Imagine yourself being able to overcome the odds throughout your entire life. Would you be as successful as someone that was born prematurely, suffered a terrible tragedy in your sports career, or even repurpose your life to live with more intentionality with time and helping others to see the best within themselves? Today's guest, Sara Bohling, Owner of Cedar Wellness & Coaching, has done this and much more. With her unique background as a nurse, she shares what it means to live within the "margin" of our lives, and how we can start to capitalize on those moments that are too precious to lose, and to end the self-defeating habits and tendencies that we wrap ourselves into. Not only will you walk away with more tools and understanding from this conversation, but your mindset will focus on what ways you can be more effective with what you are given every single day in a whole new way.

Guest Bio

Sara's life is filled with stories of challenge and triumph….starting from day one. She was born very premature in the 1980s, with a very small chance of survival- but here she is! She became a high level competitive gymnast and endured a career-ending accident as a teen. Sara then went to nursing school and became a NICU nurse, working alongside the same nurses that cared for her as a baby. She is married, has 2 teen daughters, and a sweet golden retriever named Remi. She wrote a book about her journey called, "When Grit & Grace Collide: Persevering Through Life’s Challenges with Grit & God’s Grace.", and have started her own business called Cedar Wellness & Coaching. Sara is passionate about creating an authentic, grace-filled life for herself and her family, which flows right into her work with clients.

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/cedarwellnesscoachingllc?mibextid=LQQJ4d

@cedar.wellness.coaching on Instagram

Website: https://my.practicebetter.io/#/627d3c4b8639d291004b521b/bookings?s=63ebb24cd07187a6e37def75

• When Grit and Grace Collide: Persevering Through Life’s Challenges With Grit and God’s Grace Book (https://www.amazon.com/When-Grit-Grace-Collide-Persevering/dp/B09VGGZK3B) - Purchase Sara's book that was briefly discussed in today's episode at this link!

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Intro/Outro By: Michael Dugan, Podcast Host: Voice4Chefs

Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

2

determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

3

This is Speaking From The Heart.

4

Joshua: Welcome back to episode

number 144 of Speaking from the Heart.

5

Today, we have Sara Bohling as our

guest, and Sara's life is filled

6

with stories of challenge and

triumph, starting from day one.

7

She was born very premature in the

8

survival, but here she is, being a

guest on Speaking From the Heart.

9

She became a high level competitive

gymnast and endured a career

10

ending accident as a teen.

11

Sara then went on to nursing

school and became an NICU nurse,

12

working alongside the same nurses

that cared for her as a baby.

13

She is married, has two teen daughters,

and a sweet golden retriever named Remi.

14

She wrote a book about her journey

called When Grit and Grace Collide:

15

Persevering Through Life's Challenges

with Grit and God's Grace, and has

16

started her own business called

Cedar Wellness and Coaching.

17

Sara's passion about creating an

authentic, grace filled life for herself

18

and her family, which flows right into

her work with her clients, and I have to

19

say, for somebody that has been through

so many different types of situations,

20

especially throughout her life, to get

to where she is today, it has to give

21

you a lot of battle marks; stitches, if

you will, and I think that we even hear

22

a lot about that in her story today, when

she shares about her perspectives, even

23

throughout her whole entire life, and

how that has fundamentally changed the

24

trajectory, let alone, why she became a

nurse in the first place, but the most

25

important thing to even take away from

this, which I think that you're going to

26

get right away, is that it's about that

work and life balance; the things that

27

are really played up to be important,

but when you boil it down into realistic

28

tendencies, it's not so easy as you think.

29

With a variety of different demands and

assessments that we all need to have

30

in life, just keep in mind that when

you hear Sara's story today, and why

31

she keeps pursuing to help others, it's

about taking care of yourself and others.

32

That is the margin that we need to meet.

33

But with that, let's go to the episode.

34

All right.

35

We're here with Sara Bohling.

36

Sara, thanks for sharing

your heart with us today.

37

Sara: You're welcome.

38

Thanks for inviting me.

39

Happy to be here.

40

Joshua: Yes.

41

I'm happy that you are here too, and

I appreciate you taking some time to

42

not only share your background, but

also give our listeners an interesting

43

perspective, because I feel that your

story, as I have already given to our

44

listeners, might be of not only tragedy,

but of redemption, and I feel like

45

there's a lot of redemption with this and

overcoming the odds, so I actually want

46

to start with that, because I already

mentioned that you were a competitive

47

gymnast, and you had this accident that

happened to you, so I was wondering if

48

you can dive into what exactly happened.

49

Sara: Yeah, absolutely, so I started

gymnastics when I was five years old.

50

The teacher at recess called my parents

one day and said, "You need to get her

51

into gymnastics training before she

hurts herself, because she's walking

52

along the top of the monkey bars.",

so I started gymnastics training and

53

was really naturally talented in it.

54

I excelled very quickly,

joined the competitive team.

55

We did some traveling, and I

was doing gymnastics four hours

56

a night, five days a week.

57

It was like a part time

job, and I loved it.

58

I really enjoyed the challenge.

59

It kept my body healthy; all those

kind of things, and one day I was at

60

a competition, and I was warming up,

and I was on the vault, and I was

61

running down the runway to jump from the

springboard onto the vault, and my steps

62

got off, and if you are a gymnast, or

you know a gymnast, you know it's very

63

important that your steps are the same

pattern and the right distance apart.

