Realistic Wellness for Busy Working Women with Author, Nadine Kenney Johnstone
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Links mentioned in today’s show:
Of This Much I’m Sure: A Memoir
Come Home to Your Heart: A Guided Journal
This enlightening conversation with the extraordinary Nadine Kenney Johnstone, takes you on a journey through her life's narrative, from overcoming academic hurdles to flourishing as an award-winning author and holistic writing coach. Listen in as Nadine unpacks the transformational role writing has played in her life, especially through the challenges of infertility leading to writing her empowering memoir, "Of This Much I'm Sure." She also offers invaluable wellness advice for those constantly on the go, ensuring that her insights resonate with everyone, from busy moms to dynamic entrepreneurs.
This episode is a treasure trove of inspiration, particularly for women seeking to harness the power of journaling and wellness to navigate the complexities of modern life. Nadine's transition from academia to creating her business, Write Well, is a testament to blending passion with profession. She shares her unique approach to teaching, integrating meditation and yoga with writing, and provides strategies for prioritizing self-care amidst the whirlwind of entrepreneurship and motherhood. Her story encourages you to explore your own creative outlets and the peace that can come from establishing routines that grounds you.
Cap off this motivational experience by discovering how simplifying your life can lead to newfound clarity and focus. Nadine's personal anecdotes, including her minimalist living in an Airstream camper, offer a perspective on decluttering that extends beyond the physical space. She reveals how intentional living and strategic delegation in her business have opened doors to continuous growth and innovation. Moreover, Nadine and Victoria delve into the concept of a solo work retreat, illustrating how dedicated time for reflection can rejuvenate both your business and personal life, a practice that has been pivotal in the development of her latest project, a guided journal. So, sit back and let this episode inspire you to find your balance and clarity through writing and wellness.
Meet Nadine [02:22]
Nadine grew up surrounded by hardworking, strong women, who didn’t have the time to pursue their hobbies or creative sides. This nudged her to have a life where she could take the time to pursue the things that fired her up creatively. Nadine spent many hours at the library when she was younger and loved writing, but didn’t think it was a practical thing to do, so she went to college for nutrition. After going on academic probation, Nadine switched her major to English and literature and everything clicked. She continued on toward graduate school for creative writing and for teaching creative writing. Nadine became a professor for 15 years, and during that time she coached women writers on the side. She also self published her own essays. Four years ago, Nadine took her business full time, to continue to coach women writers and help them save time, money, and energy when getting their stories into the world. Nadine leads writing and wellness workshops and retreats for women.
Of This Much I’m Sure: A Memoir [06:18]
Nadine’s first book was a memoir that she wrote after her and her husband’s journey with infertility. With her husband being a cancer survivor, they knew that their fertility chances would be compromised, so they began seeking out in-vitro fertilization (IVF) help as soon as they started trying for a family. During what should have been a routine egg retrieval procedure, Nadine’s left ovary did not clot properly. She ended up having deep, severe internal bleeding which landed her in the ER and requiring life saving surgery. At age 28 with no children, Nadine was faced with the possibility of never being able to have her own children as the doctors thought a hysterectomy might be what needed to happen in order to save her life. Luckily, they were able to keep her reproductive organs, and Nadine was able to give birth to their son a year later, without IVF intervention.
“In many areas of our life, we can work toward and get whatever it is that we want. But with a baby, there is no guarantee and that is the hardest thing to live with.” – Nadine Kenney Johnstone
Writing Coach for Others [14:05]
Nadine started teaching at universities in 2007 and presented at various writing conferences. During one of the conferences in 2015, they held a one on one session with the presenters, so that writers could present part of their manuscript and get feedback. A woman gave Nadine a part of her manuscript prior to the conference and during their one on one session at the conference, this woman told Nadine that she loved the way she gave feedback. The woman was in her 80’s and had limited time but had wanted to write a memoir. She asked Nadine if she would coach her to help her share her story with the world. Her memoir came out two years ago. Nadine has been coaching women for almost 10 years, but because of this one woman, she took the coaching and morphed it into an entire business.
