JB: What a story, Nicole! Thanks for sharing it. Your circumstances could so easily have led you the other way - to endless hours and workaholic tendencies. And yet, even at an early age, you had a sense of balance.
NM: Yes. Balance looked different in law school but the concept was the same, and I've applied that concept in every stage of my life in order to check off bucket list items, advance my career and have a happy family life of my own.
I'm living proof that anyone can do and have anything they want IF they commit, and take consistent action to make it real in their life. I'm passionate about this. This series is a way to give back, and share a wealth of useful knowledge about living a full, happy and productive life with no regrets at the end.
So often we get stuck in habits and routines that may have worked well in the past but no longer help move us in a direction we want to go. Or we live with habits that self-sabotage and undermine our success in some area. DIY (do-it-yourself) syndrome is an example- if your way has not gotten you the results you want in some area of your life, accept help or seek out and try another way. The information shared in this series helps people thoughtfully choose and develop new habits in order to maintain their health, manage stress and anxiety, get rid of chronic pain and insomnia, improve relationships at work and home, reclaim wasted time and better manage emotions, money and people to boost energy, performance, productivity and happiness.
JB: I love that you stress that the right tools differ for each person and that we should choose what we find effective to create our own personal mix. There's no One Size Fits All and that's actually very reassuring and empowering. Of the interviews I've listened to so far, I was particularly taken with Carl Honore, who talks about the Slow Revolution. For the last 150 years, speed has increased our efficiency but now that emphasis is beginning to backfire. Carl points out that even the Economist has a study to back that up. Can you talk about Slow, please?
NM: Exactly. There are a lot of purported "solutions" out there that are not "it" for everybody. I think it is important for people to trust themselves and know they are not a failure or a freak if the latest, popular life hack does not work for them. And it's important to try new things because that is the only way to get new results in life. A great mind said [paraphrased]: "if you want something you never had, you have to do something you've never done." I think that may have been T. Harv Eker. And Marshall Goldsmith, a mentor of mine, wrote the book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, about the value and benefits of trying new things. This podcast series exposes people to a wide variety of proven ways to improve their health, mindset, time management and more, to help them create their own path to the life of their dreams.
Carl Honore was such a natural fit for this series, because Slow is really about thinking before doing. The Slow Revolution basically challenges today's faster, harder, round-the-clock pace by inviting people to step back and ask: "does this make sense given what I want to accomplish?" In this way, Slow is the new Fast. In my mind, it's a check and balance to the intention of technology advances which were designed to make our lives easier. The way we use technology today, however, often becomes a source of stress and distraction. One of the reasons the interview with Carl was so fun for me was learning that Carl is known for his fast nature (despite leading the Slow revolution). That resonated because people who know me remark on my high energy...one friend nicknamed me the "Fast Lady" because I'm zippy, do a lot of things and get a lot done. What most people don't see is when I slow down, and that I constantly modulate between fast and slow. There is a time and place to be fast, and other things are best done slowly, thoughtfully, in order to savor life, rest, or make the best decision. That should not be an excuse to procrastinate or fall back to perfectionism-there is a balance to strike and the point is to keep moving towards one's desired outcomes.
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