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Kristin Sadler: Tips for Becoming a Healthier Writer · The Daily Writer

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Rider.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_02: Each weekday, we bring you a short lesson that helps you live out the four practices of a great writer creativity, consistency, courage, and connection.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_02: Here on the weekend edition, we take a deeper dive into those topics through conversations with writers and teaching that helps us apply what we're learning.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_02: For more, you can visit us at DailyRiderLife.com.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I am so excited to feature today's interview with my good friend Kristen Sadler.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: Kristen is the founder of Pen and Peacock Writing, which specializes in writing websites and digital marketing that inspire readers to take action while creating better brand recognition and top-of-mind product awareness.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: She writes, produces, and edits website content, blogs, landing pages, e-newsletters, ebooks, and so much more.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Kristen is also a published poet and a ghostwriter.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_02: Now, you might be thinking, what does this have to do with the title of this episode, which is Tips for Becoming a Healthier Writer?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: And the answer is that Kristen has had her share of health challenges over the years, and as a result, she's a great resource for helping us understand the importance of good health as writers.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: This is something she has studied intensely, and more importantly, she practices personally on a daily basis.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: We've talked about this a number of times in the past, and I'm really excited to have Kristen on the show today to talk about this because health is something that is important to me, and it's something that I need to improve in my own life.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, honestly.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's something that all of us need to pay a lot of attention to, especially as we get older.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Now, I'm not trying to get personal with you, but uh, you know, there comes a time in our lives.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'm not gonna call out anyone in particular, but people like myself, who are on the other side of 40 or 45, perhaps, or 47 to be exact.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: There comes a time in our lives where we really start having to pay more and more attention to this.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, I recently turned 47, as I mentioned a second ago, and I realized in my life, you know, I'm not 27 anymore.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: Even though I kind of jokingly put on social media that, hey, you know, 47 is the new 27.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's not really true because uh 47 feels a lot different than 27.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so the reality is that as we get older, and I realize that everybody listening to this episode right now is quote unquote older or over 40, but it's important at any age, no matter if you're 27, if you're 17, or you're 77, health is a really vital topic for us.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: And as we get older, I think it becomes more and more important because the reality is that we're not going to live forever.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And we have, I believe, a responsibility to ourselves and to our families and to our audience and to the world.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: We have a um an important responsibility to take care of ourselves and to write and to function with energy.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's kind of the backstory of why I've asked Kristen to come on the show today and to share some tips and some thoughts on living a healthier life.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Now, just a slight more backstory before we get into the conversation.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: Kristen and I met a few years ago at a local networking event, and we headed off right away.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: As I recall, we sit and we talked for gosh, probably well over an hour after this networking event because, you know, sometimes you meet people and you just kind of click with them right away.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: You have a similar viewpoint on the world, you have a great vibe, and you really enjoy talking with them and learning from them.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: And Kristen is one of those people.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, she's one of those people where as soon as you sit down to talk with her, you're like, hey, this is a really cool person who is not only smart and um just is a very positive and encouraging, inspiring person, but this is somebody that I can really learn from and who can can help take me to another level in my life and in my business.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: And Kristen is certainly that kind of person.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm really excited to share this conversation with you.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_02: Kristen shares in this conversation the importance of wellness.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: She talks about the power of a mind, body, and spirit balance, and she talks about some simple actions that we can take toward better health and a lot more.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_02: This is a really important and also a very inspiring and fun interview.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_02: And this has given me a lot more motivation to make health my primary focus this year.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: So I know you're going to enjoy this just as much as I did.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_02: So here's my conversation with the amazing Kristen Sadler.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_02: Kristen, welcome to the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: It is a blast having you on here and so excited about our upcoming conversation.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm excited to be here and I'm excited about it too.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: So well, we are here to talk about a super, super critical issue, and that is health.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's something that honestly I haven't talked about in the show that much.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: Or I think I may have had two or three guests who really focused on matters of health over the last several years.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: So obviously, this is a topic I have greatly underserved my audience in.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm glad you're here to chat about this.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, why is health such an important deal with writers?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we just kind of sit all day and we type right.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what why is health such a such a critical issue?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'm being a little sarcastic with that.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: But but seriously, why why is this a an increasingly vital issue for those of us who do writing?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, obesity is on you know a trajectory that's unsustainable in this country and other countries as well.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: And sitting all day is one of the biggest contributors to obesity and you know diabetes.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um it can't be helped when you're a writer.