ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome to Part 2 of the Alignment Edit, where we're tackling health and wellness. But this isn't about becoming an Olympic-level athlete or a wellness queen, this is about shifting from viewing wellness as punishment to seeing it as a practice that protects your mind, your energy, and your ability to show up for the life you're building.
After all, we are nothing without our health.
In this episode, Alexis gets honest about her relationship with her body — from being diagnosed with MS at 15 and deprioritizing her health for years, to finally learning how to nourish herself from a place of love instead of control. We're talking winter wellness routines, the alter ego effect for stubborn habits, eating patterns that need major editing (hi, entire box of Ritz crackers for dinner), and why scheduling your preventive health appointments is an act of self-trust.
This isn't about perfection, angels, it's about building a better baseline so your health can hold the big life you're dreaming of.
What You'll Learn:
Why wellness needs to shift from punishment to practice
The alter ego effect: how to embody a different version of yourself for stubborn habits
Why your eating habits might be stuck in an old identity (and how to edit them)
The importance of scheduling preventive health appointments as an act of self-trust
How to approach wellness from a place of nourishment, not optimization
Winter wellness essentials: steps, supplements, and small rituals that actually work
EPISODE CHAPTERS
[00:30] - Welcome to Week 2: why health is the foundation that holds everything else
[03:22] - You are nothing without your health (and what MS taught me about control)
[05:25] - Shifting from punishment to practice: reframing your wellness why
[07:58] - The alter ego effect: embodying a different version of yourself
[12:55] - Eating habits that need editing (those Ritz crackers for dinner are doing nothing for us, sister)
[15:02] - Letting go of old identities around food and movement
[16:40] - Preventive health appointments: gynecologist, dentist, blood work, and more
[18:15] - Winter wellness essentials: steps, supplements, and small upgrades
[20:07] - Week 2 wrap-up: finding alignment without becoming a wellness perfectionist
WHERE TO FIND ALEXIS & TOO COLLECTIVE
Follow along with Alexis:
Instagram:
@alexisbarber: https://www.instagram.com/alexisbarber/?hl=en
@toocollective: https://www.instagram.com/toocollective/?hl=en
Substack:
Too Smart For This Newsletter: https://toocollective.substack.com/
TikTok:
@alexisbarber_: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexisbarber_
YouTube:
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/@alexis_barber
Shop the Episode: https://shopmy.us/shop?Curator_id=250549
Book Office Hours: Work with Alexis Here:
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=22112790&appointmentType=79833937
Get the Journal: Too Smart For This: A Guided Journal Here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761193/too-smart-for-this-by-alexis-barber/
Questions, thoughts, or want to collaborate with Alexis or Too Collective? Email Alexis at alexis@alexisbarber.com
ABOUT TOO SMART FOR THIS
You're ambitious. You're overwhelmed. And you're definitely too smart to keep sacrificing your well-being for someone else's definition of success.
Too Smart For This is the show for ambitious material girls just like you who are learning how to channel their chaotic energy into a more intentional and fun life.
Join your host, Alexis Barber (author, Wharton MBA, former Google/YouTube strategist, and certified ambitious material girl), every Monday for the frameworks, authentic conversations, and tangible tools you need to build a life that's both driven and deeply enjoyable. Because self-care is part of the business plan—and you're too smart to settle for anything less.
Subscribe now and follow @alexisbarber and @toocollective for more.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Hello, love!
I'm an ambitious material girl obsessed with wellness, business, consumer culture, and the creator economy. I write from New York City, where I'm busy enjoying being young, gifted, and Black, oversharing online, and remembering that self-care is part of the business plan.
My career TLDR:
Bounced from Google Marketing to YouTube creator strategy before getting my MBA from The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania.
Started and ran a premium bathrobe brand that collaborated with Rare Beauty & Bumble, and I'm the author of Too Smart for This: A Journal to Build Self-Trust and Stop Settling for Less Than You Deserve, published by Tarcher Books.
Been a lifestyle influencer for 5 years, collaborating with 75+ brands across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and was named by the American Influencer Council as a Trailblazer in the microinfluencer category.
This show is supported by Other Kind Media — otherkindmedia.com
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toocollective.substack.com/subscribe
