Calm the Chaos

Susan Heinrich began her career as a newspaper journalist and has written about business, travel, and parenting. Her current favorite topic is midlife! She has had a wanderlust for as long as she can remember and her passion is traveling and helping women in midlife gain the confidence to explore and reap the benefits of traveling! Susan supports her community with her website, Midlife Globetrotter where you can find inspiring articles for women in midlife and inspiration for that future trip!

Despite the year starting off slow with the ongoing pandemic, we are optimistic that this year we may be able to do more international travel! Now is the best time for us to be dreaming and researching those dream trips!

Like a lot of women, Susan jumped off the career track when her children were young. Finding it hard to juggle everything she made some hard choices and decided to continue doing some freelance writing. In her late forties, she felt that something needed to change in her life. Feeling a bit confused not knowing that next step she refers to this as her "midlife upheaval". Susan says that this period of time turned out to be a blessing because she took the time to do some self-exploration and realized that she had put a lot of her own interests and passions aside to focus on her family. Which isn't bad but she felt it wasn't working for her anymore.

Susan started thinking about what she loved to do, what she was interested in, and how she wanted to be spending her days. It was at that moment that she decided to return to writing. Travel had also always been a passion so she eventually blended the two together!

In 2017 Susan had the opportunity to take a trip to India with some friends. Having some hesitation about leaving her family behind for three weeks, she decided to go anyways and was glad she took that first step! She learned that so often things that are at first glance something we can't do that for whatever reason turn out to be not true. The is a way to make these things happen when they are important enough to us.

It was on this trip that Susan was reminded about all the things she had forgotten about herself. For her, it was an inspiring experience, and wanted to share the opportunity of travel for midlife women. Starting the website seemed like the next best step!

In the process of setting up the website, she learned that there were going to be a lot of technical things to learn and may present a challenge but the joy of connecting with other midlife women and sharing her passion for travel far outweighed the learning curve associated with the challenges!

Susan shares that we often sell ourselves short and we think that it's too late to learn something new or to pivot into a new direction. We may give up on a dream before we ever start which is a shame. But once a midlife woman decides she is going to do something then anything is possible!

When traveling there is the opportunity of having a sense of more freedom in our lives. For Susan that comes when she travels solo and she feels that's because when we travel with our family, our identities and rules are such a part of our daily life that we still carry that with us when we are traveling. When we are able to have enough physical and mental distance from our lives, we remember things about ourselves that we have forgotten. Also, when we travel we are putting ourselves out of our comfort zone and we are forced to try new things and experiences! The best part of that is that we see that we are capable of more than we thought! It's a great way to boost our self-confidence and who doesn't love that?

Susan shared and I've always believed that when we expose ourselves to something new then that helps us to spark that creativity and you feel more alive and in the present moment! Susan shares that travel can be a bridge back to parts of yourself that you've forgotten. Travel can enrich our lives in so many ways!

Susan shares some of her memorable trips she has taken around the world and how she's done some trips within groups and solo traveling! She has had some amazing experiences and may inspire you to consider going somewhere you've never imagined yourself. Susan is hoping to go to Africa in 2022.

During our conversation, Susan shares some tips on getting around solo and the benefits of hiring a local guide to get you acquainted with the area and at the same time develop a relationship with a local! She also shares some tips on how to get over your fear of getting out there solo on your first trip! A great recommendation is to research a small group tour that specializes in a new interest or current hobby. There are so many options out there now to explore! There may be people of all ages and from various countries which adds a new dimension to the experience.

Susan shares about the resources on her website and how she is supporting her community. She certainly covers the topic of travel but also shares some of her own personal experiences so that others can learn and grow once they learn from her lessons. Susan also provides a monthly newsletter for you to keep in touch.

Connect with Susan here

Connect with Deborah here

Connect with Deborah on Facebook and Instagram

I had the opportunity to connect with Melissa this week for the podcast and am excited to share how she is serving her community and how you can let go of stress and unlock your creativity one doodle at a time!

Melissa Lloyd has twenty-plus years of professional design and communication and combines that with her passion and connection to humanity, psychology, art therapy, and mindfulness. In her community, Melissa encourages you to learn how to navigate the stormy seas of life, reduce stress and rejuvenate your mind!

