Hey, it's friend Mel, and welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast.
When my husband and I dropped our son Oakley off at college a couple weeks ago, there was a particular moment that I cannot stop thinking about.
We were just about to leave, and all of a sudden our 19 -year -old son pulled out his stuffed animal from childhood and his tattered blankie that he has had since he was born, and then he put them both right in the middle of his freshman dorm bed.
It was just so beautiful.
And it got me thinking, do you still have your old blankie or your favorite teddy or bunny?
I wish I did. You know those well -loved, beat -up stuffed animals that you had as a kid, the ones that you hugged so hard and the fabric smells like a mix of bad breath and old Doritos and pure magic.
Oakley was on to something when he took blankie and teddy to college.
See, comforting things are way more important than you think.
They're not just relics from your childhood.
These are essential tools for your brain.
And today, you and I are going to dig into the surprising and profound science of simple comforts in your day -to -day life.
And I'm so excited to tell you that this episode and our conversation today about the importance of comfort is brought to you by Starbucks Frappuccino Drink.
They're bringing you this entire episode, which means that all the ads that you usually hear in an episode, you're not going to hear them.
Thank you, Starbucks Frappuccino Drink, for being here together with you and me.
I really appreciate you sponsoring this episode.
See, you and I usually talk about pushing beyond our comfort zones, but today let's switch gears and talk about the importance of comfort.
Comfort isn't just a luxury.
It's a necessity. Think about it.
Life never slows down, so finding moments of comfort is what will keep you grounded and refreshed.
It's what helps you reset, find your center, and keep moving forward when everything feels overwhelming.
And here's another thing about comfort.
It isn't just a break.
It's what keeps you going.
One of those go -to comforts for me?
The Starbucks Frappuccino Drink.
To prove just how comforting a sip of a Starbucks Frappuccino Drink can be, Starbucks created the comfort index.
It's a fun experiment that measured emotional reactions to things that most people find comforting.
They had three volunteers and Starbucks was able to compare how much comfort the Frappuccino brought them in comparison to other comforting activities.
Later in this episode, I'm going to share the results of how the Frappuccino measures up to getting a hug, petting a pony, popping bubble wrap, and I think you're going to be surprised to see where the Frappuccino Drink lands in the comfort scale.
I sure was. So if you're looking for an easy way to bring more comfort into your day, look no further.
Watch the full comfort index experiments on the Starbucks YouTube channel at youtube .com slash Starbucks.
Hey, it's your friend Mel.
I am so excited that you're here.
It is always an honor to spend time with you and to be together.
If you're brand new, welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast family.
You know, I know you're the type of person that values your time, and you're also interested in learning about ways that you can improve your life.
I love that. And so I want you to know that I think it's really cool that you chose to spend your time listening to the exact podcast that is going to help you do both of those things.
So like I was telling you earlier, you know, we moved our son Oakley into freshman year of college, and there was this moment where we were about to leave, and all of a sudden, he pulls out his childhood blankie, which at this point is basically a bunch of shreds of fabric and his beloved Teddy.
And I was so moved by this moment right before we were about to leave, where he took Teddy and blankie out, and he put them right front and center on his bed in front of his pillows.
He didn't stick them behind the pillows.
He didn't stuff them in a drawer.
He proudly displayed these two things that he cares about right there.
And the moment really struck me.
And I think it struck me for two reasons.
The first one, of course, is I can remember when he was teeny, and he'd be dragging these two things around.
And if you've ever seen a kid that has a stuffed animal or a blankie, and they're like almost bigger than the kid, it's like they're going to fall.
I just remember it was like yesterday.
And now he's six foot, gosh, is he six foot one?
And he's putting it up on his lofted bed, and I'm thinking, oh my gosh, my little guy, like, and now he's in college and now these two little things that he was dragging around or going to school with him.
And so I had this whole moment about how time is like a melting ice cube, and it's just going so fast.
And I hate that. But the second thing that struck me is how much he cares about these two things and what that represents.
And what it represents is this deep power of simple things that bring you comfort.
And that's what we're going to talk about in this episode.
And I'm going to use the story of Oakley and these two objects and some of the things that bring me comfort.
And I'm going to invite you to think about all kinds of ways that you can bring the power of simple comforts into your day to day life.
And as you listen to the story and as we unpack some of the science, we're going to bring in a really well -renowned psychiatrist from Harvard that you're going to just love.
We're going to talk about the research on what's actually happening when you seek out comfort intentionally and why this is important.
And we're going to attack this from two levels.
The first thing that you and I are going to talk about is what comfort provides in your life.
What's happening in your brain when you have things in your life that bring you comfort.
And it could be anything, absolutely anything.
