Reprogram Your Self-Image: How Visualization Can Upgrade Your Confidence + Create Lasting Change || with Mimi Bouchard

Thank you to Activations for sponsoring this episode and providing listeners with an exclusive, limited-time offer now at activations.com/progress: a 14-day free trial + 61% off the yearly Activations membership, all with a generous money-back guarantee.

There is a tool that activates our personal growth, and it’s not exactly a secret: visualization. While elites in their respective fields, from athletes to musicians to business people, have used this tool for years to increase their progress and performance, us everyday folks can also unlock the power of visualization to transform our lives. In this inspiring episode of About Progress, host Monica Packer sits down with Mimi Bouchard, founder of the Activations app, to explore how visualization can help you reprogram your self-image, break free from shame-driven beliefs, and embody your future self—no quiet and still meditation required. Mimi shares her personal journey from feeling stuck and insecure to now helping over 100,000 people–most of whom are women–make real, lasting change by utilizing her personal development guided audio. Discover practical strategies for habit stacking, overcoming perfectionism, and developing a “bounce back” mindset, plus an exclusive offer for listeners to try Activations for free. If you’re ready to stop waiting for the perfect moment and start living as the person you’re meant to be, this episode is your roadmap to making change doable, energizing, and even fun. 

Please head to activations.com/progress to secure a special offer of a 14-day free trial + 61% off the yearly Activations membership! Be sure to go to the site to do so.

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Songs Credit: Pleasant Pictures Music Club

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] 

Monica Packer: Hi, I am Monica Packer and you are listening to about progress where we are about progress made practical. There is a tool that activates our personal growth, and it's not exactly a secret. Athletes use it as do musicians and actors, also teachers, speakers, and business people alike as they reach towards meeting a big goal.

The tool is visualization. We all know the power of our thoughts and how they shape our behaviors. So my question to you is why we don't harness this power more intentionally and consistently through visualization, and yes, that's for us normal folks, because the truth is you don't have to be an elite

anything to want more out of your life, to be the version of yourself. You deeply long to be. And to feel more alive in an increasingly numb world. And the best news about visualization is that it is a practical tool we can all use to [00:01:00] activate changes from how we see ourselves to the habits we form. And this is especially true for those of us who don't find meditation easy nor all that effective.

And I'm raising my hand here. Visualization is a tool that I have used for years with my clients and also with myself. And I have to say, as effective as it is, if it's your first time ever using it, it can feel a little foreign like you putting on a brand new suit for the first time.

So if this is new to you too and you want to explore it better, I am so pleased to be sharing an interview with you today. My guest is Mimi Bouchard, who nearly a decade ago hit a point where she realized she was living as a shell of herself, working multiple jobs, struggling with confidence and unsure of how to move forward.

What changed everything for her was the practice of visualization, not as a once in a while, meditation, but as a daily tool to reprogram her self-image and step into who she actually wanted to be. Mimi went on to create [00:02:00] activations. It's an app that's a new kind of personal development guided audio that combines visualization with cinematic music and neuroscience principles designed to be listened to in everyday moments while you're walking, cooking, or brushing your teeth.

In our chat, Mimi shares how activations became the shortcut that helped her, and now hundreds of thousands of others make change more possible and doable, even for the busiest among us. Mimi and I dive into how visualization works differently than meditation. How to embody your future self in small daily ways with her simple mantra, be her now, and why the goal isn't perfection, but developing a better bounce back rate.

You're gonna love that part. We also talk about the beliefs many women carry that hold them back. Like, I'll be happy when, or they can, but I can't. And how in shifting those beliefs and others, you have another helpful key to unlocking your potential.

If you've ever wondered how to stop waiting for the right [00:03:00] circumstances, how to get out of the all or nothing cycle, and finally start living as a person you know you're meant to be. This conversation will show you a practical and inspiring way forward.

Before we begin, a big thank you to activations for sponsoring this episode and making it free of the typical ads we have sprinkled throughout.

I want you to know right out the gate that Mimi has extended an exclusive offer for just our community, a 14 day free trial to her app activations, and 61% off their yearly membership

you can get that offer by signing up at activations.com/progress, and please go to the site to secure the free trial as it's not available in the app itself.

Doing so not only gives you access to an app that I have been personally using and loving, it also helps support the show. Part of the appeal of activations to me is the habit stacking nature of it, and how you truly can multitask and still benefit greatly from the reprogramming it offers. And that's so helpful for me as someone who has a really hard time slowing [00:04:00] down in body and in mind.

I have really. Enjoyed doing my activations while I get ready to work out each morning. That's how I habit stacked. Using this app in my life and doing so has truly helped me settle in to parts of myself that I've been wanting to rewire an ongoing process, and also helped me combat some of the negative voices that have popped up in my head.

For example, last night I was met with an unexpected challenge, and this morning when I hopped onto the app, as I was getting ready to work out the recommendation at the top of the activations feed for me was perfect. Reframe a challenge in your life quickly. I listened to that and I'm planning on listening to it again this afternoon.

so again, to support the show and our sponsor, get your 14 day free trial and 61% off the apps yearly membership by going to activations.com/progress, which I have linked for you in the show notes.

That's activations.com/progress.

Without further ado, it's time for my interview with Mimi Bouchard.

I hope this [00:05:00] episode gave you the hug and kick in the pants you need to grow. I'll now share the progress pointers. These are the notes that I took so you don't have to, and those are my newsletter. Get them in a graphic form each week. You can sign up at about progress.com/newsletter.

Number one, clarity comes first Before a change can happen, get crystal clear on who your future self is. Number two, practice. Be her now instead of waiting for a perfect moment, begin embodying your future self in small and everyday actions. Number three, focus on bounce back. Not perfection. The goal isn't never slipping up.

It's shortening the time it takes to return to alignment after setbacks. Number four, rewire your brain through repetition. Just like taking a bunny trail instead of the well worn path, the more often you choose new, empowering thoughts, the easier and more natural they become. And five, make it doable.