Melissa shares that she always embraced her creativity from a very early age. This interest led her to a lot of different opportunities around the world! She always knew that she wanted to be a designer. For over twenty years she was in the design and communication industry which led to some burnout and she ended up asking herself, " What is this all about and where am I going?" She worked towards finding those more quiet peaceful states of "being". She knew the place of peace was in the creative process.

One day Melissa sat at her dining room table and doodled circles upon circles and had no expectations. She was going to give herself five minutes to sit there and "be ". What she found is that she got lost in the process and said "wow"! She then started this process of going back to the paper each day. She doodled each day with no expectation and that's where the journey began!

Even though some of the things on the page looked terrible she permitted herself to do more doodling! She then began to be interested in the science of doodling and what happens psychologically when we are doodling. She stopped judging what the doodles looked like on the page and began to embrace the process.

In school, we are taught that doodling means we are not paying attention and has a negative connotation. When in fact, it has a very positive effect and helps people to move outside of their comfort zone and into more peaceful places. By doodling helps to reduce the cortisol levels and helps you get into the present moment. Doodling is very tactile and full sensory! People that doodle while listening can retain up to 30% more information than people who don't. It also helps to bring some playfulness back into your life. And guess what? Playfulness is connected to anti-aging! Such a huge bonus for us women in midlife!

We explore in our conversation how Doodle Lovely can be such a gift to us women in midlife! Typically we are taking very little time for ourselves to get quiet and do self-exploration. By doodling, this allows us to have a pause and reflection point to go into that space so we don't miss that opportunity when it comes knocking on the door! I know for myself when I get quiet and use my tools for self-exploration, I am better able to see opportunities when they present themselves! It's a lovely gift.

By doodling, we are giving ourselves the space to let you and let the emotions process.

Melissa shares about the development of the workbooks on her site. The first one: Creative Mind, Happy Soul Journal is about starting simple and creating a habit through the prompts, doodling, journaling, and mood tracking. Melissa wants us to be able to grow by filling in the page! With the journal, you can sit down for a short period and get lost in something. Which I don't know about you but that's a gift these days!

During our conversation, Melissa also shares the benefits she is seeing with Doodle Breaks with business and their employees. As well as her Doodle by Numbers!

Connect with Melissa at Doodle Lovely here

Connect with Deborah for Coaching here

Take the mid-life Quiz here

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Sonya Sophia who is a revolutionary leader in the field of Emotional Freedom Techniques. Sonya shares how to bring peace and joy into her life with EFT TAPPING. She started down the journey of self exploration to find a modality to help stop the "crazy in my head" Past traumas and being a new mom motivated her to find a solution so her child could have a different experience than her growing up.

Each discovery brought her closer and gave her more consciousness and tools. Even then she felt overwhelmed and withdrawn. Sonya was looking for a spiritual practice that would take a couple of hours a day. She wanted a modality where once the area is "cleaned" it's "cleaned".

During her journey her friend noticed how Sonya was beginning to be more withdrawn and came over to share an EFT Tapping session. At the end of the session she was laughing and smiling. After four more sessions, Sonya felt that she had healed her PTSD from her dating experience and her brain was functioning better.

Sonya feels that her life is divided. Before EFT and after! For her it was like opening a screen door. She could see out the door but once she opened the screen door everything was bright and clear. After that, she never looked back!

Sonya then embarked on a path of learning everything she could about EFT Tapping through reading, forums and classes. She was able to contribute to the field as the practice was gaining momentum and people were learning more about the benefits of the practice through sharing and testimonials.

We discuss that there is no right or wrong way to tap! The body is very flexible and forgiving. There are reset buttons all over us and there is one command that clears: self-acceptance and self-love. What we are doing is accessing the reset buttons and talking to ourselves in a loving way while acknowledging and accepting what's not working.

Even though EFT is non-denominational it feels like a spiritual practice because what you're doing is pulling love into your body and bringing it to where there's fear and self-loathing and pain. That's what corrects what's been going on in our mind because the cells have stored that memory. It's not just stored in your brain but all over your body.

