Life’s Too Short to Be Pissed: Talk Yourself Through Each Day

Force of nature Sandra Lee, renowned self-made chef, entrepreneur, TV personality, and philanthropist, joined Kim Gravel on a recent episode of the Kim Gravel Show.   

Kim called Sandra a fierce businesswoman and networker, and Sandra explained: “There’s never going to be enough time to meet these wonderful women who are in the world… so when I meet someone, I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, you have to meet everybody I know. I’ve had great mentors in my life.” 

One of the biggest nuggets of wisdom Sandra shared is around how she walks herself through her day. 

As part of her morning routine, after making coffee, refreshing her flowers’ water, and turning on her classical music, Sandra motivates herself with the words: “You can do it, Sandy. It’s another day. It’ll be fine, Sandy. Just do it.” 

“I learned that from Taylor Swift,” she said, explaining that she learned from one of Taylor Swift’s songs that a person has to talk to herself. In the song, Taylor Swift is in the car talking about someone who was hating on her, and she said to herself, “Wait a minute. We’ve been through this before … It’s not good for us, so knock it the hell off.” 

“When she said that, I’m like, yeah, you just have to change your mindset. You have to walk yourself through your day.” 

So many of us experience daily bouts of anger or disappointment, but we can minimize the duration and intensity of these bouts—and then move forward—if we learn to talk to ourselves.

“We’re gonna be dead soon. Why are we pissed?” 

The reason, Sandra said, is because we’re not living our best lives every second of every day. We must learn to remind ourselves that what we have is enough.

Kim told the story of how her 79-year-old father told her, “In about fifty years after I’m gone, nobody will even know I was ever here.” Meanwhile, her 26-year-old nephew is “wasting his life” despite being “so talented and so amazing.” 

“We’re here for such a short time,” Kim said, “So be here. Life is so short.” 

“So don’t be pissed,” Sandra said. “So knock it off and let’s go. Get up every morning and say, ‘You can do it. Let’s go. Life’s too short. There’s not enough time.” 

She went on to say: “If you don’t like your life, change it.”

Sandra knows, from experience, how difficult changing your life can be. She went through a big, painful breakup, of which she’s still dealing with repercussions today, and that was part of a significant change she called “probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and one of the most painful things I’ve ever done.” 

Another big change: Sandra came from welfare and food stamps and parents who weren’t really available or involved, and she built a life out of nothing—one everyone can benefit from. 

“If you’re always looking to serve the greater good, come on. Come to you. It’s really easy to say that, I know, from my perspective, but it’s what I did and it’s what I live. If you get up every day and you work hard and you are nice and you connect and you stay connected … you’re doing it right.” 

“Business is fun,” Kim said, “but my calling in life is to, like you said, leave the world a little bit better when it’s over, when we’re done, when our little bit of time on this earth is done. I’m not going to be pissed about it. I’m going to get busy because that is the advice of the century.” 

While talking with Kim, Sandra also announced the release of her new show, Blue Ribbon Baking Championship, is now on Netflix. It features an actual fair set, and former ribbon winners—highly competitive people in all genres of baking come together to compete for the blue ribbon. She co-hosts the show with Jason Biggs.

Baking competitions at state fairs kicked off Sandra’s career: “That’s how I got to know what everybody really wants to see and how they live their lives, and listening and talking and absorbing and being all over the United States. And everything that I’ve done was kind of birthed from that.”

Sandra Lee is a Gracie and multiple Emmy® Award Winning advocate, philanthropist, and internationally acclaimed home life expert. A bestselling author of 27 books, she is the editor-in-chief of Sandra Lee Magazine and SandraLee.com. Sandra has hosted numerous popular TV programs on networks like ABC, NBC, FOX, Food Network, HGTV, and Discovery Family, reaching 63 countries. 

The Kim Gravel Show is a top women’s lifestyle podcast where Kim shares her message of confidence and encouragement with a side of laughter and fun. The show features inspiring, topical conversations with thought leaders, CEOs, and celebrities tailored to give listeners the insight they need to help them discover their purpose, find their confidence, and love who they are. In each episode Kim tackles the topics that women care about in a way that will make you laugh, make you think, and help you see your life in a new, more positive way.

The Kim Gravel Show is a celebration of the stories that shape us. It's about laughing together and not taking ourselves too seriously. It's about the wisdom we've gathered and the hardships we've overcome. It's about looking at the woman you see in the mirror and remembering that she is beautiful inside and out. This is a show about remembering that no matter what you’ve been through you can love who you are right now.

Y’all, life is hard, but we can do it together.