Unbreakable Mind & Body
Welcome to The Unbreakable Mind & Body podcast with host, Tiana Gonzalez—a multi-passionate creative, storyteller, and entrepreneur with a fierce love for movement. This is our space for powerful stories and actionable strategies to help you build mental resilience and elevate your self-care practice. Together, we’ll unlock the tools you need to create an unbreakable mind and body.
Unbreakable Mind & Body
47 Candles, 10 Insights: A Birthday Pulse Check
Birthday reflections often reveal our deepest truths, and my 47th trip around the sun sparked ten powerful insights that transformed how I view manifestation, relationships, and personal growth.
At 47, I attribute my energy and appearance to prioritizing daily physical activity, whether through structured exercise, dance, or playful movement. Stagnation accelerates deterioration, while consistent motion creates an unbreakable body that supports an unbreakable mind.
What life wisdom has changed your perspective? Share your thoughts and listen to the full episode for all ten insights plus a bonus reflection on the true fountain of youth.
Connect with Me
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Website: unbreakablemindandbody.com
Email: info@unbreakablemb.com
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Disclaimer: This show is for education and entertainment purposes only. This is not intended as a replacement for therapy. Please seek out the help of a professional to assist you with your specific situation.
Welcome to the Unbreakable Mind and Body podcast. I am your host, tiana Gonzalez, a multi-passionate, creative storyteller and entrepreneur with a fierce love for movement. This is our space for powerful stories and actionable strategies to help you build mental resilience and elevate your self-care practice. Together, we will unlock the tools that you need to create an unbreakable mind and body.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the show. I am your host, tiana, and today is my birthday. Today is my 47th birthday, and what I say to some people, like my clients, coworkers and friends, is that I feel like I'm just getting started and I cannot believe that 47 years has passed, while simultaneously sometimes feeling as if I'm 97, because the beginning half, or I would even say the beginning two thirds, of my life experience has been jam packed with a lot of stuff. Now, while I say that, in the interesting duality that everything in life is two sides of a coin and all the layers in between, regardless of how thick or thin right, regardless of the stick we're looking at and how long it is the ends of it, there are things that I haven't experienced. There are some things I'm not sure I'll ever experience, and I've made peace with those things. It's really okay, because I trust that what is meant for me will never miss, and I also believe at this juncture, at this stage of the game, if I need to coerce, force, twist somebody's arm, manipulate, sell it, grasp, clutch, grip on tightly, it's not meant for me. So what I'd like to do with this episode is offer you 10 things that have been top of mind. They are thoughts, they are themes, they are things that have recurred throughout the last year. Now, last year, on my 46th birthday, I posted a photo on Instagram with 46 truths, did a photo on Instagram with 46 truths. This year, instead of thinking of 47 things, I thought of 10. And there might be a bonus, but you have to wait until the end of this episode to hear me unlock them. Now I will be creating a post with these 10 things, but I'd like to give you story behind each one. So, if you happen to follow me on Instagram, you can check the show notes to see my Instagram handle. Please follow me. And if you do, follow me, send me a message and let me know that you heard my voice first, and now you're putting a face and a wild personality to the voice. So, the first thing and, by the way, these items are not in order of importance. This is just how it flowed.
