August 18, 2025 • 27 mins
Your calendar doesn’t cause burnout. It’s caused by your nervous system.
After building multiple seven-figure businesses in her twenties, Dr. Nona Djavid found herself sobbing on the closet floor—exhausted, overwhelmed, and completely burned out. That breakdown became a breakthrough. She didn’t just change her habits—she rewired her subconscious and trained her nervous system to feel safe with rest, freedom, and abundance.
Now, she helps high-achieving professionals do the same without quitting their jobs or blowing up their lives.
In this episode, Kendall and Nona unpack the invisible addiction to stress, how subconscious safety patterns sabotage growth, and why visualizing your future isn’t just spiritual fluff—it’s brain science. Nona also breaks down her One Week/Month Lifestyle and how anyone—from entrepreneurs to corporate leaders—can adopt it in a way that works for them.
Dr. Nona Djavid is the founder of eLIVate Club and creator of the One Week/Month Lifestyle. Her work helps high performers rewire the subconscious patterns keeping them stuck in cycles of burnout, stress, and overachieving.
Want more from Nona? DM her @nonadjavid on Instagram and mention this episode to access her free 90-minute training: Four Steps to Quantum Leaps
In this episode, we discuss:
What is nervous system dysregulation and how does it show up at work?
How do I know if I’m addicted to stress without realizing it?
Can visualization rewire the brain for success?
Why does my nervous system sabotage my goals?
How can I create more time freedom without quitting my job?
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That Career Coach
Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?
Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nona Djavid (00:00):
Speaking of the physiological effects, you know, the addiction to stressed out and overwhelmed, there's, there is a series of neurotransmitters and a series of chemicals that are attached to that.
So it's no different than any other drug.
Most of us, I think, especially business owners, entrepreneurs, creatives, you know, I feel like a lot of moms in general too.
(00:25):
If is we're kind of, we have that addiction to the stress that and overwhelm.
I mean, if I ask you or anybody listening to this or myself, when was the last time you were stressed out?
I can recall probably this morning, as early as this morning.
But if I tell you when was the last time you were in peace or content or happiness or joy, you're going to have to really think about unless you have a practice, say this morning that you actually did gratitude.
(00:50):
But if you didn't or if you didn't include that's not a regular thing that your nervous system goes to.
But stressed out, overwhelmed, too much to do.
Oh, I could recall it was probably five minutes before I got into this podcast.
So there's that level of addiction that neurochemically, literally is taking place in your body.
Kendall Berg (01:10):
Welcome back to this episode of Secrets of the Career Game.
So many people are trying to navigate a corporate world that is laden with secrets, cleverly hidden and unspoken rules to a game that most employees don't even know that they're playing.
On this podcast, we try to give you a peek behind the curtains and some tips and tricks to ultimately make you successful in your career and help you progress a little bit faster.
(01:35):
Welcome back lovelies, for another fabulous episode.
Today we have Dr. Nona David with us.
She is a doctor of chiropractic with a background in neurology.
She's an entrepreneur and she's the founder of the Elevate Club and the one week, one month lifestyle.
She helps high achieving professionals rewire subconscious work beliefs, regulate their nervous systems and design lives of freedom and flow, which I feel like we could all use a little bit more of as the world gets busier and crazier.
(02:02):
So thank you, Dr. Nona.
We're excited to have you.
Nona Djavid (02:04):
Yeah, thank you.
I'm excited to be here.
Kendall Berg (02:07):
So as listeners are getting up to speed and getting to know you a little bit better, take us on your journey.
Because to be a doctor of chiropractic and then kind of shift into this more holistic flow state, what has that journey looked like for you?
Nona Djavid (02:22):
Yeah, so I wish I could say it was all rainbows in unicorn, but My journey really started when I was always a high achiever, like type A, hard worker, lots of grit and you know, and I would wear those qualities and those traits on sort of as a badge of honor, like this is who I am and I'm gonna go get it.
(02:45):
And so also being a child of a second, I'm a second generation immigrant.
So I moved to the United States when I was 16 years old.
So imagine all of these different ingredients and here I am at 16 years old in the United States and I'm like, I'm going to go make it and I'm going to go be somebody.
And so I go on and I get a neurology degree from Berkeley, then I go get my doctorate in chiropractic.
(03:09):
Then I move down to Southern California into a brand new town and I open up a business and I built this really beautiful, amazing, almost seven figure business in my early twenties.
And then I have my first child.
Well, I get married and then I have my first child.
And so I checked off all of the boxes, the traditionally, you know, defining success boxes.
(03:32):
And then I remember having this moment almost like, no, I was sleepwalking through all of this and building all of this success and all of a sudden I wake up.
Although I have to say, it wasn't really an overnight thing.
I was just tired.
Day in and day out.
I'd built the business in a way that was draining me and I was a slave to it.
I had built the entire life and my marriage and everything I was doing was a lot of over giving, a lot of push.
(03:58):
And here I am overwhelmed, feeling completely broken, unfulfilled, and just was about to give up.
And so ultimately that became the pivoting moment where I made a recognition, like I have to do things differently.
So while grit and hard work and struggle had, you know, like, or this addiction to all of those things, addiction to overwhelm, addiction to stress, addiction to working hard had gotten me to a certain place.
(04:31):
It wasn't going to get me to where I could experience more freedom, more joy, more love in my life.
So I had to start sort of doing things differently, which is really the beginning of my journey.
And this is, we're talking about a decade ago.
And so then, you know, a decade later, here we are talking about it.
Kendall Berg (04:49):
It's so great.
And I'm sure so many people, myself included, like I resonate with what you're saying, right, of that type A got good grades.
So if you get good grades, you go to College.
If you go to college, you get this certain type of job and you build a certain type of life and you do these certain type of things.
