Naturally High

In this five-part Naturally High mini-series, Jeanne Foot invites you to take an honest look at the standards you’re living by, and whether they’re truly aligned with the life you want to create.

Raising your standards isn’t about perfection, discipline, or willpower. It’s about understanding how your mind, nervous system, and subconscious programming quietly run your life. Even more importantly, it’s about learning how to stop defaulting to old patterns that keep you stuck in mediocrity, burnout, or self-betrayal.

In Episode One of the mini-series, Jeanne reframes sobriety and recovery as hidden assets. These create a form of recovery capital that, when invested intentionally, can yield extraordinary returns in every area of life. She explores why deciding you want something different isn’t enough, why fear never actually goes away, and how meaningful change requires action in spite of discomfort.

If you’ve ever felt like you know what you should do but can’t seem to follow through, this episode is your starting point.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
  • How subconscious programming and early adaptations quietly shape adult behaviour
  • Why fear, resistance, and self-doubt are part of growth, not signs you’re failing
  • The difference between deciding you want change and acting on it
  • How accountability and deliberate action create long-term momentum
  • Why short-term discomfort is often the price of long-term freedom
  • How to stop negotiating with your excuses and start honouring your future
—

Contact Jeanne Foot | The Recovery Concierge: 

Creators and Guests

Host
Jeanne Foot

What is Naturally High?

On Naturally High you’ll receive transformational tools and hear inspirational stories that will guide you into holistically healing trauma in every corner of your life. You deserve to invoke your inner healer. I'm so glad you're here!

Episode Title

How to Raise Your Standards and Take a Stand for the Future (Mini-Series Episode 1)
Episode Notes
In Episode One of this five-part Naturally High mini-series, Jeanne Foot invites you to take an honest look at the standards you’re living by, and whether they’re truly aligned with the life you want to create.
Raising your standards isn’t about perfection, discipline, or willpower. It’s about understanding how your mind, nervous system, and subconscious programming quietly run your life. Even more importantly, it’s about learning how to stop defaulting to old patterns that keep you stuck in mediocrity, burnout, or self-betrayal.
In Episode One of the mini-series, Jeanne reframes sobriety and recovery as hidden assets. These create a form of recovery capital that, when invested intentionally, can yield extraordinary returns in every area of life. She explores why deciding you want something different isn’t enough, why fear never actually goes away, and how meaningful change requires action in spite of discomfort.
If you’ve ever felt like you know what you should do but can’t seem to follow through, this episode is your starting point.
In this episode, you’ll learn:

How subconscious programming and early adaptations quietly shape adult behaviour

Why fear, resistance, and self-doubt are part of growth, not signs you’re failing

The difference between deciding you want change and acting on it

How accountability and deliberate action create long-term momentum

Why short-term discomfort is often the price of long-term freedom

How to stop negotiating with your excuses and start honouring your future

—

Contact Jeanne Foot | The Recovery Concierge:
TheRecoveryConcierge.com
Linkedin: Jeanne Foot
LinkedIn: The Recovery Concierge
Instagram: The Recovery Concierge
Facebook: The Recovery Concierge
Twitter: @recvryconcierge

Transcript
Jeanne: [00:00:06] Welcome to the Naturally High podcast. I'm your host, Jeanne Foot. Hello, welcome everybody. This is our first time we've ever done a mini series, and I am thrilled to be able to go a little bit deeper on certain lessons and methodologies and knowledge that I have that I think will be really helpful to you in upgrading the quality of your life. So what are we doing today? Today we are going to create a return of investment on your recovery capital. Yes, we're going to build it up. And what we're going to do is we're going to show you how you can reach the hidden assets of being sober. That's controversial in this modern day and age, because, well, I can’t say that actually, it's going towards that, isn't it? So we welcome all of it here. At first, in my time in the 90s, sobriety was like having cancer. It really was like a tumour. You just can't explain it. It was like a death sentence. It felt like you had a cloud following you over the head. There's something pathologically wrong with you. You weren't who you thought you were. And so you were told to have a very regimented way of life and without your coping skills. So you can imagine what that was like. Now, you know, look at it 30 years later, and thank God it has evolved. We're looking at what alcohol is, its very nature and the substance of what it is, which is ethanol, which is poison, right?