Use habit stacking with tools like activations, listening while cooking, walking, [00:06:00] or brushing your teeth so that self-image work fits into real life without requiring extra time. Those progress pointers are the shortened version of what you'll get on the newsletter. So again, go to about progress.com/newsletter and another reminder to head to activations.com/progress to get that special limited time.

To get that special limited time offer of a 14 day free trial and 61% off the yearly membership with activations, the site is really important as that deal is not available within the app. You go to the app, you get the deal, and then you can log in with those same credentials to the app and I. And I mean it when I say it, that I have been using it every morning as I get ready to work out, and I think you're gonna really like it, and I know it's gonna help.

I think this especially, I think this is especially a great opportunity for those of us who still need to work on some lingering thoughts, have a goal that you're moving towards someone who wants to feel more alive, someone who struggles with [00:07:00] maybe if you have a really shame driven voice in your head that you want to rewire, but meditation and.

So any of those things, but also if you would like a clearer mind, but meditation is just a harder practice for you. Check out activations at activations.com/progress.

Thank you so much for listening. Now go.

And again and again, even signing up for that free trial is a great way to support the show and our sponsor too. Thank you so much for listening. Now go and do something with what you learned today.

Signing up for even that free trial is a wonderful way that you can support the show by supporting the sponsor [00:08:00] too.

Mimi Bouchard. Welcome to About Progress.

Mimi Bouchard: Thank you, Monica, for having me. I'm so excited to talk with you today.

Monica Packer: I actually wanna begin with your story, because I think it's so relevant to our. Whole conversation today, and it's really about change.

I think that's really the heart of what we're talking about, about how we desire to change and that it's hard to change. And you hit this point in your own life where you had that desire, that need really to be more of who you actually wanted to be, and I wanted to learn more about it. What was that like when you realized, oh, this is not who I am.

It's not who I wanna be, and how did you find your way back to yourself?

Mimi Bouchard: Hmm. I love how you just said find your way back to yourself, because I really do believe this work is more about unbecoming what you're not, as opposed to becoming something you've never been. It's all about actually shedding the layers of what you're not, of what you've held onto over the years, to then reveal your truest self [00:09:00] because.

Your best self, your future self. I call it, and I use the word future self synonymously with your best self, your favorite self. It's not some version of you that lives in the future. You can be your future self. Now, I write about this all in my book, activate Your Future Self. And um, you know, the reality is I was at a point in my life where I did not feel alive.

I felt like there were many areas of my life I wanted to improve. I felt like I was a little bit of a shell of myself, to be honest. And then I believe we all have a point in life where we feel this way, where we have this little nagging voice inside of us that says, what if. So I experienced that almost a decade ago.

I was living a life I was not proud of. I was very insecure in every area of my life. Um, you know, financially, my relationship with myself [00:10:00] romantically, I just didn't have what I wanted and I needed to change certain things. And I listened to that little voice that was inside the What If, and I decided to make a change.

So I got really into personal development. This was, you know, just over a decade ago before personal development was cool. So it was harder to find content for it, but I was eating up all of the YouTube seminars. I could find all the books, all of the. You know, podcasts that had just come out at the time and I was doing all the things that they were telling me to do, and I started feeling incrementally better for sure.

I started waking up earlier, you know, making certain choices, feeling better. But then there was something that I started to do that really changed the game for me. And this is really the beginning of my journey. I was really learning about visualization. Um, at the time I was really interested in, um, you know, the neuroscience behind how to rewire [00:11:00] your thoughts and how to start thinking differently and changing your self image.

It was a lot about self-image psychology that I was learning about, which I know that you're all about. And I realized that visualization was incredibly powerful, but I didn't know how to actually do it and how to actually. Embed it into my life. At this point I was working four jobs. I was really busy. I was waking up early and you know, working at a juice bar and then I'd run to this like intern job and then I'd go and babysit and then I'd work on my online magazine at night and then I'd dog walk in between all of that to try to make, you know, ends meet.

So I was busy. And I, I needed a practice that I could kinda like do throughout my day. So I decided intuitively to take out my phone one day, um, almost a decade ago, and record. A voice memo to myself, and it was a guided visualization that was more conversational. Um, and it was about the life I wanted to live.

and.

And then I started to [00:12:00] add these, uh, cinematic music tracks in Garage Band as well. And I started creating multiple, uh, audios like this, and I'd listened to them. In everyday moments while I was doing other things, I would habit stack it. I'd listen to it while I was on a walk, while I was on the bus, while I was cooking dinner, and it just started becoming a type of audio I'd listened to.

And I, I started listening to these and creating these because I just couldn't get into meditation. I didn't have time for it. I didn't really see the actual benefit for me in the phase of life I was in to sit and think about nothing. I didn't really want that. I wanted something to invigorate me, to make me feel alive, to make me feel like I was moving towards these goals.

So anyway, long story short, that was kind of the original version of activations. It's a new type of audio that I developed and it's, you know, visualization focused audio mixed with amazing, beautiful cinematic music. Designed to be listened to in everyday moments, to be habit stacked. And, uh, [00:13:00] fast forward almost a decade, I, I launched this as an app, um, almost five years ago, and we have changed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Mostly women, um, use the app and it has completely taken off and been one of the proudest things I've ever accomplished because it changed my life. I made it public, and it has changed so many other people's lives. And you know, I think a lot of us were craving something like this that you could listen to while doing other things because we're all so busy.

And I know a lot of your listeners are moms and you know, moms are the busiest of all. So, uh, yeah, that's kind of my story and how I created this business and how it's changed my life and, uh, yeah.

Monica Packer: You know, you brought up that insecurity piece. I think that is how it feels when you're not living in alignment, when you're not being that future self right now is you feel insecure in some ways and you know, I think a lot of us connect with that, but it also relates to that, the way you see yourself that you brought up.

So I wanted to hear [00:14:00] what has changed for you in the way that you see yourself now, and how that was connected to the ways that you. Began to to behave differently too.