And then I feel like so many people in our generation especially were like, yo, I'm tired.
And I don't feel like I got this mansion worthy life that was promised to me if I did all of these things.
(05:16):
And so now I'm just tired with nothing to show for it.
So I love that you made this pivot and that you kind of walk through it.
So help us understand.
You have helped so many people, helped yourself kind of pivot from this like, high achiever burnout life into more flow and more balance.
Why is it that so many high achievers, especially women, like, we get stuck in this burnout loop and we just like, go so hard all the time?
Nona Djavid (05:40):
Yeah, I think, gosh, so many directions I can take this conversation, but I can start with.
For myself.
I was in so much of the masculine energy of the push of making the things happen.
I was a sole provider for my marriage at the time, for my family at the time.
And I think I just.
It was really a survival mechanism at the time.
(06:03):
So this burnout becomes a survival mechanism that ultimately kind of leaves you with no.
Nothing else to do because you can either go back to the way that you were doing things that feels comfortable and safe, even though it is really painful, or you're going to have to step into something that's totally unknown.
So I remember for me, the way it began was I. I was having this.
(06:27):
This moment that were just kind of getting to is.
I remember my.
My son was just born, so he's 10 now, so this was 10 years ago.
And I put him to sleep to take a nap.
And I took a call with my business at the time at 13 employees, seven figure business early mid 20s, and took a business call.
I went over some numbers, just like a very average, normal day for me.
(06:50):
And then what really was different about it is I walked into the walking closet at the time and in my old house, I shut down the lights and I shut down the door and I literally sat there against the wall and I started sobbing.
I held onto my knees.
I remember just sobbing so much that I was holding on to like, my mouth because I didn't want to wake up my newborn at the time.
(07:15):
And I remember thinking like you're saying we build this life and we really have no level of joy or happiness to show for it.
And we're just tired.
And I Was just tired.
And I remember thinking, if I have to do things differently, this could be the beginning of something.
Like this closet could be the space where I plant the seed for this next thing that I'm going to do.
(07:37):
But what I did know for sure was the way I'd approach things was not going to work.
The masculine energy push of pushing to make the thing happen wasn't going to work.
Coming from the energy of scarcity or trying to prove myself or make it or work really hard, like those old patterns and the belief systems that had me lead to burnout, they no longer were going to work and I was going to have to try to do things differently.
(08:04):
And as I sat there, I had this vision, which wasn't the first time I had the vision.
This is a vision I used to have when I was a little girl.
And this is where I would encourage everyone to kind of get childlike and go back to what was it that you wanted to experience?
What did your soul come into on earth to experience?
(08:25):
And I remember thinking I was going to be in love and I was going to be have this cute little family and I was going to travel and I was going to adventure and I was going to help people.
I always knew I wanted to help people.
It's going to have impact in the world and live all over the world.
I mean this vision that I had that seemed so out there and now I actually call this vision unreasonable because at the time I, from the place I was sitting in the closet was just such an unreasonable vision to have.
(08:57):
And I remember the thing that I did differently, there were multiple things, but the one like main thing that I did differently was to say yes to that vision, no matter how unreasonable it seemed from where I was sitting and from who I was in that moment.
I remember thinking, you know, and then I grabbed a pen and I started writing and I was like, I'm going to build multiple seven figure companies and I'm going to do it part time or I'm going to do it passively.
(09:25):
I'm going to world school, my kids, I'm going to live between Southern California and Italy.
I'm going to learn a new language.
So I started to sort of jot down what this life was going to look like and I kept looking at it and I kept making the decision, even in those moments of sitting in the closet, like, yes, this is what I'm going to say yes to.
(09:47):
Which also meant I was going to say no to a lot of the things and the ways and the relationships that I had at the time.
So again, I don't want to make this sound like I walked out of the closet and then I created all this beautiful life.
This was a process.
Is not.
Nothing is overnight, really.
Nothing that's worth is overnight.
However, over a decade now, I get to live this life where I do live between Southern California and Italy.
(10:14):
But about to get married, I got divorced, had another child.
Like so many different aspects of that vision have come to fruition, but only because I chose to say yes to that vision over and over again.
I woke up and I would be depressed and I would say yes to the vision.
I'd wake up and I'd be inspired, and I'd say yes to the vision.
(10:34):
So over time, ultimately my nervous system felt safe in experiencing that level of ease and flow and freedom and love and abundance.
And so, you know, here we are sort of talking about the transition, but it's again, I just want to make a point to say it's a process.
(10:57):
Yeah.
Kendall Berg (10:57):
What a beautiful image that you paint for us, this life that you wanted, this culmination of like all of your soul's desires.
And finding that and something that you talk a lot about and you mentioned it there at the end is like this, you know, nervous system dysregulation and stress.
And you said you found peace.
(11:18):
Like my nervous system found comfortable with having this level of ease.
Talk us through that.
Like, what is the difference between stress and nervous system dysregulation?
And then like, how do we start to pivot it towards finding that ease that aligns with that future vision for ourselves?
Nona Djavid (11:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
So let's start with some really basic principles.
Right?
When it comes down to the nervous system, whatever we have experienced, we are going to experience in the future.
So if we've experienced either directly or indirectly, say if my parents had a toxic relationship, or if my caregivers, or if so that's direct, or if I watched somebody have a toxic relationship and somehow me as a child, that had an influence or impact on me, now I get to repeat that pattern in my life over and over.
(12:08):
Why?
Because that is where the nervous system is, feels safe and comfortable because it's the thing that it's already experienced.
So even if it comes with a lot of pain, even if it comes with a lot of stress, at least it knows what to experience and what to expect.
Now there's on the other side of the equation, if it is facts, which it is facts from a.
(12:31):
From a neurological perspective that you will only experience what you have experienced, then how do we experience something more?