64

Well, my steps got off and

that was a cascade of events.

65

I didn't hit the springboard in the

right spot, so my hands didn't go

66

on the volt in the right spot, which

caused me to not rotate my body

67

enough times to land on my feet, so I

landed on my head, instead of my feet.

68

Joshua: Yikes.

69

Sara: Yeah.

70

No good.

71

No good; in front of the whole audience.

72

The whole audience was watching this

whole spectacle unfold, so yeah, I

73

ended up breaking my neck in a couple

of different places, and at that

74

time, thankfully I had, because I was

a gymnast, a lot of muscle mass in

75

my neck, which really helped protect

those bones and my spinal cord.

76

I did not have any paralysis

or anything like that, which is

77

really an incredible blessing.

78

Someone in our area, she was a

cheerleader at our local college.

79

She had the same injury the year

before, and she was paralyzed from the

80

neck down from that injury, so when

I heard that that was the injury that

81

I had, I got really scared, because

I knew what had happened to her, but

82

thankfully, God was watching over

me, and I had protection that that

83

was not going to be part of my story.

84

Joshua: I noticed too that you were

actually born very premature, so

85

taking this a few steps back, I find

it interesting that you were able to

86

be a gymnast, be able to compete at

a high level, and then this accident

87

happened, but may I ask a little bit

about why you were born very premature?

88

Was there complications during

the pregnancy with your mom?

89

Sara: Sure, absolutely.

90

Yeah, so I was born in the

eighties, and in the eighties,

91

there was not a lot of technology

and advances for premature babies.

92

If you were born more than

eight weeks early or so, it

93

was hard for you to survive.

94

They didn't have the ventilators,

the breathing, the medications,

95

all those kinds of things, so I

was born at 24 weeks, which is

96

like six months of pregnancy.

97

Joshua: Wow.

98

That is very premature.

99

Sara: Yes.

100

I weighed two pounds and two ounces

when I was born, and my mom just

101

went into labor early, and at the

time, the doctors were like, "No.

102

I don't think it's labor.

103

I just think you're constipated

or something like that.", and they

104

weren't really taking her very

seriously until it was too late, and

105

when you're in labor, once you pass

a certain point, you can't go back.

106

You can't stop it, so yep,

we had passed that point.

107

Literally, yes, from day one, I had

some uphill challenges, and have been

108

trying to rise above all of them.

109

Joshua: Yeah.

110

I was going to say, that's why I

brought it up too, because you not

111

only had to overcome the challenges

of being premature, but you also

112

had to deal with not only the

accident that you had as a gymnast.

113

I'm curious, was there anything

else that might have happened

114

while you were growing up too?

115

Sara: I had a lot of stitches

when I was growing up.

116

For being a gymnast, I

was rather accident prone.

117

My grandma always said, "You're the most

ungraceful gymnast I've ever known."

118

Joshua: Well, maybe grandma knew

that you were going to be destined

119

for better things, so thanks

grandma for helping Sara out.

120

Sara: I love grandma.

121

Yes.

122

I was always tripping on the

playground, and getting stitches

123

on my chin, or something like that.

124

I think I had stitches 10 times

before I was 10 years old.

125

It was just kind of crazy, but nothing

else dramatic between being born

126

premature and the gymnastics accident.

127

Joshua: You had these two

related medical things.

128

You were being stitched up all the time.

129

Sara: Yes.

130

Joshua: It makes perfect sense to me why

you entered the nursing field, so it all

131

comes together for me, but I really am

curious, other than maybe the obvious.

132

Is there a real motivation as to why

you decided to go to nursing school

133

after you were done with high school?

134

Was there something that you were looking

to do to be able to achieve with becoming

135

a nurse and helping those that maybe the

doctors and even other people as patients?

136

Sara: Right.

137

I really just wanted to help other people.

138

My mom was in the medical field, and I

was really drawn to the science classes

139

in high school, and I just thought it

would be a great career, a compassionate

140

career of serving others, and once I

started nursing school, I actually got

141

to do some shadowing in the NICU, and

only a few nursing students get to

142

do that, and I was one of them, and

everyone else in my group said it was

143

so boring and it was so quiet, and how

could you ever work here, and I was sold.

144

I'm like, "This is amazing.

145

I love this place.", and knowing that

I was a premature baby myself, so I

146

was really drawn to the NICU, so that's

where I spent the first major portion

147

of my nursing career is in the NICU,

and I actually got to work in the same

148

NICU that I was a baby in, and I worked

alongside the nurses that took care of me.

149

Joshua: And the NICU, that would stand

for, for my listeners, the Neonatal-

150

Sara: Intensive Care Unit.

151

Joshua: Yeah, that's what I want to make

sure of because I know a few people that

152

are close to me that have also had their

children through the NICU, and my mom,

153

ironically, didn't work in that, but she

worked in the nursing field as an LPN,

154

a licensed practical nurse, at a nursing

care facility for many years, and she did

155

that; get this, Sara, when she was in her

50s, and went back to school and did that.

156

I was so proud of my mom.

157

Sara: Amazing.

158

Joshua: Yeah.

159

Yeah.