It could be rituals that you do that bring you comfort at the beginning or end of the day.
It could be a particular object.
It could be something that you see or a sound or a smell or a taste.
It could be a meal that you just love.
In fact, our daughter lives in Los Angeles.
And whenever she comes home to Southern Vermont, there is a particular meal that she really wants me to cook.
In fact, come to think of it just this morning, she texted me and asked me for this chili recipe that I make.
Why? Because it brings her comfort.
And the second thing that we're going to dig into, and this blew my mind when I was researching this topic to be able to have this conversation with you, that you and I know that you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
I'm showing up here all the time talking about the importance of taking risks, growing, stretching, the fact that you're designed to push through your fears and your excuses and learn new things and try new things.
But here's what I didn't realize.
What I didn't realize is how important it is when you push yourself out of your comfort zone to actually intentionally come back and drop into your comfort zone, that there is this essential partnership between stretching yourself and actually using a moment of comfort to reset yourself and help yourself
stretch again. And I'm going to share a lot about the things that bring me comfort throughout this episode.
And since you're the kind of person that really wants to enjoy your life, I'm going to invite you right now to start to think about all the little things around you that bring you comfort too.
And you maybe even take them for granted like I did.
You and I are just going to take this highlighter and we're going to highlight what's already around you, the things that you already love and the importance of being intentional about the value that they bring to your daily life.
And the first set of things that I thought about as I was thinking to myself, well, what brings me comfort?
You know, what is it that I would pack if I were going through some major life transition like college and it struck me.
There's a whole set of things that I take with me when I travel that bring me comfort.
Like, for example, I have this beige scarf.
It's this big kind of Shaw thing and it was given to me by a bunch of students in one of the courses that I teach online.
This thing's got to be like six years old at this point.
I take it everywhere.
I never travel without it.
And it has so many holes in it.
You would think that a bunch of moths just took up residence inside this thing and had a party.
And at this point, it's so tattered.
I'm nervous that if I keep using it, it's going to just rip right in half.
And so what I've started doing is instead of wearing it, I now pack it in my carry on and I wear a different scarf.
I have a belt buckle that Chris gave me and I've had this thing for like a decade.
I think he had it made online.
And the belt buckle is really cool.
It's probably like three inches long and an inch high and it has a black and white photo on it of our kids.
But here's the catch.
The photo is a really old photo.
It was taken when Oakley, who's now 19, was a baby and Sawyer, who is our oldest, she's now 25.
She was probably seven in this photo.
And Kendall, who's now 24, she was six years old and every single time I travel and every time I get on a stage to give a keynote speech, I wear that belt.
People always comment whenever I wear it without fail, oh, my gosh, I love that belt.
Where did you get it?
Are those your kids?
And then I point to it and I go, yeah, she's 25 and he's 19 and she's 24.
And you know what? I love this belt because it's the best way to travel with your kids.
Gets a laugh every time.
And the reason why I love this belt so much is that it makes me feel like my kids are with me.
And that brings me a sense of comfort.
And that's not all that I take when I travel over the years as I've traveled around, especially around the United States.
And I've been giving keynote addresses at all these big corporate events.
People come up to me and they give me little mementos that mean something to them that bring them comfort.
And they give me these deeply personal things as a thank you for the impact that my work has made on them, whether it's the five second rule or the let them theory or the high five habit or these podcast episodes.
And so I've started to take these little objects and I put them in my suitcase.
I have medallions that signify somebody's sobriety.
I have wristbands that are tributes to people that died.
I have a broach, actually, from a woman that gave it to me.
It was her mother's broach.
And she gave it to me as a thank you because she had been really struggling with hoarding and she listened to something that we had put out on the podcast.
And it gave her the ability to start to declutter, de -hoard, to get rid of things.
And her ability to give me this broach was a sign of her growth and change.
And so all of these little objects now sit right in my suitcase.
And every time I open it up, whether I'm here in Southern Vermont and I'm packing it and I'm getting ready to go away on a trip or I'm in a hotel room and I'm unpacking things in my hotel room, when I see all these little objects, I feel like you're with me and I'm reminded of the impact of everything
that I'm doing. And it makes me feel less lonely when I'm travelling and I'm on the road.
And for years I've been doing this and I've been thinking to myself, oh, it's a big deal.
I got my scarf and I got my belt and I got my stuff in my suitcase.
But it is a big deal.
It turns out based on the research, it's a very big deal.
Things like Teddy and blankie, they not only give you comfort, according to the research, comfort is essential for helping you create a better life, which is what you and I are going to dig deep into in this podcast.
I looked into the definition of comfort so that we could all just start with the same baseline understanding of what this word means.
Comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom, freedom from what freedom from stress, freedom from like the things that are weighing you down.
Things that bring you comfort are positive, amazing things.
It's like you see it and your stress for the moment disappears.
There's not a single thing that you would say that brings you comfort that is going to be stressful.
It's the opposite, right?
It's recharging. You feel this refueling and this sort of like powering up that happens.
And comfort in that regard gives you the strength to face life's challenges.
It gives you the ability to take risks.
It can remind you of who you are.
It can give you a sense of peace in the middle of the storm.
And as I was really digging into this topic of what is comfort and why is it so important in our day to day life and how is it that it makes you stronger as a person?
I just kept thinking about Oakley.
And how when we dropped him off, you know, I wasn't surprised, honestly, that he brought Blankey and Teddy along, but I was surprised about how he displayed them so proudly front and center.
No shame, no embarrassment.
He didn't stuff them in a drawer.
He didn't hide them on the top of the closet.
He didn't cram them behind his pillow so nobody would see.
Oh, no way. He put them front and center.
There was no doubt in his mind that Blankey and Teddy were going to go to college with them.
In fact, when you walk into his dorm room, his bed is right there in front of the door.
They are the very first thing that you will see when you go into his room.
And when I thought about it, this wasn't just some random choice on his part.
He was intentional.
He was bringing a piece of home with them, something predictable.
Something familiar, something that brings him comfort.
Doesn't that make a lot of sense when you stop and think about it?
But you want to know what's really fascinating about this is that by Oakley placing Blankey and Teddy on his bed, just like they were here at home, this isn't just some cute childish gesture.
This was his brain's way of saying, everything's OK.
You're safe here. That's what comfort rituals do.
They ground you. They bring predictability in moments of chaos.
And it's the exact same thing when I really stop and think about it that I feel when I open up my suitcase and I'm in yet another hotel room alone.
It brings this sense of peace and it makes me feel better.
I can remember when Oakley was little.
In fact, I remember when he got Blankey and Teddy.
Blankey was this beautiful gift from all of my girlfriends.
We were all raising our kids at the same time in this great little town outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and they had it monogrammed with his name Oakley on it.
And they had even bought Blankey from our friend Carolyn, who at the time had this little trunk show business where she was selling kids clothing.
And so it was this deeply meaningful gift from my friends that was there for him, waiting for him when we brought him home from the hospital.
And you want to know what?
Blankey has been with Oakley every step of the way.
Seriously, when he was little in a car seat, I would tuck Blankey around him in his car seat.
And when he started to walk, he would drag that sucker across the ground everywhere he went.
In fact, if I hit that thing with blue light, I am not sure what the heck we would find on that thing.
But I'm sure it would be disgusting even though I wash it every chance I can rip it from him.
It was not only the blanket, but the actual ritual of touching it that brought him comfort.
You know, when he was little and he was nervous, he would just rub the ends of it.
You know, I bet this is making you think about yourself and what you maybe did with a binky or what you saw your kids or your brother or your sister do.
And now his blankie is just frayed all around the edges.
And this little rubbing thing, it's called tactile grounding.
There's no doubt in my mind that the science is very real about how powerful this is.
And Teddy probably even more meaningful because after Oak was born, he had this life threatening thing happen to him when he was five days old and he had to be rushed by ambulance to Mass General Hospital in Boston.
They admitted him to the NICU.
And it turned out that he had been born with this disease called Hirschsprung's disease, which basically means parts of his colon and his intestines weren't working.
We were so lucky that we caught it before his intestines ruptured, which would have killed him.
So he was at Mass General for 30 days in the NICU, having surgeries on his plumbing and Teddy was in the NICU, in the crib with them the entire time.
So these two, Teddy and blankie, they have been Oaks companions on the road of life for 19 years.
And by bringing them to college, he wasn't holding on to his childhood.
He was doing something way more powerful, something that you and I need to do.
He was creating comfort in a brand new environment, a space that's unfamiliar, stressful and unpredictable.
And I want to stay here for a moment longer because I was so interested in this moment and the level of comfort that blankie and Teddy provide to Oak that I called him and I asked him to explain in his words, what is your relationship to Teddy and blankie?
What emotions do you feel and how do they bring you comfort?
So he recorded his answers to those questions in his dorm room for you.
Let's take a listen.
Hello, everyone. Hello, mom.
I hope you're all doing well in my college dorm.
Big college kid. And my mom asked me what is comforting to me.
And I don't know if she's told you yet, but I have two important stuffed animals that I have owned and that I deeply care about.
The names are blankie and Teddy.
They're not very original names, but, you know, what are you going to do?
And anyways, they're very important to me because they've been with me my whole life.
They remind me of home.
