Life's too short for just surviving. This is Glow Wild, the podcast that helps you leave the BS behind and finally start living your best life. This is not self help, this is rediscovering what brings you joy and how to live a more mindful, happy life.
Real talk. Real tools. And a new glow!
In this episode, you will learn three methods to help you shift your feelings of sadness, grief and trauma to gratitude and happiness. I used these tools myself over the last five years of my life after experiencing immense trauma, self doubt, fear and sadness.
If I can do it, you can do it.
I'll take you through three research based steps to help you change your outlook and how to take the steps necessary to find your glow again. This episode is packed with stories, research and tools you can start using today.
Feeling better is possible. I know this from experience.
Links to research:
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 2015 Study Journal of Traumatic Stress https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22241
Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) 2005 randomized controlled trial in American Psychologist https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22328
Behavioral Activation (BA) 2016 randomized clinical trial The Lancet https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31140-0/fulltext
Transcription:
Hey guys. I'm Nicole, and this is Glow Wild, the podcast. I'm excited to be here with you. This has been a long time coming. I've been thinking about doing this damn thing for so long now that I can't even believe the day is here. In 2012, I believe, when podcasts were first coming out, I did start one and it was called You've got this.
So I'm kind of building off that same idea here. And helping you to find your glow despite what life is throwing at you. So I'm really pumped to talk to you, and I just wanna thank you all for being here with me. Thank you for listening. Thank you for inviting me into your life and letting me share my story, and I'm so grateful to have your support and just the fact that you're here listening is the greatest gift.
This show is about you finding your glow. I know that life isn't fair and that it can be a struggle, and I also know that you can create happiness and rise from the ashes. Own your story and rediscover that light. This podcast is about overcoming and transforming my mission with Glow Wild is simple.
It's about rediscovering your dreams, your happiness, and your fire. Every episode is going to be packed with my own personal stories, practical plans, and proven methods to become a happier, more inspired you. Every week I'm gonna bring you on a journey towards self-fulfillment, along with guests, evidence-based research and more.
I'll be sharing my own story about how life brought me down and how I found the tools and the strength to climb back. I'm going to share the fear and self-doubt I've suffered. From for years and how I finally took the leap of faith past the fear to be here today on my very first episode. This is not a show.
It's a conversation between you and me about the ups and downs in life and all the relatable issues we face every day. First of all, I just wanna welcome you again and tell you a little bit about myself. I don't have anything fancy to share with you about books I've written or awards I've been given. I have a story.
Just about six months ago, I turned 40 and wow, did those four decades fly by? I still am in disbelief. In m
Episode Transcript
Hi, I'm Nicole and you're listening to Glow Wild.
Hey guys! I'm Nicole, and thisis Glow Wild, the podcast.
(00:21):
I'm excited to be here with you.
This has been a long timecoming.
I've been thinking about doingthis damn thing for so long now
that I can't even believe theday is here.
In 2012, I believe, whenpodcasts were first coming out,
I did start one, and it wascalled You've Got This.
(00:42):
So I'm kind of building off thatsame idea here.
and helping you to find yourglow despite what life is
throwing at you.
So I'm really pumped to talk toyou.
And I just want to thank you allfor being here with me.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for inviting me intoyour life and letting me share
(01:03):
my story.
And I'm so grateful to have yoursupport.
And just the fact that you'rehere listening is the greatest
gift.
This show is about you findingyour glow.
I know that life isn't fair andthat it can be a struggle.
And I also know that you cancreate happiness and rise from
the ashes, own your story andrediscover that light.
(01:26):
This podcast is about overcomingand transforming.
My mission with Glow Wild issimple.
It's about rediscovering yourdreams, your happiness and your
fire.
Every episode is going to bepacked with my own personal
stories, practical plans andproven methods to become a
happier, more inspired you.
Every week I'm going to bringyou on a journey towards
(01:49):
self-fulfillment along withguests, evidence-based research,
and more.
I'll be sharing my own storyabout how life brought me down
and how I found the tools andthe strength to climb back.
I'm going to share the fear andself-doubt I've suffered from
for years and how I finally tookthe leap of faith past the fear
(02:10):
and Thank you so much for tuningin.
(02:39):
Just about six months ago, Iturned 40, and wow, did those
four decades fly by.
I still am in disbelief.
In my heart and my mind, I stillfeel like a 20-something trying
to figure things out, and I knowmany of you feel that way too.
Not too long ago, I read LucilleBall's biography and found out
(03:02):
she didn't even start acting inthe I Love Lucy show until she
was 40.