Jeanne: [00:01:30] And we're not trying to promote it as the secret elixir to having a great life or having a great time or anything like that. It's just that that's exactly what society does. We celebrate it in every rite of passage. We do it in everything that you can imagine. But basically, what I'm trying to say to you is that alcohol use is infiltrated into every fiber of life, whether it's birthday parties, weddings, celebrations, even funerals, rituals, had a rough week. Whatever. Cottage parties, whatever. It is very much baked into our culture. So when someone takes the most brazen move to live life bare and naked and very present and conscious, there's no shield. It's the most brazen thing you can actually do. And it is really an invitation to the most wonderful life that you can ever have. And if people could see it for what that really is, an invitation to the ultimate upgrade. As Tommy Rosen would say, you've hit the jackpot. That's what it is. It's like winning the lotto. You really have a winning ticket if this is the route that you want to go. So on this five part mini-series, I wanted to talk about how we can really uplevel and leverage the benefits of being sober, that you have equity and capital in your recovery. And I believe we all need equity, whether it's financial equity, energy equity, time equity, even equity in our recovery.

Jeanne: [00:02:59] This will give us some reserve that when times are tougher and they always come unfortunately, that's just part of the natural rhythm of life, then we will have something to fall back on. We don't want to be over the edge. In addiction, we are really overutilized, for want of a better word right now, and we're pushed to the max. So we really need to have some sort of, you know, fence around our own life and our own recovery so that we're not spent completely, okay? So we're going to be talking about Episode One—How to Raise Your Standards and Take a Stand for the Future. And this is really important because if you think you're not choosing, you're choosing by not choosing. And that's already a decision within itself. So, how do you take a stand for yourself when you're probably over-giving to everybody else but yourself, and you want to raise your standards for an extraordinary life? We dive into the fundamentals of that in episode one. Episode Two—Rewire Your Brain, Break Free from Limiting Stories. So we all have a narrative that's going on in our mind. It doesn't really matter where it comes from, actually, but we all have a narrative that runs in our life that is telling us, it's usually a critical voice, it's usually the ego, and it's a strong, loud one, which is how you know it's a false voice, But it's the one that keeps us in line.

Jeanne: [00:04:11] It keeps us from stepping out and overcoming our fear because it reminds us to keep playing it safe. Because that's the way we're wired, to play it safe and keep safe. Because safety meant you'd be staying alive. So in episode two, we're going to uncover the power of your subconscious mind, learn how to separate fact from fiction and release old patterns, and take responsibility for your own narrative. So really juicy one on that one. Episode Three—Overcoming Barriers: Break Through Your Negative Beliefs. So really dissecting those negative stories and the thoughts on where did they come from and understanding why they no longer serve you anymore. They're an old adaption that you probably picked up as a young child, and now it is holding you hijacked in your own life. Episode Four—Strengthen Your Recovery Capital through Nervous System Regulation and Emotional Wellness. So what does that mean? We live in a dysregulated time when we're sleep deprived and we're eating the wrong foods, and we're over bombarded with information overload, which is absolutely the case. And we have too many demands on us, and our health and well-being suffers, so we're dysregulated. So what happens when we're regulated? It's like putting gasoline in the car. It actually makes you effective and go and work and run well. So that's what we're going to do in episode four. And Episode Five—Step into Your Future Self: Embody Your Voice. Who are you being right now in order to really change from where you are to where you want to be, you've got to start looking at what does that look like? What are the decisions, the daily decisions and choices that people make in their life so that they can actually really move forward and live a life in their wildest dreams? Live a life of your wildest dreams.

Jeanne: [00:05:49] I know it sounds so cliche, so I didn't want to say that. But live a life beyond drugs and alcohol. Living a life beyond shoulds and must haves. Living a life that's authentic to you and in alignment and integration. Because that's who you are. The essence of who you are is you. Is your heart and soul. It's not your name. It's not your title. It's not how much money you have. It's not what kind of relationship you have. None of that matters. We get bought into thinking that it does matter, but none of that really does matter. So that's episode five. So I look forward to seeing you in Episode One. Raise your standard. Take a stand for the future. Now listen, I'm doing this for one reason. I'm doing this because somewhere in my soul and my heart, something is telling me to use my voice and speak out. Being on this planet for a while, so I’m classified as a knowledgeable elder, hipster senior. And I really think that you do get smarter as you get older with more life experiences.

