

Polly Mertens:

Do you read it back or anything, or you just write it once and I just I just write it out.

Samantha Pruitt:

I also write the date and I write where I am because I move around a lot.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

And I don't know why I did that immediately. Um, but that's part of how my brain works. And then you sign it in your own name, and I write X's N's, you can write smiley faces, you can draw some art if you're feeling inspired at that moment. Um, whatever it, whatever it is. It's the learning or the reprogramming of speaking to yourself in a different voice than you're accustomed to. It's really mind-blowing to me how simple this is and how incredibly powerful this is.

Polly Mertens:

I was gonna say, what's what's what have you noticed? What what is what results are you seeing, or what how do you feel about it?

Samantha Pruitt:

Or honestly, since I have started doing this, I don't think the evil twin has visited me once. And that's kind of mind-blowing based on everything I'm currently under. I got a lot of things going on. And so the fact that she hasn't shown up and given me a spanking or talked negative to me is pretty miraculous. Um but then the other things in terms of takeaways, it's just a different way. I feel like I've put on almost different glasses about how I see myself moving around in the space and how I show up not for others, okay, because I'm damn good at doing that, but how I'm showing up for myself, okay, and that's radical. This is a radical act here, a radical act of self-love.

Polly Mertens:

And that's what I want for everybody, and it's reprogramming you, yeah, which is just yeah. So yeah, I think I'm gonna take this on too. And I just want to say, as the habit coach, so you know, when we go, oh, three to five minutes, oh, write as many pages. Okay, the the habit coach here has one piece of advice for five days. Your only assignment is one minute. Ah, yeah, one minute, one minute. Just just get out the paper, set aside the time, get the pen and the journal, and write for one minute. If you write more, great, but your only assignment for five days is commitment to one minute. And then and to help it is to lock it to some other thing you do, right?

Samantha Pruitt:

Brushing your teeth, or getting your pajamas on.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, or like right, like you do right before you shut off the lights, or first thing when you get up before you get out of bed, you know, or when you have your morning coffee at your table by yourself, not out at, like you said, whatever. Or or or or, but just the commitment is as small as one minute and a journal and a pen, and write anything. And even if you flub it or whatever and you can't remember what to write, just giving yourself that gift and committing to that, just the act of it will get you into that habit more than like, oh, I didn't write enough, or I don't have time for three minutes.

Samantha Pruitt:

You know, so many people want to build better relationships with others, you know, deeper connection, more richer relationships with others. You cannot until you have done that with yourself. That connection won't be there. It's impossible. If you literally don't have this feeling within your own physical and emotional body, spiritual body with yourself, you're not gonna be able to show up and do that with anybody. So let's just start here. Okay. Take it on.

Polly Mertens:

That's it, baby. So good. Let's go. Okay, all right. So you guys in on that, and I'll share with you my offering. So let's do it. This is a little different, and there's no writing or let's say outward doing or whatever. This is an inward journey, you and you, right? And this all exists inside of your own landscape, your inner landscape. So um the practice is from the work, there's a place called the Heart Math Institute. And they've been studying what they call heart coherence. So you were asking me, like, coherence, that's such a weird word, right? So um, if you if you've ever seen what's called an EKG, which is like the heartbeat on like a little machine, a monitor, if someone's in the hospital and it's like blip, blip, blip, boop, you know, you can cut it.

Samantha Pruitt:

I just had mine done the other day, I was telling you.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. So a heart that's in coherence or a heart that is beating at peace, right? We're not in like mania or fear or something like that. It just has this nice rhythmic beat to it, right? So that's the heart's beat is measured on an EKG. The brain's beat or its frequency, right? Those are both frequencies of vibration, is measured on an EEG, right? So when what the brain is operating at, because if you like we can feel our heartbeat, you know, we can't hear, we can't feel our brain thinking or the frequency of it, but you can hook yourself up to an EEG and you know when you're like out of whatever, right? So there is a through the vagus nerve, we've talked about that, go back and listen to those episodes. The vagus nerve connects the brain and your heart. Yes, there is a brain in your heart. We've talked about that before, and there's a brain in your head, and that vagus and in your gut, but we're just talking right now for those two. There's actually more called neurocyte. Neurosceptors. Yeah, so another word, but the the cells that signal there's a brain, there's 40,000 in your heart. That's literally more that's in your brain. Like, what? So like you have more brain cells in your heart than you have in your and you're when you're born as your little fetus is forming, there is no brain when the heart starts beating. The heart is beating before the brains developed.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. What?