Not only that, she was the firstpregnant actress on TV.
And in those days, a woman intheir 40s who was pregnant was
not the norm.
That single fact about herstarting the show at 40 inspired
me and gave me a newperspective.
(03:22):
It's never too late to go afteryour dreams.
I'm convinced that my 40s aregoing to be the best decade of
my life.
Now, I've always been aself-starter and a goal-oriented
person.
After college, I didn't havemuch direction and was working
in a cafe as a barista.
(03:43):
I knew that working for otherpeople wasn't for me.
I learned that early on.
I crave independence and like todo things my way.
Fine, call me a control freak.
I get it.
So one day I sat down around theage of 22 and wrote out a list
of things I was passionateabout.
Painting, fitness, running, andwriting.
(04:07):
At the time I had blinders onand didn't think a career as a
writer or painter was realistic.
So I turned to my love offitness and running.
I did research and found thatoutdoor boot camps were becoming
a big thing across the country.
So I wanted to start my own.
I called my parents for a$5,000loan to buy equipment.
(04:27):
No dice.
They were afraid, and it's fair.
They didn't want me to go out onmy own.
They wanted me to have security.
I know that they were bothbusiness owners and knew the
struggles of what it was like torun a business.
I think they were just trying toprotect me.
Then, if they weren't going togive me the loan, I asked if
(04:48):
they would co-sign on one forme.
Again, they said no.
and told me their fear about megoing into business for myself,
especially at such a young age.
I was determined to figure itout, so I saved and started
promoting myself on all the freewebsites I could.
At that time, Craigslist was agoldmine for me.
(05:09):
In a matter of a couple ofmonths, I had a full schedule of
personal training clients andmultiple outdoor boot camps each
day.
I did all my training outdoors,so I didn't need that loan for
rent or overhead.
I continued on this journey for10 more years and ultimately
opened my own gym in SiliconValley.
But as entrepreneurs usually do,I got a little bored and tired.
(05:33):
And I realized I was working outless and too tired to even do it
after being in a gym for 10hours on my feet.
So I shifted gears and, youknow, We all do throughout life.
We all have a resume.
(05:55):
We haven't been at the same jobforever, and that's fine.
So that's when I started to getserious about my art.
It had always been a side hustleof sorts, but once I was
accepted into an art gallery,and the four pieces I had
consigned sold within a week, Ibegan to trust that this was my
(06:17):
path.
That has been true for the last15 years.
It's amazing being a full-timeartist, and I'm so grateful I
get to share my art with theworld.
But even so, I have always knownI've had a higher purpose, and
the past five years of my lifehave shown me what that purpose
is.
In 2020, while pregnant with mysecond daughter during COVID, I
(06:43):
developed a pulmonary embolism,which is a blood clot in my
lung, and I was placed on heavyblood thinners.
The birth and followingprocedures to stop a postpartum
hemorrhage left me with achronic and severe injury.
Over the next three years, Iwent on to have 13 surgical
procedures, including two ostomybags.
(07:05):
Because I live in a small townand my injury was so rare, I was
forced to travel to Utah, NewYork, and Minnesota to the Mayo
Clinic for specializedtreatment.
That meant I missed out onmonths and years with both of my
daughters.
I missed my second daughter'sfirst steps and first words.
It was devastating.
Finally, in June of 2023, Ireturned from the Mayo Clinic
(07:29):
and was attempting to get mylife back on track after all the
work and time I missed with myfamily, only to find out in July
of that year that mythree-year-old daughter had been
diagnosed with stage fourcancer.
This led us to being lifeflighted out of our small town
to a children's hospital inUtah.
(07:51):
I didn't know it at the time,but it meant living there for
nearly 10 months away from myhusband and eldest daughter,
Reese.
What this experience taught mewas beyond comprehension.
It actually taught me to findthe eye in the storm and stay
calm and focused instead ofemotional and out of control.
Parker's diagnosis and ninemonths of treatment were hard on
(08:12):
all of us, and every day wasfilled with fear.
But as a mother, I had to bestrong for her.
This taught me that you can usemindset and courage to fight
through life's hardest battles.
Now, I'm not saying I don't havebreakdowns or that it wasn't
scary as hell, but I found outthat I became stronger from the
experience and have carried itinto my current life.
(08:35):
While Parker was sick, we wereessentially sequestered to
hospital rooms and alone inhomes we rented near the
hospital day after day becauseof her weakened immune system.
The idea of childhood cancer wasso inconceivable to me.