Sonya shares how this practice helps people who have experienced PTSD, and sexual abuse survivors and has recently been approved by the Veterans Administration in the last few years.

There are ten key points to tap on your body and Sonya shares why those points are key and how they are "circuit breakers" for that channel of an electrical impulse that runs through the body. Sonya shares in the interview a great analogy for us to understand these points and their function.

We share how to incorporate EFT tapping into your routine and how this practice is so portable you can do it from anywhere!

Sonya also shares how her tapping circle which is available on her website is helping people and how everyone coming together to work on their individual needs is helping her community. Sonya refers to each session as emotional hygiene which makes perfect sense and her goal is the healing of humanity.

She shares that her life is her own art project …. And she wants everyone to remember and embrace that thought.

Sonya walks us through a tapping session and you'll be able to see for yourself just how different you feel about your circumstance before and after the session. She is also making the tapping circle free for one month to all of the Calm the Chaos listeners! www.worldtappingcircle.com/freemonth

Sonya has just launched her podcast There's a tap for that. Link here

As a busy woman in midlife I can see how incorporating tapping on a daily basis can help your overall emotional health. Why not try to incorporate tapping into one of your morning or afternoon routines and see for yourself? For myself, I am going to start working on doing some daily tapping after my journaling. It will be fun to see how I begin to clean up the circuits in my body! I would encourage you to share with the community if you found this episode helpful by leaving a review for the show!

How to connect

Connect with Sonya here

Sonya's Podcast here

Connect with Deborah at her website here

Connect with Deborah on Facebook here

Connect with Deborah on Instagram here

I recently had the opportunity to interview my former client Andrea for the podcast! What fun to be able to have Andrea share her journey of finding a new career with the listeners. In our conversation, Andrea shares where she was at the beginning of her journey in finding a new career and where she is at today!

Andrea is a Pacific Northwest resident and mom of a nine-year-old girl who is a very important part of her life! Any type of career change had her daughter first and foremost in her thoughts. She shares that it had been a struggle for her to figure out a good career fit for herself in the past because she didn't take the time to listen to herself. She spent too much time listening to a lot of the other outside noise and other people's advice. Sound familiar? Even though she had a lot of different ideas on a career she didn't trust herself.

Our conversation continues as Andrea shares a bit about how she was managing her job and why it was important now to move forward and prioritize a career change. We discuss what mattered most to her in this decision and why she felt that life coaching was a good fit for her on this journey. For Andrea working with a coach was a step forward in her future!

Andrea felt that us working together was a good fit and that in our exploratory call we discussed a plan that resonated with her and she could see herself accomplishing her goal. Andrea picked the 1:1 Eight Week Coaching Package and at first felt that perhaps that would not be enough time to get her desired results. But she soon acknowledged that the sessions were "super focused". Andrea says that "you just have to take a step in the right direction" and that's what she did through her journey. Having someone there each week to hold her accountable was helpful as well as having a safe place to share with no judgments made the process easier.

Throughout the discussion, Andrea shares what the process looked like in finding her new dream career which would leave her feeling confident and fulfilled. Not only did she have our weekly 1:1 session but she also had weekly worksheet homework and describes that process and how it helped her along the way. Andrea shares that the Priorities and Time Tracker worksheet were very enlightening and helped her to be more proactive with her goals and blocking time for those priorities was a key to success.

Andrea did land her dream career before the end of the eight-week session and feels wonderful that she is doing something fulfilling and helping people which was a big priority. She is also showing her daughter along the way that anything is possible. She shares that if you are on the fence about coaching think of it as an investment in yourself. "Why shouldn't you invest in yourself if you are not sure what to do?" " You just gotta decide that you're important and that you are worth it".

Lastly Andrea shares "You're worthy of having your dreams and having the blessings and beautiful things that you are desiring".

I want to thank Andrea for being courageous to come on the podcast to share her story! It takes a lot to get out of your comfort zone to do a podcast. I'm sure you are inspiring women in midlife with your journey!

Are you ready to start your next chapter? Let's connect for your free exploratory call. What are you waiting for?