160

Go grandma, and go mom, so there we go.

161

Sara: Good examples for us, ladies.

162

Joshua: Yeah.

163

I know you said too that you also

worked in the same place where you

164

were taking care of in the NICU.

165

Did that bring back any sort of memories?

166

Did that really help you to kind of

feel like you were at home, and also

167

helping these other people, because

you had that association of growing up?

168

Do you think you were a better nurse

as a result of those experiences?

169

Sara: Hmm.

170

I think it helped give me an innate

connection to the babies and the families.

171

Obviously, I don't remember being in

the NICU because I was a tiny baby,

172

but I remember my parents talking about

the stresses of being in the NICU,

173

and working in the NICU, and watching

how much these nurses care for the

174

babies that they are responsible for.

175

It really opened my heart even wider

to providing the best care for these

176

families, because they're in, arguably,

the scariest time of their life,

177

and they're trusting you with the

life of their child, so absolutely.

178

We had really tender, vulnerable

moments and conversations every

179

day while I was working in NICU.

180

Joshua: Do you think that technology

181

because I was also an eighties

child myself, and more of the late

182

eighties, mind you, so I always joke,

and I'm sure you've heard this joke.

183

too.

184

I'm a Cold War baby, so I

made it through the Cold War.

185

Sorry, for my Gen Zers, you have

no idea what I'm talking about.

186

That shows how old I am at this point,

but I'm kind of curious, all joking

187

aside, do you feel like technology has

helped the medical field to be able to

188

take care of these sort of situations,

or do you think that there's still some

189

work to be done, from your opinion?

190

Sara: 1000%.

191

There are countless babies that

are alive today, that would not

192

have been alive then, because

of the advances in technology.

193

Sometimes, to be honest, I feel like we

try to save babies that are too early,

194

and we are causing them more pain than

harm, because technology has gone so

195

far, it's like we are trying to push that

envelope farther, and unfortunately, there

196

comes a point when it's just not in the

best interest of the baby to continue

197

pushing and putting them in so much

pain in the hopes of survival, so that's

198

kind of a double edged sword, actually.

199

Joshua: It is, and I feel like we could

possibly overdiagnose, and some of

200

those diagnoses never come to happen.

201

I mean, I do feel though that the

medical profession technology wise, has

202

come a long way, but I think that we've

probably lost some of the human touch

203

a little bit too with some doctors.

204

I know some people have had some bad

experiences, but I'm not here to talk

205

about that; here to talk about you.

206

With that said, I want to move on to

the fact that you started a coaching

207

business, so I got to put two and two

together here for a second, so you've

208

done not only being a gymnast, not only

you were premature, not only were you a

209

nurse, but then all of a sudden, it seems

like a left hand turn happened and you

210

wanted to be a coach, so walk us through

what was in your thought process from

211

leaving nursing, which you've done for

over 20 years to be able to do coaching.

212

Sara: Yeah, absolutely, so the one

really cool thing about me is I am a

213

registered nurse, and my coaching is

a certification within nursing, so

214

it is board certified nurse coach,

so I had to take an examination.

215

I'm certified by a national board,

and I will have to maintain those

216

certifications as part of my nursing

license, so it's cool that we get

217

to combine both of those things, and

because of my experience as a nurse,

218

I can hold a different kind of space.

219

For people that have medical issues,

maybe bring in more of the holistic

220

approach because of my expansive

knowledge, that some other coaches just

221

might not have, because they haven't had

that experience in training quite yet.

222

Joshua: I love that, and I have always

said on the show, I know I'm a coach,

223

but I've had other coaches on the show

and people ask me, "Are you crazy?

224

You're bringing your competition

on the show.", and I've said, "No.

225

They're not.

226

They do something completely different and

they come out at all different angles.",

227

so I embrace them, and this is yet another

fine example of it, Sara, because I never

228

had somebody on the show thus far that

has been through nursing, but was board

229

certified to be able to provide nursing

coaching, essentially, to clients, so

230

how would you distinguish yourself from,

say, the traditional coach, and I know

231

you've mentioned a few things, but can

you more specifically walk us through,

232

maybe example or two, of how that would

differ, especially with somebody that

233

has a medical issue, and by all means,

I'm not asking you to talk about any

234

existing clients, because I know you have

confidentiality and HIPAA requirements

235

too, but I wonder if you could just share

at a high level how that would work.

236

Sara: Yeah, absolutely so

maybe there's someone who

237

wants to lose 10 pounds, right?

238

I think we all want to lose 10 pounds.

239

Joshua: I need to lose 20

pounds, so that's great.

240

Yeah.

241

Sara: Yes, so my client

wants to lose 20 pounds.

242

I'm not a traditional coach, so I don't

know for sure how they would approach

243

it, but if I were approaching it to

see why they want to lose 20 pounds,

244

first, we're going to do a holistic life

assessment, and we're going to talk about

245

not only what you eat, and how much do

you exercise, but, how's your sleep?

246

How's your stress management?

247

How's your support at home?

248

What's your spiritual life like?

249

How are your finances impacting things,

and then, once we get kind of that

250

baseline holistic assessment, then

we get to go into, "Okay, but why do

251

you want to lose 10 pounds?", because

more often than not, it's not just

252

that they want to lose 10 pounds.