Like everything about them reminds me of home, like their smell and their feeling and just like the emotion that it brings up with it.
I'll start with what Teddy and Teddy, Teddy's great.
He used to be very fluffy and very poofy.
But all the foam is like you can there's no foam in the top anymore.
It's only in the bottom.
And it's very gross.
Probably his ears have both been chewed off.
His face has been sewn together and familiar.
I know that this is a sense of familiarity, just because I've had Teddy my whole entire life.
And that is a great feeling.
And then this is the rag.
This is blankie. This like this, this white cloth used to be the full front of it.
But I ripped it off over time.
Every single corner is like mulled and gross and like linty and everything.
These are gross. Like these are not like cool.
Like I mean, they're cool to me and they mean a lot to me, however, I still.
Put them up on my bed and I put them out for the world to see because I have because there's there's no shame.
There's no shame in it.
I just love that he said he cares about these two things and that he put them up on his bed and there's no shame.
And this is a very important thing to expand upon because you and I are so hard driving.
I mean, you listen to this podcast because you want to improve your life and you value your time, and I do, too.
And you're looking for ways to do that.
And I know you're probably thinking, Mel, what are you going to say?
I got to take a stuffed animal to work.
What the heck? I'm not saying that, but I really want you to think about this in moments of challenge, in moments of stress, in moments of major life changes or in moments where you're in a completely new place.
What do you immediately want to do?
You want to try to comfort yourself.
One of the first things I do if I'm in a new environment is I want to try to make it feel more comfortable, more like my home and think about the word home.
Home is a place where you feel safe.
And by the way, comfort is not just about childhood items, not at all.
It's about creating small moments of comfort in your everyday life.
Maybe for you, that means a smell of your favorite candle when you get home.
Maybe it's this cozy blanket that you throw over your lap when you're reading a book or you're watching TV, or maybe it's petting your dog.
I mean, that makes you feel warm and cozy, doesn't it?
These little moments aren't just comforting.
They're essential. So let me ask you, what is your version of blankie and Teddy right now?
What is comforting to you?
I shared about my shaw and my belt and some of the things that are in my suitcase.
But holy cow, when I really highlight these comforting moments or these little vignettes in my mind that make me just drop in when life gets overwhelming, there's got to be things in your life that you're now starting to think about.
You've got this blanket that you love.
You have this tea that you love to drink.
You love the sound of something.
When life feels overwhelming, when something is new or when you're exhausted or you just feel like you want to, what's that word, nest a little bit and just snuggle in.
What is it that you reach for?
I mean, it could be as simple as a clean organized space or that quiet moment where you just sit down.
At the end of the day.
And you breathe for a second or a favorite window that you look out of.
And these small comforts send signals to your brain that say, hey, it's OK.
Things are under control, helping you to stay grounded and focused.
But here's the coolest part.
This is all wired into your brain circuitry in your nervous system already.
Every time you experience something familiar like seeing blank or taking a sip of your favorite drink, you know what happens?
Your brain's dopamine pathways light up and dopamine.
I'm sure it's a word you're familiar with, but if not, it's a neurotransmitter.
Fancy word just plays a key role in how we experience pleasure, motivation and reward.
And when you engage in comforting rituals, your brain releases dopamine, which tells you, hey, this feels good.
Seeing Teddy and Blinky feels good.
Sitting on my couch under my blanket feels good.
Spending some time hugging my dog feels good.
Keep doing this. This isn't just like a feel good thing every day.
This is a tool you can use to help you move through major changes in life.
Because just think about when he comes back into his dorm room and the first thing he sees is Blinky and Teddy.
His brain releases dopamine.
That feel good chemical.
And it signals everything's fine.
Just a little bit of comfort.
You can drop in. Everything's fine.
So the next time you feel overwhelmed or anxious or you got way too much going on at work or school or life, remember, little comfort items or rituals are working on a deep biological level to help you feel grounded right now.
And when your brain is in that calm, familiar space, it is better equipped to handle the bigger challenges that you're facing in life right now.
So that brings me back to kind of a huge takeaway and why I really want you and I to get more intentional about this topic, because comfort just isn't about relaxation.
That is just the icing on the cake.
The real juicy part of it is that it's your brain's way of creating stability, focus and strength to help you through life.
What is that thing that creates comfort for you?
Do you have something in mind?
Is there a place that you stop on the way home from work that brings you comfort?
Is there a place that you stop on your way to school that brings you comfort?
Maybe there's a photo of your family on your desk or some figurine or romanzo or favorite mug that brings you comfort at work.
It's not about the thing.
It's truly about cultivating the feeling inside yourself and activating this resource inside your body.
You know, I don't care about the fact that my scarf looks ridiculous.