How do we experience a different level of life?
How do we experience more abundance?
How do we expand our container for joy and for love and for money and for time and for those types of things, especially if we haven't experienced it?
(12:52):
Well, you and I and everybody who's listening to this podcast has heard the concept of when you.
There's tons of studies around this.
When you visualize and when you think about something, it lights up the same parts of your brain as if you're actually doing it.
Like if you watch Formula one behind the scenes, they're literally sitting there and they are visualizing themselves every turn and every, you know, little corner of that race track.
(13:20):
Same goes for tennis.
All these higher level athletes are doing that.
Why?
Because they are practicing it without having to physically be sitting in the car.
So this is the mental expansion portion of things.
So if I see myself as the version of myself that's living the next level life, even if I'm not there, regardless of what my bank account looks like, regardless of what my life or my marriage might look like, eventually my nervous system goes, this is safe.
(13:49):
I have experienced this before, even if it's not in the physical world, even if it's just in the mind's eye.
So now the nervous system to kind of use this verbiage.
But the nervous system is now regulated, which I typically say it feels safe in experiencing that level of expansion instead of self sabotaging back into the old patterns and because it knows what to expect.
Kendall Berg (14:16):
I love all of this.
Like I, I come from this high achieving.
Follow the checklist.
High stress people.
I always tell that I have a very high stress threshold.
Like I can handle a lot because my nervous system is very comfortable with it.
And so I can do a lot of things at one time that somebody else might feel very uncomfortable doing.
But for me that's like a very regular pattern, very safe feeling.
(14:39):
Even though it's very stressful.
Right.
It's interesting to hear you talk about it because I hear a lot of people talk about visualization.
I think that's very.
Right now I have a good friend Katie in New York who would say, like, it's my woo woo side, right?
Like everybody talks about the visualization, but nobody talks about why physiologically it benefits you.
And I love hearing this like you're creating system comfortability before we're in that spot so that you're ready for it and you can receive it and you can feel comfortable in it.
(15:09):
And I do something similar I've talked about on the podcast before.
Like I do pageants, which I always think is like a fun hobby.
And I spend six months leading up to it, visualizing every moment of interview and every moment on stage so that when I'm in the moment, I'm not nervous because I've already prepped for it.
Nona Djavid (15:25):
Yeah, your body has already been there.
And speaking of the physiological effects, you know, the addiction to stressed out and overwhelm, there is a series of neurotransmitters and a series of chemicals that are attached to that.
So it's no different than any other drug.
Most of us, I think, especially business owners, entrepreneurs, creatives.
(15:49):
You know, I feel like a lot of moms in general too, is we're kind of, we have that addiction to the stress that and overwhelm.
I mean, if I ask you or anybody listening to this or myself, when was the last time you were stressed out?
I can recall probably this morning, as early as this morning.
But if I tell you when was the last time you were in peace or content or happiness or joy, you're going to have to really think about unless you have a practice, say this morning that you actually did gratitude.
(16:19):
But if you didn't, or if you didn't include that's not a regular thing that your nervous system goes to.
But stressed out, overwhelmed, too much to do.
Oh, I can recall it was probably five minutes before I got into this podcast.
So there's that level of addiction that chemically, neurochemically, literally is taking place in your body.
Kendall Berg (16:40):
It's so interesting as you're saying that I'm like, okay, when was the last time that I felt stressed?
And it's funny, at lunch I even told my husband, I said, I feel like I did something wrong, but I can't remember it.
Nona Djavid (16:51):
And he was like.
Kendall Berg (16:53):
What does that mean?
I was like, I feel stressed.
Like, I feel the act of stress, like I messed up something big, but I can't actually think of something that's stressing me out or that I messed up.
I just like feel it's there.
And I'm going to remember it at like 2am this morning laying in bed.
And he's like, that's not normal.
Nona Djavid (17:09):
You don't need to do that.
Kendall Berg (17:10):
You can just be okay.
So it's so funny because I definitely think that's true.
So so many people listening, they're in corporate jobs, they're working full time, and obviously there's all kinds of demands that come with that.
Not only the high achiever mindset, but then we have a household to maintain and kids and we have hobbies and you know, we'd maybe like to see our spouse or our friends once a month, who knows.
And you have created like the one week month lifestyle.
(17:34):
So talk us through what that is and is it really realistic for people who have these working jobs and are working full time?
Nona Djavid (17:42):
You know, I, I have seen people in the corporate world do this and I've definitely mostly seen entrepreneurs and business owners do this.
And the concept is the same and the principle is the same.
It's just a matter of working differently to make it happen in different environments.
So let me tell you about when I got the vision for this one week a month lifestyle.
(18:05):
10 years ago.
I burn out, build now I build not now, but like 10 years ago.
@ that time I built, then transitioned into creating a part time seven figure business.
Then I created three other businesses.
So now we're at multiple seven figures and we're doing this part time and we're doing this semi passive basis if you would, about 20 hours a week.
(18:27):
And so I did that for a while and that went on.
And during the pandemic even I started a virtual portion of things to my company.
And so everything is going really well.
And all of a sudden I had and I got to some level of comfort zone in terms of like, you know, where I wanted to be.
And so here we are with another vision that comes true, comes in and at the time I had this vision or this idea and inspiration to tap into a one week a month lifestyle.
(18:56):
And so once I got the vision like to me it was very clear, like some version of working way less, maybe 70% less.
And you know, having the option of working or volunteering or taking time off or leaving for Spain for two weeks or three weeks or whatever, having the option and the freedom of that was the idea.
(19:17):
And I have to tell you, once I got the vision, I nervous, speaking of nervous system regulation, my nervous system went into complete shutdown and panicking attack because I was like what do you mean I'm going to be useless, I'm unworthy if I'm only working one week a month.
