Change Your Energy, Change Your Experience At The DMV And Beyond

The Energy Audit: Flip Your Day from Dread to Delight ⚡️🚗

Can your internal frequency transform a nightmare errand into a win? In this episode of Living Lucky®, Jason and Jana Banana prove your energy is the ultimate scriptwriter. We use the DMV and the ringing phone as "stress labs" to show you how to break the negativity "doom loop" and reclaim your agency.

Learn why "living like everyone is watching" isn't about being fake—it’s about choosing your best authentic self to lead the room toward a better outcome.

In this episode, you will learn to:

• Disrupt Expectation Bias: Kill the "dread loop" before you even park your car.
• Master the "Text-First" Rule: Increase consent and decrease friction in digital talk.
• Audit Your Autopilot: Align your "honest" response with the person you want to be.

Mindset Nuggets for Daily Momentum:

• Human Connection Melts Friction: Your energy is contagious—lead with light to soften systemic stress. (Believe in the people around you).
• Interruptions are Invitations: Soften your first response to welcome unexpected value. (Believe in your circumstances).
• Posture Follows Purpose: When you show up as your "best self," your nervous system and the room follow. (Believe in yourself).
• The Integrity Check: If life were a reality show, would you be proud of your current tone? (Believe in a higher power).

Stop being a victim of your day. Hit play to tune your energy and start Living Lucky® today!

• Self-help, personal development, mindset shift, life coaching, positive thinking, Overcoming DMV stress, improving communication habits, how to change your energy, shifting from dread to delight, intentional living tips.
• "How can I stay calm during stressful errands?" Practice the "Energy First" rule. Before entering a high-stress environment like the DMV, pause to breathe and decide on the persona you want to project. By leading with a smile and a collaborative tone, you disrupt the defensive "mirroring" of others and improve the overall interaction.
• "Why do I feel anxious when my phone rings?" Modern "phone dread" is often caused by an expectation of interruption. To reduce this frictio

Transcript

Setting The Energy Shift Theme

Jana Shelfer 0:00

Are you ready to create a life you crave? Let's spin that doom loop of negativity into an upward success cycle and start Living Lucky®. Good morning. I'm Jana. I'm Jason. And we are Living Lucky®. You are too. Changing your energy changes your experience.

Jason Shelfer 0:24

Oh, I can see all the little areas in life where that happens for me right now.

Jana Shelfer 0:28

And it's a choice.

Jason Shelfer 0:30

It is.

Jana Shelfer 0:30

Today I went to the DMV.

Jason Shelfer 0:33

Now that's the Department of Motor Vehicles, if you're wondering what DMV stands for.

Jana Shelfer 0:38

And for most people, it just has this level of dread that goes with it. Am I right or am I right?

Jason Shelfer 0:44

How horrible can this be? That's literally the first question that usually pops into my head when I think of DMV.

Jana Shelfer 0:50

It's like every 10 years you have to go. I think last time I got away with renewing online, and now I had to go again. And I just had I've been putting it off, putting it off, but my birthday's next week. So I literally needed to get it done, or I wasn't gonna have a valid driver's license. Who needs that? I waited until the very last minute. And there were just uh just getting up. I couldn't sleep this morning. Yeah, I had I'm like, oh, I'm gonna have to get my photo taken.

Jason Shelfer 1:20

So then it was trying to get my counters are gonna be high, you're not gonna be able to see over them.

Jana Shelfer 1:24

Oh my god, and that's the other thing. Like, literally, the counters are high, and then she's asking me all these questions. I can't hear her.

Jason Shelfer 1:31

She's like, The counters are high, and then there's a plexiglass between you and that.

Jana Shelfer 1:35

Yes, and so then I would say, I'm sorry I can't hear you. Plus, there's 300 people in line. Luckily, they I had an appointment and they took me to the front.

Jason Shelfer 1:44

Our DMV is like a DMV mega center.

Jana Shelfer 1:46

It is crazy. It's first of all, here's the other thing it's in the old mall. Yeah, that when I first moved to Orlando, this was a super nice, brand new mall.

Speaker 1 1:59

Yeah.

Jana Shelfer 1:59

And so I had so many memories of going to this mall and just being like, oh my god, I'm free. I'm living in Orlando, right? I'm an adult. And now this mall is literally the only thing in this mall are the Sun Pass, which is you know, the highway.

Jason Shelfer 2:18

The toll.

Jana Shelfer 2:20

The tax collector is there, the DMV is there. Is Dillard's still there? No, it's a it's a clearance.

Jason Shelfer 2:28

Oh, it's like a Dillard's uh rack or not even.

Jana Shelfer 2:34

And I went to open it and I was like, I don't think I'm gonna go in there.

Speaker 3 2:37

Oh, that's funny.

Jana Shelfer 2:38

Yeah, so anyway, it just there's dread that goes with this whole process. And I'm telling you, I went in, uh, I parked on one side of the mall, which I followed the signs, and then once I parked, it said, Oh, you gotta go to the other side. This door's locked.

Jason Shelfer 2:54

So you've basically gotten out of your car, you put your wheelchair together, got out of your car, rolled all the way to the front door.