I drag that thing everywhere with me.
I love thinking about my scarf that way because it truly elevates this stuff in your life from something childish to something that is essential to your happiness, your mental health, your sense of grounding and your safety in life.
And the second reason why I love this is because people don't care what brings you comfort.
You think they care, but they don't care.
In fact, when I said, oh, are you nervous about all these new people walking in your room?
You've never met them before and they're going to see that you have teddy and blankie on your bed.
This is what he had to say about that.
There's no one. Walking into the dorm and looking at them and going, oh my God, you're such a child.
And that's so weird because people understand the importance of comfort.
And especially in a place like college where you don't have your normal sense of comfort.
You don't have your own bedroom.
You don't have your old friends, your family.
You don't have the things that you love and know.
It's important to have things that are comforting like stuffed animals.
I would just like to say that if there is something in your life that is comforting and you feel like you cannot be without it, then be with it.
Did you hear that last line?
So good. If there's something in your life that brings you comfort and you can't live without it, be with it, and there's zero shame in it.
And what I also loved about what Oakley was reflecting on, is that nobody cares because everybody understands the power of things that bring you comfort.
So whatever it is that you need, whether it's in your suitcase or on your way to work or on your way to school or on your way home at the end of the day, whatever it is that brings you comfort, be with it and truly understand the power in owning that and providing that for yourself.
And one of the things that I love about digging into this topic is it elevates and highlights the importance of creating these moments and being aware of this for yourself.
The more deliberate you are about the power of simple day to day comforts, the more powerful you're going to feel.
And if that's not reason enough to get serious about this topic, I want to take this even a step further and talk about the balance that is necessary between comfort zones and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and the necessity of knowing when you need to drop into your comfort zone.
There is a relationship between your ability to take risks in life and the need for you to come back to something that is comforting in order to refuel and reset yourself.
And the research around this is super interesting.
Here's how I want you to think about the relationship between things of comfort and the need to push yourself out of your comfort zone because they work together.
So think about yourself almost like a rubber band, right?
And you know how a rubber band, it can stretch out and then boom, you let go, and it goes right back and resets every single time in life when you stretch yourself, whether you're going through a big life change like Oakley's going through right now at college and I'm going through a big life change
because we're now empty nesters or whether you're going through a big life change because you're taking on a new job or maybe you're going through a breakup or whatever it may be as you stretch through this new change because that's what change does you.
It stretches you and it stretches you because you're having to learn new behaviors, new neural pathway, and as you're learning all these new patterns and behaviors and pathways in your life and stretch yourself as you push through this challenge and it could be any kind of challenge.
It could be a physical challenge.
It could be a creative project that you're working on every time you stretch.
I want you to think about that rubber band and how a rubber band stretches.
And then I want you to remember there's always that moment where it retracts and resets.
You're the exact same way.
If you stretch continuously, you'll snap and break.
You have to reset. The human brain, body and spirit has to have this moment of refuel and reset after you stretch yourself.
And this is all based on fascinating research about how your brain works, about habits are formed, how you learn new information, how your body resets itself.
It is well documented that you have a need to refuel and reset.
And that's where the power of simple comforts come in.
So up next, we're going to dig into that research.
I think you're going to find it absolutely fascinating.
I know I did. But let's take a quick break right now and hear a few words from our sponsor of today's episode, Starbucks Frappuccino drink.
Earlier, I mentioned the Starbucks comfort experiment.
And here are the details.
So Starbucks wanted to see just how comforting the Frappuccino drink really is.
So they got super creative and they launched something called the comfort index.
It's a one of a kind social experiment where they stacked the Frappuccino against some of the most universally comforting things that you can think of.
And three volunteers were asked to try out four different activities for them to provide comfort, petting a pony.
Seriously, who wouldn't love petting a pony?
Popping bubble wrap.
Another thing I enjoy doing that's incredibly satisfying, hugging a loved one and sipping a Starbucks Frappuccino drink.
While they were doing these activities, check this out, they were headsets that recorded their brain activity, which is linked to key metrics like excitement, relaxation and focus.
So how did the Frappuccino fair in this comfort showdown?
It came in second right behind hugging a loved one.
And honestly, not much beats a hug.
But the fact that the Frappuccino ranks so high.
It just goes to show you how a little treat can bring serious comfort to your day.
Starbucks Frappuccino drink really is comfort in the bottle.
Now, this wasn't a clinical study or anything.
It was three participants and the results might vary, but it's still a really cool reminder that sometimes, in fact, I think almost all the time, it's just the small things like your favorite drink that can make all the difference when life gets busy and you know the power of feeling comfort in your
day. Watch the full comfort index experiments on the Starbucks YouTube channel at youtube .com.