They're just little innocentbeings.
They don't deserve it.
So a mission to do anything Icould to bring awareness and
(08:57):
funding to childhood cancerresearch became my calling, my
higher purpose.
I applied to run the New YorkCity Marathon for Fred's team,
which donates all funds raisedto Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center.
Upon being accepted, I startedrunning after a 20-year hiatus.
I would push my weak little babyParker day after day in a
(09:20):
stroller while I tried to regainendurance and strength.
I ended up raising over$15,000that went straight to childhood
cancer research at SloanKettering.
Today, I donate artwork forfundraisers and send monthly
checks to St.
Jude.
I think the big takeaway here isthat under some of the hardest
circumstances and lowest lows iswhen we find our higher purpose.
(09:45):
And that's exactly why I wantedto start this podcast.
Not only did this dark timeteach me lessons about standing
up to the fear, but it alsotaught me about hope and the
ability to overcome even thehardest challenges life throws
at us by standing in the eye ofthat storm, in the calm, despite
all the chaos surrounding you.
(10:06):
Today, I want to share threeresearch-based approaches to
rediscovering joy after traumaand finding your higher purpose
beyond just yourself.
So let's jump in! One of thefirst strategies I want to
discuss is calledMindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction, or MBSR.
(10:28):
The purpose of MBSR is to helpyou remain present, reduce
overthinking and ruminating onwhat's weighing you down, and
manage your emotionalreactivity.
In fact, a 2015 study in theJournal of Traumatic Stress
found that veterans sufferingfrom PTSD who participated in an
eight-week MBSR program sawsignificant decreases in PTSD
(10:53):
symptoms and had more compassiontowards themselves.
So what is it?
It's actually pretty simple.
The core techniques includemindful breathing.
Have you ever noticed that whenyou're stressed out, you tend to
forget to breathe?
Maybe now I'm a little nervousrecording my first episode and I
realized I haven't taken a deepbreath.
(11:15):
Let's all take one together.
You want to breathe in deeply,fill your belly, hold it for
three seconds, and let it allgo.
Taking a moment to remindyourself to take five to ten
deep breaths every hour couldsignificantly change your state
of mind.
The next technique includes bodyscans and meditation.
(11:37):
I know, meditation is hard, andtrust me, I'm not good at it.
I can't find the time.
I can't fathom sitting there insilence.
So what I found is a podcastcalled Sleep Cove, and it
provides guided meditation,sleep hypnosis, and body scans
available at your fingertips,which you can listen to at
(12:01):
bedtime.
I did this every day throughoutParker's treatment and continue
to do it now.
I've noticed better sleep, moreenergy, and less rumination and
fear related to Parker's cancerdiagnosis and all the trauma I
went through with my own healthstruggles.
The second strategy I want youto try out is positive
(12:23):
psychology interventions, whichhelps you move beyond healing by
actively building happiness andresilience.
Evidence from Dr.
Martin Seligman's work at theUniversity of Pennsylvania shows
that these exercises can improvewell-being and life satisfaction
in people with prior trauma orthat are experiencing a
(12:43):
traumatic event.
This one isn't rocket science,and I think we're all familiar
with the tenets.
The idea to shift your focusfrom what's wrong to what's
strong.
You can do this by journalingfive to ten gratitudes each day,
visualizing the best version ofyourself or the life that you
want to live, and serving othersthrough random acts of kindness
(13:07):
and giving.
In order to do this, you need tostart to identify your unique
strengths.
As a daily practice, theresearch shows that people who
kept a gratitude journal andserved others reported increased
happiness and decreaseddepression over six months.
I know, six months sounds like alot and forever away, but those
(13:29):
six months are going to go bywhether you like it or not.
Wouldn't you rather feel betterafter six months than continue
to stay in that negative loopyou're in?
I can't even tell you how manytimes I've been told to journal
when I'm going through somethinghard.
And at the time, I would roll myeyes like, yeah, whatever.
But once I started doing itdaily, I have noticed a
(13:51):
tremendous change in the way Ifeel, live, and show up each
day.
So even if life is beyond toughfor you right now, there is
always something to be gratefulfor.
Your home.
Your bed.
your initiative just bylistening to this podcast.
The third way you can find morejoy is through behavioral
activation or BA.
(14:12):
The purpose of BA is to increasepositive emotions with
meaningful, rewardingactivities, even when you don't
feel like it.
And yeah, I know that's hard.
It's hard to motivate yourselfwhen you really feel down.
And I get it.
I've been there.