253

It's, "They want to feel more

comfortable in their body."

254

"They want to feel more confident."

255

"They want to perform at a different

level than they're performing now."

256

"They want more energy to spend with

their kids so that they can create more

257

time and memories.", so really, they want

to lose 10 pounds so that they can be

258

more fully present in their kids lives,

so it's that type of diving deeper, you

259

know, peeling back the onion layers, to

figure out what's really at the heart

260

of this quest to lose 10 pounds and get

healthier, and then we can explore all the

261

ways, and all the layers of support, that

can help us lose 10 pounds, and shed some

262

of those unwanted mindsets and thoughts

and limiting beliefs that are probably

263

have been hanging around for a while.

264

Joshua: I failed to mention

earlier the name of your coaching

265

business, which I should do now.

266

It's Cedar Wellness Coaching, and we'll

talk more about how you can get in touch

267

with Sara, but as we get towards the

end of the show, but Sara, with starting

268

Cedar Wellness, have you been changed by

not only the clients that you've worked

269

with, but maybe you have learned a thing

or two from even the people you've worked

270

with, and I love asking this question.

271

I'll give you a moment to think about it,

because I'm sure there's numerous examples

272

you have, but I know personally myself,

I've been open now for more than a year

273

and a half and have learned so much about

not only myself, doing this podcast, first

274

off, but even from my own clients that

it's allowed me to evolve and be a better

275

coach to not only find ways and strategies

to navigate through challenging times,

276

but also, get them to where they need to

be, because I want them to ultimately,

277

in my version of my business, that be

the best version of who they are, so

278

do you have anything that comes to mind

that has helped you at this point to

279

get to where you're at for you clients?

280

Sara: Absolutely.

281

I think it's always an honor to support

clients, and I don't know about you,

282

but I always find that when I'm working

with the client, so often, they will

283

bring up an issue or a challenge that I

also am facing in my own life, and it's

284

such a reflection that I need to keep

continuing to do the work myself: the

285

inner work, the mindset work, all of

those kinds of things, prioritizing, my

286

balance, and that kind of thing, so that

I can take my clients deeper, because

287

I can't take my clients any deeper than

I have already gone myself, so yeah,

288

whether it's perfectionism coming up,

high achiever, I work with a lot of women

289

that are in a leadership role, as well

as balancing motherhood, and I was in

290

that role myself in the NICU, and it is a

challenging role to be in, and we haven't

291

talked about this yet, but being in a

role like that, I was a bit unbalanced

292

in that role, and I think that was maybe

part of what led to a big health journey

293

that we haven't touched on yet, that

really was why I started my coaching

294

business, why I left the NICU and started

my coaching business, because I need a

295

better life balance, and 14 hour shifts

in the hospital is not my definition

296

of a very good work life balance.

297

Joshua: I overworked myself quite a

lot in a variety of management jobs.

298

I'm a government professional, and still

do that even as I continue to build my

299

own coaching business, but even with

that said, it has definitely taken a

300

toll on me in my early twenties because

I didn't learn what that balance was

301

until much later on in life, and so, with

you saying that, and about your health

302

journey, which I didn't realize that was

a big part of this, what have you learned

303

about transitioning into the coaching

world that has helped you in your health?

304

Sara: I have learned that I need far

more margin than I ever realized.

305

I need more margin in my schedule.

306

I need more margin to take care of

myself, and my family, and to be able

307

to be fully present with my family.

308

I have two girls that are middle school

and high school, and people always say,

309

"Your kids need you when they're young.",

and they do, that's true, but your kids

310

need you equally as much, or maybe more,

as they're going through these teenage

311

years, and all the things that are coming

at them, so I need enough margin in my

312

life to be able to be present and be

there for them when they're ready to

313

talk, because if I'm not there then,

then I'm going to miss the moment, so

314

that's what I mean when I say I need more

margin, to take care of my own body, and

315

my kids, and yeah, just be more present.

316

Joshua: I love the way you said that.

317

Margin.

318

I don't think of it that way.

319

I mean, I usually use the words "time",

and "scheduling", and things like

320

that, and they're so 20th century.

321

Putting on a calendar, balancing that,

but margin, that's a whole unique

322

aspect because it's such more broad

and encompassing of what I think people

323

need to work on, so I am really, okay.

324

I really am curious.

325

Now, I have to ask this, so, how do you

find margin then on your day to day?

326

I did have a question about you working

with healthcare professionals; those

327

that are in a leadership role, so

glad you brought that up, but I wonder

328

if you could start with yourself,

and then we'll expand into that.

329

How do you create that margin?

330

Sara: Yeah, for sure.

331

I think part of it is

being really intentional.

332

As we know, and I am fully guilty

of this as well, but it's really

333

easy to spend an unintentional 40

minutes scrolling on your phone, so

334

being super mindful about, "Okay.

335

I've checked my social media for 10

minutes, and now I need to be done,

336

because I need to go move my body in the

morning, or I need to go walk the dog.",

337

and I want to enjoy being outside walking

the dog, and like, actually, looking at

338

the sky, and noticing the grass that's

getting greener in the spring, and like

339

those kind of things to really bring

more presence into my day, super simple

340

things, instead of talking to my friend,

half paying attention to her on the phone,

341

while half paying attention to my dog,

who's trying to run away, or chase the

342

squirrel, like little, tangible things

like that, I like to help myself, and

343

support other people in, where can you

make the little tangible shifts that

344

might feel like no big deal, but when you

actually change your life with them, it

345

makes all the difference in the world?