Starbucks and grab a Starbucks Frappuccino drink at a store near you.
You and I spend a lot of time talking about pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, learning how to take those big risks that change your life, like applying for that big job or going out to dinner to that nice restaurant alone, trying improv, asking that person out, sharing a message or a personal
story on social media, auditioning for an orchestra as an adult, taking a ballroom dancing class, asking someone to mentor you.
Any time you do something out of your comfort zone, remember that rubber band is stretching and you're designed to do that.
And let's face it, growth doesn't happen when you're just coasting along, comfortable in your routine, doing the same old, same old.
And it's so easy to just default to what you always do.
What's familiar and never stretch yourself like that rubber band in your life.
But here's the part that you and I don't talk about enough.
You can't be in push mode all the time.
You can't be stretched all the time.
You know what we call it when you're stretched all the time?
It's called burnout.
That's not what we're talking about here.
We're talking about the fact that you need balance.
I'm always going to push you to stretch.
I'm always going to push you to take that risk.
I'm always going to push you out of your comfort zone.
And today I am reminding you that resetting and allowing yourself to drop in and rest and feel comfort.
It is just as important as the stretch because they go hand in hand.
Just like when you're building a muscle in the gym, you can't just pump iron 24 hours a day.
You have to rest it after a workout.
And you want to know a really interesting fact about this.
As you think about a rubber band stretching and then bouncing back into shape.
Do you want to know when you lock in new habits and memories and you actually lock in learning?
It's not while you're stretching and you're practicing the new habits or you're studying the new material or you're doing the new skill.
You actually lock it in while you're sleeping.
Doesn't happen when you're awake.
Doesn't happen when you're stretching.
It happens when you're comfortable.
It happens when you're resting.
See, you are designed to go through periods of stretching, but then you need a period of rest and comfort so you can refuel.
And you want to know the best ways to refuel.
It's to come back to something that gives you comfort.
And when I think about my own life, one of the things that has always given me comfort when I'm going through a stressful time or I'm stretching myself and I'm out over the tips of my skis and I need some reassurance.
I call my parents. How many times have you called home for some comfort or just to hear someone's voice?
You know, this is true.
And if your parents are no longer here, I'm sure you wish they were because you know, the power of being able to see them or talk to them.
And you can feel the comfort that it brings you.
And there's more to this than just knowing that what I'm saying is true.
It reminds me of one of my favorite things that world renowned Harvard psychiatrist Dr.
Robert Waldinger said on this podcast.
In fact, he's one of the most popular experts to ever appear on the Mel Robbins podcast, and I want to play something that he said for you.
It relates to this topic of comfort and our ability to stretch and the critical need for us to also reset.
So you're about to hear Dr.
Waldinger talking about how as human beings, you and I are wired to bond to other people and we naturally seek out other people in moments where we want to be comforted.
Take a listen to what Dr.
Waldinger said on this podcast.
We all bond when we're babies, when we're tiny.
We bond to caregivers and that if the bonding goes well, we end up believing that we are lovable and that there's somebody there to love us and that when we believe those things, we grow up happy and we grow up brave enough to explore the world.
Right. Because there's a home base we can come back to.
So sometimes you'll see on a playground, you'll see a parent with a two year old and the two year old toddles off and then at some point they'll run back and they will grab the parent's leg, it's sometimes called refueling where they're reminded.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah. Home base. And then they'll toddle off again and then they'll run back for that kind of momentary refueling.
We think that that's something we need all the way through life.
So how do I take a risk in my life?
You may have someone in your life.
Maybe it's your spouse.
And if you start to take a risk, like starting a new podcast, you might run it by him and say, what do you think?
Do you think I could do this?
And we need somebody to say, it's OK and I'm here.
Even if it doesn't go well, I've got your back.
Oh, I love that. Don't you love this notion of refueling?
And the fact that what he's actually talking about is the power of comfort and you can refuel, not just by connecting with other people, you can refuel by connecting with Teddy Blankey, a photo of your family, a favorite place that you love to stop on a particular drive, and you can also refuel by connecting
with yourself. And I want to tell you about my friend Amy.
She is a producer on this podcast and lives here in Southern Vermont.
And every single morning she walks out her front door and walks a quarter mile down the road and across a bridge and down to this river where she does a cold plunge every single morning.
And this is an important nuance because comfort doesn't always have to be warm and cozy.
Sometimes the things that you wouldn't expect can bring a surprising sense of comfort like a cold plunge.
Now, at first glance, it kind of seems like the opposite, right?
You're like, oh, my gosh, cold water.
I don't think that sounds that comforting at all now.
