Wellness Podcast

In this episode, I talk about the FUN I had at the pool (Playful, connected flow, by Catherine Price from her book The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again) swimming around the pool with my kids this summer! I talk about how, even if we don't have kids, we can remember what we used to like as kids and try it to see if we can't have a little more fun in our lives now. Bike riding, playing games, splashing in puddles, running through a random hopscotch on the sidewalk, whatever it was you loved as a kid, why not try it out now? Action item: think about what you loved as a kid, and consider trying it again. Or, is there something you always wanted to do but felt too self-conscious to do? Why not try it?!

This week's episode is NOT to listen to around children! The episode starts with a story about my children and Santa/the Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy etc., which led my child to say, "well I guess there is sort of still magic in the world?" To which I said, of course there is! In this episode, I give some of my own examples of magic in the world, a definition of magic and also of awe and wonder (from Brene Brown's book Atlas of the Heart), and talk about how we can find magic/awe/wonder or whatever we want to call it in our everyday lives, in nature, art, music, spiritual experiences or ideas (or for me, watching my kiddo make insane K'nex creations) :). Action item: note all the magic you can find in the world this week. Last week until fall, have a great summer everyone and thank you for listening!

In this week's episode, I give my 4 favorite pieces of advice from previous episodes on how to make it through a particularly busy/stressful/transitional period. If you are not a teacher or student, this advice can help for any busy or transitional period in your life, but for me, it's the end of the spring semester and summer break is almost here. 1) Quit what and where you can, from episode 76 on quitting, 2) Make time and space for transitions (and the emotions that come with them), from week 35, 3) Do your best and then call it good enough (no perfectionism here) from week 108, and 4) Go back to the beginning (week 20), and don't forget exercise/healthy food and sleep! I promise that if you do these things, you will get WAY more done in WAY less time, even and especially when you are busy/overwhelmed/stressed out. See you all next week for my last week before summer break, and thanks for listening!

This epsiode is a continuation of week 145, where I talked about 3 things that ADHD can look liks vs what is actually going on. In this episode, I do the same and talk about 3 more things: ADHD can look like 1) risky behavior/impulsivity, 2) hyperactivity/fidgeting, and 3) forgetfulness. In each of the 3 parts, I give examples from my own life of my experiences with my child and a few things that I do as a teacher to help neurodiverse students. I talk a lot in here about how sometimes we think we "need" to do things a certain way, but actually, we can let go of more than we think we can and just do things a different way that actually works, rather than the way we were brought up or just using what we've already seen in our lives. My action item is to start to see neurodiversity (and all differences, really) as something other than a deficit but something that can teach us about the world and at the same time, can help us to actually make the world a better place for everyone.

In this episode, I define both "numbing" and "real comfort" and give examples of each. I talk about the lessons we can learn from Anne of Green Gables, who felt all her feelings all the time and why that is important to do (at least most of the time). Action item: if you find yourself doing something that doesn't feel right, just pause and think about how you feel and why you are doing the thing. It may not help you to stop, but it might help you just to think about why you are doing the thing and whether it is really helping you or not.

In this episode, I tell a story about past me in graduate school during an interview, feeling bad for the middle aged man who was driving me around in his old minivan. But now, I am that man, and let me tell you, don't feel bad for me! I talk in this episode about how middle age is not the worst time, and for me, the time of middle parenting (parenting kids who are school-aged, not toddlers and not teens yet), has been kind of a sweet spot. The action item for this week is a bit open-ended but is to try to think about something you think you already know with beginners mind. It may turn out that you were wrong, need to rethink it, or could benefit from thinking about it from a new angle, whatever it is. Also, fun fact, I learned that women's happiness levels are reported highest in their 70s and 80s, so it's not all downhill from here either!

In this episode, I talk about 4 of my favorite ways to save money. Although this may seem like it's not related to wellness, I still think that spending more money than we plan to spend (or more money than we actually have) can really hurt our mental health, too. So, my 4 ways are 1) use the public library! For books, DVDs, etc. as much as possible 2) Use those memberships! From Costco to the YMCA to museum memberships to save money on "fun" activities for your family, memberships (and actually using them) is the way to go! 3) Buy used and fix things instead of buying new things! 4) Find alternative methods of transportation to work (or school) like bike riding, walking, the train, or even carpooling. Action item: Remember that you can save money by still doing things you enjoy, and also, whenever you save money, put that money directly into a savings (or other) account so that you can see your savings grow!

In this episode, I define "hope" using Brene Brown's definition from Atlas of the Heart: Hope is a way of thinking or a cognitive process, not an emotion, that's made up of three components: goals, pathways and agency. I give an example of my own: my goal is to keep promoting what I want to see more of in the world: kindness, compassion, understanding, and strength that is not about having power Over people but about using our power to help each other (also from Brene Brown: Power To/With and Within). My pathways (action items) are in my job, promoting our Spanish club, SALSA, planning events in my department, helping out my students, and at home, helping my kids to learn how to deal with their emotions, how to meditate, etc., by showing them how I do it and teaching them. And for me, agency (the fuel I need to do this work and not burn out) comes to me through all the things I talk about here all the time: dancing in my kitchen and writing in my journal and coffee with friends and meditation and hugging my family and Friday night movie night. Action item: think about where you can help to create more “hope” in the world, through goals/pathways and agency.

In this episode, I talk about how creativity can help us in troubled times, about what creativity is (loosely defined), how it can help us (flow, community/connection, etc.) and give a few examples of some creative things I did this past week! Even if you don't think of yourself as a "creative" person, there are a ton of different creative things you can do (that don't even have to involve "creating" anything permanent- think dancing in your kitchen!). I also talk about Flow, which I define and discuss in more detail in episode 104: How (and why) to "Flow" more in our lives. Action item: Even if you only have a few minutes this week, focus on some creative endeavors this week to help yourself (and the world).

In this episode, I talk about 3 things that ADHD can look like, in my experience from my own child, and what is actually going on. I am not an expert on neurodiversity but have listened to many episodes of the Beautifully Complex podcast that has included many expert interviews, and I'd like to think that I am an expert (at least) on my own child. I hope this episode helps all people who know someone who is neurodiverse (which I imagine is most of us)- much of this applies to autism as well- and to neurodiverse folks as well, who may (or may not) see themselves in my 3 lessons. Briefly 1) ADHD can look like defiance/not listening, 2) ADHD can look like not paying attention and 3) ADHD can look like laziness. And my quote at the end is from Desmond Tutu and was incorrect. Here is the correct version: "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."