346

If you could imagine having an extra

hour of your day of "you" time,

347

think of the possibilities, and

how much more balanced, and more

348

margin, in your life you would have.

349

Joshua: I've had other people in the

show, Sara, that I've talked about it in

350

terms of energy, how we use our energy,

not only in the transference of not only

351

the actions that we perform on a daily

basis, but also the energy of the people

352

that we surround ourselves with, and you

are essentially saying it in a way that

353

we actually makes a lot more practical

sense, than people being like, "Oh, yes.

354

It's another energy conversation.

355

Let's do some Reiki.

356

Let's do some power yoga, all these

different health things.", which obviously

357

those are all important, and I'm sure as

a nurse, you would absolutely recommend

358

those sort of things into a daily routine,

but you said it was such intentionality

359

that I feel that you've had people

that you've worked with to kind of find

360

the margin, if you will, so, building

off of what you just said, how do you

361

help healthcare professionals, or even

help clients in general, that would be

362

asking you to help find that margin?

363

Is there certain things that you do

that help them to walk through that,

364

and maybe you could just give a general

example of something that our listeners

365

can do even today, for that matter,

that would help them find that margin.

366

Sara: Yeah, for sure, so the first step,

I think, being a nurse is assessment.

367

We need to assess the situation, and do

the whole body, whole life, assessment.

368

How is your body feeling?

369

What demands do you have at work?

370

What demands do you have at home?

371

What support system, what resources do

you have; all of that kind of stuff,

372

so I kind of have a framework of the

foundation that we're working with,

373

and then, once we get through there, I

like to ask them like, "What is margin

374

and balance for you?", because it's

going to be different for every person.

375

I have worked with a client in the past

who she is a female business owner and

376

she has two small kids, and her husband

is a business owner as well, and he has

377

on call hours, and his schedule can be

a little bit crazy, so for her, even

378

at 15 minutes of time that's not being

pulled in every direction feels like such

379

a gift, so how can we look at your life

and your schedule, and how can we find

380

15 minutes for you to start with, and

I know that people are like, "Really?

381

It's 15 minutes.", but literally, that

is a hard task sometimes for people,

382

and that's where we have to start

is we're going to start small and

383

tangible, because if we ask right away

for two hours off the top, it's not

384

realistic, so I'm here for realistic,

implementable- I think I made that word

385

up, changes to start and to take baby

steps, because you know how it goes when

386

you take too big of a step at the gym.

387

If you're like, "Okay, great.

388

I'm going to get fit.

389

I'm going to start by

running 12 miles today."

390

That's not going to work out.

391

You got to start running half a mile, and

then a mile, and build on those things,

392

so with this particular client, one of the

things we did was she had not been very

393

good in the past about being specific and

asking for help at home, and she got a

394

little more courage, and a little bit more

direct with her partner and said, "Hey.

395

Could you help do this, this, and

this?", and he was very willing to help.

396

He just didn't know that she wanted him

to do that, so just being direct, and

397

asking for those simple things, really

gave her an extra 15 minutes while

398

dinner was being made so that she could

play with her kids, and that means all

399

the difference when you can be more

intentional and more present with your

400

children, even if it's for 15 minutes.

401

Joshua: Even just having that extra

15 minutes to do something with

402

intentionality, to be able to do with

purpose, I think speaks volumes to

403

why sometimes we don't give ourselves

that credence to work on ourselves,

404

meaning be able to read a book, to

be able to run that half mile, to

405

be able to spend time with our kids.

406

I think those are all important things

because, like you said, there's a

407

holistic component to being able to

provide that self worth, and if we're

408

not able to do that, if we're not able

to shed some time to be able to do those

409

experiences, well that creates a lot of

difficulty in the long run, being able

410

to feel like we have anything to give,

if we don't have that energy, or that

411

margin, to give in the first place.

412

Sara: Exactly, exactly, exactly.

413

Joshua: Do you think there's a crisis

in being well balanced, especially in

414

the United States, because I feel like

there is with not only the fact that

415

now we have to work two or more jobs.

416

We don't get the opportunity to take care

of things because the costs are so high,

417

so we're putting off medical appointments.

418

We might even be putting off buying

nutritious food, things of that nature.

419

Do you think that's contributing to

a lot of the different issues that

420

maybe you see in clients too, or

do you think it's something else?

421

Sara: 1000%.

422

Yes.

423

I think it contributes to the

state of our mental health.

424

It's a huge factor in the rise in

chronic illness in our country,

425

and other preventable illnesses,

because we don't have the margin

426

and the balance in our world.

427

We don't have the margin to, like you

said, prepare and buy nutritious food.

428

Maybe we can buy it, but we don't give

ourselves the time to prepare it, so

429

then it goes rotten in the fridge,

because we didn't actually cut it up.

430

We don't have the time that we

need and deserve to spend with our

431

families, whether that's children,

nieces, and nephews; aging parents.