But the controlled discomfort of something like a cold plunge or a cold shower activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which can leave you feeling incredibly calm afterwards.
And this has become a super cool and comforting ritual that Amy does every single morning.
She leaves her house, she walks down the road, she crosses a bridge.
She walks into this little park where there is this beautiful winding river and then she goes to the same rock, she pulls off her sweatshirt, she pulls off her shorts, she's in her bathing suit, she's got her water shoes on.
She then walks right in and then she screams to her poor husband, Tim, start the timer for three minutes.
And sometimes when she's in the water, she cries.
Sometimes she shivers.
Sometimes, like she was telling me this morning, she crouches way down and she watches the river from a frog's eye view, just taking it all in.
And this morning, the leaves were passing her by.
Because it's fall up here in Vermont.
Doesn't it sound absolutely amazing?
You know, come to think of it, I got to come do this with you, Amy.
We should do a special episode about it and film it like how you do a cold plunge and all the protocols.
And you'll see for yourself that the ritual is what's comforting.
And all the while, while I'm explaining, Amy's probably been in the river the entire time, just dropping into the cold water and finding comfort in it.
And then all of a sudden, her husband says done.
And I know what you're wondering.
Does her husband, Tim, ever do it?
No. I'll tell you why, because it doesn't bring him comfort.
And that's also important.
What brings you comfort is personal to you.
For Amy, this is as much about taking a moment for herself as it is anything else.
It helps her relax, recharge, prepare for the day ahead.
That's her comfort ritual and it makes all the difference.
And just like Dr. Waldinger painted this beautiful picture of a child that runs into a playground, that's like that rubber band stretching, right?
The child running into the playground.
And then what does the child do?
Resets and comes back to the caregiver to refuel.
It's a safe place. It's comforting, which allows you to stretch again.
Amy's doing the exact same thing.
By starting her day, knowing that the day is going to be creative, production stretch, she goes into that river like a child goes to a parent to refuel so that she's ready to go stretch herself again.
Don't you just love that visual?
I love that visual of a child running into a playground.
And then coming back to a caregiver.
I love that visual of a rubber band stretching, just like you do as you grow and you take risks and you reach for all the things in life that you want to experience.
And I have the exact same visual now of Oakley.
I can just see him.
He's out and about.
He's walking around campus.
He's in classes. He's playing sports.
He's taken it all in.
And that's him stretching in this new phase of his life.
And then what's waiting for him?
Like the river is waiting for Amy and the caregiver is waiting for the child.
Teddy and Blankie are waiting for him.
This is so much bigger than a reminder of home.
It's an intentional act of refueling, of taking care of yourself, of supporting yourself.
And when you look at it that way, I mean, how cool is this?
Small things in your day to day life that really do matter.
And those are my favorite kind of things.
These little, little things that are so profoundly powerful.
And now I'm sure you're sitting here thinking about all your favorite things to drink and your favorite things to do as a ritual and things from your childhood.
So the next time you're feeling overwhelmed, think about what brings you comfort.
Maybe it's a person.
Maybe it's a place that you stop.
Maybe it's something that you eat or music that you play.
I'm now realizing that the ritual of taking a bath every single night before I go to bed, it brings me comfort.
It's something that I do after stretching myself all day that helps me refuel.
And I love this topic so much that I was out to dinner the other night with a bunch of the amazing people that are on our team here at the Mel Robbins podcast.
And I was talking about the fact that we're doing this super cool topic.
And so I asked them the same question that I've asked you.
What is it that brings you comfort?
And as we went around the dinner table, it was so fun to hear everybody's responses.
And I wanted to share what some of our team members said, because they inspired me to think more about what's right in front of my face and getting more intentional about seeing what's right there.
As something that is a powerful tool in my life.
And I know that as you hear me share them with you, it's going to widen the aperture on what you see and help you create more intentional moments of comfort and refueling in your life.
So for my daughter, Sawyer, who is managing the launch of my brand new book, The Let Them Theory, which comes out in January, it's all about eating sour grapes.
I have no idea why I cannot eat a sour grape to save my life.
I pop a sour grape in my mouth and it's like my true structure.
And I do not like it.
But every time she pops a sour grape in her mouth, boom, she gets a wave of comfort.
Simple sensory experience.
Boom, there's the joy.
And it's not just food.
For example, one of my business partners, David, it's the smell of freshly mowed grass.
That one got a lot of oh, oh, yeah, yeah.
For my other business partner, Christine, oh, my gosh, she was so cute.
She described this feeling.
They have this couch that has you know how some couches have like that L thing where somebody gets it's always the primo spot on anyone's couch.
Right, because it's the one that has the Shays piece where your fee can go up.
That's her spot, her spot on the couch.