Jeanne: [00:06:42] You just refine a lot of the things that are painful for us. The spiritual curriculum, our invitations, our lessons, our personal lessons—we get all that. So I am going to be doing this and I'd love to know your feedback. I want to know what lands, what doesn't land, what you think you want to hear. If you feel like this would help or serve someone who you know close to you, please send it forward and I look forward to seeing you in Episode One.

Hello and welcome to Episode One—Raising your Standards: Taking a Stand for Your Future. So what does that mean? It means that unless we really understand how our minds and how we operate as humans, we're going to fall to our default programming and we live a life of mediocrity, pain, struggle, adversity, and challenge. And the truth is, there's another option available for you. So that's why we're doing this. And I wanted to go a little deeper, like mile-deep into how we can actually overcome our adversity and make this really worthwhile of investing your time with me so that you can get the results that you want. And that's why I'm taking a stand for you today. We say we want to do something and then suddenly we're not able to. So what is that all about? Well, basically it's about as good as our programming. So unless we're conscious of what is running our operating system, like think of a computer, we're going to really just fall to the default program.

Jeanne: [00:08:11] And if the default programming is literally feeling like life is against you as opposed to for you, then you will come up with excuses or be in denial. You'll also find it very difficult to break through barriers that really will allow you a quantum leap in all areas of your life. So whether it's relationships, whether it's financial, whether it's purpose, whether it's meaningful, whether it's your own recovery, which is why we're looking at building equity in our lives. So restoring and building recovery capital so you can find out what is available once you do that? So what is available in sobriety is really the thing. Like giving up drinking is something that we've lost as opposed to looking at what we can gain. And I think this is really the meat and potatoes of everything in life. Like, what can we gain if we change our attitude towards something? So I think one of the issues is that people argue for their own limitations. So what does that mean? It means that we argue why we can't do something. We tell ourselves and others why we are not able to do something. We make up excuses. We may be defensive. We may be in denial. We may really just be delusional and have magical thinking and believe that we're actually saying we're going to do something or stop something or start something.

Jeanne: [00:09:29] And yet there's no indication or change in behaviour that would really make us think that that could happen. So we're really clever at really not being honest with ourselves unintentionally because it's really our subconscious programming which is running our brain. And our subconscious program is responsible for the emotional side of our brain, and our conscious program is our logical side. So if I say to you, I want to start working out at the gym and it's not followed by action, it's going to be very difficult. But even if I, let's say, which I'm doing right now, I'm going to the gym three times a week. Nothing about it I really love except for being on the other side of it when I know it's done, for example. Truth? I figure I'll do the behavior my brain will follow at some point because I know in reality I'm tired. I got a million things coming up that feel more important. And then what's going to happen if I actually listen to myself? So fortunately for me, I've learned not to listen to myself. This is something I've mastered at, especially when I'm in those moments of indecision or fatigue or any of the halt. Hungry, angry, lonely, tired. And I say halt stress. Because if you're in any of those states, you can make very different decisions. And I know that especially for me. So I really don't listen to myself, which is one of the reasons why I get stuff done. I'm protecting myself from myself. But for many people, if you don't understand how you work, you're going to fall prey to your excuses, your delusions, your denials, or whatever it may be for you when it comes in many different forms.

Jeanne: [00:10:45] So, you know, we have to really understand how we operate. Like how does our brain take in information? How do we make it meaningful? What is the story we're telling ourselves? And then, we've got to separate fact from fiction. So what is the story we're telling ourselves? Is it true? No. Maybe it's not true. Maybe it's something we've just bought into and believed as true. And that narrative has run in our life as if it is true. Our mind doesn't know the difference between fact and fiction. So if we're telling ourselves a made up story of what we think we are, let's say we're not good enough or we can't do something, then our mind actually believes that, and our results start to dictate that as well. So that's really an issue around what are we telling ourselves? So in this series, we're going to start to unpack how we unpack some of that and change that. And so that will give you an opportunity to really look at what are your motives, what's really going on for you. Humans are complex. They really are. Like that's… we’re messy people. I think part of being human is really understanding and accepting the messiness and all the parts of us, and we walk around and we're taught this. So this is how, we're conditioned this way. We're conditioned this way to walk around and have this veneer of everything is going well in our life.