Polly Mertens:

So you that think you're like your brain is running the show. I'm sorry. That's not the order that evolution has it. That's not the order that we if we and what you're what you're talking about is like letters from love is letters from your heart, right? So this is how to get you in the practice of getting that angry out of your head. Getting out of your head, getting that angry ant up there, right? Whatever, like all these thoughts. So we a lot of people like, and I love this little analogy, is like, we think we live in this little box called our brain, you know, like up in our head, and this whole thing down below our neck is like, what's that? Right? Like some people have no relationship to what's below their neck.

Samantha Pruitt:

Oh, dude, many people are completely disconnected from their body below the neck. Like this is this is me.

Polly Mertens:

I'm I'm up here in this thing called my head. Well, there is a brain and a mind up there, and it has a beat and a frequency, right? And so the brain in your heart, though, has way more wisdom, you know, if you go back to ancient traditions. So just knowing that before you had a brain, you had a heart, and there's a lot of heart in brain in your heart. So this practice is designed to help when even before, you know, I like to say get out ahead of it. You know, some people are like, How do I like calm down when I'm all anxious and stuff? It's like, well, don't get there. Like, like, like intercept that shit, I would say it's like right. And you know, people who meditate for decades and stuff, they start to find that space. I think what I've heard about meditation is it gives you that gap, that space between impulse and response, right? And you know, all this stuff. So not the more you meditate, it's not like, oh, meditate for 20 hours and you'll never whatever, right? Like, but people who meditate have an expansion because they've been able to kind of disconnect, if you will, that quiet the mind, right? The practice of quieting the mind, just distinguishing the mind from and the words, and we were just talking about the inner critic. Um, so heart coherence, and I'll give you a practice, right? So um they have a and there's a lot online that you can learn more about this. I actually did a video. So if you want an actual, yep. So we'll link to that. So my video explains a lot more. Like right now, I'm sharing some about it. And I mean, the the medical, like, like hormones get better, long jet, like anti-aging, like doing this is not just because it feels good, but it does, but a lot of other health benefits. It's it's miraculous. So go to my video for that. But I'll give you the steps. And if you want to guide it, like you want to have me walk you through it, like here, do this, do this, do this, watch that video, and I'll I actually give you the three-minute process. Um, walk you through. Where's where's the video up?

Samantha Pruitt:

On what channel?

Polly Mertens:

It's on the my Get Busy Thriving um YouTube channel. Yeah. YouTube. Okay, got it. I'm holding to that. So so three steps. First step is just send your attention from your head into your heart, right? And that's one step some people don't even know. And so one of the best ways is when you put your hand on your body over your heart, instantly your attention starts to go down there. Like, what's what's going on down there? Right. So, and some people you could do like in prayer if you want, hand over your heart, both hands over your heart, whatever feels good, just that just tells you, hey, we're we're down here now, like we're down here. So first step is going down in your heart. You might still have some noise up there, whatever. And then we get into some breathing, right? So to slow down thoughts, separate from those thoughts, we'll do, I would say three to five, depending on what stage you're in when you go into this. And first thing in the morning, you're probably calm already, so you don't need to go into like 10 deep breaths. But if you're, you know, amped up, maybe do it for longer. But the the breath is a little bit focused and it's more a longer exhale than an inhale. So if you if you typically breathe like a three second slow in breath and breathe out for five, or if you breathe in for four, breathe out for six, or you know, something like that. I love to say the fast way for me is if I just take a nice slow breath in and I make a nice long sigh out, I'm in. So for me, it would look like, you know. And I love like the feeling of like like hearing myself do it also, because it just signals to the body, because what it's doing to the nervous system, that vagus nerve, is like there's no lions, there's no tigers, there's no bears, there's no emails, there's no whatever. Like I'm right here right now, all is well. If I can breathe out longer than in, I'm in a I'm in a calm state. Everything is okay around me. I'm safe. So do that for three breaths. So hand on heart. And then you want to just find yourself down in your heart. And once you're down there with eyes closed, we go into um just replaying moments that you're grateful for. It could be something you're grateful for right now, like I'm so grateful my body as well. It could be remembering something from the past, like a time with a loved one, whatever you can find to appreciate. It could be um, you know, you saw the sun come up this morning. It could be anything, right? So just at least a moment to three minutes in gratitude. So it's just and I like to do like I think of a moment, and so what I I prompt people in that exercise is um, where were you? Who were you with? What did you hear? What did you see? Yeah, what did you feel? You know, what was there, who was with you, kind of thing, right? Because most times probably with someone, right? You know, because we have so much gratitude and interactions. If it's just you and your kitty cat, or if it's you in the sunrise, or just you this morning because you, you know, you've you've been in some pain or something and you're feeling better, it's you and you, right? Or you just remember your love your love letter writing from the night before. Like, wow, I'm really grateful I gave myself that time. Whatever it is.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah. So you would uh you have uh this prompt and walkthrough in the video series on Get Busy Thriving's YouTube channel. But if I was just by myself doing it, what would be the one question? Because I probably couldn't remember all of those prompts, but what's like the the big question? So it's three steps.