And when it's after dinner and everybody is running to that couch, there are two Australian shepherds dart toward that Shays part of the couch.
They jump up because they're waiting for Christine to climb on so they can climb on top of her and then get into their place.
That's comfort. That's refueling for our executive producer, Tracy Library.
This is a really common one.
There's something about the smell of old books combined with that feeling of, remember holding a library card.
And that sense of discovery when you walk into a library, that is a refuel for her.
In moments of stretching, she can walk into a library and just feel like herself.
So beautiful, right?
It creates this moment of peace and you want to know something else?
I kid you not. There's a person on this team who, when I told the team that we were partnering with Starbucks for a Pacino drink and we were going to do this episode with them about comfort, he legit lost his mind.
He goes, you have got to be kidding me.
And he went on and on and on about how it was the first time ever that he had tasted coffee.
He loves going into a gas station and opening up the glass door and getting the drink and popping the lid.
And there's just something about the pop that brings him comfort.
I thought, oh my God, this is unbelievable.
And the second that he said it, I'm thinking, what are the odds that somebody would for real authentically say that pop sound is a sound that brings him comfort, that just makes him go.
And that triggered a moment of comfort for me.
And you want to know what my moment of comfort is?
It's when the stars align.
It's when there are these magical connections that you just can't explain, when it feels like the universe is going ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
You're in the right place at the right time.
I want to tell you something.
When I'm stretching like crazy and I get one of those signs from the universe, I'm like, boom, I am refueled.
Thank you very much.
And as we sat there around the table after a long day of work, as we were stretching ourselves, one thing is very clear.
The things that we find comfort in, they don't embarrass us at all because they bring you so much joy.
And there is power in embracing it.
And that brings me back to the heart of what Oakley wanted to say to you.
And so before I sign off and I let you guys get back to my mother, who was amazing and we all love I love you, Mom.
I would just like to say that the stuffed animals, your cozy photos on your wall, your weird trinkets from childhood, they're all comforting and they're all special and you should feel no shame because there is nothing wrong with something in your life that will bring you comfort and that will bring
you joy. And so moving forward in life, I fully encourage you to hold on to those comforting things regardless.
Hold on to them. Treat them with respect.
Keep them in your life until the very last moment I like I swear to God, I will keep lanky until he is like a singular thread of string.
And even then, I'll probably just like frame him in my bedroom as an adult.
Same thing with Teddy.
Like both of these will stay with me forever until they can no longer be with me because it brings me joy.
I love you guys. Have an amazing day.
You're loved. I love you.
And I love your comfort.
I love what brings you guys comfort.
Can you tell I got a huge smile on my face because I just realized one more thing that is a massive refueling and a moment of comfort.
And that's any time you hear someone say they love you.
I mean, every time you hear it, it just refuels your soul, doesn't it?
It sure does for me.
So in case no one else tells you today, I wanted to be sure to tell you that I love you and I believe in you and I believe in your ability to change your life.
And that's going to require you to not only stretch yourself, but it's going to require you to reset and refuel.
And now you know the surprising and powerful science of how simple day to day comforts help you do that.
And I just want to say thank you again to Starbucks for Appicino drink for sponsoring this episode.
Well, it's always good to push yourself out of your comfort zone.
It's also good to take time to seek comfort because who doesn't want more comfort these days?
Starbucks in their fun and light hearted social experiment showed us a whole new way to find comfort through their Starbucks Frappuccino drink.
As you heard earlier, the creamy, delicious Frappuccino drink really is comfort in a bottle.
Starbucks was more than happy to take second place in the experiment.
The best part finding comfort is super convenient.
The Starbucks Frappuccino drink is available at grocery stores.
Yep, I buy them there.
National retailers.
You know which ones I'm talking about.
Convenience stores and gas stations.
They're always lined up right behind that big glass door.
And nothing's better than grabbing one of these Frappuccino drinks in a glass bottle.
Mocha is my favorite and taking it on the road with you.
You can also grab it online where groceries are sold.
Watch the full comfort index on the Starbucks YouTube channel at YouTube .com slash Starbucks and grab a Starbucks Frappuccino drink at a store near you.
Ready? Yeah. All right, great.
Okay, here we go. I love that.
And that I love that.
And. Let me try that one more time.
Oh my Lord, I can't speak.
That sounds like magic.
How is that? Okay. Moments of comfort.
Bring my Lord. Hold on a second.
Oh my God, that is so good.
That is so good. Oh, and one more thing.
And no, this is not a blooper.
This is the legal language.
You know what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you.
This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes.
I'm just your friend.
I am not a licensed therapist.
And this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist or other qualified professional.
Got it? Good. I'll see you in the next episode.
Stitcher.