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: I sit, I have a stand-up desk, I can't stand as long as I can sit.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I get in the groove, I don't move for hours.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's a real problem.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and when we sit like that, we you know, we tend to not get up, not get things, not get water, tea, um, not eat properly, um, really just not take care of ourselves properly.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's, you know, also um another another thing I thought of earlier with me is um degenerative disc disease, back problems.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's a huge problem as well.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh hip problems, hip replacements, y'all people getting hip replacements at younger and younger ages because we are sitting in front of screens so much.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, not just writers, but people in general.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so all of those things um contribute to some of the bigger issues that we face health-wise as writers.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then it goes down to even little things.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I say little, like eye strain, dry eye, vision problems, um, and then emotionally, you know, the anxiety and the stress of being a writer can be really high.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that that all it's all a snowball.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: None of it is um exclusive of the other.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: How would you say that we should define good health?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_02: Because it obviously it's a spectrum.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: You can be in really, really great health or you can be in really horrible health.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: Most people live somewhere in the probably the middle, 50% of that continuum.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_02: But if you had to put a definition of good health, how would you really describe what we should be aiming for?
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: What is our target with good health?
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I would say for me, good health means a mind, body, and spirit balance.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I have chronic Lyme disease.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: I have I have moderate to severe RA now.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: As a writer, those two things can really be a problem.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so people would probably look at me, or people who know that would say, well, she's not healthy because she has an autoimmune disease and she's got all this other stuff going on.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: But in my mind, I'm healthy because I am um I'm the proper weight.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: I exercise, I eat right, I drink a lot of high quality water and herbal teas.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: I uh meditate, I get my exercise every day, even if it's 20 minutes.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I get up, I force myself to move.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: I have an app on my phone called Charity Miles.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it's free.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you're familiar with it.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: No, I've not heard of it.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: It um I try to keep it in my I try to wear something with pockets.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: I keep it in my pocket.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: And as I move around the house and get things to drink or throw laundry in the dryer or whatever it is, it counts my steps.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: And those steps count towards money, towards the charity of your choice.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: That's cool.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: In less than a year, I raised$55,000 for charity water just by steps around costs me nothing.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it encourages me.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think, oh man, I gotta get more steps for my kids today.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Cause right now I'm doing my charity is um mental health on college campuses.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and it's uh it's a nonprofit organization who's helping that's helping kids, college-age kids deal with the pressures of today.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: So in my mind, I'm I'm making money for those kids.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that really helps inspire me to get up and move more.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think when, you know, getting back to defining good health, I think it it's it's a combination of having a healthy body, having a healthy mind, and having a healthy spirit or a healthy outlook on every day, even when things get you down, finding the good or the gratitude in something of that day.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_02: I would love to dive into this topic of anxiety for a little bit.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's been something that I have dealt with personally in my adult life.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people have, I think, especially the last year and a half.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: Obviously, the pandemic has produced untold amounts of anxiety in many, many people for a whole bunch of different reasons.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: But as writers, we deal with specific causes of anxiety, particularly if you're totally self-employed as a writer.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it can be very anxious, worrying about clients paying on time or at all, you know, worrying about future projects, taxes.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's so many sources of anxiety as a writer.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: For you personally, what have been some of the things in your writing life that have caused anxiety?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, uh I mean, I started this business seven years ago now, and uh I didn't know how I was gonna pay the bills.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I mean, and then like you said, you know, if their clients are slow paying or um, you know, don't pay, then you've got to deal with that.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um seven years later, you know, here I am, and I still I am still always feel like I don't have that um what's the word safety net necessarily underneath me um that you might have if you work for a corporation uh where you will get time off if you get cancer and you'll get medical, you'll get family medical leave act, you'll get right on that, you'll get vacation time money that you can use, you get all that.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: We don't have that.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: So if we get sick as writers or self-employed writers and you can't write, like I had wrist surgery in February and I couldn't use my left hand and I couldn't do all my typing with my right hand because of my RA.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you really realize how vulnerable you are.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, that's a that's a huge cause of anxiety.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know that it ever goes away.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know, I don't care how much money you're making.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: There's always that, even if you're saving and you're doing all the right things for your future, there's there's always that little tiny bit of uncertainty that said, what if I can't do this anymore?