Speaker 2:Number one manifestation has more to do with embodiment and nervous system regulation than repeating mantras, vision boards and meditation, than repeating mantras, vision boards and meditation. Let me say that one more time Manifestation has more to do with embodiment and nervous system regulation than it does with repeating mantras, writing things out, vision boards and meditation. Now, am I saying that mantras and journal prompts, vision boards and meditation are not helpful tools if you want to manifest the life of your dreams? Of course they are, but it doesn't stop there. And if you're mindlessly repeating something, if you're mindlessly journaling the same words, there's a method called the 369 method and you keep writing the same sentence over and over and over. Or maybe you have listened to John Proctor, or you've watched some movies like the Secret, or you listen to Abraham Hicks, and maybe you've heard certain prompts like I am so happy and grateful now that, and you fill in the blank. So you're taking the thing you want in the future and bringing it into the present tense. There are also folks who will say I am and fill in the blank. And they're filling in the blank with not their real 3D current reality, but with the reality that they want to create, summoning the things from the future into their current existence. Now you have to embody those things. I think two episodes ago I talked about energy. It's called the unhinged energy episode and it's unhinged because I was unhinged completely unscripted and winging it off the cuff and your girl can talk. And on that episode, we talked about embodying things, and what do I mean by that? Well, when you, let's say you want to level up your lifestyle okay, maybe you're similar to me. Level up your lifestyle Okay, maybe you're similar to me. You live in a studio apartment currently and you would like to one day own a five bedroom mansion with a in-ground pool in the backyard and a home gym and a four car garage, when every car in there is a luxury car and, by the way, there is nothing wrong with wanting nice things, all right. So how do you get to that point? How do you embody that If that's not your current reality? Well, you start to execute and make decisions as if you are the successful person who already has those things here's number two. Those things, here's number two.
Speaker 2:We do not have to use our past suffering and trauma to identify ourselves. Now, this was a big one for me, and this came up a lot this year, because many times you will encounter someone who's in therapy or someone who has done some of their inner work, and they repeat the lessons and they're sharing what they're learning with folks. Or maybe they're currently in therapy and they are doing the work and they're processing and they can't seem to actually get out of the processing mode, seem to actually get out of the processing mode. They can't identify themselves without pulling into the description, what they have overcome, how much shit that they've been through, the drama, any traumas, any generational curses, any abuse. There are a lot of things, and when we always identify with our pain, with our suffering, with the past, it can keep you stuck almost like a tornado. It just keeps spinning around and around and around itself, but it's not necessarily moving forward. And so we want to maybe not always bring up the tragedies when we're talking to new people, when we're explaining who we are. There are ways to go about it. Explaining who we are, there are ways to go about it, and I think it's important to navigate those thoughts and come up with ways to rebrand ourselves, to think about ourselves in a different light, and it starts with self.
Speaker 2:I recently was having a conversation with someone and he said you know, you've just been through so much and I had to stop the conversation and I said, first of all, whoa, you only know a fraction of it. And secondly, I've made peace with a lot of those things. I shared them with you in confidence, but I shared them with you in confidence. But I'm not holding on to that pain anymore. I'm not wearing it like a badge. I am not the winner of the trauma Olympics. Yes, I've been through a lot of shit and no, most people won't believe it. If I ever told my full and complete story, they would be fucking amazed that I am still alive. They would be fucking amazed that I have made it as far as I have, knowing some of the things that I've been through, and there are things that absolutely no one knows.
Speaker 2:Number three not everyone you love as a friend feels that mutual, friendly affection back towards you. Sometimes they are envious, monitoring spirits that keep tabs but secretly towards you. Sometimes they are envious, monitoring spirits that keep tabs but secretly hate you. This is a lesson that I learned very abruptly in 2024, and it trickled over into 2025. In 2024, I grew apart from two people who were very longstanding friends and ironically, they don't know each other. But I've had long running relationships with two of these people and it was almost simultaneously that I realized, oh my God, they're not really interested in seeing me win. They're not really invested in this relationship the way I have been all this time.
Speaker 2:In both instances I was the one who always drove to see them. I was the one who was constantly initiating plans, who was reaching out, who was calling, and I was the one who was always getting breadcrumbs. I was the one who was always getting the phone call when they're running between Target and TJ Maxx and Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks, and it was the constant like hold on, a second, I'm just running in to do this. You know what? I wasn't a priority as a friend for those people, and then we would go long periods of time without checking in with each other. And then I would get the phone call like oh, I just want to check in on you, I just want to make sure everything's okay. Yeah, I have time to listen now, and they would eagerly anxiously await listening to every fucking detail of what's going on in my life, not because they're concerned, not because they're going to offer assistance and not because they're going to show up physically or be there for me in any sort of way, but because they just wanted to fucking know my business and potentially just kind of throw out negative energy towards me. You know the evil eye.