I am, I'm going to be lazy, unproductive and even you describing it, I'm.
Kendall Berg (19:40):
Like, I feel it, I'm like I only one week a month, like is that feasible?
And so like I yes, absolutely, 100%.
Nona Djavid (19:49):
100% as a matter of Fact, I was on another podcast and the host was like, oh, one week a month lifestyle.
When I hear that, I sense freedom.
I was like, you're the first person that tells me that.
Because it, for me, it generated a lot of anxiety, like, how am I going to do this?
Is it.
It's not possible.
Not only is it not possible, even if there is a possibility of doing this, for me, it was more like, is that the right thing to do?
(20:14):
Because that's too much freedom.
That's too much abundance of time and too much freedom.
I just.
I just wasn't.
My nervous system wasn't regulated to that level of freedom.
And so all the old patterns from a decade ago, they started to pop up like, oh, no, no.
You got to work harder.
(20:34):
You got to struggle to be worthy of things.
You got to prove yourself.
You've got to seek validation for all the things.
Now we're like, now there's this deep sense of, okay, where do I go with this idea and all of this resistance that's happening.
But I knew that this was my sort of initiation, if you would.
(20:57):
So I made a decision to not do anything different in my business.
I made a decision to start to make it safe for my nervous system to only work one week a month.
So I started to create some mind movies and some visualizations and jot down some things that would give my brain and my nervous system an idea of what the heck would I do with those three weeks off.
(21:22):
Like, I couldn't sit still.
Still I can hardly.
It's hard for me to even meditate, although I have a good practice now.
Hard for me to go on vacation for too long.
Love vacation, but for too long.
Like, I kind of start to get antsy.
And so I started to give the next version of this life to my nervous system, which included world schooling, my kids, you know, having the ability to travel.
(21:45):
You know, a lot of different aspects sort of came into play.
And so over a short period of time, I was able to move into that place where I could only me.
I have the option of working on all those other weeks.
For me, actually it looks like a two half days a week.
So it's not just one week and then taking off three weeks.
Sometimes that's the case, and sometimes it looks like taking two half days and working for various people.
(22:09):
Like people.
In my mastermind, I have a mastermind called One week a month Lifestyle, where I help high achievers tap into working less and doing more.
So for different people, it typically means different things, but that's that was kind of the journey.
Kendall Berg (22:23):
It's so cool to hear you talk about it because I, you know, I, I think one of the greatest things about being able to host a podcast is that I see so much of myself and guests sometimes and this is one of those situations where like I, I hear you talking to me.
Thank you so much for this episode because so many people who are listening, myself included, were taught this particular vision of like, you work super duper hard.
(22:45):
And I always reference the corner office.
Like I'm going to work 80 hour work weeks till I'm 50 to get that corner office, but then 65, I'll get to retire and enjoy it.
But like that's not really the time of your life when you want to be free to enjoy it.
Like you want to be free to enjoy it when you can enjoy it.
And a lot of us wait too long.
So hearing all these things, I understand the apprehension, I understand the stress.
(23:07):
So for people who are working and they want this life of flow, how do they kind of make this exist?
Is it about transitioning their career?
Is it about prioritizing their time differently?
Like how do they start to kind of find this space that you're describing?
Nona Djavid (23:24):
Yeah, so I think there, the strategy exists out there.
Most people know what the strategy is.
So most people might say I want to retire by the time I'm this age or I want the corner office or I want this position or I want to move into this other, you know, executive whatever position.
Most people know the strategy to get there.
(23:45):
But the challenge or the reason why we don't get there is because our nervous system feels unsafe.
So it self sabotages you right back to the old patterns.
So a very practical, even though it sounds a little bit woo, a very practical thing to do would be to figure out what it is that you want.
(24:05):
Maybe it's the corner office, maybe it's a new car, maybe it's more impact in your community.
Maybe it's to be a different kind of mom or a different kind of wife or husband.
So whatever that is, let's describe that.
Let's use all of our senses and let's give that back to the nervous system so that at least we create some safety around that life of ease and flow and abundance and you know, and again, whatever that might be for you.
(24:34):
So it might look different, right?
Actually it will look different for every single person and that's the whole idea of humanity.
But figure out what that is and then create a non negotiable Habit that's going to give that back to your nervous system over and over again.
Kendall Berg (24:51):
So great.
Normally at the end of the episode I will ask, like, what's one thing that everybody could go do tomorrow to get started?
But I feel like you just answered it and that was great.
Even as we're talking, I'm like, oh, I should do this exercise with my husband.
And like, what do we want our life to look like?
And like, what is that vision and how do we get closer to it?
So I absolutely love this.
This has been so great.
So I know, Nona, that you are going to run a special for who are listening, who might want to learn more about you if they head over to your Instagram.
(25:17):
So why don't you tell them a little bit about if they love this and they're like, yes, I need more of this in my life.
I want to connect.
Where can they go to find you and how can they get plugged in.
Nona Djavid (25:26):
If this, if this conversation resonates with you?
I love a personal connect.
So if you want to find me on Instagram, it's just my first name, my last name's a little tricky.
My first name is N O N A and my last name is D J, A V I D. But I'm on there.
Tons of free resources.
But most importantly, I have a training where I walk people through four steps to quantum leaps, meaning from wherever you are to the next level of what you want to experience in life again.
(25:57):
Corner office, a Porsche, travel, whatever it is that you want there.
There are always four steps and these are the exact four steps that I have taken over and over again.
And usually I charge for this training.
But anyone, if they mention your podcast in the dm, I'm happy to hand it over at no charge.
It's a 90 minute training.
Kendall Berg (26:20):
That's awesome.
What a fabulous win for everybody.
