Ep 172. How to Value Yourself and Start Living Differently, with Blake D. BauerEp 172. How to Value Yourself and Start Living Differently, with Blake D. Bauer
Behind The Smile with Ash Butterss
Ash Butterss talks with Blake D. Bauer about addiction, shame and the lifelong habit of self-betrayal, and how meditation, honesty and self-worth practices can shift life in a new direction. Their exchange focuses on practical ways to build self-love and trust, especially for those in or considering recovery.
1:01:29•26 Apr 2026
How Self-Worth Changes Everything with Blake D. Bauer
Episode Overview
- Morning meditation, even for 10 minutes, can interrupt anxious thinking and set a calmer tone for the whole day.
- Asking “If I valued myself 100% today, what would I say and do?” exposes where you’re still betraying yourself.
- Self-love can be practised through daily habits: caring for your mind, being honest and kind, and acting in integrity with your feelings and needs.
- Shame, guilt and destructive behaviours often stem from childhood wounds and generational patterns, which can be acknowledged without blame.
- Choosing activities and relationships that raise your energy makes it easier to release substances, people and habits that drag you down.
“If I valued myself 100% today in every situation and relationship, what would I say and what would I do?”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This candid conversation between host Ash Butterss and author-teacher Blake D. Bauer centres on one big theme: learning to value yourself enough to live differently. Blake shares how his teenage years were wrapped up in drugs, alcohol, pills and people-pleasing, all while presenting as the successful top athlete.
A funny-yet-painful story about stealing a puppy with a mate becomes a doorway into his deeper pattern of self-betrayal: “I learned to abandon myself in exchange for belonging, acceptance, and love.” That pattern climaxed in a DUI that cost him his position as co-captain of the school football team and shattered his identity. Instead of doubling down on destruction, Blake turned towards healing.
He describes how a back injury pushed him into acupuncture and hot yoga, and how Buddhist meditation became the practice that “saved my life” by teaching him he was “not the voices in my head”. You’ll hear him explain, in very practical terms, how morning meditation shapes the nervous system, stress chemistry, and ultimately the course of a day.
Ash and Blake talk frankly about growing up around addiction, generational trauma, and the shame that keeps so many people suffering behind a smile.
Blake unpacks his core question for self-worth: “If I valued myself 100% today in every situation and relationship, what would I say and what would I do?” From there he breaks self-love down into concrete habits: training the mind, being honest and kind, acting in integrity, journalling, and choosing people and activities that raise your energy rather than drain it. For anyone in recovery or sober curious, this conversation offers gentle challenge and real hope.
It asks you to consider: what would change if you truly stopped betraying yourself?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.
Related Episodes
Similar episodes from other shows in the catalogue.