Mimi Bouchard: Mm. Such a good question because it's a complete 180. You know, I look back at how I used to think, well, how I used to speak to myself back in the day. It was horrible, like really horrible. I was really terrible to myself, and I just. I, I disliked everywhere that I was like, I, I really just didn't like myself.

I didn't have the confidence, I didn't have the ability. You know, until I started doing this work to really see a new potential for myself. So what changed is everything I, I had to sit down and decide what version of myself do I wanna be for the rest of my life. And then I started taking the steps necessary to become her.

So the way I think changes, I am incredibly kind and loving to myself now where I used to not be, and I [00:15:00] just. I was a shell of myself in every way. I what? When I get rejected in dating. I always thought it was because I just wasn't pretty enough or wasn't good enough in one way when I would get rejected in business.

I've been an entrepreneur the past decade of my life. It was always tied to my self-worth. But then I've created these and I've adopted and developed these new streams of thought, these new beliefs that I core like believe in, in my core, where even now I get rejected. I get rejected all the time in business with, with I, when I pitch things and.

My immediate thought now is not, oh, I'm just not good enough. My immediate thought now that I've trained myself to believe is, oh, rejection is redirection. This wasn't meant for me. You know, that person is just interested in another opportunity. It's not about me or my self worth, right? So that's just one example of how I've trained myself to see things differently, to speak differently to myself, to have a new self image.

All in all. The work that I do is about [00:16:00] self-image reprogramming your self-image, your identity to align with the version of yourself that you aspire to be.

Monica Packer: And I think we all know that cognitive triangle, right? The way you think leads to beliefs and that leads to behavior. So there is like all that psychology behind how the way we see ourselves affects the way we change. But I think one part of that too that's really interesting is. how, if you are stuck in that where that inner voice is so strong and so shame driven like it was for you when you were in that insecure place, getting to the point where you are able to change the way you think about yourself, which changes all those other things we talked about is a big question mark. And it can take a great deal of time and work. And this is where I think visualization is the tool that a lot of us are missing.

Mimi Bouchard: Hmm.

Monica Packer: And I would love to hear how that is the tool they can use to

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: the way they see [00:17:00] themselves and also how it contrasts to meditation specifically.

Mimi Bouchard: Absolutely. So I have a two step formula for transformation. It's very simple and I like to simplify this work, by the way, because I've been a personal development junkie for a very long time, and everything gets really complicated. And then I had to really just sit down and think to myself, especially before writing my book, how do I simplify all of this?

Like what are the things that actually work and. This is what actually works. Step one is you need to get crystal clear on who your future self is, how it feels to be her. The life that she lives and simply what it is like to live in her body. How does she feel energetically every day? What does, how does it feel holding her heart?

How does it feel walking like her, you know, having the same posture as her? How does it feel to be her? You need to get very clear on the feeling part. It's one thing to just think about, okay, here's how she looks [00:18:00] and how, here's how she acts and here's what she does and here's what she has. But no, none of that actually matters as much as how it feels energetically to be her, because it's like you need to program your body how it feels to be her.

And that really ties into the next step, step two, which is becoming, once you have crystal clarity on who your future self is, you must. Know how to become her in everyday moments. And it's simple. It's acting as if it is just like you're an actress and you're trying it on, and you're just deciding when you're in line at the grocery store that instead of hunching over your phone, you're just gonna, you know, be her now.

Just those three words, it's my, my version of Nike's just do it. It's be her now. When I was the beginning of this journey. I would put those three words on a post-it note on my water bottle, on the back of my phone, on my mirror, in my bathroom. Be her now. If you just wanna simplify all of this work and create the life of [00:19:00] your dreams and reprogram everything inside of you to be that real, true, authentic, happy.

Version of yourself, be her now. And it's not about carving out time in your day to go figure out how to be her in a meditation for 30 minutes and you know, you're just like itching to get up and do those things on your to-do list. It's not about that. I, that's never worked for me, and I've seen a lot of happiness and success and transformation in my life.

The thing that works is learning how to embody her in everyday moments when you're doing the dishes, when you're cleaning, when you're cooking, when you're walking the dog, when you're brushing your teeth, because it all ties into classical conditioning. Pavlov's dog, you know, Pavlov rings the bell That salivates tying a new thought and response with an action.

You're doing that exact same thing. You are taking advantage of classical conditioning when you listen to an activation for 10 minutes every morning when you're walking the [00:20:00] dog, or for five minutes every evening when you're doing your skincare. It, you, it, it just, it's a matter of time where you won't even need that activation playing in the background.

When you're doing that everyday quote, mundane activity, it's a matter of time where you don't even need that activation anymore. You just start to feel abundant, empowered, happy, present. Your future self. So that's really this kind of one of the pieces of science as to why listening to visualization audio, like activation is the first of its kind while you are doing these mundane, everyday activities, it's like the ultimate habit stack because it's even more effective to do it with your eyes open than to do it with your eyes closed.

Monica Packer: Ooh, okay. That's where I feel like that science is so helpful because a lot of my audience aren't super woo woo, but we do love practical science and as part of that, doing things a little differently. And I know the power of visualization. I, I, I tried to use it whenever I feel really [00:21:00] insecure about something that is coming up.

So I was doing this more organically, you know, in the wild, kind of like you just. Trying to listen to some soft music

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: I am walking and thinking through how this interview's gonna go, for example, or how it's gonna go when I go to that get together that I

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: normally try to avoid. Uh, or if there's a scenario with, in my relationships that I'm trying to work through too. Um, so the science behind it a little bit more would be helpful to lean into how does that conditioning work.

Mimi Bouchard: Yes, absolutely. And before I answer that, I wanna say that you having the discipline to like stay with the same thought process while listening to music for that entire walk. Is amazing. You know, I, I honestly wish that I had that discipline.

Monica Packer: Oh, well, mind goes like the first 10 minutes,

Mimi Bouchard: okay, right.

Monica Packer: count it. I still count that,

Mimi Bouchard: I always need something guided. 'cause my mind just like, goes to five different directions.