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: What will I do?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I've got a a good friend who, of course, I don't know how much money he makes, but it's in the like the multi-multi six figures, I'm sure, for him and his a his agency.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: I remember on a call with him a few months ago, he said, and it really this really stuck stuck with me.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: He said, It doesn't matter how many books that you've done, and he's done dozens of books over the last number of years.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: Doesn't matter how many books you've done, you're always you always have a little bit of anxiety about where that next one's coming from.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: He's got a massive network, tons of referral work.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, wow, I really wasn't expecting that.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_02: I was hoping you would say, you know, when you've been doing this a while, everything is is secure and you basically know where things are coming from, but the reality is that you don't.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that's true.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I I have a position with a revenue operations company as their um senior level writer.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I could make double or triple the money I make uh on my own, not doing that, but that is my safety net.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I have my clients and then I also work with them as a contractor, I'm not employed by them, but I know that I have a position there as long as they'll have me and I'll have them.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it even though I could make a whole lot of money, take those hours and make you know so much for me, the balance is there that that work is always going to be there.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's something I can trust, it's something I can believe in and feel good about.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a team, you know how we we get so isolated.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we have I totally understand the team.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I think at some point you have to make a decision like what's more important?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Is it you know, making as much money as you humanly can and having that constant uncertainty or finding a balance between something that well maybe doesn't pay as well, but I have that safety net and I still get to do my own thing on the side.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's really helped me feel more secure than when I was just a hundred percent going from one client to the next and hoping to get that next one.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it brings to mind the question for me of what is really the purpose of money?
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_02: Shouldn't shouldn't the purpose of money be to give us options, give us a better quality of life, allow us to help other people, to serve other people, you know, those kinds of things.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_02: And if if our pursuit of more and more money is only bringing more anxiety and more stress, then what's the really the point of it?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and I know kind of in the entrepreneur world, there's this, there's very much a hustle, kind of a culture of burning the candle at both ends, working 24-7 and all that stuff when that doesn't seem to be very healthy, really.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's counterproductive because when you get into that pattern, you don't sleep well, you can't have a clear mind, you don't concentrate well, you know, you're going 25 different directions every day, and you really never ever get anything done.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it's impossible to do your best work when you pulled in 20 different directions because you're just chasing the dollar.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think this has been proven, I don't know, hundreds of times, and probably hundreds of people have said it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: But when you find what you're good at and you do it, the money will come.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be smart about it and try to get what you're worth.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Don't undervalue yourself.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: But if you are doing what you love and you stick to it and you commit to it, if you can financially afford to do that, then usually you'll find your sweet spot and the money will come.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: That is so true.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: What are some some ways that you personally deal with anxiety that some ways that you have found it are really helpful?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh being in nature.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: That is my number one um to.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I don't do so well when it's a hundred degrees out, but I like it is now.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this I hate summer.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like one of those weird people that I love winter.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: I love bundling up and going out in the cool crisp air and taking my walks every day.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: But I still get out.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: I still get out as early as I can in the morning.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: If I can't, if I can't be in nature, I still have to do some sort of exercise.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: But that is my happy place.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whether that I have a recumbent bike in my house, I have a little mini gym, I have, you know, dumbbells and fans and balls and you name it.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I will get my workout and I will sweat every day.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: And while I'm working out, I'm focusing on what I'm doing.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm not thinking about work usually.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's kind of a combination of a meditative experience plus a physical experience.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's been a way of life for me.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: I started doing aerobics when I was 14.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: I have worked out every day of my life that I haven't been either in the hospital or head surgery or something since I was 14 years old.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because if I don't, I will hurt.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, it's kind of like you, I know if I have a day where I don't work out and I sit all day, the next day I will be able to barely move.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, it's a cause, it's a direct cause and effect.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Most people don't have to deal with that.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it's easy just to say, Oh, I'll do it tomorrow.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'll do it tomorrow.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'll do it tomorrow.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, for me, it's my you know, my day uh between 11 and 1, I get my workout, my lunch, and my shower because it breaks up my sitting.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then after one o'clock, usually, you know, I'm I'm ready to go.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: I've got the rest of the day to write.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: I feel amazing.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: I also use tools like a vibration plate.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and um that that just kind of you stand on it for 10 minutes and it vibrates your cells apart and it brings oxygen to your body and it does all this amazing stuff for your circulation and all of that.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: If you can't get a walk.