In this episode, Sarah explores what it really means when “life gets lifey.” She shares three gentle reminders for navigating tough times — how to stay rooted in reality, treat yourself with kindness, and keep your connections strong. A gentle listen for anyone walking through challenge, change, or uncertainty.
BTW - If you didn't already know, I'm Sarah - Drink Less; Live Better founder, best-selling author, expert speaker, life coach and, as you already know, podcast host!
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Transcripts
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Hello, this is your host Sarah Williamson, and welcome to this episode of Drink Less Live. Better.
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Be sure to give me a follow over on Instagram @Drinklesslivebetter and head over to the website Drinklesslivebetter.com where
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you'll be able to sign up to the 5 day Drink Less experiment or download my Habit Tracker and and you can choose to join the
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email club where I share resources, wisdom, insights and glimmers of hope and joy. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Let's get straight to it.
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Life will be lifey is something I say quite often, and I think what I mean when I say it is Life will do what life does.
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Life will be what life turns out to be. It will rise and fall.
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It will thrill us and disappoint us.
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It will hand us moments of deep connection and moments of deep and perhaps uncomfortable confusion.
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No matter how wise, careful, spiritual or organized we become, life will still be lifey.
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We can't control all elements of it.
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Today I'm thinking out loud what we can do and who we can be by when things get harder than usual. Let's start with this.
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When life is lifey, it's not punishing you.
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It's not evidence that there's something wrong.
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It's simply a reminder that you're alive and that being alive means being in motion and being in relationship with uncertainty.
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We don't get to control all the events, situations and circumstances, but we do get to shape our responses.
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This might be good news or bad news for you when the plan collapses, when the answer isn't available, and when the loss feels too heavy to name.
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Here are three ideas that might support you.
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Number one Be in the reality, not the story.
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When something difficult happens, our minds instantly start spinning stories. This shouldn't have happened. I can't handle this. This is too much. Things were supposed to be different.
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But notice those thoughts aren't the reality of what's happening, they're interpretations.
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And interpretations might fuel our suffering and our pain.
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The first thing that we can do when life gets lifey is to pause and ask what is actually happening right now.
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Without the story about could sound like I lost my job, my relationship ended, I'm feeling afraid, or someone I love died.
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These statements are honest, simple, grounded, human. The truth.
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Not the spiraling version that says I'll never recover or everything is falling apart or this is too much to bear.
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Reality can be and will be painful, but it's usually manageable in some way or other.
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It's the stories that we Tell that. Make it even more difficult.
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So step one, come back to what is real, what is true.
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Anchor yourself in what you know is honest right now. And breathe. Tip two.
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Remember, you're not a problem to fix and neither is anyone else.
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When life gets hard, we tend to turn inward with blame. What did I do wrong?
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Why can't I just get it together?
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But what if instead of seeing yourself as broken, you saw yourself as becoming? You're evolving.
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You're learning to meet life as it really is. Next level of you.
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Version 2.0 There's a quiet kind of compassion in remembering that life's storms aren't evidence of your failure. They're evidence of your aliveness.
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When things fall apart, your nervous system obviously reacts.
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Your emotions rise or fall, your thoughts race. All completely normal.
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The invitation is not to rush to fix something, but but to be with yourself.
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So instead of saying I shouldn't feel this way, try of course I feel this way. This is hard.
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That simple shift from judgment to gentleness changes everything.
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It allows you to start to heal not through force, but through kindness.
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And tip number three, keep your connection points strong.
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When life gets lifey, isolation becomes really tempting. I speak from experience. We retreat. We stop answering calls.
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We stop walking our dog with our friends.
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We tell ourselves no one will understand.
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But connection is not a luxury in lifey times.
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Staying connected doesn't have to mean pouring your heart out or telling everything to everyone about what's going on.
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It might just mean texting a friend to say today's a tricky one.
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Or sitting quietly with someone you trust and having a coffee and talking about superficial stuff.
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It might be a prayer, a meditation, a walk outside, a conversation with a mentor or time hanging out with your favourite pets or people.
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It's any action that reminds you you're not alone in this world. You're not alone in this life.
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Even when no one can fix what's happening.
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Being witnessed in your experience and feeling seen or heard can lighten the load. Choose your inner circle really carefully.
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For this connection is how we remember our resilience.
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Because resilience does not mean our I can do it all by myself.
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It means I allow life to be lifey and I let others be beside me when it does.
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So when life gets lifey and it will remember.
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This isn't a test that you have to pass.
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You just have to practice being human. Anchor into the reality.
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Be kind to yourself and stay connected through all of it. Hold this truth close.
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You have survived every lifey moment so far.
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You've faced uncertainty before and you'll do it again.
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You're in the middle of being a human.
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Take a breath and remind yourself this is life being lifey.
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And then ask, what's the most loving way I can meet this moment?
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Maybe that is what life being lifey really means.
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That the beauty, the heartbreak, the chaos and the calm, they all belong here. And so do you. Thank you for listening in today. Please come back again next week.
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Do one kind thing this week for yourself. And maybe for me too.
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