Um, but yeah, it's, it's [00:22:00] about like, so when you begin to think new thoughts. And think new beliefs. Your neuro pathways in your brain literally start to rewire and refire like they've seen this. Like this is, this is a fact, right? Like you, your brain changes. So think about it this way.

Monica Packer: Hm.

Mimi Bouchard: about it like.

You have a big paved road and then you have a bunny trail. Okay. And like a big wooded area. So the big paved trail is the thoughts that you've had every day for years. It is. I'm not good enough. I, you know, need to improve this area of my life. Um, you know, it's gonna be really hard for me. I'll be happy when, or this won't work for me, or I'm a victim 'cause of this.

Those are, you know, for someone that has more negative ways of thinking, that's the paved road. It's very easy to take that road. And then what happens when you start listening to an audio, like activations or when you start to journal or do this personal development work that helps you rewire your brain.

What starts to happen is you start to take the bunny trail, okay? The first time you [00:23:00] take the bunny trail. It's hard, it's uncomfortable. It's like, whoa, there's a paved road there that's way easier to take. You know what I mean? Like this bunny trail, it's like I have to move these branches around. But then the crazy beautiful thing is that the more that you choose to take that bunny trail, the easier it gets, the wider that trail gets, and soon enough it will be become its own paved road and soon enough it's gonna be easier to make that choice than the other choice.

So that's the beauty with transformation. It's just like. My, the thing that's worked for me is. Making it lighter than it needs to be. It's like Mimi, it's not that hard. Just be her now. Or it's not that hard. Just take the bunny trail. Think that new thought. You know, like it, it doesn't have to be this laborist intense thing.

Of course, if you wanna transform every area of your life, like it's gonna, you know, you gotta put some work in. But a lot of us just wanna improve a few areas and just feel better about ourselves and just feel a bit more alive every day.

Monica Packer: Mm-hmm.

Mimi Bouchard: it's really not that hard to [00:24:00] do if you just know. What it is that you need to stay consistent with,

Monica Packer: that bunny trail. That's like now forever ingrained in my mind about visual way that I can take the

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: path in my own brain. I love that you're realistic about it. Taking time, and this is where I'm thinking about a client that I recently coached. We were talking about how to use more of a compassionate voice and how in the beginning it's gonna feel like trying on clothes that don't fit.

But the more you try them on. The more it will suit you.

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: I'm hearing that reflected in this whole process too, is the conditioning part is the

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: you do this, the more that you visualize and you feel it, you embody the feelings that go with it, the more it will feel. Right. And good. Uh, so can we talk a little bit about the process of how that looks, how maybe it's a little bit messy, and how the goal isn't to be like that perfect version of your

Mimi Bouchard: Hmm.

Monica Packer: future self every day, all day, every day.

Mimi Bouchard: Absolutely. So the first thing I'll say is that the [00:25:00] reason that I've gravitated towards this type of personal development work is because it is enjoyable. I've been through the hustle, like drain myself, hate myself till I get there to, I've been there. I don't like it. It's not what I wanna do. Okay. I really love this work of embodying your future self and working on your self image first before achieving the life you want.

I love this work because A, it's way more effective and we can talk about why. You know, we've already started talking about a little bit of the science behind why there's so much more I can share, but it's more effective. But not only that. It is so much more enjoyable. Like can you imagine? You can already be your future self.

Now you could already feel like her and act like her. You can already speak like her. You can already have her confidence. You can already have the way that she is magnetic in everyday life because it's simply a choice. And yes. Things might take a little bit of [00:26:00] time. The fastest way to get there I believe, is this, this strategy.

'cause there's nothing that's overnight. But this really is the thing that I think works the best because when you are the version of yourself that has those things that you desire, you begin to naturally. Make the decisions that she makes, habits that you have fallen off the bandwagon on so many times, they become way easier to say yes to because your identity is aligned with them.

If you identify as someone who you know speaks so nicely to herself and loves herself, you know it's gonna be an organic for you to just like look in the mirror and start to think, you know, these more positive thoughts. Just like how if you identify as someone that goes like, that's a runner. You know, there are a lot of people that like to run.

I don't run, but you know, if I wanted to, I would do this work to get there, I would start to start seeing myself as a runner first before even going on the run. And then with these runners, they start feeling weird when they don't go on a run. Right? So imagine that. Imagine you could [00:27:00] start to do the things that will get you to where you wanna be with ease, okay?

With with excitement, with like that feeling of this is so ingrained in me, but to get there, you need to adjust yourself image first. And that's using visualization and reprogramming tools. To answer your question on the perfection piece because this is so essential and, and I know that you talk about recovering perfectionist a lot.

I definitely am one. So I came to a point as someone who dealt, dealt with perfectionism a lot in a lot of my life, I had to come to a point to realize that perfection actually isn't the goal. Perfection was actually holding me back. The goal was a quick bounce back rate.

Okay. And the bounce back rate is a term that I developed. And it's like the anti perfectionist thing because it's not about being perfect because perfection's not the goal. There's not one human being on planet Earth that has ever even had a perfect day, even like the [00:28:00] coolest, most successful supermodels that apparently have it all and you know, cover of a glossy magazine.

I can tell you, not one of them have ever had one perfect day where they wake up at 5:00 AM they don't procrastinate. They think positive thoughts all day. They eat organic, the intermittent fat, whatever it is. Not one has had one perfect day, no one does because it's not real. It doesn't exist. So why is that the goal?

It's not. The goal is a. Bounce back rate. So that's essentially the rate at which you bounce back to feeling like your best self after falling off track. So for example, if you are working on your business and you start to procrastinate and scroll on social media, the minute that you realize, oh wait. Mm, okay, I fell off the bandwagon, here it is all about how quickly you can bounce back to doing what you know you needed to do.

After you fell off track. So there was this whole thing about your response time. The second you realize you're off track, it becomes an exciting opportunity to bounce back. 'cause it wasn't about, you can't [00:29:00] feel shame because you would just realize it's like, oh wait, my bounce back rate can be really quick right now if I just get back to it.