432

We don't even have the time that we

should have to spend time with our

433

pets who give us so much love and joy

in our lives, because we're too busy

434

running the rat race of life, and trying

to keep up with everyone's standards,

435

and raising prices, and all of those

things, which really hinder us in

436

living a slower, more intentional, life.

437

Joshua: Yeah, and I'm guilty as

charged when it comes to throwing

438

out food that should have been

made and cut up many times.

439

I can't tell you how many hundreds,

even thousands of dollars that I've

440

thrown away, just because of the lack

of time that I give myself to do it

441

because of the busyness of our lives,

let alone, all the things that happen

442

through the day to day that sometimes

I'm beating myself up for it, and I

443

still do that even to this day, Sara.

444

I know I shared a little bit about my

story before we started, but I think

445

that we often are programmed to think

that we have to do things a certain

446

way because society tells us to, but as

many of my guests even on the show have

447

said, it's about being able to separate

yourself from that, and be able to help

448

you not only create that context in

your life so that you can give yourself

449

that time, but to also press forward,

so we're getting close to the end of our

450

time, and I have been thinking about the

fact that you have been through a lot

451

of these unique experiences that people

sometimes don't even know what it's like

452

to experience that: being prematurely

born, being in an accident in a sports

453

competition and being a gymnast, being a

NICU nurse, and then also, helping others

454

find, essentially, the holistic balance.

455

Do you feel that there's more to give in

what you're developing, and when I ask

456

you that question, I'm really referring

to the fact that do you feel like you're

457

doing what you have set out to do finally

in your life to feel that purpose, to feel

458

that grit, that opportunity that you have?

459

In other words, are you living with

grace, because I noticed that that is a

460

big part of why you build this foundation

to help others in your coaching, because

461

you want to live those same principles,

but do you think there's still work

462

yet to do, especially for yourself?

463

Sara: I think there's always work to do.

464

Always.

465

I think that I would not be

honest if I didn't say that

466

there wasn't work to be done.

467

I think you can always balance yourself

more, and be more intentional with your

468

time and your energy, and what you're

consuming in any way, whether that's what

469

you're listening to, what you're watching

on TV, what you're scrolling, what you're

470

putting into your body, the places that

you are letting your body be, whether

471

it's in nature or in the city, like so

many ways that we can consume, and I think

472

that, absolutely, there's always room.

473

I'm on the path for sure, and I'm

so much more balanced than I was.

474

My health journey really inspired me to

create this business so that I can help

475

other women not be in the same spot,

and men too, but help them not become

476

in the same spot where your body forces

you to stop what you're doing in order

477

to pay attention and listen to it, so

creating a more balanced life with more

478

margin in it so that you can continue to

serve the people that you really love.

479

Joshua: Being able to serve those people

is not only a blessing, because I think

480

for being a coach, being able to help

those people is such a rewarding feeling.

481

That's like what I enjoy doing is to

help those people see maybe something

482

that they didn't see before, but for what

you've said too, I think it's so important

483

to always think with the framework of,

"There's always something more to learn,

484

so why not enjoy what this life gives us?"

485

Sara, thanks so much for sharing all this.

486

I want to give you the last few

minutes to pitch your business,

487

Cedar Wellness Coaching.

488

I also know we didn't talk about your

book, which is called When Grit & Grace

489

Collide: Persevering Through Life’s

Challenges with Grit & God’s Grace.

490

I was wondering, maybe you can also

throw in a couple of tidbits about

491

the book and how people can access it,

maybe they're interested in purchasing

492

it, but let us know how we can get in

contact with you, and I'll give you

493

the last few minutes to do all of that.

494

Sara: Yeah, absolutely.

495

Yes, so my business is Cedar Wellness

and Coaching, and, primarily, it

496

focuses on supporting women that are in

a leadership role as they balance the

497

role of leadership and motherhood, and

releasing the guilt that comes along

498

with those roles: slowing down to have

more intentional living, being present

499

with your kids so that you are actually

listening to what they're telling you,

500

and you're watching movie night with them,

instead of checking emails on your phone

501

while you're supposed to be watching the

Disney movie, so really, just helping

502

them support in that way, and also I like

to support organizations in a leadership

503

coaching capacity as well, and yeah, just

helping them create that life with more

504

margin so that they can be an even better

leader and the best version of themselves

505

with that lens, and you can find me

on Instagram: cedar.wellness.coaching;

506

Facebook is the same.

507

I think my link for connecting

with my landing page will be in

508

the notes, and as far as my book;

yeah, he did a great job saying the

509

title, and it's available on Amazon.

510

I self published it, so there might

be misplaced commas, not the perfect

511

grammatical sentence structure, but I

really wanted it to be a transparent

512

conversation about my life and my journey

and feeling like we're having coffee

513

together, not a textbook style read.

514

Joshua: Awesome, and I encourage

those that are interested in

515

more Sara story since you got

to hear portions of that today.

516

I encourage you to check that out too.

517

I'll also have a link in the episode

notes if you want to go and purchase

518

the published book that is available.

519

You know, Sara, I always find it

interesting to have women on the show that

520

have your interesting type of background,

because for me, I always wanted to have

521

not only people in my life that I would

surround myself that would help push

522

me and make me feel like I'm encouraged

to do whatever is possible, but you

523

have that nurturing spirit, I can tell.