Resources

Connect with Deborah on Instagram here

Connect with Deborah on Facebook here

Deborah's website here

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Ada Calhoun/ Author

Why We Can't Sleep: A Women's New Midlife Crisis

Even though Ada identifies the Gen X community this book is geared toward women in middle age who are going through alot but recognizing that we all hit a period of time when we are trying to do too much as a generation of women and we feel overwhelmed

For Ada this season happened a couple of years ago during a summer season. Ada had some work issues, credit card debt, career concerns and children going into different seasons at the time and it felt that everything was piling up. For evenings she would stare up at the ceiling until four in the morning thinking "where did I go wrong?" and "why is this so hard"?

It was right at this time that Oprah.com asked her to write an article about this generation of women which was not only liberating for Ada but became this book! While writing the book, she realized she was not crazy and there are a lot of women going through a very difficult time as well.

In the book, Ada looks at all the reasons why the title is true. Women have anxiety about their careers, company loyalty, benefits and staying relevant. In another chapter, the conversation is around divorce and how 40% of women have divorced parents which may come with emotional baggage. The topic surrounding money is shared and how the cost of living is so much higher now and the wages are just not keeping up accordingly.

Many Gen X women were told that they could do anything so then they began to think that they should do it all and do it perfectly. This led to a lot of perfectionism and a sense of failure if they didn't excel at one thing or everything! This has led to a lot of shame and anxiety which is shared throughout the stories.

Women share how they need to look at all these things they have to accomplish and feel that they are doing it alone. Most women have felt that they were left to fend for themselves. This leads to not only a lot of anxiety but loneliness.

One of the chapters written that resonated with Ada is the perimenopause chapter. Women discussing these feelings that would come on suddenly. Sometimes sadness or anger would just surface at unexpected times. Ada shares how she became angry because in all the years of going to the doctor and reading women's magazines, no one had ever said the word "perimenopause". And that's why this chapter is lengthy as she talked to a lot of doctors and wanted to give women the information and the knowledge to know that there is something you can do about it!

The feedback that Ada has gotten from readers about the book is that they feel seen as they had been feeling invisible. And that by hearing from the other women it made them feel less alone.

To Calm the Chaos Ada loves to go on walks, cook, hang out with her kids and gets a lot of enjoyment listening to Agatha Christie Audio books! Ada also gives a piece of advice to Gen X women: Be honest about what you are dealing with and with other people.

Links

Connect with Ada here on her author page

Connect with Deborah here

Connect with Deborah on Facebook and Instagram

Calm the Chaos/ Kaley Chu

Kaley Chu is an author, speaker, people connector and Business Development Manager at Equi Wealth. In 2018 Kaley turned lunch into a life changing experience. Not just one lunch, but 100 of them with total strangers over the course of a year. After publishing a book based on her learnings, Kaley now shares her journey and the lessons distilled with the rest of the world.

What You'll Learn

• Kaley's lack of confidence and shyness in a business meeting pushed her into her journey of 100 lunches with strangers!
• When she became an immigrant in Australia did she become self conscious
• Kaley chose her lunch hour to connect with others
• Kaley started 100lunches.com so more people could connect easily and embark on this journey
• We discussed her first lunch experience!
• Her lunches give her a new perspective on how to reflect on life.
• Kaley shares her most memorable lunch
• What prompted Kaley to write her book?
• You never know when the next life changing connection is going to be made
• Kaley leaves us with a challenge!

Resources

Connect with Kaley here

Connect with 100lunches.com here

Connect with Deborah for Coaching here

The mid life Quiz here

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Calm the Chaos/ Sarah Snyder

Sarah Snyder is a writer, storyteller and conservationist whose passion is helping others connect spiritually to the outdoors, nature and science. She has been writing professionally since 1991 and her work has appeared in multiple publications. Sarah is the author of three nonfiction books and numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Her latest book, The Value of Your Soul: Rumi Verse for Life's Annoying Moments, due in September 2020, is a spinoff of her memoir, Plant Trees, Carry Sheep: A Woman's Spiritual Journey Among the Sufis of Scotland. Sarah lives in Virginia, where she participates in oral storytelling and writes about self-care and self-renewal through retreats on her blog, Luna River Voices.