So it makes it fun and it also doesn't make you feel shame and resentment or whatever these negative emotions are towards yourself. Because it's not about perfection. It's okay to slip up in certain areas. No one's perfect. It is all about how quickly you can just jump back on the bandwagon.

Monica Packer: I'm sure you found this as true too, but I feel like shame makes out. bounce back rate a lot longer

Mimi Bouchard: Oh, yeah. Okay.

Monica Packer: of, of, of how tied it is to identity. I think it makes you just stop because you think something's broken or that,

Mimi Bouchard: Alright.

Monica Packer: something's wrong with you or that you're never gonna change. When you have more of the centered identity and you've reprogrammed the way you see yourself and the way you behave, you know, I can get back. I can get back. It's

Mimi Bouchard: Absolutely that shame is a very low vibe feeling. And it is, it's like the opposite of self-worth, [00:30:00] right? Because it's like, oh, I did something wrong. I'm not good enough. And it's something I really try to avoid at all costs. And it's all about developing that beautiful relationship with yourself. You know, talking to yourself with love.

When something bad happens or you slip up, or you know, you get rejected. It's like just. Parent yourself. Talk to yourself like you are someone you love and you don't need to do it every time. Just like the bounce back rate. Listen, I'll be hard on myself, and then I'll say, okay, wait. Bounce back to being loving towards myself so you can use this bounce back rate in every area of your life.

Monica Packer: Mm-hmm. Okay. I love that so much. I, I was thinking about, I've got a, a little kid, all, almost all of my kids are neurodiverse, which is so interesting because my husband and I aren't, but it's been, been fascinating how much their identity plays into the way. they end up behaving with. So I've got one who's a pretty stereotypical A DHD kiddo who has been making a lot of impulsive decisions at school, you know, back to school and, and, um, [00:31:00] we're working on it.

But one thing we try to always do when he leaves to schools each, each morning before I drop him off, I have him repeat after me and he says, I'm a good boy.

Mimi Bouchard: I

Monica Packer: make good

Mimi Bouchard: choices.

Monica Packer: And I know it's so simple, but I really feel like we're doing something to program the way he sees himself so that he can bounce back better when

Mimi Bouchard: Mm,

Monica Packer: make an impulsive choice that isn't really who he is.

Mimi Bouchard: totally.

Monica Packer: so I love that connection and, and how you also tie that into, we can do that to ourselves. We can parent ourselves. Visualization is a part of that. So, Mimi, we've been talking a lot about reprogramming and how that's connected to the way you see yourself, meaning your, the beliefs that you carry. I've been really curious about what beliefs you see. That women often carry that hold them back from the change they are possible of.

Mimi Bouchard: So one of the big ones is I'll be happy when,

Monica Packer: Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mimi Bouchard: and it's living in this perpetual state. Of waiting to [00:32:00] start living, and this is one of the ones that I struggled with the most and I still struggle with it sometimes. I'll be honest with you, you know, bounce back. Great. I'm not my future self a hundred percent of the time, even now, and I'm, I'll be honest saying that because it's one of the, the nastiest ones because it takes you out of that feeling of aliveness.

That feeling of just being so in love with life and, and you know, in this moment, and it takes you outta that. And then you spend years in that mindset and then you look back. You're like, wait a minute. I've just wasted all these precious years of my one life, and I think this work has really made me realize this connection that I have with my mortality.

And I know it's grim to talk about, but I think it's something very important that we all need to remember. It's like we have one shot at this thing. We have this beautiful short blip that we get to experience on planet Earth as a human and. If that's [00:33:00] not motivation enough to just start living like the person you wanna be now, I don't know what is, personally my biggest fear is waking up one morning in my eighties and looking back on my life and thinking, wow, I regret not being who I could have been, not being the version of myself that I feel the most proud of, and not deciding to change.

So that's, that's the biggest thing that gets me outta bed in the morning. That connection with the mortality thing, it's, it's huge and it's not something I love to talk about all the time 'cause it is kind of grim, but it's something we all need to remember because the time is now.

We gotta stop waiting no more. I'll be happy when it is. No, I'm gonna be happy now while moving towards what I want because it's okay to have goals. I think it's actually an amazing thing. I think humans, we are goal seeking creatures. I don't think having no goals and just being happy and present 100% of the time is actually the goal.

We feel good moving towards [00:34:00] progress, you know, it's all about progress. So, um, yeah, that's what I would say.

Monica Packer: You know, I have worked with women in their sixties and seventies, and each time I'm always like, wow. One, I'm so proud of them for the carrying the belief that it's never too late,

Mimi Bouchard: Exactly.

Monica Packer: the sadness that they waited,

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah, I know.

Monica Packer: know? So that's what we, we don't wait. Don't

Mimi Bouchard: But also don't dwell, you know, listen, there are people. Yeah. Like I, my mom, my mom and I talk about this because, you know, she is getting older now and she thinks, oh, I wish I had my, your mentality when I was your age. But I'm like, mom. You still have a good, like you have decades left. Come on. Now is the time.

You'd regret it, you know, if you didn't. So it's who cares? Don't look in the past. It's such a gift that you're able to even understand right now in this moment that you want to improve. Like, just think about that. That's all you need to think about.

Monica Packer: Yeah, don't wait. Don't dwell. Um, one other belief I wanted to touch on with you, 'cause I think you may have a unique perspective on this. I often see [00:35:00] women think they can. But I can't,

Mimi Bouchard: Hmm.

Monica Packer: so like, they can be a runner, but I can't be a runner. Or they can change, but I can't change, they can improve their marriage, but I, I can't, they can, they can find a career that they find really fulfilling, but I can't. would you say to the women who carry that belief? I.

Mimi Bouchard: You telling yourself that is the thing holding you back from getting what you want. Right? So, so that in itself, that belief. So terrible to hold onto because it's the actual, literal thing that is the wall stopping you from getting to that relationship, the marriage that you want. You know, whatever it is that your goals are, it's that thing stopping you and it's not even true.

It's silly.

Monica Packer: Yeah.