Polly Mertens:

Okay. I'll just give you the three steps in order. So put your hand on your heart, step one, breathe out for three breaths, you know, the long sigh out. And then what are you grateful for?

Samantha Pruitt:

Remember it's what are you grateful for?

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, remember something that you're great, a moment past long time ago, right now. Yeah. So get down into your heart, slow your breath down, just kind of calm yourself down, if you will, signal you're okay. And then the third step is gratitude, go into gratitude. And I would say, man, I love to just swim around in that state. You know, I'll like remember three and then I'll remember some more.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, you're really good at remembering these things. Most of us are gonna be like, uh it's a practice.

Polly Mertens:

I found that, you know, the first time like I was leading, I was leading um my group through it uh last week, and one woman was like, it took me a while to think of something because unless you're in the practice of gratitude, yeah, you're not quick on the recall right there, you know. And so we want to be quick on the recall to have those, like I can, and here's what I shared in that group was after doing this for it's coming up on a decade now, after doing this for a long time, I am now present in the moment of gratitude. So one thing that happens is um when I lost my kitty cat, or she passed away a few years ago, when I knew she was sick and leading up to it, I was like, Oh, I want to get some videos of her because you know she's not gonna be around. And I so appreciate those videos because I get to look back at them and I get to be in them again. And I have two kitty cats now. I'll be like recording a video with them, and like I just am so moved as I'm grateful now. Exactly. Gratitude is present now, it's not something I have to reflect on. And I'm like in it, and I'm in my reality, walking around, just like grateful for this and grateful for this, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

So I'm it's your surface, it's on the surface, it's it's in your operating system, but it's like a primary element of your operating system on the daily, rather than some program way down here that you don't use anymore that's now you know expired and whatever all like it's got spider webs on it, dust got dusted off.

Polly Mertens:

Oh, yeah. What was that? Things that I what are those things in my life that I who do I appreciate in my life?

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, you know, and it's this reminder also of this fleeting moment in time, the impermanence of it all, right? If we are not generating that gratitude, you know, if we're not building that muscle and utilizing it every day as part of your operating system, it goes to sleep. It's not there. And then what happens is something really major and incredibly painful happens, and then you're struggling to breathe through it and find your sense of balance if you can just every day be in it, knowing that this moment is impermanent.

Polly Mertens:

And I would say the master, the Buddha, right, is the one who whatever shows up and it comes wrapped in a turd, you still look at it and go, I'm so grateful for this moment. This this my hot hotel reservation got canceled, my car ran out of this, my son is doing this, whatever, like detergent.

Samantha Pruitt:

I'm having this every 10 minutes right now. I'm like, what in the hell is going on?

Polly Mertens:

And the master, the master is like, Oh, thank you. Oh, thank you. Um, you know, so you know, you and I were talking about this with um Linda and Terry, two close friends of mine, who have the itchy rashy thing, right? And we were talking about your pain in a we there's an episode called Talk to Your Pain that we did a couple weeks ago, where you were like, Oh, you know, just like you were, I mean, you're still in it, but you were so fresh. And it was like level nine, you know, and like the mastery is like getting to that level where I'm like grateful for that to be alive, to have this physical body. And that takes a lot of work, but this is the doorway to that level of mastery, should you choose it. So I do this each morning. It's a part of my morning ritual. Highly recommend. I'm actually, you know, what's funny? So just today, as we were preparing for this, I set an hourly reminder. Every hour, I have this little um, and it's already happened once or twice since we started, or not like earlier this morning. Yeah, I wrote, um, and this is just how I like to phrase it, because I would say what my life has been looking like is like you said, like a lot of overwhelm and out there and lots to-dos, and you know, the hustle or whatever you want to label it. And this heart coherence for me, and this is part of what I'm bringing to my program in December, right? This is what I'm teaching, like a core essence of what I'm teaching in December is return to the light is the name of the program. And the light is your inner light. That's that inner you, right? And this act of coming back to you, right? You talk about it in like love letters to you, like coming from that place of. So when I'm doing this today, like every hour have these, and then so the first one I, you know, you can label your alarms on your phone and it says whatever funny things or whatever, like call so-and-so. Mine's like, remember who you really are, and have a little heart next to it. And so, like, it went off, it went off at 8 a.m. And I like paused what I was doing. I was like doing something, and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna put my so I did not three minutes or whatever, but I just let me get re-centered, re-grounded in it. And so every hour this today, because I was like, I want to supercharge this stuff, like why not? You know, I mean, one minute a day in a day that can look very blurry and very busy and very whatever you want to call it, it feels so good, you know.