Jeanne: [00:12:03] And, you know, things are well. So there's a barrier that we can't pass through, especially if there's really something that we need to get through to the other side. So for example, if we really wanted to share with someone what's going on for us and be honest because there was no judgment or we felt that we'd be validated for what we're experiencing, we'd be more forthcoming. But there's this expectation that we have to have it all together, keep it all together. And so the expectation comes from old programming. And that's part of how we become adaptive. So typically what happens as children is we learn very early and this is all happening on a subconscious level, because zero and seven we’re imprinted from the world around us. So that means our culture, whether it's political, whether it's education from schools and institutions, whether it's family and their values of the family—no matter where we are, we take everybody else's on. We haven't learned. We're told what to think. We're told what to do. We're told how to behave. We’re even told to be quiet for having feelings, especially in my day. So we haven't learned to be independent thinkers. So what happens is that programming starts to run your life. And as an adult, what once worked for you as a child no longer works for you as an adult. So if you take an example of, there’s different protector parts in internal family systems.

Jeanne: [00:13:29] So some of them would be the academic, the people pleaser, the good girl, the athlete, the funny one, the unreliable one who's always seeking attention. So we take on different roles because it helps us get some attention, even if it's not the right attention that we're looking for. And as an adult, what once worked for you as a child no longer works for you as an adult. So if you take an example of there's different protector parts in internal family systems. So some of them would be the academic, the people pleaser, the good girl, the athlete, the funny one, the unreliable one who's always seeking attention. So we take on different roles because it helps us get some attention, even if it's not the right attention that we're looking for. So what happens for us if a child is unable to make sense of their world, especially if they've been hurting or being neglected emotionally in some way, or even physically or sexually or whatever the abused, neglected or abused in some way, whether it's unintentional or not, the child will start to take on that there's something wrong with them, rather than there must be something wrong with the adult. And the reason this happens is because children can't seem to even comprehend that there must be something wrong with their caregivers. After all, they know better. They're the adults and they're just the children. And then the war turns on themselves. And because they don't understand themselves enough and they think there's something wrong with them, it's really important that we have a kind of a sense of how we became this way, because we need to challenge our narratives, not just take them as status quo. Otherwise, our narratives run its full course. They run our life literally. They keep us stuck. We make excuses for ourselves. And before you know it, decades have gone by and we're still in the same place. So everything, everything we want is on the other side of fear, on the other side of our anxieties, on the other side of taking action. Fear is never going to go away.

Jeanne: [00:14:53] It's just that we get comfortable doing things in spite of the fear, in spite of the anxiety. Take public speaking, for example. It's been a well-known fact that most people suffer from it, but the adrenaline and anxiety that goes beforehand actually helps people kick in. And it's their thing. Their brain is working. For me, the podcast coming back, can I teach you something worthwhile? Is there something that I can leverage to you so you guys get the results that you want? And it's just having that understanding that it doesn't matter how I feel about something, it matters what I do about something. And I think that's a great takeaway. It doesn't matter how you feel. It matters what you do. Because I think unless you understand how we work, we tend to think that there's a lack of discipline and we are wired to be comfort as humans. So anytime we're come up against something that's uncomfortable or dangerous to us, our primal brain says, watch out. Play it safe. Do what you need to do. Which may go completely against what you want to do or what you think you need to do. I wouldn't say think you need to do, but what you would desire, right? So your brain is wired that way to say, hey, play it safe, even though there's no real threat in the sense that something you do today is probably not going to be life-threatening.