And like, I'm sitting here like, okay, so I need to do that later and I need to sign up and say I want the training.
So I absolutely love this.
So thank you so much for coming on the show.
This has been such a great conversation and it's a little different than some of the topics that we normally cover.
And I think it's a good balance with how do you get ahead in your career and how do you do some of these soft skills, but also how do you live a life that's going to be more balanced, that's going to give you ultimately what you really want out of your career, which is your freedom to do all the other stuff that you really love.
(26:52):
So thank you so much for taking the time.
If you're listening to this and you love today's episode, leave us five stars.
If you have any questions for Dr. Nona or myself, go ahead and leave those in the comments below.
But otherwise, thank you so much.
I so appreciate it.
We'll definitely have to have you back on the show.
Nona Djavid (27:06):
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Speaking of the physiological effects, you know, the addiction to stressed out and overwhelmed, there's, there is a series of neurotransmitters and a series of chemicals that are attached to that.
So it's no different than any other drug.
Most of us, I think, especially business owners, entrepreneurs, creatives, you know, I feel like a lot of moms in general too.
(00:25):
If is we're kind of, we have that addiction to the stress that and overwhelm.
I mean, if I ask you or anybody listening to this or myself, when was the last time you were stressed out?
I can recall probably this morning, as early as this morning.
But if I tell you when was the last time you were in peace or content or happiness or joy, you're going to have to really think about unless you have a practice, say this morning that you actually did gratitude.
(00:50):
But if you didn't or if you didn't include that's not a regular thing that your nervous system goes to.
But stressed out, overwhelmed, too much to do.
Oh, I could recall it was probably five minutes before I got into this podcast.
So there's that level of addiction that neurochemically, literally is taking place in your body.
Kendall Berg (01:10):
Welcome back to this episode of Secrets of the Career Game.
So many people are trying to navigate a corporate world that is laden with secrets, cleverly hidden and unspoken rules to a game that most employees don't even know that they're playing.
On this podcast, we try to give you a peek behind the curtains and some tips and tricks to ultimately make you successful in your career and help you progress a little bit faster.
(01:35):
Welcome back lovelies, for another fabulous episode.
Today we have Dr. Nona David with us.
She is a doctor of chiropractic with a background in neurology.
She's an entrepreneur and she's the founder of the Elevate Club and the one week, one month lifestyle.
She helps high achieving professionals rewire subconscious work beliefs, regulate their nervous systems and design lives of freedom and flow, which I feel like we could all use a little bit more of as the world gets busier and crazier.
(02:02):
So thank you, Dr. Nona.
We're excited to have you.
Nona Djavid (02:04):
Yeah, thank you.
I'm excited to be here.
Kendall Berg (02:07):
So as listeners are getting up to speed and getting to know you a little bit better, take us on your journey.
Because to be a doctor of chiropractic and then kind of shift into this more holistic flow state, what has that journey looked like for you?
Nona Djavid (02:22):
Yeah, so I wish I could say it was all rainbows in unicorn, but My journey really started when I was always a high achiever, like type A, hard worker, lots of grit and you know, and I would wear those qualities and those traits on sort of as a badge of honor, like this is who I am and I'm gonna go get it.
(02:45):
And so also being a child of a second, I'm a second generation immigrant.
So I moved to the United States when I was 16 years old.
So imagine all of these different ingredients and here I am at 16 years old in the United States and I'm like, I'm going to go make it and I'm going to go be somebody.
And so I go on and I get a neurology degree from Berkeley, then I go get my doctorate in chiropractic.
(03:09):
Then I move down to Southern California into a brand new town and I open up a business and I built this really beautiful, amazing, almost seven figure business in my early twenties.
And then I have my first child.
Well, I get married and then I have my first child.
And so I checked off all of the boxes, the traditionally, you know, defining success boxes.
(03:32):
And then I remember having this moment almost like, no, I was sleepwalking through all of this and building all of this success and all of a sudden I wake up.
Although I have to say, it wasn't really an overnight thing.
I was just tired.
Day in and day out.
I'd built the business in a way that was draining me and I was a slave to it.
I had built the entire life and my marriage and everything I was doing was a lot of over giving, a lot of push.
(03:58):
And here I am overwhelmed, feeling completely broken, unfulfilled, and just was about to give up.
And so ultimately that became the pivoting moment where I made a recognition, like I have to do things differently.
So while grit and hard work and struggle had, you know, like, or this addiction to all of those things, addiction to overwhelm, addiction to stress, addiction to working hard had gotten me to a certain place.
(04:31):
It wasn't going to get me to where I could experience more freedom, more joy, more love in my life.
So I had to start sort of doing things differently, which is really the beginning of my journey.
And this is, we're talking about a decade ago.
And so then, you know, a decade later, here we are talking about it.
Kendall Berg (04:49):
It's so great.
And I'm sure so many people, myself included, like I resonate with what you're saying, right, of that type A got good grades.
So if you get good grades, you go to College.
If you go to college, you get this certain type of job and you build a certain type of life and you do these certain type of things.
And then I feel like so many people in our generation especially were like, yo, I'm tired.
And I don't feel like I got this mansion worthy life that was promised to me if I did all of these things.
(05:16):
And so now I'm just tired with nothing to show for it.
So I love that you made this pivot and that you kind of walk through it.
So help us understand.
You have helped so many people, helped yourself kind of pivot from this like, high achiever burnout life into more flow and more balance.
Why is it that so many high achievers, especially women, like, we get stuck in this burnout loop and we just like, go so hard all the time?
Nona Djavid (05:40):
Yeah, I think, gosh, so many directions I can take this conversation, but I can start with.
For myself.
I was in so much of the masculine energy of the push of making the things happen.
I was a sole provider for my marriage at the time, for my family at the time.
And I think I just.