The Mall Megacenter Ordeal

Jana Shelfer 3:01

It's cold outside. Maybe it's cold outside. I'm like, I'm not getting back in my car. I'm gonna push around the mall, which is a lot bigger than what you think. Right?

Jason Shelfer 3:11

When you're inside it, you're like, oh yeah, I'll go from where you're gonna be able to do it to the promised land, takes longer to get to than you ever anticipate.

unknown 3:18

Yeah.

Jana Shelfer 3:18

Anyway, I got in there and you could tell, I was like, oh my gosh, they put me on the end. I couldn't see or hear, and then they said, You need two forms of mail in order to prove your address. And I said, Okay, well, I don't have that with me. I have my passport.

Jason Shelfer 3:37

Which on the online it said you if you already have a uh Florida star ID or or real ID, I think is what they call it. All you that's that should be all you need because they've already proved all this once.

Documentation Confusion And A Tense Exchange

Jana Shelfer 3:50

Anyway, I wasn't about to get into uh an argument over it. Yes. And she says, she goes, you know what, you can just email it to me. So I thought she meant go home and email it to me. And she just sat there and waited. And I I was like, I don't know what she wants from me. Like, is she gonna give me my my current ID back? And she looked at me, she goes, do it. And I was like, do what? And I I thought she meant go home and email her. It was just a mess until this manager comes over and she's like, Oh my gosh, I recognize you. I have heard you speak. You are such a fantastic speaker, and I just wanted to come over and say hello. And as soon as she came over and said that to me, my energy changed.

Jason Shelfer 4:42

Yep.

Jana Shelfer 4:43

The energy of the woman that was helping me, Beatrice, changed, and all of a sudden we had a wonderful experience.

Jason Shelfer 4:52

The experience changed.

Recognition Sparks A Complete Turnaround

Jana Shelfer 4:53

The experience changed on a dime.

Jason Shelfer 4:57

Yeah. The very similar to the same thing happened to me this morning. Tell me. Um, so you know my phone rings a lot and it's like I get a lot of telemarketers. Yeah, you kind of and I think a lot of people get telemarketers, but when I see an unknown number, my everything in my body goes a little bit tense because I'm feeling this quote unquote interruption in my life. Yes, this waste of time, all these negative feelings and emotions and negative things.

Jana Shelfer 5:28

You've attached to the phone ringing.

Phone Dread And Modern Interruptions

Jason Shelfer 5:31

Which makes me not want to be around my phone or not turn the volume off on the ringer, all that stuff.

Jana Shelfer 5:37

Whereas when I was little, the phone would ring. So excited. We would be like, I got it, I'll get it. I'll get it. And we would actually race to get to the phone.

Jason Shelfer 5:45

So true. It's for me, and if it's not, I need to know who it is. You know, it's I'm not sure.

Jana Shelfer 5:50

And now, and now our phone rings, we're like, oh my god.

Jason Shelfer 5:53

And back then, when I was growing up, you couldn't even record what you were watching. But when that phone rang, it was what's happening on the television.

Jana Shelfer 6:02

It didn't matter. It was more important to connect with who was on the phone.

Jason Shelfer 6:06

Now it's gotten to a point where there's so many telemarketers, so many inner quote unquote interruptions in life that you you get that feeling of dread, you get this all these things. And I will say that most of the time, yeah it is going to be a somebody interrupting your day. Or it is an interruption because you're not just sitting there waiting for the phone to ring, but it's gonna be someone that you didn't solicit or you weren't looking forward to talking to. Right. However, if we can always come at it with the best feeling, because I answered the phone and I was like, What do you want? This is Jason, what do you want? You know, horrible, just horrible. And I and I'm waiting, like new clients might or prospective clients might be calling me. Someone to do an interview might be calling me.

Jana Shelfer 6:54

Right.

Jason Shelfer 6:55

Not the best way to answer the phone.

Jana Shelfer 6:57

I know, but you've you've conditioned yourself because that has been your experience.

Reframing Calls As Happy Little Accidents

Jason Shelfer 7:02

Yes. And today that happened. So I got this call, it was from a number I didn't recognize. It didn't say warning spam, but I was like, that's just because I don't know this number yet, you know. So I answered it and I was like, hello, this was Jason. And it was just it was not welcoming at all.

Speaker 1 7:21

Okay.

Jason Shelfer 7:21

And the the person on the other line just says, Hey, so sorry to interrupt your day, but I'm doing we're interviewing someone that you used to work with for a position.

Speaker 1 7:30

Oh, nice.

Jason Shelfer 7:31

And we'd love to get your input because you were recommended as someone who might be able to give valuable input on this project.

Jana Shelfer 7:36

Oh, nice. Now all of a sudden they've kind of complimented you and it's that they re they respect what you have to say.

Jason Shelfer 7:43

And it's still an interruption, but I I I try to train myself to welcome these little like uh Bob Ross used to say, a happy little accident, you know, a happy little interruption. Like it so it changed with the experience that I was having, and it also reminded me how am I stepping into these new experiences, these new possibilities.