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I have never heard of that before.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: My all of my functional medicine doctors have had them in their offices, my chiropractors.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's a ton of science behind it, but basically, when you get toxic, your cells clump, and those clumps can lead to cancer.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you get sick, you get sick cells, your body's trying to detox, and without exercise, all of that stuff just gets stored in your fat cells and these vibration plates are set to a frequency where they can take those cells and separate them and then bring oxygen into your blood and and around everything, and it goes all the way up into your brain.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then your your lymphatic system is able to get rid of all of the bad stuff.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: That's fascinating.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_02: I've never heard that before.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's great for writers because you stand on it and I'm it just feels so good.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's just from your feet up, and it's like, oh, it's just feels really good.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it kind of refreshes you.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's cool.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's really cool.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: I have to check one of those out.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: Is that something you could?
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, how much are those to just go buy one?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: 150 bucks on Amazon.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: Really?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they used to be thousands of dollars.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I have wanted one forever.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: They have one that has that's based on sound frequency, which is the best.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_01: They're like five grand, you know.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, it never, I'm like, I'm not doing that.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they've gotten to where, you know, it's not gonna be as good as that sound frequency one, but it's gonna still be really good.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I really notice the difference.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: So um that's cool.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna totally check that out today.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: Any little thing you can do like that, you know, chiropractic, acupuncture.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: I do chiropractic once a week, whether I need it or not, because I get in there and I always need it.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, any any little things.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: I have a little trampoline too.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Little one of the little mini ones.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: Get up, jump for two minutes, sit back down.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Just keep moving, keep things moving.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: Man, that is such great advice.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_02: You've given us tons of really good tips here.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna have to go back and re-listen to this section of the show to write write all the stuff down because I need to do most of it.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: I am training for a half marathon right now, so I'm I'm running several times a week.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: And man, that is it makes such a massive difference in just how you feel and your attitude.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: And and you live, do you live in St.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: Peter's or O'Fallon?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in Lake St.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Louis.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Lake St.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: Louis, okay.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I I was I couldn't remember.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: I knew you lived in one of those areas.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_02: For those who are are listening who have no idea what I'm talking about.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um Lake St.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_02: Louis is a town, what would you say, like 15 miles away from St.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: Peter's?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_02: 10, 15, 20.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, about 10.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, something like that.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: In St.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_02: Peter's, we have this.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, well, really in St.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: Charles County, we have this huge trail network.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you ever get out on the bike and the hiking trails, but man, when you talked about being in nature, that's something I do all the time and it makes such a big difference.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's great.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it and that's probably the number one thing that will help anxiety.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: You know, meditation is hard.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: People don't like the word, they don't like to try to do it.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: But when you're in nature, you know, eventually, I think after a few minutes, the stress falls away.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: You start concentrating on the butterflies and the flowers, whatever, and you're you're meditating really in nature.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: But most people think, oh, meditation, that's for hippies and I can't do it, you know.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime you're shutting your mind off from worry and and and that that hamster wheel of of thinking and uh thoughts ping-ponging around, anytime you can do that, you're really in a meditative state that will cut through that stress and and bring down, you know, all of your anxiety levels.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I do want to ask about meditation though, because that that's a practice that is really, really common today.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I think we're hearing more and more about it.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: How do you meditate?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And are there any tips that you can give us for doing it effectively?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so for beginners especially, um, meditate meditation can start with something as simple as focusing on your breath.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: You can you can sit at your desk and do it.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: And if you breathe in, you and when you breathe in, put your hand on your stomach and push your diaphragm out when you're doing it.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: So you're getting a deep belly breath.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: And you hold it, you're gonna hold it.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: I like to try to hold it to nine counts.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Stop for a second and then blow it out to the count of nine.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Do that four or five times.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: You've just meditated.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's that easy.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: Because that's interesting.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: You're counting, right?