It was really a survival mechanism at the time.
(06:03):
So this burnout becomes a survival mechanism that ultimately kind of leaves you with no.
Nothing else to do because you can either go back to the way that you were doing things that feels comfortable and safe, even though it is really painful, or you're going to have to step into something that's totally unknown.
So I remember for me, the way it began was I. I was having this.
(06:27):
This moment that were just kind of getting to is.
I remember my.
My son was just born, so he's 10 now, so this was 10 years ago.
And I put him to sleep to take a nap.
And I took a call with my business at the time at 13 employees, seven figure business early mid 20s, and took a business call.
I went over some numbers, just like a very average, normal day for me.
(06:50):
And then what really was different about it is I walked into the walking closet at the time and in my old house, I shut down the lights and I shut down the door and I literally sat there against the wall and I started sobbing.
I held onto my knees.
I remember just sobbing so much that I was holding on to like, my mouth because I didn't want to wake up my newborn at the time.
(07:15):
And I remember thinking like you're saying we build this life and we really have no level of joy or happiness to show for it.
And we're just tired.
And I Was just tired.
And I remember thinking, if I have to do things differently, this could be the beginning of something.
Like this closet could be the space where I plant the seed for this next thing that I'm going to do.
(07:37):
But what I did know for sure was the way I'd approach things was not going to work.
The masculine energy push of pushing to make the thing happen wasn't going to work.
Coming from the energy of scarcity or trying to prove myself or make it or work really hard, like those old patterns and the belief systems that had me lead to burnout, they no longer were going to work and I was going to have to try to do things differently.
(08:04):
And as I sat there, I had this vision, which wasn't the first time I had the vision.
This is a vision I used to have when I was a little girl.
And this is where I would encourage everyone to kind of get childlike and go back to what was it that you wanted to experience?
What did your soul come into on earth to experience?
(08:25):
And I remember thinking I was going to be in love and I was going to be have this cute little family and I was going to travel and I was going to adventure and I was going to help people.
I always knew I wanted to help people.
It's going to have impact in the world and live all over the world.
I mean this vision that I had that seemed so out there and now I actually call this vision unreasonable because at the time I, from the place I was sitting in the closet was just such an unreasonable vision to have.
(08:57):
And I remember the thing that I did differently, there were multiple things, but the one like main thing that I did differently was to say yes to that vision, no matter how unreasonable it seemed from where I was sitting and from who I was in that moment.
I remember thinking, you know, and then I grabbed a pen and I started writing and I was like, I'm going to build multiple seven figure companies and I'm going to do it part time or I'm going to do it passively.
(09:25):
I'm going to world school, my kids, I'm going to live between Southern California and Italy.
I'm going to learn a new language.
So I started to sort of jot down what this life was going to look like and I kept looking at it and I kept making the decision, even in those moments of sitting in the closet, like, yes, this is what I'm going to say yes to.
(09:47):
Which also meant I was going to say no to a lot of the things and the ways and the relationships that I had at the time.
So again, I don't want to make this sound like I walked out of the closet and then I created all this beautiful life.
This was a process.
Is not.
Nothing is overnight, really.
Nothing that's worth is overnight.
However, over a decade now, I get to live this life where I do live between Southern California and Italy.
(10:14):
But about to get married, I got divorced, had another child.
Like so many different aspects of that vision have come to fruition, but only because I chose to say yes to that vision over and over again.
I woke up and I would be depressed and I would say yes to the vision.
I'd wake up and I'd be inspired, and I'd say yes to the vision.
(10:34):
So over time, ultimately my nervous system felt safe in experiencing that level of ease and flow and freedom and love and abundance.
And so, you know, here we are sort of talking about the transition, but it's again, I just want to make a point to say it's a process.
(10:57):
Yeah.
Kendall Berg (10:57):
What a beautiful image that you paint for us, this life that you wanted, this culmination of like all of your soul's desires.
And finding that and something that you talk a lot about and you mentioned it there at the end is like this, you know, nervous system dysregulation and stress.
And you said you found peace.
(11:18):
Like my nervous system found comfortable with having this level of ease.
Talk us through that.
Like, what is the difference between stress and nervous system dysregulation?
And then like, how do we start to pivot it towards finding that ease that aligns with that future vision for ourselves?
Nona Djavid (11:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
So let's start with some really basic principles.
Right?
When it comes down to the nervous system, whatever we have experienced, we are going to experience in the future.
So if we've experienced either directly or indirectly, say if my parents had a toxic relationship, or if my caregivers, or if so that's direct, or if I watched somebody have a toxic relationship and somehow me as a child, that had an influence or impact on me, now I get to repeat that pattern in my life over and over.
(12:08):
Why?
Because that is where the nervous system is, feels safe and comfortable because it's the thing that it's already experienced.
So even if it comes with a lot of pain, even if it comes with a lot of stress, at least it knows what to experience and what to expect.
Now there's on the other side of the equation, if it is facts, which it is facts from a.
(12:31):
From a neurological perspective that you will only experience what you have experienced, then how do we experience something more?
How do we experience a different level of life?
How do we experience more abundance?
How do we expand our container for joy and for love and for money and for time and for those types of things, especially if we haven't experienced it?
(12:52):
Well, you and I and everybody who's listening to this podcast has heard the concept of when you.
There's tons of studies around this.
When you visualize and when you think about something, it lights up the same parts of your brain as if you're actually doing it.
Like if you watch Formula one behind the scenes, they're literally sitting there and they are visualizing themselves every turn and every, you know, little corner of that race track.
(13:20):
Same goes for tennis.
All these higher level athletes are doing that.
Why?
Because they are practicing it without having to physically be sitting in the car.
So this is the mental expansion portion of things.