Mimi Bouchard: can you even think to yourself that that is true? There are countless examples of people that started in a way worse spot than you, that have achieved everything you've ever wanted and more. So obviously it's possible for you. Of course. It's so that's, [00:36:00] it's just you have to tell yourself.

It's silly to silly to think that because it is. Look at the data, look at the stats, look at the reality. Of course you can, but your thought that you can't is literally the thing walling you back.

Monica Packer: And I think one of the reasons why they hold onto that belief is because their circumstances are reflecting that. And there may be some real barriers and obstacles, but the thing that we know about change is that you will never do something. If you believe it won't work. You know? You won't. You won't. And

Mimi Bouchard: exactly.

Monica Packer: to start with the belief. Yeah, this is hard and I can, I can change. So that you can,

Mimi Bouchard: Exactly, and yeah, of course. Listen, we can't control everything that happens to us. Of course we can't, but we can control our response. And our response is 50% of the outcome. There is a formula that I learned once from Jack Canfield, one of the OG personal development authors, E plus R equals O, the event.

Plus your response equals the outcome. So of course, we can't control everything that happens [00:37:00] to us, but we can control our response. We can create a story based on that event that will actually improve our lives. Maybe that will bring us down a path that we wanna be down, right? We can learn from it, we can respond in a way that affects the result.

Monica Packer: So this is where I wanna talk more specifically about activations. And before we do that, you so kindly given my community an exclusive 14 day free trial, they can get that at activations.com/progress.

And you need to go to the site and then you you log in on the app. That's the way I did it too. Um. Activations. We talked about the difference between meditation and visualization via activations. What is it about this particular model that combines everything we talked about today? How is it different than maybe a typical app they may be inclined to try out?

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah, so the difference between meditation and activation is [00:38:00] vast. So meditation is about stillness. It's about calming your mind, zoning out. It's about clearing your thoughts. It's about calming your nervous system, but activation is about tuning in and it's about energy. It's about focus. It's something that you can listen to while you live your life.

Meditation. You have to carve out time from your already busy day to sit and close your eyes and do it. Activation you can listen to in everyday moments. It's designed to be listened to in everyday moments. Okay? And you can habit stack this practice with your life. You don't need to change. What you do, just put it on in the background.

Just like how you listen to a podcast when you're in the mood to learn something. I love podcasts. I listen to them all the time. I love to listen to them. When I'm in the mood to learn something, I love to listen to just music. When I wanna just be in that certain vibe and energy. I like to listen to [00:39:00] audio books when I'm interested in that kind of, you know, uh, setting and outcome.

But I also listen to activations when I'm in this certain mood that. You'll kind of start to notice when you start to listen to the activations in the app. It's this mood where you're like, okay, I just like, I wanna feel a bit more alive. I wanna kind of listen to something that will invigorate me a little bit and make me feel like the best version of myself.

I just wanna, it's like a little, like pep talk. It's kind of like a caffeine hit and um, you know, so that's really the difference. Two completely different use cases. We're really carving out a new category in the audio world with activations and how to describe them. It's kind of like a movie soundtrack mixed with a pep talk mixed with neuroscience visualization principles, and it's this combination audio that's new.

We use a lot of cinematic, amazing music. We have a whole team of audio engineers of [00:40:00] composers that literally create the most incredible pieces of audio that make you feel significantly different. And it's all about feeling different. We were talking about this before. It's all about first feeling different in your body and visualizing not with your mind, but with your body.

So when I use the word visualization, I'm not just actually, you know, telling you to visualize the exact house you want with the white picket fence. No, no, no. I'm asking you to visualize. With your body, emotionally, energetically, how it feels to be the version of yourself that has that house, right? So.

Monica Packer: So.

Mimi Bouchard: That's really the big difference. The music part I'm very proud of. We use composers that do incredible music for TV and movies and they're really instructed to only, you know, offer us content for the app that makes the user, the listener, feel like they're moving forwards in life. It's very positive.

It's a big energy boost and it's really just personal [00:41:00] development audio that's like. Just this mix of all these amazing modalities together. It's one of those things you just like have to try and that's why we offer two weeks free because we really just want everyone to experience it and like understand how quickly it can make you feel different.

A lot of activations, users, you know, will listen for three days and, and feel incredibly, like it's quick. It, you can feel the shift very quickly with these.

Monica Packer: You know when I told you about that story of me, like at the beginning of my walks, trying to visualize something going better while listening to this music, I will say it was effective, but it was kind of like that suit I tried on that didn't fit. It was harder to do on my own. It really genuinely was harder.

And that's one facet of your work that I find particularly transformative because it's guided. If it doesn't feel so real yet, or natural or like it fits, don't have to make it up.

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: guiding you through [00:42:00] it. is guiding you through it so that you can actually feel it and experience it better than just trying to be like, okay, like overcome this, uh, this feels weird.

Or like, I'm not doing this right, or like, what should I say next? It, it's guiding you through it.

Mimi Bouchard: Exactly. And remember, it's all about being her now, like being that version of you now that you wanna be, right. So the truth is. If you just have something you can listen to that reminds you in these everyday moments to experience what it's like to live as the version of you, the truest self, your future self, your best self, your favorite self, whatever you wanna call it, everyone knows that version of them.

They're like, I could be that. That's me. You know, it's just a reminder in your day. On walks while you're doing chores while you're getting ready. I love our getting ready category. It's, you know, whenever I get up and, you know, do my skincare and get ready for my day, I'll just pop on a getting ready one and it's like a morning routine all in [00:43:00] one.

I used to do a whole two hour long morning routine when I was so committed to try to do all this hard work on myself. I'd wake up at 5:00 AM. Honestly the difference. I feel listening to a 15 minute getting ready activation when I'm brushing my teeth, washing my face, and quickly popping on some tinted moisturizer.

That difference I feel is so much more than when I would spend two hours trying to like do this hard work. It's just a shift. And the fact that you listen to it while you're doing these everyday things is like a huge positive. I can't even stress it enough. It really, really makes you feel, and it it allows you to practice being this version of you in moments that you repeat every day, which is so powerful.