Samantha Pruitt:

Oh my gosh, hell yeah, it does. It's a natural state of our being. That's so interesting how you're doing it like that and have added it throughout the day now, because what immediately came to my mind is, you know, I'm running in and out of doctor's offices. I'm literally driving three hours to doctor's appointments, coming back and whatever, I'm gonna end up having back surgery. But in the process of navigating all of this over the last several months, I'm finding myself in these really weird places. A, I'm not somebody that goes to the doctor because I don't get injured and sick, right? Like, so just the fact that I've been in this really this last year because of gut infection, um, in these places more often, and I find them not to be great many times.

Polly Mertens:

The environment vibration is kind of loose.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah, the vibe is not good. So I'm having to literally like stop and close my eyes and like center myself and be like whether I'm in like the elevator or I go into the bathroom, or even before the doctors come into the room the other day. You know, I was standing there in pain, waiting for this doctor to come in and they were late or whatever. You know, I'm just like, okay. This is a practice that you can integrate into whatever daily chaos you currently might be living in, weird work environments, weird home environments, your car. Don't close your eyes, please. Okay. But like this grounding, this recentering back into yourself and your truth in your heart is incredible. What an incredible gift for us to give ourselves that throughout the day.

Polly Mertens:

Well, you know, two things as you said that I just wanted to touch upon. One, I was thinking about that video. I remember I was out hiking uh in this beautiful area, and you shared um the Buddhist teacher That Nich. Um Tik Nan Han. Ticknonhan, thank you. I have trouble losing it. Tick Tik Nan Han. So one of his really core messages, like he talks about drinking his tea in the present moment, right? Like just really being like I re I rewashed it. Some something, you know, it popped up on a YouTube or whatever. And he was just like with that tea. And I was like, whoa, he's like really fucking present right now. And I was like, that's like what this is, right? Like just coming back. And I just remembered, like, so the they say, and who knows, that when the soul enters the body, you have a heartbeat. And when the soul leaves the body, you have no heartbeat. And so if you just come back to your heart and your heartbeat, there you are. Like that's the you that's there from first heartbeat to last heartbeat. There you are. And like, so I would say like my tip for the fourth step, we talked about the three steps. If you want to go into a fourth step, is to then visualize, use that energy, that space that you create, that inner landscape, that like you connected to you, you, right? Like the big you. Um to then visualize what where are you going? Like what's something that you're creating, like you know, a dream, uh a wish, uh, whatever you want to call it, and call it in, like picture that from that place, not this distracted, frantic, whatever, you know, but you know, use that space, that doorway that you've just entered to to take yourself on a little journey into the timeline that you want to create for yourself.

Samantha Pruitt:

And make friends with your heartbeat. So, as somebody who's health, fitness, wellness, all that coaching and an athlete and all these things, for years, we've looked at our heart rate as a tool for training, right? So we would read heart rate, heart rate zones, all these things. And there seems to be this sort of underlying fear with people around actually recognizing what their heart is doing, the ups and the downs, the recovery and the peaks, et cetera. And people are conditioned through Western medicine to be like fearful if their heart rate goes too high and their blood pressure does this and all these things, right? There's this kind of um precarious relationship with the heartbeat. And what I found going through menopause is I would have like hot flashes, and my heart rate would do weird pitter patterns and all these things, and it would be fear-inducing. My nervous system would start to ramp up, right? And because I can literally hear my heart rate. So if I lay down, I can literally hear my heart. Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't. And I could probably do it right now, you know. Most people can if they're really in tune with that. That's us, it's there to keep us alive. Yeah, and the way you were just expressing that is so beautiful and elegant, and that reconnection to that beating heart inside your body that you are solely responsible for caring for physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Whoa, dude, that's a full-time job. People need to get busy doing that. That's so good, or less busy, is how I want to say like it's like you need to get present to doing that.