Speaker 2:Now number four almost anything can be learned, trained, developed and mastered if you really want to learn it. A skill, a thought, a way of doing something, a skill, a thought, a way of doing something, almost anything can be learned, trained and developed. I firmly believe that Now, is there such a thing as a natural talent and a natural gift? Of course there is, and that could never be replicated. There are prodigies, there are musical geniuses, there are creative connoisseurs who sure they've got a trained ear, eye, sense of taste. However, they're just outside the realm of normalcy because they have just been born with these gifts. And at the same time, I also believe pretty much anything can be learned and you can get very close to a level of excellence. Excellence why? Because most people quit, most people cannot play the long game. I'm a bodybuilder.
Speaker 2:I started ballet when I was 15 years old, which is old for a dancer, and I skyrocketed through. I learned all of the basics, I got my turnout to look so much better and I went through the process in class and moved myself up to the front of the class and then was leading classes in a very short period of time, which is unheard of. Most ballerinas start dancing when they're in preschool and I did not learn ballet until I was 15. So fucking epic LA until I was 15. So fucking epic. Now, number five you will be sent the same lesson, sometimes in the form of different people, until you learn and act appropriately, until you learn the lesson. And you learn the lesson when you change the way you respond and how you behave. I'm going to say that one again because it's good. You will be sent the same lesson, sometimes in the form of different people, and this could be over the course of years, by the way. And this could be over the course of years, by the way, until you learn and act appropriately.
Speaker 2:In my case, I dated several guys in my late twenties who all had a lot of the same traits. They were very different as far as age and background and where they grew up, but there were personality traits that were very, very similar from one to the next to the next. In my mid-20s, I was dating a man who was six, almost seven years older than me, and that became an abusive relationship over time. After him, I was single for about a year, a year plus, and then I dated someone who was six years younger than me, and so that was like the swing of the pendulum and it was a lot of fun, but I wasn't being completely fulfilled in a relationship level. I didn't have a partner in that situation. I had a project, and that person is no longer with us. He passed away in 2009.
Speaker 2:And then the person after him I thought was like the best thing since sliced bread, but truly, what was going on there is that he was the best thing I had to that point in time, but the bar was so fucking low and I didn't even know, and so when that ended, that's the relationship that I said to myself all right, I need to make a change, because this one did these things, this one did these things and this one did these things. And what's the common denominator here? Me. So we're going to therapy again, and I put myself in therapy and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Now, truth be told, of course, as I continued dating well into my thirties and into my early forties, I did encounter people who reminded me of some of the young men I dated in my twenties.
Speaker 2:However, I was smart enough now to recognize the signs, to understand the behaviors, to see the patterns, to honor the red flags that I felt within me and maybe they're not red flags for everyone else, but they were red flags for me. And to say no, thank you, I'm not interested, but bye now. But I had to go through what I had to go through to get to this point. Remember I believe this for myself and for you that you do the best you can with the tools that you have at the time and if you're fucked up, well, hopefully you can learn from those mistakes so you don't make those mistakes again. That's the whole fucking point. That is literally the point of this entire podcast. Every episode of this show is to learn from your mistakes and be in a state of constant evolution, of growth, of making yourself a better person.
Speaker 2:Now, number six confirmation bias and social media can trap you into linear, small-minded thinking, which is simply not true. What do I mean by this? Did you ever go to I don't even want to say an app, any app, any of the social media platforms and you start seeing articles that align with your views? It could be about anything. It could be about how to make cookies that are crispy and dark brown on the bottom, but not burnt and gooey, and have a little bit of a rise in the middle. I mean, that's very specific, right, and you could then find recipes and articles that support your choices and say, yep, that's the way to do it. That's the only way to do it. This is how we do it, and what do I sound like? I sound like someone who's very small and closed-minded. There is more than one way to do things, but if you believe that that's the only way, you will start to see posts from your network, things being shared from media platforms and outlets that support your beliefs, and then that makes you think that that is absolute truth, when in fact it is not.