So if I see myself as the version of myself that's living the next level life, even if I'm not there, regardless of what my bank account looks like, regardless of what my life or my marriage might look like, eventually my nervous system goes, this is safe.
(13:49):
I have experienced this before, even if it's not in the physical world, even if it's just in the mind's eye.
So now the nervous system to kind of use this verbiage.
But the nervous system is now regulated, which I typically say it feels safe in experiencing that level of expansion instead of self sabotaging back into the old patterns and because it knows what to expect.
Kendall Berg (14:16):
I love all of this.
Like I, I come from this high achieving.
Follow the checklist.
High stress people.
I always tell that I have a very high stress threshold.
Like I can handle a lot because my nervous system is very comfortable with it.
And so I can do a lot of things at one time that somebody else might feel very uncomfortable doing.
But for me that's like a very regular pattern, very safe feeling.
(14:39):
Even though it's very stressful.
Right.
It's interesting to hear you talk about it because I hear a lot of people talk about visualization.
I think that's very.
Right now I have a good friend Katie in New York who would say, like, it's my woo woo side, right?
Like everybody talks about the visualization, but nobody talks about why physiologically it benefits you.
And I love hearing this like you're creating system comfortability before we're in that spot so that you're ready for it and you can receive it and you can feel comfortable in it.
(15:09):
And I do something similar I've talked about on the podcast before.
Like I do pageants, which I always think is like a fun hobby.
And I spend six months leading up to it, visualizing every moment of interview and every moment on stage so that when I'm in the moment, I'm not nervous because I've already prepped for it.
Nona Djavid (15:25):
Yeah, your body has already been there.
And speaking of the physiological effects, you know, the addiction to stressed out and overwhelm, there is a series of neurotransmitters and a series of chemicals that are attached to that.
So it's no different than any other drug.
Most of us, I think, especially business owners, entrepreneurs, creatives.
(15:49):
You know, I feel like a lot of moms in general too, is we're kind of, we have that addiction to the stress that and overwhelm.
I mean, if I ask you or anybody listening to this or myself, when was the last time you were stressed out?
I can recall probably this morning, as early as this morning.
But if I tell you when was the last time you were in peace or content or happiness or joy, you're going to have to really think about unless you have a practice, say this morning that you actually did gratitude.
(16:19):
But if you didn't, or if you didn't include that's not a regular thing that your nervous system goes to.
But stressed out, overwhelmed, too much to do.
Oh, I can recall it was probably five minutes before I got into this podcast.
So there's that level of addiction that chemically, neurochemically, literally is taking place in your body.
Kendall Berg (16:40):
It's so interesting as you're saying that I'm like, okay, when was the last time that I felt stressed?
And it's funny, at lunch I even told my husband, I said, I feel like I did something wrong, but I can't remember it.
Nona Djavid (16:51):
And he was like.
Kendall Berg (16:53):
What does that mean?
I was like, I feel stressed.
Like, I feel the act of stress, like I messed up something big, but I can't actually think of something that's stressing me out or that I messed up.
I just like feel it's there.
And I'm going to remember it at like 2am this morning laying in bed.
And he's like, that's not normal.
Nona Djavid (17:09):
You don't need to do that.
Kendall Berg (17:10):
You can just be okay.
So it's so funny because I definitely think that's true.
So so many people listening, they're in corporate jobs, they're working full time, and obviously there's all kinds of demands that come with that.
Not only the high achiever mindset, but then we have a household to maintain and kids and we have hobbies and you know, we'd maybe like to see our spouse or our friends once a month, who knows.
And you have created like the one week month lifestyle.
(17:34):
So talk us through what that is and is it really realistic for people who have these working jobs and are working full time?
Nona Djavid (17:42):
You know, I, I have seen people in the corporate world do this and I've definitely mostly seen entrepreneurs and business owners do this.
And the concept is the same and the principle is the same.
It's just a matter of working differently to make it happen in different environments.
So let me tell you about when I got the vision for this one week a month lifestyle.
(18:05):
10 years ago.
I burn out, build now I build not now, but like 10 years ago.
@ that time I built, then transitioned into creating a part time seven figure business.
Then I created three other businesses.
So now we're at multiple seven figures and we're doing this part time and we're doing this semi passive basis if you would, about 20 hours a week.
(18:27):
And so I did that for a while and that went on.
And during the pandemic even I started a virtual portion of things to my company.
And so everything is going really well.
And all of a sudden I had and I got to some level of comfort zone in terms of like, you know, where I wanted to be.
And so here we are with another vision that comes true, comes in and at the time I had this vision or this idea and inspiration to tap into a one week a month lifestyle.
(18:56):
And so once I got the vision like to me it was very clear, like some version of working way less, maybe 70% less.
And you know, having the option of working or volunteering or taking time off or leaving for Spain for two weeks or three weeks or whatever, having the option and the freedom of that was the idea.
(19:17):
And I have to tell you, once I got the vision, I nervous, speaking of nervous system regulation, my nervous system went into complete shutdown and panicking attack because I was like what do you mean I'm going to be useless, I'm unworthy if I'm only working one week a month.
I am, I'm going to be lazy, unproductive and even you describing it, I'm.
Kendall Berg (19:40):
Like, I feel it, I'm like I only one week a month, like is that feasible?
And so like I yes, absolutely, 100%.
Nona Djavid (19:49):
100% as a matter of Fact, I was on another podcast and the host was like, oh, one week a month lifestyle.
When I hear that, I sense freedom.
I was like, you're the first person that tells me that.
Because it, for me, it generated a lot of anxiety, like, how am I going to do this?
Is it.
It's not possible.
Not only is it not possible, even if there is a possibility of doing this, for me, it was more like, is that the right thing to do?
(20:14):
Because that's too much freedom.
That's too much abundance of time and too much freedom.
I just.