Monica Packer: Yeah, the repetition's really important too. As you said, it's all about conditioning, so to do it often is better, but also to do it in doable ways, which I think

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: is designed to do. You just

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: the getting ready tracks, like there's

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: within that. There's same for a [00:44:00] walking, um, skincare.

So like you can. Truly habit stack. It was something else. And that's another thing I wanted to talk about the, the shift it is I meditation's good. We all know it's

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: But this is like you said, a whole other category for those who maybe meditation doesn't work or they're looking more to feel alive or invigorated and in tune while also not having to stop everything and clear the brain. Um, how can they reframe and shift the way they can see? Reprogramming while also doing other things.

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah. Yeah.

Monica Packer: you can ultimately multitask and still get these things out of it.

Mimi Bouchard: It's not hard work. Like I'm not getting, you know, in activations, it's not like, okay, intensely visualize this moment and then you have to like stop. No, no, no. It is so easy to listen to it just, you know, these little reminders to just feel a certain way. We have over 700, almost 800 activations now in the app.

So there's literally. Something for every moment we have from two [00:45:00] minute pep talks before you're about to go into a big meeting, to activations that are eight hours long that you listen to while you're sleeping. You know, we literally have everything in between. Um, we have a cooking category, a cleaning category, which is so popular by the way.

We have so many of our users tell us that they actually hate cleaning, but when they listen to a cleaning activation, they love cleaning. So it's really fun 'cause it's like, you know, one of those things they can do, but really, you know. At the end of the day, all you need to do is press play. That's one of our taglines.

It's just press play, right? You don't have to necessarily be in a state where you're listening to every single word. You know? A lot of people listen to activations in the background of their life. It's just like subliminal reprogramming. Like even if you're not consciously listening to the words that is going into your subconscious, that is going into your brain, and it's also such a positive thing to just play around the house.

I have users that message us. We have. So many testimonials. Um, every day we have an amazing customer service [00:46:00] team that sends me on Slack, all these screenshots. Every day we have tens of thousands of success stories. And, um, recently we had someone write in saying I'm a mom and like, I love my activations practice.

And honestly, I've just been so out of it lately. So I've just started to play these activations. During breakfast time, like when I'm making the kids breakfast, and then my kids are now starting to like say these like things, like, I can do it mom. Like I, you know, like, no, like, it's okay. Or I got rejected, but rejection is redirection.

Or like, they'll say things and then mom's like, wait, what? So. Playing it around the house, you know, like instead of music sometimes, or while you're cooking or you know, in the car, like when you're running to do a drop off or you're running to do an errand, like just play it like you would music or a podcast.

Don't put the pressure on yourself to listen to every word. It's doing work. Trust me, it's, it's working.

Monica Packer: Um, you know, and we know the power of that just with self-talk alone. I think the visualization is, uh, really connected to the way we talk to ourselves

Mimi Bouchard: [00:47:00] Yeah.

Monica Packer: Um. Uh, you know, it's in, it's interesting to me that so much of what we've talked about connects back to this fear that people have that they cannot change. And speaking of shame, I think that's what shame

Mimi Bouchard: Mm-hmm.

Monica Packer: is that fear, like, I can't change. So how does everything we talked about today, you know, changing the way you. See yourself, talk to yourself. Imagine for yourself reprogramming the way you behave, because you have that clarity really in mind about who, who am I, who do I wanna be?

What would that actually look and feel like? And how, how, how can I take one step to be like that today?

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah, we're also like, everyone's busy. We live in a life where there's so much going on. We're also living in a world where there's distraction everywhere, constantly. So. Just deciding to choose something that makes you feel alive other than numb in those micro moments. It's not about changing your entire routine and schedule.

If you [00:48:00] can just start to implement something like this, practice like this for two, three minutes throughout your day. Even two, three minutes a day to start, four days a week, two, three minutes, whatever it is for you, just making it really easy and low pressure for yourself, you're going to see a shift. It doesn't have to be this big revolutionary change, and if you're feeling like it has to be, then that's a sign of perfectionism because I remember.

That was how I used to feel, but really like it's, it's honest and true when people say it's the small changes that matter. So just bring it in throughout your day. Decide to press play in little moments. Decide that instead of, you know, watching TV after the kids go to bed one night, maybe you're gonna go upstairs and you know, like lay down.

Read a book or, or do a little bit of journaling, like just make these small little decisions. It's, it's like a vote every time you make a small decision. It's a vote towards the version of yourself that you wanna be, [00:49:00] towards your future self. And it doesn't need to be complicated. It doesn't need to be hard.

You don't need to, you know, put yourself through so much work and, and exhaust yourself doing it. It's really an energizing shift that will give you more energy and more calm, peace and and intention and magnetism throughout your day, and it's those little shifts that matter most. So that's what I would say.

Give it a shot two, three minutes a day. And I, um, I promise you're gonna feel different. I can't tell you how, how many success stories I've seen, and it makes me believe in this work. Every time we get one, I'm like, wow, this is something that people needed because sure. Meditation, you know, can help, but I, I couldn't stick to it.

You know, I don't know about you. Like, I know it's good, but it's just hard to carve out all that time and to think about nothing. This is really that personal development audio that a lot of us have been waiting for and. All you need to do is press plates. It's simple.

Monica Packer: It is [00:50:00] very simple. In fact, I was listening to the activation. Remember who you are this morning while I was getting ready to work out. 'cause I actually have to trick myself into doing a lot of things.

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: one of the ways I trick myself into working out is while I get ready, I listen to something.

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: That makes it so I'm not scrolling or I'm not getting lost

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah.

Monica Packer: emails or something else.

I'm just listening to something so I can get dressed. And that's what I listened to this morning is, remember who you are is five minutes. And it was so impactful. And like you said, it doesn't have to be so hard to have a big impact. And that's what I would like to end with. You know, you spoke about the success stories. I wanna hear about a few that really reflect this whole idea to combat the shame and the toxic positivity and the grit kind of ways we've been taught to grow in the past. Instead, to believe that you are capable of change,

Mimi Bouchard: Hmm.