524

We were even talking about your daughter

before we got on today's episode, and

525

I know that you are definitely leading

that life of intentionality, being

526

able to feel grace and fill that void

for so many people, and I can just

527

see that radiate from you, and I think

those sort of people are needed in this

528

world that we have those caregivers,

and I will always stick up for nurses

529

because of my mom, and my sisters

being able to go through that program.

530

I have a true appreciation for what you do

because if it wasn't for nurses, doctors

531

would not be able to do their job, and

nobody would be able to take care of each

532

other if we didn't have somebody by our

bedside to do just that, so thank you for

533

the over 20 years and continuing service

that you do in the nursing field and doing

534

it in- I want to say a weird way, but it's

actually a very unique way of coaching,

535

which for all those reasons, thanks for

being on Speaking From The Heart today.

536

Thanks for sharing a little bit

about your story, and continue

537

being an awesome coach that you are.

538

I always appreciate having others

on the show, and only root for you

539

to continue having great success.

540

Sara: Thank you so much.

541

Thank you for your very kind words,

and I appreciate the opportunity and

542

I think I will forever be serving and

nurturing others as long as I am here on

543

this earth, so I appreciate those words.

544

Joshua: I think that is such an important

role, especially in society to have

545

those people that nurture us, so thanks

for continuing to do that, and again,

546

thanks for being a part of the show.

547

Sara: Thank you so much.

548

Joshua: Once again, I want to thank Sara

for being part of the show, and helping

549

me, and my listeners like you, build

a better opportunity for the future,

550

because regardless of what we might be

suffering as ailments, maybe a little

551

bit of a headache, maybe a little bit of

neck pain, maybe even breaking both your

552

neck and head, especially with what Sara

even shared about the accident that she

553

had, it makes us realize that we have

to work on ourselves, both physically

554

and mentally to get to where we need to

be, but yet at the same time, when you

555

go through life, do you ever think that

you're going to have a lot of struggles?

556

Probably not.

557

We don't have that capacity to understand

that, especially at a young age.

558

Sara had to go through a lot of different

things though, especially being born

559

premature, to overcome some of the

adversities and even the struggles, that

560

were placed on her, but as I even said in

the beginning, it's about those stitches.

561

Those are the things that are the

battle marks that have shown that we've

562

endured and have so much to offer in

creating opportunities to share our

563

stories, to share our perspectives,

which even Sara did with her book.

564

I love the fact that she has this grit,

but yet at the same time, has the grace

565

to give so many opportunities through her

clients, through the people that she's

566

interacting with, to create opportunities

even in the scariest of times.

567

Being even a nurse coach, something I

never even heard of that even existed,

568

just shows the fascination of this world

that we have all kinds of coaches and

569

proves my point that regardless of who

you find, there is always going to be

570

somebody out there that is willing to walk

alongside of you, no matter what might

571

happen, but even with all those holistic

experiences, being able to have impacts

572

and directions of where you want to go in

life, you have to understand that even if

573

you want to take that holistic approach,

even if you wanted to have a wholesome

574

experience and live life as it's meant to

be lived, not knowing what to expect and

575

reacting to the changes, you can obviously

see that there is always going to be an

576

opportunity to build a bigger, better

version of yourself, regardless of where

577

you are going, but the challenges, the

things that we are going through in our

578

life, do require us to have inner work.

579

We are never going to be that

perfectionist that we always wanted to be.

580

I know that it's not possible

because I almost ended my life

581

thinking that I had to work so

hard, trying to achieve something

582

that was not possible to achieve.

583

Even friends, even a past guest, one of

my high school friends, Amanda Bacon,

584

who we've had on the show, even pointed

this out to me at a very young age

585

and I refused to even listen to her.

586

Many years later, I'm

finally listening to her.

587

I'm finally seeing that this bigger

picture of trying to think that

588

you can overcome anything with

sheer wit, determination, and grit.

589

That is not how life works, but

yet, we have to find the margin.

590

The margin in which is the

intersection of taking care of

591

yourself and taking care of others.

592

I know what you're doing.

593

You're not only listening to this podcast,

but you're doing probably multiple other

594

things: running, weightlifting, taking

care of your children, driving to and from

595

the grocery store, maybe a restaurant with

your hubby, or even your wifey, maybe it's

596

somebody else that you have been spending

time with that you shouldn't be spending

597

time with, if you know what I mean, but

yet, at the same time, you are distracted.

598

You are not living in that margin,

because you're taking care of other

599

things that you shouldn't be taking care

of right now, because this is your time.

600

Your time to be a little bit

more intentional, and to make

601

something even more impactful

happen in your life, but I get it.

602

In this ever changing world of busyness,

when am I ever going to find time to

603

just focus on one thing, at one time,

but yet at other cultures, that seems

604

to be always the opportunity to be

able to work on those kind of aspects.

605

Look at even Spain for that matter.

606

They have times in the afternoon in which

they take a siesta, a break, a rest, and

607

then they go back and work in the evening.

608

Yes!

609

Here in the United States, we

certainly don't do that, and I

610

know for a fact why we don't do it.

611

It makes zero sense to be able to do that,

because we'd rather just work one straight

612

continuous pattern, and then have the

rest of the time for ourselves, but that

613

isn't how life works in other countries.

614

Being more intentional, instead of

scrolling on your phone for that matter.