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: You're counting, you know, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine on the in breath.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Pause, you know, do the same thing on the out breath.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: You do that three or four times, you have thought of nothing but your breathing and your counting, and you have shut off everything else.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just a total reset.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a brain reset.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, the breathing will bring oxygen to your brain, it will help you with.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: brain fog it will help you with brighter splack it will help you have more energy um it's it's breath is life i mean that and that and in that it can be that simple of course you can do meditation um youtube videos and you know do all of the um apps like calm and really get into it but but i think that freaks a lot of people out and they're like oh man i don't have time to sit still for 20 minutes right right who does but if you did if you did that breathing exercise two or three times a day you've just meditated for like 10 or 15 minutes cleared your mind done something really amazing for your body and it was effortless okay i'm gonna have to make a note about this so how often would you would you recommend doing this daily do you mean like maybe doing it once an hour just take a note no not even that much i mean a couple times a day you know maybe once in the morning once in the afternoon you could do it hourly um you could even do counts of four there's something called box breathing where when you breathe in you okay it being a box one two three four and then you breathe out one two three four if you want to do it a bunch of times a day that's a shorter version and it will give you the same effect I prefer the longer version I feel more energized after the nine pound which actually ends up being about 18 seconds per okay um and I do that about five times in a row so I do you know nine in nine out pause and then do it again and by about the fifth time I'm so relaxed.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: I feel so good does it put you to sleep anyway?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: No it just relaxes you yeah I mean I don't get sleepy doing it I just feel really um relaxed and energized kind of at the same time like okay like when you take a break and then you feel like oh gosh I have so much more energy now but I have relaxed energy you know it's not anxious energy.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know that it's interesting when you when you think of all the things that that we use to try and hype ourselves up or get more energy or calm ourselves down.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: I mean my goodness how how many people I gotta go through Starbucks and get my Starbucks today or I gotta have my energy drink or whatever.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Number one thing for energy if you want to drink it water quality water not bottled water bottle water has a bottle of water has over 2500 chemicals in it.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: You don't we don't need somebody else's tap water that's been boiled and stuck in hot plastic and sold on a grocery store shelf.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: We just need good old like Brita filtered tap water um and pour that into your own bottle because I mean the chemicals in bottled water and all of the bottles even even I was I'm a big fan of mineral water from like Italy or or Germany or whatever.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: But as soon as I started putting it in plastic I won't buy it because there's a heating process that it goes through to get to by the time we get it and it destroys everything good that would be in there and it throws in thousands of chemicals that our bodies don't need to be dealing with.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so just plain old good fashioned water and then I am a I swear by having at least one serving of electrolytes a day especially as we get older you can't function without them um and how do you is it like through pills that you take or no it's um it's a powder I put it put it in my water it's called Ultima I I mean there's tons of them I get it at okay interesting get it at Whole Foods Fresh Time whatever um but without electrolytes your um what's the word I'm looking for you you can't function neurologically your brain has to have them your heart if um I have heart palpitations I've had them forever when I start getting them I'm low on magnesium I take an extra magnesium they stop you your your heart your brain your whole nervous system um muscle spasms twitching um concentration sleep sleep patterns all of those things require potassium sodium magnesium um all and then selenium and copper and zinc and all of the other little electrolytes that are in there um and again totally will give you energy you know there's a reason athletes drink Gatorade when they get done with a football game or whatever it is except that Gatorade's loaded with crap so yeah you know if you can get electrolytes that are all natural without a bunch of sugar and stuff in them and just add them to your homegrown filter tap water you're gonna feel you're gonna feel a difference pretty quickly.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_02: I have heard several other people the last three or four months talk about magnesium.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_02: So what what's the deal with magnesium exactly?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_02: And should we just take that in the form of a multivitamin or something?