Merging wellness and writing passions [17:58]
During Graduate school, Nadine was involved with a writing program that was very different from most. They would go into class with a notebook, no laptops allowed, and do visualization exercises for an hour and then they would write longhand in their notebooks. It was a spiritually minded way of developing your stories. This set the foundation for Nadine’s love of meditation and journaling. When Nadine became a professor, she fully embraced her love for both. She became certified in Yoga Nidra, which is a very Yin practice - slow and meditative. Essentially, you are doing a lying down meditation to relax the nervous system. It's deeply restorative and rejuvenating.
Journaling as an emotional confidant [23:38]
Journaling is often perceived as something that “should be done” or something that you’re “supposed to do”. For busy working moms, the last thing you need is one more thing “to do”. Nadine views it oppositely, and rather that journaling is an asset. It’s her companion. Her journal is her emotional confidant. It’s where she can tell herself the truth, truths that she can’t share with anyone, not even her most beloved people. It’s where she is self-compassionate when she’s made a mistake. The journal is where she can tap into no matter how she’s feeling at any given moment.
Journaling allows us to tap into our heart and soul to write out what we’re feeling, what our purpose or mission is, and what we’re supposed to be doing. This is the place where we can hear the next step our soul is guiding us to, acknowledge it, and write it down. The journal is a multi-faceted tool that can lead to self-compassion, truth-telling, turning into how we actually feel, being a mode of self-care, being a place of clarity, and more.
How to realistically prioritize wellness as an entrepreneur [29:02]
As an entrepreneur, you love what you do, so you don’t want to do less of that, but as busy working moms, you love your children and you don’t want to give them less. If you have a partner, you love them and don’t want to give them less… so what do you do? Who gets less? You do. We don’t need another “thing” to do. Don’t do a thing more, make meaning out of what you’re already doing instead. It’s not about adding yet another thing, it's relishing in the moment of what we’re already doing and seeing that as sacred. Think, how can I just make meaning out of this moment rather than “oh, I have to do another thing”.
On top of that, Nadine encourages thinking about creating containers. By being in a container, where distractions are eliminated, you can be the most present person. Nadine has even found physical containers that work for her, so that she can be present with her people and with herself. Example, the trampoline is a container for her and her son, the front porch is her and her husband’s container, and a small nest chair is the container for her. Anytime she is in any of these containers, her phone is elsewhere and she is nothing but present.
Clearing space for minds to dream [36:44]
Nadine has been embracing minimalism since 2021 when her family sold their home in Illinois, bought an Airstream camper, and went on the road for three months. They each got to bring a duffel’s worth of stuff and clothes and they didn’t even use everything they brought. It was a huge reminder of how little you actually need. From there they moved to Florida, into a home that was fully furnished, so they only needed to bring the items that they needed, the rest remained in storage. When it was time to bring the rest of the storage items home, it was overwhelming how much there was even though they purged stuff before putting it all into storage. It’s not just about minimizing items, it’s also about the mental clutter, the emotional clutter, and the digital clutter. The simplest way to approach this would be to think about one space you can clear, either physically, mentally, or emotionally. What do you need less of right now in any given situation?
Workcations [43:00]
A workcation is where you go on a solo retreat to work. It’s all about working on the business instead of working in the business. Nadine practices this by going away for about four or five days, somewhere where she can drive to and be alone, do her journaling, dream, and allow her creativity to flow. It’s a trip to have creative focus and not decision fatigue. During this time you can envision what’s ahead for your business and get clarity on if what you’re currently doing is what you want to continue doing. It’s also a time for reflection. What have your highlights been? What have the low lights been? It’s a time of purposeful intention. During this time, turn on Do Not Disturb on your phone. Tell your friends and family that you will be out of contact from this time to this time. You need to focus and in order to do that, you need to remove as many distractions as possible.
Come Home to Your Heart: A Guided Journal [48:36]
Nadine’s guided journal is filled with half essays, half journaling prompts. It’s 28 chapters that offer you the chance to take a mini retreat. Take 10 minutes to read the essay Nadine wrote, and then follow the guided journal prompts. You can do any chapter at random, or you can do them for 28 days straight to help you build that habit.
Key Quotes
“It's not about adding yet another thing, it's about relishing in the moment of what we're already doing and seeing that it is sacred.”
Nadine Kenney Johnstone
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