Speaker 2:Number seven learning a new language is easier than I thought, so I am learning Spanish for the millionth time, but this time it's actually working because I am immersing myself in Spanish every single day. Some days it's 15 minutes, some days it's an hour, maybe two, just depends on what I have available and what the topic is. I've been watching Spanish videos and listening to Spanish podcasts. There are several platforms that I'm into. I absolutely love having the variety. There's one. That is all. The episodes are two native Mexican speakers and they talk about the way that different dialects use different words, but they mean the same thing. Different words, but they mean the same thing and they're very funny. Oh my God, their banter is so good. Then there is another platform that has thousands of videos on their website and on their YouTube channel, and the podcast is excellent. And then I found a few others, and I have to tell you that just listening and immersing myself in what they call comprehensible input is helping me become more brave when I'm in a situation where I can try speaking to a native Spanish speaker, or even with somebody who is learning as well. And I will tell you, this has brought me more connection, because I have encountered people on social media who are in the same boat as me, including one person who has a Spanish last name, just like I do, and he did not grow up bilingual and now he's changing that and he's in his 40s and he has big dreams of potentially moving to go to Spain and really immerse himself, and I think that's fucking awesome. So if you want to learn a new language, immersion is the best way to go, and you can easily do that with YouTube. Start there. Now here's number eight People can only meet you as deeply as they have met themselves, which might explain why those who have done some inner work, are bored, uninspired and not motivated by their 3D reality.
Speaker 2:So if you've done any therapy, if you've done shadow work, if you are currently doing it and you're working on making yourself the best version possible, then you may find that your current state of the state isn't doing it for you anymore. You might find your work boring. You might find your coworkers are immature. Now, because you've done a lot of work on yourself, your perspective is different, and so now you need to re-examine all of the connections and the relationships that you have in your life, because you need to be in a room with people that are pushing you to continue to expand and to grow, that are pushing you to continue to expand and to grow. It's kind of like if you go away to college and then you come home and you are meeting up with your friends from high school and you have nothing in common with them anymore. You don't know what to talk about or the things that used to light you guys up and was the collective energy is no longer there, because growth happens for everyone at different rates and different magnitudes. So when you're dealing with or working with people that you once cared about deeply, it's not uncommon that maybe you've outgrown them or they've outgrown you.
Speaker 2:Now here's number nine the greatest gift that you can give your loved ones is to go to therapy. It is a bold statement and it sends ripples out to the world that you desire being better. Your children deserve a better future than anything that would resemble what you had growing up. And I say the word better and how you define it is up to you, because it does not necessarily mean a bigger house, more toys, fancier clothes, a nicer car when they get their license. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the emotional depth, it's the emotional connections, it's the quality of the bonds that you have created with them, and it is the ability to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations and to work through those things, resolve them, make changes where necessary and proceed forward. That's what I'm talking about, and proceed forward. That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:Both of my parents are good people, but they have a lot of trauma and a lot of shit, and when I was very little, they were also significantly younger, and it makes sense. They were still growing and didn't know what the fuck they were doing. They did the best that they could, and I truly believe that. But my parents fought a lot. There was always yelling and screaming and fighting and somebody slamming a door and somebody punching a table, and it just became a very unsettling environment. And that's also part of why I decided to go into therapy, because I knew I don't want that anymore decided to go into therapy because I knew I don't want that anymore. I've worked diligently to create a peaceful home, and sure it's peaceful now because I don't have kids, so there's no kids that I need to discipline at the moment, but maybe I'll be a step-mom someday and I want to be sure that I'm a better version of myself than I would have been had I not done that work. Because where I come from, it is common to yell and scream and sometimes slam your hand on the table or punch a wall, and quite frankly, that's unacceptable. When you yell or raise your voice, or if you lie or if you throw a tantrum, what it means is you do not know how to regulate your emotions. If you start screaming off the handle, yelling and cursing, especially around children, you don't know how to control yourself and you are creating a hostile environment for a very small, gentle, impressionable spirit, and now you're traumatizing your own kids.
