Ep 5 Stuart Cline - Your Doing Great!

Podcast Description – Ep 5: "You're Doing Great"

Welcome back to Sobriety, Now What?, the podcast that helps you not just stay sober, but truly thrive in your journey. In this episode, Stuart dives into the power of perspective and how shifting your mindset can turn an ordinary—or even frustrating—day into something great.

Through personal (and hilariously embarrassing) stories, Stuart reminds us that what we focus on grows. From a bird-poop-covered car to an unforgettable public speaking mishap, he proves that even the most awkward moments can be transformed into laughter, lessons, and positivity.

You'll discover:
 ✅ Why perspective is everything in shaping your day
 ✅ How to focus on what’s going right instead of what’s going wrong
 ✅ A simple question to reframe negative thoughts: Are the thoughts I'm thinking serving me?
✅ The power of persistence in seeing miracles unfold

No matter where you are in your journey, you're doing better than you think. So take a deep breath, embrace the good, and make today great—on purpose.

🎧 Listen now and remember: If your zipper is up and birds haven’t targeted you yet, you’re already winning!

Invitation to consider at least one helpful piece of information to help them thrive in their sobriety and to share with podcast with others and to follow and email questions. 

Transcript

Ep5 Stuart - Your Doing Great

[00:00:00] Welcome to Sobriety, Now What?, the podcast that helps you thrive in sobriety. Today, we're talking about how to make your day great. I know some of you may have some doubts, but stick with me. By the end of this episode, you'll see why today is going to be a great day. I'll even share a couple of embarrassing stories because hey, if I can survive them, so can you.

Perspective is everything. Out of everything you could be doing right now, Whether you're starting your day, winding down, or commuting, you're here, listening to me, and I believe that's for a reason. I know life can feel overwhelming. Bills, jobs, relationships, stress, it all piles up. But today, you're still here.

And that means you have the power to shift your perspective. Let me tell you a story. Years ago, my younger brother came to visit. One morning, as I stepped outside, I saw my car completely covered in bird poop. Not just a few [00:01:00] splatters. I'm talking a full aerial assault. I stood there deflated thinking, really universe?

Then my brother comes outside and sees the mess. And get this. He gets excited. Oh my gosh, he says, you're going to have an amazing day. And I'm just like, really? And he insists that bird poop was a sign of good luck. Like, he was so convincing that I was like, well, maybe I'm wrong about this. He continues, the universe could have chosen any car, but it picked yours.

It's basically saying, keep an eye on this guy, he's doing something right. At first, I thought he was a bit nuts. But this enthusiasm was so contagious that maybe he was right. Maybe the world wasn't dumping on me. Maybe it was highlighting me and you know what, that day was kind of amazing because I looked for reasons to make it great.

I got to spend time with my brother, my car was working, life was good, had a place to live, was in a great relationship, all was fine. [00:02:00] That actually is what we dream about, or at least I did, and I got to appreciate that some of my dreams were coming true and not to focus on the little stuff. What you focus on grows.

We all have things that could ruin our day. Tight pants, running late, overdue bills. But what if we focused on what's going right instead? Comedian Tom Papa has a special called You're Doing Great. The whole premise, be kinder to yourself. Ate too much ice cream last night. You're doing great. You're behind on the bills.

Keep plugging away. We're all doing our best. So imagine this. You are exactly where you need to be. Whatever challenge you're facing, you're in the middle of it, learning and growing. And if you can keep looking for the good, your day will shift. Because you'll see more of the good. My most embarrassing moment, maybe not my most embarrassing moment because I've had many in my life.

Let me gift you this story for perspective. I once spoke at an [00:03:00] event with 400 people. I walked up, gave my talk, and confidently walked back, feeling like a rock star. People were smiling at me, so supportive, so engaged. And then I realized my fly was down. And to make matters worse, my white shirt was sticking out of my zipper.

Not only did I walk up to the podium like that, I went up a second time, twice, in front of hundreds of people, looking like a human flag. Humbling? Oh, absolutely. But you know what? Everyone who saw it got a laugh. And maybe that was my role that day, to make people smile. And if nothing else, I learned a valuable lesson.

Always check your zipper. And I thought of comedians. I thought of Robin Williams, and this probably was something he would have done intentionally just to make people's day better. And I thought, you know what? I didn't intend to do that, but that's really funny. And so I just thought, you know what, I'm just going to make it into a comedic [00:04:00] act.

Not that I'm going to do that again or intentionally do it, but as far as framing it in my head, being like, Oh, I'm so embarrassed and beating myself up. But just saying, you know what? My talk was even better because I got to make people feel better about themselves. You know, took their mind off of whatever stressors they were having.

And I'm sure some of them were like, well, at least I'm not that guy. So how do we make our day great? Get out of bed and start moving. Tackle something you've been putting off just for five minutes. Be kind to yourself when you start beating yourself up, saying, I can't do this, or I'm not good enough, tall enough, thin enough, whatever it is, just be like, it's going to be okay, I'll get through this and make a better choice, whatever that is.

And you'll know it's a better choice because it feels better. It's really about feeling. Take a deep breath and remind yourself you've survived every hard day so far, and you'll keep doing that. If you're struggling, ask yourself, are the thoughts I'm thinking serving me? If not, shift them. Look for the good.[00:05:00] 

Make today great on purpose. And remember, if your zipper is up and birds haven't pooped on you yet, you're already ahead of what I was doing on those days. Thank you for listening to Sobriety Now What, keep going, keep believing, and I'll see you next time. I really appreciate you. I know that what you're doing isn't easy, but it's worth it, and it's making the world such a better place.

I truly believe that, and I believe that it ripples out into the world, and even though maybe today you don't feel it, it's gonna happen. Just like in episode two, Mike said, keep being persistent until you see the miracles cause they're going to happen. And episode one with column saying just that one thing, you never know what that one thing's going to be that can change your life forever for the good.

Until next time, my friends take care.