Jana Shelfer 8:05

I guarantee, I know I I bet this happened to you as well, but I I know for myself, as soon as that woman recognized me, I sat up a little straighter, I put a smile instead of a scowl on my face. I just showed up differently.

Live Like Everyone Is Watching

Jason Shelfer 8:23

So that that makes me think of the whole we did an episode a long time ago, and I don't know if it was in the podcast or in the video series, but it was about, and I know it was in the podcast series, it was about pretending you were on a reality television show and cameras are on you. So when when someone recognizes you, or in my case, when I was on the phone with this person, if if I was a famous person and on camera at this moment, am I living what type of life am I living? What how am I showing up in that moment? And if we are in that in the quote unquote limelight, are we gonna be our that possible best self? Yeah, or are we gonna allow the world to dictate who we are?

Authenticity Versus Energy States

Jana Shelfer 9:09

You know, when I first started speaking, I did a speech on dance like everyone is watching. Yes. And it's what you're saying is live like everyone is watching. Yeah, and you live like you're you're literally you have cameras on you. However, there so when some people hear that, then they they break into this false sense of self. So we have to be careful the way people are hearing what he what you're saying. Yes. But I understand what you're saying. You want to still be your authentic self, but there's there's different states of energy that you can still break be your authentic self. You just apply your authentic self with a different set of energy.

Jason Shelfer 9:56

Yeah, and ask yourself am I authentically an asshole? You know, or am I authentically? And if that's true, a curmudgeon.

Jana Shelfer 10:03

You know, it's so funny you bring this up because it at Toastmasters the other night, I was put on the spot and I was asked whether or not I wanted whether or not I liked texting or calling better.

Jason Shelfer 10:16

Which which which would you'd rather do?

Jana Shelfer 10:18

And as I was answering it, I was like, I was trying to be my authentic self. And as the words were coming out of me, listen to myself, I'm like, I don't I don't like what I'm hearing.

Jason Shelfer 10:32

I do that all the time.

Texting Or Calling And Social Norms

Jana Shelfer 10:34

Do you? Yeah, because but it's exactly I'm like, this is not the way I want. I'm answering it honestly and truthfully. However, this is not really the answer that I want to project or be.

Jason Shelfer 10:46

Yeah. Well, I what I would say is because there's people out there that go, oh, I'm a phone person. I'm a phone call person.

Jana Shelfer 10:52

Yeah. However, but like what you just said, when the phone rings.

Jason Shelfer 10:56

When you look at people's telephones and their history, how many texts are there versus how many outgoing calls, missed calls, and things like that are there? So a lot of times we say we we want to tell people, I'm a phone person because we know that's gonna make people feel like I'm all about the connection. I'm a deep connection person. I want to have a very value-added conversation. However, and that's true, like you don't want to tell, you don't want to text someone, hey, so-and-so died, you know. You want to, hey, if it means something to you, that's a that's a phone call. That's a connection, hear my voice, I'm here for you. But the majority of the conversations that people have throughout the day is a text message. And it's not as big of an interruption because you get to read it as you get it. It's kind of like email.

Jana Shelfer 11:43

But it was so funny when they asked me that question, uh, and I answered as great the most transparent that I could be with that question. I literally was like, it was almost a mind out of body experience where I was like, oh my god, I don't know if I like this person.

Requesting Consent Before Calling

Speaker 3 12:00

That's so funny. I love this because I'm telling people that they best not be calling me and stick to a text, please.

Jason Shelfer 12:08

Well, so again, in the room, are we gonna have a deep conversation with those people that we just met immediately? Or is it best to just say, hey, let's text? And what you said in there, and I don't know if you were how much you were listening to yourself, yeah, but text, are you available for a conversation?

Speaker 3 12:26

Yeah, I said, Hey, text me and say, Are you available for a conversation?

Jason Shelfer 12:30

Because how often I mean, that changes the way I'm going to show up in the phone call. That's true. But like just what we were just talking about. And I, yeah, I feel like if the caller this morning had texted me and said, Hey, we need to interview, we need to ask you some questions about someone you used to work with, it would be very valuable. Do you have a moment for a call?

Jana Shelfer 12:49

Instead of just calling, you're you're so right.

Jason Shelfer 12:52

In fact, I think I'm creating a life for myself here. I'm creating I'm helping other people create lives for themselves. I don't need an another interruption. And that is true in the dream I'm building.

Designing A Life With Fewer Interruptions

Jana Shelfer 13:04

Oh my gosh. Change your energy, change your experience. And I I really want to listen to this podcast again because I do feel like maybe some ancillary topics sprouted out of what we were talking about, and there's just a lot of good wisdom.

Jason Shelfer 13:24

Yeah, if you heard something that you'd like us to go further on in here, let us know. Send us a text in the um show notes.

Speaker 1 13:30

Thanks for being here.

Jason Shelfer 13:31

Keep Living Lucky®.

Key Takeaway And Listener Invitation

Speaker 1 13:32

Bye-bye. If the idea of Living Lucky® appeals to you, visit us at LivingLucky.com.