Polly Mertens:

Just return, just return to the most simplest element of who you are, there you go, and come from there and and then go out into the world from you, that part of you. You're not up in this head. That's there, it's talking to you, it's programmed, whatever. You know, use it, great. You know, it's got some ideas, it's got some whatever. But like the answer. But does it though? It gets you into a lot of trouble. Well, it's you know it's a search engine that's been programmed a certain way and it sees things through a certain lens, you know, and just like Chat GBT or AI, you know, it gives you answers that it thinks, you know. Uh-huh.

Samantha Pruitt:

Not always. But the heart knows. Exactly. The heart's been with you before anything else. It's the origins of you.

Polly Mertens:

There's there's there's, I would say, wisdom, and and if I think life force comes through that part of our body, you know, when we we feel empty. You know, like you people like I used to talk about like this emptiness in my chest, like a hole in the soul is what I would call it. Because I was so like I didn't get it. You know, I was wrapped up in, you know, eating disorder and depression and all that stuff. So of course it felt now it feels so full here, right? Like, and I I when I I don't know your experience, but like when I connect with someone, it's like my heart just goes, like it just is like woo, you know, it like opens from the door of light just opens out onto this person. You just sort of like want to swoop them up with love and compassion or whatever. So it's it's like an expression of us through this physical body, if you will, but we're more than that too, you know, our energy and so yeah.

Samantha Pruitt:

And if you find you're doing the opposite of that of closing off to others and to the world and to your experience, it's because you're closed off to yourself. Yeah, yeah.

Polly Mertens:

Or, you know, some of it's like protecting. Like what's what are you what thoughts are you having that you're under threat or you know, like closing off, closing doors, protecting, locking that shit down.

Samantha Pruitt:

Sometimes, yeah. So, all right. This was good, lady. A hundredth episode. Okay, what's going on? You've got a program right now that is currently available for registration.

Polly Mertens:

Yes, get after it. You guys, I'm after just doing this with you and that video that I made on YouTube, go check it out because I love walking people through. You know, this I gave you a little bit, but I was telling you about it. We didn't do it. So go go do that, you know, um, enjoy that. And then in December, this is for the ladies out there. So um, I'm inviting in for three weeks in December of 2025, depending on when you're listening to this, December 2nd, 9th, and 16th. We will gather for two hours each night. We will tap into that space. Like I will walk you through, take you deep inside of yourself where there's like this stillness, this connectedness, this oneness. And first night, we're gonna complete the year, right? Like you're gonna like put a nice, beautiful bow on all that you the wisdom, the upset, the pains, the all of it, you know, bring out your phone, whatever it is to like honor the year, right? Put a bow on it, complete it. Next night, it's a week later, it's once a week, right? We'll go into tap you back into that heart. And I talked about like open that doorway to where you want to go. So everybody's in a different season of life, right? There's summer, winter, spring, fall. So we're not all like, woo-hoo, I'm going into this like big bang up year. Some people might like, I need some more self-care. I need to pull back and take care of me. I need to go bigger. I need to whatever that year looks like. So that process that I'll walk people through will give them clarity of what their season is and the intention of their heart for where they want to go in the next year. So you get clarity from a different place. This isn't like, let me think of my goals and my commitments and my must-dos and, you know, let me make a big list.

Samantha Pruitt:

Yeah.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah. This is not a goal setting workshop. This is not a let's that, you know, now, are some intentions going to come out of it? Are you going to get some clarity on some things you want to get up to and some commitments you want to have? Hell yes, that is absolutely going to happen. Right. Like, I'm looking forward to seeing the things that from people's hearts they want to get up to. Like, I can't wait for the shares when they're like, oh my God, I just got like the ladies in my group right now, they're like, I came into this group, you know, we we're in our second round of getting together. She's like, I came into this group thinking I was going to start this and this business, whatever. She goes, I can't believe I just bought a house yesterday. You know, like, yeah, yeah. She goes, and I'm so excited. And I'm like, this feels like my path, and it's happened so serendipitously. And I'm just like, amazing, you know, like whatever your path is on, like you'll get clear from your heart, not have to's and shoulds, and what is everybody else up to, but like your inner guidance will begin to be your compass for you. So that's the next one. And then the third night is deepening these rituals. So, like really honoring and respecting yourself and creating rituals so you can do this on the daily. You know, like we're giving people like, hey, take it on as a challenge. This is like, you will get into the practice of it and you will won't want to not, won't want to not do it. You'll be like, oh my God, yeah, I'm gonna do this. And then in you know, 2026, we're gonna get back together and like re-practice it, like re-presence people to this energy so they can be like, oh my God, you know, like having done this, you know, with myself, for myself, this gift we're talking about, what's opened up? What are you discovering? And then go back in and like really, you know, I I love doing it with myself, and it's so yummy when it's guided. I gotta tell you, you know, like when you have a beautiful, like I create sacred space for people and take them through, and like you just are like cradled in, like, oh, here you go. Here's you know, it's so yummy, so yummy.