So this method was incrediblyhelpful for me during those nine
(14:33):
months I spent in isolation withParker.
The research shows that when wefeel low or depressed, we tend
to withdraw from the world,which increases those feelings
of helplessness and sadness.
So behavioral activation breaksthat cycle by encouraging small,
intentional actions that alignwith your values.
(14:54):
So how does it work?
First of all, you need toidentify your values.
What matters to you most?
Is it connection, creativity,health, getting moving?
For me, moving my body and beingcreative are incredibly
important to me.
This super accessible way tomanage stress and trauma
includes scheduling small andvalue-based activities daily.
(15:18):
Like I said, even when you don'tfeel like it.
Don't get overwhelmed.
I just want you to start small.
Some examples can be Just takinga walk or making a phone call to
someone you love.
There's endless research thatshows that moving your body can
(15:42):
change your state.
Put on some music and dance andyou'll be surprised at how
quickly this can take you out ofyour negative thought patterns.
If connection is important toyou, make a phone call to a
friend or family member who youhaven't talked to in a while.
Knowing they are there for youand accessible to you will help
remind you that you are lovedand you do have connection
outside of yourself.
(16:03):
If creativity calls you, dosomething creative that makes
you happy, whether it'sknitting, painting, drawing, or
doing crafts with your kids.
Finally, make sure to reallytake notice of how these actions
make you feel.
Did you feel better in thatmoment?
Did you feel better after thatwalk?
And how can you carry thatfeeling throughout the day and
(16:24):
repeat it the next day?
Like I said, I think enoughtimes in this podcast so far is
that movement is so important tome.
During my three years ofsurgeries, I couldn't exercise
and I was miserable, mentally sodown, beyond what I've ever felt
(16:45):
before.
It took my daughter's cancerdiagnosis to snap me out of my
negative loops and findstrength.
That's when I decided I wouldwork out every day and go on to
train for the New York CityMarathon.
Not only did it get me moving,it gave me purpose.
The best part of these methodsis they don't require therapy
(17:07):
and will increase yourmotivation to reclaim your joy.
By taking small actions, yournew and lighter emotions will
allow or will follow.
A 2016 study published in TheLancet found behavioral
activation to be just aseffective as cognitive
behavioral behavioral therapy,which includes talk and exposure
(17:28):
therapy with a professional.
All right, let's recap on thethree ways to help you move past
your pain and towards a brighterand more fulfilled you.
Number one, breathing.
Breathe deeper and more often.
Meditation and scanning yourbody.
Like I mentioned before, justusing a guided sleep meditation
(17:49):
or body scan at bedtime cansignificantly change your
outlook on life.
Two, having the attitude ofgratitude, and making it a
practice to write down five toten things you are grateful for
each day.
You can do this in the morningwhile having coffee or before
bed.
Envisioning the life you wantand deserve, and finally by
(18:10):
serving others through randomacts of kindness.
There is a multitude of researchshowing that serving others and
giving rather than receivingresults in a feeling of
fulfillment and satisfaction.
And three, Behavioralactivation.
Put simply, get moving, getcreative, and schedule time for
(18:31):
connection with those you loveand care about.
So if you feel like life hasbeen knocking you down and
taking the wind out of yoursails, if you've been through
something heavy, heartbreaking,or too much, I want you to hear
this.
Your glow isn't gone.
It's waiting for you.
Waiting for you to reclaim itpiece by piece.
(18:52):
Today we talked about realevidence-backed ways to start
the process.
Whether it's through rewritingyour inner story, mindfulness to
anchor you in the now instead ofthe what-ifs, or the simple
power of positive thinking, likewriting down your gratitudes and
moving your body.
These aren't random feel-goodtrends.
These are tools.
(19:13):
Tools that will work if you putthem into practice.
I've been there and I've seenit.
Here's the truth.
Healing doesn't mean forgetting.
It doesn't mean ignoring thehard stuff or pretending
everything's perfect.
Healing means showing up foryour own life and choosing to
participate in your own joydespite everything you've been
through.
(19:34):
So, this week I invite you topick one thing.
Just one.
One action aligned with who youare or who you want to be.
Maybe it's a walk.
Maybe it's a phone call.
A gratitude list or a longoverdue breath.
UNKNOWN (19:49):
Sigh.
Sigh.
SPEAKER_00 (19:50):
Whatever it is, start small and start to find
your glow.
Thank you for listening.
And more importantly, thank youfor choosing yourself.
Your happiness is yourbirthright.
Glow wild, everyone.
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