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: I take it separately and I and I require a lot uh everybody's different I require about 1500 milligrams a day they say most people need about 500 some some things are better if you get them separately so your your minerals like your zinc your calcium your magnesium and um your sodium better taken by themselves like in a multi mineral or in the electrolytes because they can interfere with absorption of some other vitamins.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting I didn't know that so like if you take a thyroid medication or iron um calcium blocks the absorption of iron um so I just take them separately um and then if I if I feel like I need more magnesium is a part of every single process in your body wow I didn't know that's so if you're deficient your body's struggling and it it's it's a calm it creates calm okay so I mean it's it's it's right up there with vitamin D, B complex and C as being something that really is not an option.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: And as we age we don't absorb as much from our food that we used to we don't our diet doesn't our today's diet doesn't allow us to get all the things that we need.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so much misinformation out there that you know makes me crazy like don't eat potatoes because they're fattening they're starch well there's tons of nitrogen in a baked potato and there's tons of other good stuff.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: So eat your baked potato you know stuff like that.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm making tons of notes from this conversation I'm gonna have to go back and look at all these so wow you've given us a lot to think about here so at this point in the in this conversation if anybody's feeling overwhelmed by kind of all this information what is one simple thing that a writer could start doing to improve their health if you just had to give people just do this one single thing and this will really really help you I don't know that there is one sing simple thing I would say drink water and move more yeah that that's perfect.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Two simple things um two simple things yeah those two things quality water you know those two things can change your life period I mean it all in all ways in the concentration having writer's block I don't this is probably a horrible thing to say and you're probably gonna throw eggs at me but I don't ever get writer's block I literally never and if I feel I have days where I struggle where my words aren't there I'm pulling for words but I think when you take care of your body and your mind it just it rewards you it rewards you by giving you what you need in return.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah yeah this is such an important topic and I feel like it is so neglected in the writing community it's something I've I've neglected a lot of times in my own life I'm I'm really working on a heart now and my wife has been a huge help with that because she runs every night and she eats very healthy and um you know if I get bad food I kind of have to hide it you know I'm like I'm almost 47 you know should I really be practicing this juvenile behavior but you know well I mean everyone deserves a treat now and then you know and that's the thing it's not you do deserve a treat.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you an all or nothing thing you know it's not all or nothing.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not all or nothing I eat cookies and chocolate and stuff you know but it's all we've all heard it a million times it's everything in moderation right don't you know don't get up from this conversation and try to go run a marathon if you've never exercised before you're gonna fail you know I mean it's it's literally a matter buy a small trampoline and tramp you can jump on it for two minutes a day.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's baby steps and it's it's still finding a way to enjoy the things you enjoy while being really smart about input equals output what you put in you're gonna get out if you're putting crap in get crap out you know so it's really just it can be overwhelming and I and I think that's what stops people from trying oh it's just too much I don't know or there's just too much too much to deal with or I don't have time I've got kids I've got to pick them up after school I got to do this I got to do that you've got to take care of yourself in in in increments if you have to because otherwise you're not gonna be there for those kids you're not gonna be there for your husband you're not gonna be able to do your job well you're gonna let people down you're gonna let yourself down you know it's really baby steps and then those baby steps turn into bigger steps and bigger steps and it becomes a way of life which is what you want you just want it to be your lifestyle.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_02: This is really powerful I'm so glad we had this conversation because I needed it and I know probably everybody who's listening to this right now needs this on some level unless you're like a total health nut and you do everything perfect all the time I'm not sure those people exist.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: So we all need I certainly don't I mean I just um every day I I'm still learning too I research this stuff because it's my passion.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know I did I saw well I still do but I I was really ingrained in the functional medicine um clinic in Florida that's very well known for almost 10 years.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: I learned oh just mountains and mountains from going there and being treated there and it it's just it's my passion you know so I love to get the word out and it is hard to get it out in ways that is digestible for people and not overwhelming you know you just don't want to make it hard.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yes yes makes total sense so and and most of the things you're talking about are very simple things that you can just put on your calendar or put as you know make those part of your routine every day or morning routine or whatever it is.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: I mean even if you have to go to the bathroom whatever it takes you know yeah yeah the small things can be done there's no excuse for not doing the small things I guess that's how I look at it.