Monica Packer: You can do so with compassion such a different way. Tell us about a few people who've been able to live that out in your community.

Mimi Bouchard: Absolutely. [00:51:00] Um, so we have a lot of success stories, like I mentioned, um, a lot big, a lot small, and it really just depends on obviously that that person and what they wanted outta life. So, I heard one last week. We had a user write in saying, okay, I listened to a two minute pep talk because we have a whole pep talk category.

She said, I listened to a two minute pep talk. Every morning when I brush my teeth, and I've been doing this for the past 30 days and I've looked back and honestly, so much of my life has changed in that past 30 day period. And I guess she said it was because she was doing it first thing in the morning, two minutes while she was brushing her teeth and.

Because it was in the morning. It set the tone for her day and then her day started to change and she started making different decisions and she started showing up differently at work. She said within that first month, like her boss had given her a raise, like, you know, her relationship had been thriving.

She felt really good about herself and just, it's hard to put a finger on it. She said, I remember the message, but she said everything just, you [00:52:00] know, got better and brighter. So, you know, little wins like that. It's, it's really. It's hard sometimes to give like this before and after because it's like this, these shifts that you just Yeah.

But in 30 days, just by listening to it for two minutes, like she'd listen to it and stop brushing her teeth when it turned off, you know? And, um. It's like a lot changed. Like she felt like she had had shown up differently at work and that obviously made her more money because obviously listening to something is not gonna immediately make you more money in your bank account, but listening to something like a visualization will allow you to start showing up differently, showing up like the version of yourself that potentially earns a certain amount, and that's why we have a lot.

On the app. Um, we have a lot of like abundance and wealth focused activations because, you know, like I think as women it's super important to be empowered and to feel like we can achieve, you know, um, whatever type of, you know, success and, and wealth that we desire. And, um, we have a lot of success stories in the app of, of [00:53:00] women that, you know, didn't feel confident in that area or didn't see opportunities within their business or at the job that they're working at.

And then listening to activations. Actually helps you notice new things. I don't know if we spoke about this in this episode, but the RAS, the reticular activating system, um. It's essentially, you obviously probably know this, but for the listeners, the RAS is essentially the filtration system in our brains, and it decides what we consciously notice and what we don't notice, and it is programmed by our thoughts and beliefs.

So if the exact example we've probably all heard of, if you're thinking of buying a red convertible, you start seeing it everywhere. It's not because they just started to develop it more, to manufacture it more. It's because your RAS. Was filtering that information towards you because of something that you've been thinking about.

But the same thing happens when you start to think certain thoughts, like I am the type of person that, you know, creates this [00:54:00] type of life with ease. I am the type of person that is magnetic and great opportunities come my way. We have a whole like lucky girl category on the app. You know, that trend that was kind of going around a few years ago.

We have like so many lucky girl energy activations that just make you feel like, you know, I'm a lucky person. And we've had so many great success stories with users that have done a lot of those, and they just start noticing things everywhere. But. It's really because their RAS is reprogrammed and they're starting to see these opportunities, but then they're starting to see it, so they start acting differently.

And it's this compound effect, this snowball effect of positivity. So, you know, I, I can't even tell you how many beautiful stories we've seen. Um, a lot of it comes down. To just the commitment to doing this work. Again, two, three minutes a day. Like the person who listened to two minute pep talk when she was brushing her teeth every morning, like the beautiful thing is it doesn't have to be this laborous hard thing, and you can start seeing [00:55:00] results very quickly, very, very quickly.

Monica Packer: That is so hope giving and I was thinking about my community and I feel like this would be a really good match for anyone who is trying to reprogram the way that they see and talk to themselves, especially. For those who are living in a lot of self-doubt or criticism who want to change but aren't quite sure they can, and they have the desire, and this can be an extra tool and an easy one at that to help them do all of the above. So I want to again, have them go to activations.com/progress to get that 14 day free trial. And I'd also like to direct them on where you would like them to go if they wanna learn more from you. So where should they

Mimi Bouchard: Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having me, Monica. If everyone listening, you know, is interested in some of the topics that we discussed, as I mentioned earlier, my book, activate Your Future Self has come. Out this year, and it is on Amazon, it is everywhere. You buy books essentially. And um, it's [00:56:00] not all about activations by the way, like it's, it has minimal about activations. Of course. Activations is my app and that's my main. Work, but there is absolutely so many ways that you can transform your life, even if you wanna do it yourself.

Like activations is not the only way to transform. It's obviously a shortcut hack that I've developed, but you can absolutely do this with or without it. And, um, I would just really encourage you to follow the principles of clarity becoming and bouncing back with your maintenance. Plan. So, um, yeah, activate your future Self by Mimi Bouchard on Amazon or wherever you buy books.

And, um, yeah, you can take advantage of Monica's mega discount that we're offering her, her audience, and two week free trial at activations.com/progress.

Monica Packer: Amazing. I'm just gonna end with your three words.

Mimi Bouchard: Okay?

Monica Packer: her now.

Mimi Bouchard: Yes.

Monica Packer: That

Mimi Bouchard: Be her now. Everyone listening right now, just do it. It's not hard. It's easy, it's fun. Just be her now. Walk like her, stand like her smile, like her. Just be her now. It's, [00:57:00] it's fun. It's easy, it's effortless.

Monica Packer: Well, I'm so glad I got to spend time with you, but also to take part in activations. Um, I truly am enjoying it and I'm looking forward to what it shifts for me the ongoing future. So thank you so much Mimi, for all that you're doing and your work and for being here today.

Mimi Bouchard: Thank you so much, Monica. It was a pleasure.

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Mimi Bouchard: ​You're such a great interviewer.

Monica Packer: Well, thank you. You're easy. You're easy to interview, so

Mimi Bouchard: Thank you.

Monica Packer: good insight and wisdom

Mimi Bouchard: Oh, thank you.

Monica Packer: with everything.

Mm-hmm. Um, I would like to on just a second. I have two different thoughts. I'm splintering in my head about where I wanna go.

Mimi Bouchard: no worries.

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