What You'll Learn

• Sarah's life long passion for writing and how she combined that love with nature. How she got back to her passion
• Sarah's "day job" provides her the freedom to develop her creative writing life and her goal is to be an inspiration to others
• Little Me = Ego Driven / Bigger Me = Spirit Driven
• You can pursue your passion and purpose while having a career!
• Sarah discusses her memoir and moves to Scotland where she stayed for six years! How her plans changed the moment she arrived.
• Lessons during stay in Scotland
• Choose how to respond vs. reacting
• Is it a mistake or learning opportunity?
• Surrendering isn't about giving up or giving in, it's about opening up to opportunity

Resources

Connect with Sarah here at Luna River

Connect with Sarah on Facebook here

Connect with Deborah for coaching here

Take the mid life Quiz here

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Calm the Chaos/ Rachel Greene

Rachel Greene was born and raised in the southern US and now divides her time between Bali and Highlands NC with her partner, John, and their dog Molly. She has been teaching Pilates for almost 2 decades and is the co-founder and owner of JUST BREATHE, an active lifestyle brand offering Pilates programming, luxe fitness accessories and healthy inspo. Rachel's love for Pilates technique, personal experience with chronic pain, easy to understand teaching style and friendly nature make her teachings highly effective and enjoyable.

What You'll Learn

• How Rachel found pilates as a result of her back pain
• Pilates is based on spine health
• It's the imbalance in the body that contributes to back,neck and hip pain
• The differences between the reformer and mat
• Start with a safe sequence to let the mind relax and let go of the pain as it can be deep down in the nervous system
• Rachel has been teaching in Bali for twelve years and is now teaching online! She has expanded her reach into your home!
• Rachel focuses on helping her clients work through imbalances and helps them to move safely
• There is a challenge!
• Find a movement system you like and embrace it!

Resources

Connect with Rachel here

Wellness Routine Weekly Checklist here

Connect with Deborah for Coaching here

The mid life Quiz here

Enjoy the show?

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• Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and share with a friend!

Calm the Chaos/ Patty Bonsera

Patty Bonsera, CFEI, is a former Securities Trader who became a Financial Wellness Advisor to support women 40+. In an industry built for men, she founded Fear.less Girl Financial as a better way to help midlife women feel confident and beautiful about their finances and to celebrate midlife with soulful abundance. She will coach you, teach you, and celebrate with you every step of the way.

What You'll Learn

• Was 2020 a wake up call for estate planning?
• Estate planning is a comprehensive financial plan
• Patty shares scenarios on a smooth transition of an estate vs. a not so smooth
• Revocable trust vs. non revocable
• How to approach the topic of estate planning with your partner
• Start an annual financial summit
• How to pick the right person to help you with your estate plan
• How to engage with patty
• Patty's morning routine
• The Midlife Cate is coming soon!

Resources

Connect with Patty here

Connect with Deborah for coaching here

Take the mid life Quiz here

Enjoy the show?

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• Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and share with a friend!

Calm the Chaos/ Paula Staffeldt

Paula is a former organizational development practitioner, with over 20 years experience in corporate training, leadership development, and coaching. She earned a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology with a cognate in Theology from the University of Denver. Paula's expertise includes Reality-Based Leadership, Crucial Conversations, and Contemplative Leadership.

As a board-certified coach, an ordained ministerial counselor, and a certified Focusing guide, Paula brings a wealth of expertise and understanding to her work.

In her study of transpersonal and nondual psychology, Paula discovered how the practice of Focusing freed her of being identified with the ego, allowing her to live more consistently from a state characterized by wisdom and grace. This is why Paula shares this practice with others, so that they may also experience a transformed way of being

What You'll Learn

• How Covid came along and changed Paula's plan
• Paula focuses on spiritual training and development for leader and people who are spiritual seekers who are looking to dissolve their ego and live from a higher level of consciousness
• How Focusing works, an example and what to expect
• Examples of how focusing has helped people
• What Paula has learned about herself through her journey
• How can you connect with Paula
• How does Paula calm the chaos
• Paula's challenge for the listeners

Resources

Connect with Paula here

Connect with Deborah for coaching here

Take the mid life Quiz here

Enjoy the show?

• Don't miss an episode, follow the podcast on ITunes , I HEART RADIO and Spotify
• Please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast and share with a friend!