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: And even moving more since I work from home you work from home I make it a point to save my laundry and do it during the week because it forces me to get up oh I gotta go change out the laundry.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah that's good that's good I hadn't thought about that.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know just little run the dishwasher unload the dishwasher it just it just makes you move it gets you out and then I get miles for my kids.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's perfect.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_02: Which is cool which is cool.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_02: I say my kids I mean on the app not my kids yeah yeah Kristen this has been an absolute blast um where can people find out more about you and your writing and your services so uh I have a my website is pennonpeacockwriting.com and um my contact information is on there I am in the process of um starting a healthy writer blog website and blog I have not um gotten the domain name yet but when I do I'll share it with you Kent and then you can share on your um on your Facebook page and stuff.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um because after you and I talked last time I realized how what a big subject this is and how so so many people are so overwhelmed by too much information.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: I want to I want to narrow it down I want to do the opposite I want to give people the information they need in snippets and make someone feel like it's attainable.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_02: So I love it.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's my upcoming goal but for right now if they want to get in touch with me they can go to the pen and peacotwriting.com um website and find me there.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_02: Awesome well thanks again this has been a blast uh appreciate you and your friendship and for making my day so much better by giving me these awesome tips I'm gonna start putting into practice so thank you.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh well you're so welcome and thanks for for having me on and um let me know how else I can help.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_02: I will thanks so much welcome hey I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Kristen I learned a ton from this conversation and I feel like I say this after every single interview but I'm gonna say it again because I talk to such amazing people on this podcast who I learned so much from but I'm gonna say it again that it's hard to narrow down just one single takeaway because I took a bunch of notes and it it's really hard to nail down one thing.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_02: But I always want to focus on just one thing as far as a takeaway because it's hard to put into practice 17 things but we can put into practice one thing.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_02: And here's my one biggest takeaway from this conversation with Kristen and that is simply we've got to focus more on our health.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_02: We have to take the long view of life I'm a person who I could easily work you know 16 hours a day.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: If I if I was a single guy I didn't have a family and I didn't have a social life I could easily work 16 hours a day because I love what I do and I get very into it and I'm a detail person I could literally sit in this chair in front of my computer staring at the screen writing and doing podcast stuff and doing emails and all those things uh doing ghostwriting for clients I could do that for 16 hours a day and totally neglect my health that would be very easy to do but it's not good.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_02: You know in the moment sometimes we feel like it's important to get the work done and hustle and and buckle down and all those things.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_02: And you know surely there are moments whenever that is necessary I suppose we all go through really busy spurts but we've got to take a long view of life where health becomes a part of our routine and in fact this is why I just recently just like a week ago I finally got a a really nice smoothie maker for our house so that in the morning I can have a fruit smoothie and start off my day with a healthy kick.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_02: So this conversation was part of what inspired me to do that.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_02: So Kristen thanks so much for giving your time to this conversation I learned a ton and for everybody listening hope that you've enjoyed this as well.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_02: I also want to encourage you to visit Kristen's website which is pin and peacockwriting.com there's some cool stuff there so make sure and check that out we will also have her social media links in the show notes.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_02: So thanks for listening I love this episode and I encourage you to start making health a priority in your life if you don't already thanks so much for listening to today's episode I want to take a moment to let you know about our daily writer membership community.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know one of the very best ways to develop better habits and impact more people's lives with your writing is to spend time around other successful writers.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're tired of feeling isolated and chasing success on your own, then I know you're gonna love the Daily Writer community.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: For years I searched for the kind of writing community that I would want to join but I can never find what I wanted so I created my own.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_02: Some of the features include weekly writing sprints, monthly community calls, book discussions, calls with guest experts, and much more for more info you can visit dailywriterlife community.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks and I'll see you tomorrow