Jeanne: [00:16:15] It would be back in the day if you made a misstep. You may be hunted down and that would be it. But not anymore. So our fears feel like, you know, we're being hunted to death and they feel incredibly real. But we need to examine them and we need to challenge them. And knowing thyself is not enough. Challenging thyself is even better, right? So we have to be able to do that. Otherwise, we'll always stay stuck and be hijacked by our emotions and our fear, which is the irrational part of our brain, right? It's not exactly rational, and this is what we look for. We think that if something's logical, it should make sense. So, for example, why don't people just stop? Why don't you just stop smoking, drinking, whatever? Or stop eating, like hundreds of, you know, junk food to galore? It's not logical. We know that there's consequences because whatever the behaviour is that we're trying to eliminate, it works for that person. It has purpose. It has a solution for them to feel better. So that's why they do it. It's not logic that, okay, there may be jeopardy, in severe situations, access to children, or having a motor vehicle accident or a DUI or whatever, because, you know, nobody wants those things. They really blow up your life. What we want is we want to be able to have opportunities, and yet we find that difficult because we're hijacked by our thinking, right?

Jeanne: [00:17:46] So having you decided you want something different is not enough. It has to be followed up by action, right? And accountability at the very least. Like sometimes action is one thing. But when we're accountable, whether we're writing down our food or how much we've done in a day or logging how much we drank, our results are going to be probably better being accountable to somebody else. And that's been proven. We have to really want something different and that tangible, like the desire. And you have to believe you can do it. Because if you don't believe you can do it and this is available to you and you start to take action, you won't stay the course. It's like muscle power. The motivation is very, very high in the beginning. And you decide, oh my God, I'm going to do this thing.I'm going to go to weight training like I did. And after a time our fatigue sets in. Or stress. You're not motivated. So what are you going to do in those moments? You're going to do it anyway. That's what I'm doing. I'm not questioning myself. I know not to question my brain because my brain will lead me to the path of least resistance, which is the easy way out. And I'm looking for long term gain. Short term pain equals long term gain. That's what happens. So that's what I'm looking for. This is so complex. Like we have to understand that our brain is in our body. It's not up here from neck up. It's in our body. And so our brain is speaking to us at all times. So we're going to dive more into the mind body, heart brain connection and other episodes and how we really decode information, but at a very high level, I want you to recognize that your mind and body are communicating to you all the time. Most of it is happening on a subconscious level, and we're not really conscious until sometimes, like the house is on fire, that kind of like, you know, amplification because we're not paying attention. And what it is, it's really a direct result of our physiology, our psychology and our neurobiology all coming together to create this perfect moment to really get our attention. And so typically, what we do, we think at a very high level that if we want to raise our standards, we just, you know, decide that we're going to do something and we will our way into it, rather than look at what gets in the way of us doing these very things that we desire so much. And I think if you want to have real results that were terrible, bruise like anything, we need to work with mentors, guides, people who walk the path before us. And why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you want to do that? Every great athlete, every great artist, every business professional, people who really know that there's more in them. Like we talk about the juice in the beginning of this session. They're going to want to juice more out of life. And why wouldn't you? Because you and the people that you touch are the direct beneficiaries of those results. It would be far easier not to do things, to not show up, to not challenge yourself, to make excuses for being uncomfortable, but we're wired the way we are. So we have to know that in order to get to where we want to go, we have to bust through our comfort and we'll do it with feeling uncomfortable. Anyway, that's how we do it, and the more we do it, it becomes less and less intense. Focus and intensity of 100.

Jeanne: [00:20:42] So if it's an intensity of 100 the very first time you do something and you've done it a couple of times, it drops to a 70 and then a 50, and down and down you go. The more you do it, the more comfortable you are. So I'm going to see you in Episode Two, where we dive into learning the secrets that get you out of your own damn way by rewiring your subconscious brain for exactly the life that you want. And I would love to hear your input. I'd love to hear your questions and how this lands for you. And of course, if you know anybody who can benefit from Naturally High in this five-part series, please send it out to them and we will see you in Episode Two. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Naturally High. If this conversation resonated with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or reach out to me through the links in the show notes. Together, we're changing the way the world approaches mental health, addiction, and trauma. Remember to like, subscribe, and leave a rating for Naturally High on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. For more inspiration and resources, follow me on Instagram @the Recovery_concierge, or visit theRecoveryConcierge.com. Stay empowered, keep rising, and I'll see you in the next episode.