Speaker 2:Number 10, I believe that the power of true, vulnerable, heart aching love can heal a lot of the gaps that may be seen in the world through our differences. It is very difficult to hold on to some relationships when people's views on things are drastically different, when we're being divided in so many areas of our life. I just saw a video today of a young man commenting on how a large retail store is removing all of their prices from their tags that hang on articles of clothing and you have to download the app, scan the barcode and then get the price. And on the principle alone it's just wrong, because basically what the store is saying is if you don't have a phone and you can't download the app, then you don't get to know how much the item is and it could potentially lead to big problems in the future. Now, some people are not agreeing with this person. I happen to agree, and it's a problem, but maybe if we had a more gentle and loving stance or came from a more vulnerable place, we could be more understanding of others that maybe don't have what we have, or maybe they don't have a phone, or maybe that's the best that they can do right now, and maybe we could be a little bit more compassionate towards one another and bridge those gaps. Now here's your bonus point Getting down into your body through movement, through breath work, through things like dancing and play.
Speaker 2:This is the gateway to the fountain of youth. I believe if you prioritize movement, you will notice your life and the energy shifting. I certainly don't look like I'm in my twenties, but I also know that I don't look 47. And I attribute that to keeping myself happy, keeping my body in motion. I move every single day. I've been encouraging everyone in my family, including my grandmother, to get up and move, even if it's just a little movement around the apartment. But moving your body is the secret sauce. Sitting in stagnation for long periods of time doing nothing, you're going to rot and you can deteriorate very quickly. I see it happen all the time. Folks retire and they stop moving. They don't go out for walks anymore, they don't go to do exercise, they're just kind of lounging around and yeah, they're retired, they deserve it. However, they fall apart and they fall apart quickly, fall apart and they fall apart quickly. So those are my 10 plus one thoughts, themes, things that have come up a lot over the past year of my life. I'm going to run through them again really quickly.
Speaker 2:Number one manifestation has more to do with embodiment and nervous system regulation than repeating mantras using a vision board and meditation. Number two we do not have to use our past suffering and traumas to identify ourselves. Number three not everyone you love as a friend feels that mutual, friendly affection back towards you. Sometimes they are envious, monitoring spirits that keep tabs but secretly hate you. Number four almost anything can be learned, trained, developed and mastered if you really want to learn it. Number five you will be sent the same lesson, sometimes in the form of different people, until you learn and act appropriately. Different people until you learn and act appropriately. Number six confirmation bias and social media can trap you into linear, small-minded thinking, which is simply not true. Number seven learning a new language is easier than I thought. Number eight people can only meet you as deeply as they have met themselves, which might explain why those who have done some inner work are bored, uninspired and not motivated by their 3D reality. Number nine the greatest gift you can give your loved ones is to go to therapy. It is a bold statement and it sends ripples out to the world that you desire to be better.
Speaker 2:Number 10, I believe that the power of true, vulnerable heart aching love can heal a lot of the gaps that may seem to be widening our differences. And number 11, the bonus point. The big takeaway is that getting down into your body through movement, breath work, things like dancing and playing, is the gateway to the fountain of youth. If you prioritize movement, you will notice your life shifting for the better. I really hope you enjoyed this bonus episode. Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me. Thank you for being here in this cozy little moment with me. This is our time and I love it and I appreciate you being here. I appreciate your time and attention and, as always, I'll catch you on the next one.