I just wasn't.
My nervous system wasn't regulated to that level of freedom.
And so all the old patterns from a decade ago, they started to pop up like, oh, no, no.
You got to work harder.
(20:34):
You got to struggle to be worthy of things.
You got to prove yourself.
You've got to seek validation for all the things.
Now we're like, now there's this deep sense of, okay, where do I go with this idea and all of this resistance that's happening.
But I knew that this was my sort of initiation, if you would.
(20:57):
So I made a decision to not do anything different in my business.
I made a decision to start to make it safe for my nervous system to only work one week a month.
So I started to create some mind movies and some visualizations and jot down some things that would give my brain and my nervous system an idea of what the heck would I do with those three weeks off.
(21:22):
Like, I couldn't sit still.
Still I can hardly.
It's hard for me to even meditate, although I have a good practice now.
Hard for me to go on vacation for too long.
Love vacation, but for too long.
Like, I kind of start to get antsy.
And so I started to give the next version of this life to my nervous system, which included world schooling, my kids, you know, having the ability to travel.
(21:45):
You know, a lot of different aspects sort of came into play.
And so over a short period of time, I was able to move into that place where I could only me.
I have the option of working on all those other weeks.
For me, actually it looks like a two half days a week.
So it's not just one week and then taking off three weeks.
Sometimes that's the case, and sometimes it looks like taking two half days and working for various people.
(22:09):
Like people.
In my mastermind, I have a mastermind called One week a month Lifestyle, where I help high achievers tap into working less and doing more.
So for different people, it typically means different things, but that's that was kind of the journey.
Kendall Berg (22:23):
It's so cool to hear you talk about it because I, you know, I, I think one of the greatest things about being able to host a podcast is that I see so much of myself and guests sometimes and this is one of those situations where like I, I hear you talking to me.
Thank you so much for this episode because so many people who are listening, myself included, were taught this particular vision of like, you work super duper hard.
(22:45):
And I always reference the corner office.
Like I'm going to work 80 hour work weeks till I'm 50 to get that corner office, but then 65, I'll get to retire and enjoy it.
But like that's not really the time of your life when you want to be free to enjoy it.
Like you want to be free to enjoy it when you can enjoy it.
And a lot of us wait too long.
So hearing all these things, I understand the apprehension, I understand the stress.
(23:07):
So for people who are working and they want this life of flow, how do they kind of make this exist?
Is it about transitioning their career?
Is it about prioritizing their time differently?
Like how do they start to kind of find this space that you're describing?
Nona Djavid (23:24):
Yeah, so I think there, the strategy exists out there.
Most people know what the strategy is.
So most people might say I want to retire by the time I'm this age or I want the corner office or I want this position or I want to move into this other, you know, executive whatever position.
Most people know the strategy to get there.
(23:45):
But the challenge or the reason why we don't get there is because our nervous system feels unsafe.
So it self sabotages you right back to the old patterns.
So a very practical, even though it sounds a little bit woo, a very practical thing to do would be to figure out what it is that you want.
(24:05):
Maybe it's the corner office, maybe it's a new car, maybe it's more impact in your community.
Maybe it's to be a different kind of mom or a different kind of wife or husband.
So whatever that is, let's describe that.
Let's use all of our senses and let's give that back to the nervous system so that at least we create some safety around that life of ease and flow and abundance and you know, and again, whatever that might be for you.
(24:34):
So it might look different, right?
Actually it will look different for every single person and that's the whole idea of humanity.
But figure out what that is and then create a non negotiable Habit that's going to give that back to your nervous system over and over again.
Kendall Berg (24:51):
So great.
Normally at the end of the episode I will ask, like, what's one thing that everybody could go do tomorrow to get started?
But I feel like you just answered it and that was great.
Even as we're talking, I'm like, oh, I should do this exercise with my husband.
And like, what do we want our life to look like?
And like, what is that vision and how do we get closer to it?
So I absolutely love this.
This has been so great.
So I know, Nona, that you are going to run a special for who are listening, who might want to learn more about you if they head over to your Instagram.
(25:17):
So why don't you tell them a little bit about if they love this and they're like, yes, I need more of this in my life.
I want to connect.
Where can they go to find you and how can they get plugged in.
Nona Djavid (25:26):
If this, if this conversation resonates with you?
I love a personal connect.
So if you want to find me on Instagram, it's just my first name, my last name's a little tricky.
My first name is N O N A and my last name is D J, A V I D. But I'm on there.
Tons of free resources.
But most importantly, I have a training where I walk people through four steps to quantum leaps, meaning from wherever you are to the next level of what you want to experience in life again.
(25:57):
Corner office, a Porsche, travel, whatever it is that you want there.
There are always four steps and these are the exact four steps that I have taken over and over again.
And usually I charge for this training.
But anyone, if they mention your podcast in the dm, I'm happy to hand it over at no charge.
It's a 90 minute training.
Kendall Berg (26:20):
That's awesome.
What a fabulous win for everybody.
And like, I'm sitting here like, okay, so I need to do that later and I need to sign up and say I want the training.
So I absolutely love this.
So thank you so much for coming on the show.
This has been such a great conversation and it's a little different than some of the topics that we normally cover.
And I think it's a good balance with how do you get ahead in your career and how do you do some of these soft skills, but also how do you live a life that's going to be more balanced, that's going to give you ultimately what you really want out of your career, which is your freedom to do all the other stuff that you really love.
(26:52):
So thank you so much for taking the time.
If you're listening to this and you love today's episode, leave us five stars.
If you have any questions for Dr. Nona or myself, go ahead and leave those in the comments below.
But otherwise, thank you so much.
I so appreciate it.
We'll definitely have to have you back on the show.
Nona Djavid (27:06):
Thank you.
My pleasure.
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