615

Endless clickbait of Facebook ads,

Instagram posts, even Twitter feeds

616

for that matter, can certainly distract

us from the bigger life that we have.

617

Netflix and chill.

618

Being able to watch Hulu.

619

Play games on your PlayStation, Xbox, or

whatever video game system that you have.

620

All of those are ultimately distractions

from the overall purpose that you might be

621

living in your life; living in the margin,

because that margin, as much as we want to

622

call it work and life balance, sometimes

doesn't always work, and I get it.

623

I understand why.

624

There's no such thing as pure work

and life balance, which even another

625

coach, even outside of today's

episode, even joked about with me.

626

"There's no such thing as balance."

627

You have to be understanding that the

little things that you have that shift

628

you into doing even more little things

comes with consistency and practice.

629

It comes with our work and life balance.

630

With all the demands, and all the

supports, and all the assessments,

631

all the tools that are available to

us that create that balance in order

632

to work on balance, to see the overall

development of balance, means that

633

we have to have an introspective and

extrospective look at who we are.

634

Don't you understand?

635

I know that that sounds all confusing

using those big words that I've been using

636

for the last few moments, but yet, that's

what's really pushing us into a corner.

637

All these things that are part of our

life, all the things that we have to

638

contribute towards our physical and

mental health, all the things that

639

we have going on in our life, is all

because we're not living in balance,

640

and friends, if you're not living in

balance, you are not living at all.

641

You're striving towards something that

will never be achievable, even if you

642

think it is, because you're always

going to be spinning, and spinning, and

643

spinning, never thinking that you're

ever going to get there, because all

644

you've been doing is working, working,

working, with no toil, no result, from it.

645

I've been fortunate enough to

have a variety of clients now

646

that have seen that other side.

647

Even after over 19 months of being

open, I'm starting to see the people

648

that are really taking this seriously.

649

They've seen success from their own eyes.

650

Even my friends over at Next Generation

Personal Training are starting to see the

651

fruits of their labors by opening a cycle

studio that I'm super excited about, and

652

being able to have the opportunity of a

lifetime to work on things that even the

653

owner, Brock Waluk, that we've had on

the show achieved the things that he's

654

been looking to do for such a long time.

655

That didn't happen overnight.

656

He was spending a lot more work.

657

There was a lot more balance that was

happening even later on, but it didn't

658

happen overnight with that transition.

659

It started with just a

small, incremental step.

660

Even Brock would tell you, that some

of the biggest challenges that he had

661

in his life, even as what he shared

on the show on episode number 99, was

662

about understanding what he did wrong,

and what he needed to do to fix it,

663

but Sara's story, the guest that we've

had on today's show, really shares with

664

us, and exemplifies the fact that you

can do this, and that there are people

665

that are willing to help you find that

balance, even if that means that we

666

have to live in the life of margin.

667

I know that it's so tough to find that

life, to find that purpose, but that's

668

where it starts from, which I have said.

669

It's about the purpose in which we

stitch together, the battle scars

670

that we have in our life, come from

all those past versions of ourselves,

671

sometimes letting ourselves down,

and sometimes seeing success where

672

we've never seen success before.

673

Even if we're able to coach

people in a variety of different

674

industries, even nurses for that

matter, we have to learn to endure.

675

We have to learn to find the opportunity.

676

We have to learn that even in the scariest

of times, there will be strangers, demons,

677

things in the other world, that will

make us feel like we're petrified to

678

be able to work on ourselves, but if we

challenge ourselves to do the inner work,

679

I promise you that margin will turn into

big dividends that will pay off, financial

680

or otherwise, because if you live in that

life where you learn, grow, and inspire,

681

I know that you will be able to build the

things that will allow you to have all

682

the supports, all the things that will

help others see their overall development,

683

and all that you need to worry about,

is finding that happy medium, and that

684

medium is closer than you might think.

685

Take that time today.

686

Write that journal.

687

Write that next chapter in your book.

688

Record a podcast.

689

Work on your vision board.

690

Work on the things in which you

want to achieve as your goals.

691

Start writing down what those goals

look like, especially as we get

692

closer to the end of this year.

693

2025 is soon going to be upon us, but yet

at the same time, find a part time job,

694

not in the financial sense, and not in the

sense in which it knocks that time away

695

from you, that allows you to spend time

away from your phone, instead of endlessly

696

scrolling through all the various options

that are on your Apple TV or Android

697

device, and find ways in which Amazon,

and even Temu for that matter, don't have

698

an influence over your buying patterns.

699

Find the margin in what

you are able to create.

700

Find the margin in which you're

able to contribute, because when you

701

contribute and create, there will be

a lot more to take care of than just

702

the endless scrolling on your phone,

or even the two kids that you might

703

have, or even the husband and wife.

704

You will find something else that you

will be passionate about; and hey!

705

Maybe you'll be a small

business owner yourself.

706

Maybe running a small little

store outside of your home.

707

Maybe even running the things that you

always wanted to passionately do, and it

708

was all because you changed your mindset

to live that all conscious, balanced

709

life, without sacrificing who you are.

710

Thanks for listening to episode

number 144 of Speaking From the

711

Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart very soon.

712

Outro: Thanks for listening.

713

For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

714

The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

715

Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

716

services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

717

See you next time.