Samantha Pruitt:

So yeah, and it's cool you're doing it in a group setting because people can bear witness to one another, which is really an incredibly beautiful piece of this work as well, right?

Polly Mertens:

That that energy of women supporting women and seeing each other and sharing and hearing, and then you know, three weeks in the middle of what can sometimes be a very chaotic time of year, this gift is so rich to get, you know, like pull yourself away for you, give yourself this gift. I mean, what a I mean, the price is like nothing. It's like just you know, that's nothing. It's the time, the sacred time. That's the investment, right? It's really an investment for you.

Samantha Pruitt:

So um It's an early Christmas present to yourself.

Polly Mertens:

And I was like, gosh, give what do you, you know? I don't know what you're planning to give your friends, but like, hey, give this stuff out, like give them tickets.

Samantha Pruitt:

Exactly. That's what I'm thinking. Like gift this to somebody. Can they do that? Is that a thing? Yeah.

Polly Mertens:

Hell yeah. Yeah, exactly. Like gift it to your friend. Like, oh yeah, instead of giving them a I don't know. Tickets to this. Totch key. No, dude. People just candle or here. Here's your heart. Candle is not self-care. Okay. Here's your heart and all of your dreams and your heart's intention. Let me give you some of that.

Samantha Pruitt:

Oh my God. And set you up for success for the next year. For sure. And that's on sale now, and we'll drop a link to that, obviously. Yes. Um, also, you and I are getting together on Monday to talk about our programs for 2026. Okay.

Polly Mertens:

OMG. We're going, yeah. So you guys, Samantha, we've got some stuff up our sleeve. Yeah. You have had some shifts in your life, you know, with so we were just talking about this right now. You weren't able to be in Iron Man because the back, right? And you're going to have this procedure. And so you've got this time to create you know new programs and get new certifications. So you guys, look out. It's it's on fire over here.

Samantha Pruitt:

It's pretty crazy what's about to go down. Exactly. Yeah. I'm so excited for 2026. 2025 and I broke up a while ago. I mean, way, way long time ago, long time ago. We just were not the right fit. It was like a dating app, and I swiped the wrong way. I don't know what happened. Anyway, so we broke up a while ago. I've already moved into 2026. And so incredibly fired up for what you and I are going to create together. And we're going to bring in some other collaborators too. But you and I are the coaches for the programs, and we'll kind of lighten things up for people. But there'll be a lot of different opportunities for people to partake in this work that we've talked about today, but also in health and fitness work, you know, relationship work, issues around yeah, all kinds, all things called life and being a human.

Polly Mertens:

And we are welcoming in. So we are looking to do um being on other podcasts. So if you have any podcasts to share with us that you think we would that'd be like you, you guys need to have Sam Polly on, like hello, like tomorrow. And then any guests for us that you think would be valuable for you to us to you know bring on in here. So we're opening up like 100th episode. We're like, all right, we're gonna do it, we're gonna blow up 2026. It's gonna be a like by the 200th episode, it's gonna be unrecognizable.

Samantha Pruitt:

Unrecognizable. Yeah, exactly. We've built this great foundation and we're ready to move forward and we want to take our audience with us, which we will be.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, you guys are coming.

Samantha Pruitt:

Wow, let's go, let's go. Okay, lady, we should have cake or something. Should we go eat cake right now? Here, here's your here, make a wish. Glitter, throw some glitter at it.

Polly Mertens:

Yeah, maybe we'll see if we can do some editing to like throw in some sparkles or something.

Samantha Pruitt:

I don't know. Totally cure the sparkles. Sparkles, gosh. Exactly, exactly. What do we want to tell these people before we wrap this up?

Polly Mertens:

What is the final like reminder? You know, from your heart, my heart to theirs. What do you what do we always tell them?

Samantha Pruitt:

How your life feels is more important than how it looks.

Polly Mertens:

And every day is your opportunity to find your awesome thing.

Samantha Pruitt:

All right, let's go see you next time.

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Polly Mertens

Co-host
Head Shot

Samantha Pruitt

Co-host