Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Happy Stack Podcast where we explore the science and strategies behind creating a happier, more fulfilling life. I'm Terianne Richards and I partner with organizations to address the root causes of burnout, disengagement and stress. Equipping leaders and teams with the tools they need to thrive, both organizationally and personally. Each episode we dive into practical habits, insights and strategies to help high performers like you level up from the inside out. Let's get stacking.
Today's episode is one you will not want to miss. I am sitting down with the incredible Casey Kang. A three time cancer survivor, trauma informed cancer coach, and true advocate for resilience. Casey's story is nothing short of remarkable. She has faced some of life's toughest challenges. Challenges head on and emerge with powerful insights on healing, growth and finding happiness after trauma. In this episode, Casey shares the real and raw truth about what it takes to rebuild your life when everything feels shattered. From navigating the emotional aftermath of cancer to creating daily habits that support lasting happiness, Casey's journey is both inspiring and practical. You'll learn how to reconnect with yourself through movement, mindfulness and self awareness. And how to create a life that feels not just survivable, but truly worth living. So whether you're navigating your own challenges, supporting someone you love, or just looking for strategies to thrive in your daily life, this conversation will leave you feeling hopeful, empowered and ready to take action. Let's dive in. Here's my conversation with Casey King.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: Welcome to the show. Casey Kang. Thank you so much for being here on the Happy Stack podcast.
[00:01:57] Speaker C: Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
[00:02:00] Speaker B: No problem. So let's sort of dive right in. And you know what, I'd love to. You know, I've looked at your bio, I've looked at your website, I've, I've followed you on the socials.
But I'd love to sort of start by hearing about your journey and the parts of that journey that sparked the passions that you obviously have that are showing up today and how that has shaped the work that you're doing on a regular basis.
[00:02:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm going to give you the cliff notes of my journey because otherwise we'll be here all day.
So after I'm a three time cancer survivor, four months into my treatment, I had a stroke and seizures from the chemotherapy drugs that they gave me. I, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is a rare children's cancer. And I just happened to be 31 at the time.
So not only Was I going through treatment? But I was also recovering from a stroke at the same time for most of that year. I say that year because it extends.
And I finished this 18 month protocol. I have 7 weeks of remission and I relapse and tried an immunotherapy. It failed. Was supposed to go on a clinical trial. It was shut down and there were no options for a minute for me to even try. There was a clinical trial at another hospital. It was full. There was an extensive wait list. They said, that doesn't even mean you're going to qualify. Which I read between the lines, meant like, that your odds are not good. Because they wouldn't say that otherwise.
I just know the language and verbiage that doctors use now. They wouldn't have said that at that time if they thought there was hope for me to get on it, which means they knew the parameters. Right.
So they were keeping me alive by giving me more chemo just to keep the cancer at bay, and blood and platelets. And at the time, through divine timing, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society foundational doctors conference was just completed. And my doctor came back and said, do you want to try this? It's an immunotherapy. It's not for your cancer, but do you want to try it? It was like two pages of research, 114 participants. I was like, the outcomes not good. Like, I was like, you know, it really made me stop and go, I'm going to like. I knew I was headed towards that direction of dying regardless, but it really was like, do I want to get there quicker?
[00:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:40] Speaker C: And after so much debate between the oncologist and with my ex husband, I was just like, you know, what if, even if I die, maybe the dad will help someone else. Right? And that's kind of where I left it. And I said, let's try it. We wrote a letter of compassion to the FDA drug manufacturer just to get access.
[00:05:00] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:05:02] Speaker C: So after a couple months, got access. I planned a funeral.
I said goodbye to everyone, had some really awful conversations that I never thought I'd have ever in my life.
And we got approved. I did four rounds of that immunotherapy, got into remission, did a stem cell transplant, recovering from that, and they told me it was back again.
And they were, we were going to have to do the whole thing all over again.
Immunotherapy, stem cell transplant. And I was like, gut check. I didn't really want to at the time. I was tired, I was exhausted. I wasn't expecting it. And I didn't have the resources anymore, so I depleted my own.
So I just dug deep. And I was like, this isn't even for me. I'm like, I don't even care if I live or die. I go. But everyone who's moved mountains and almost on, like, year four now to get me here, it's for them. And I made my quote unquote deal with the universe. And I said, but we're done. I go, you're either gonna kill me or let me live, because I'm not doing this forever.
And they did four more rounds of immunotherapy with me, and I got into remission. And my doctors were just like, we're gonna wait and see what happens. And I was like, this is a terrible plan. Especially, like, where I've been. I'm like, I don't like this at all. And I was like, for how long? They're like, we haven't decided yet. So for six months, I would go back to the oncologist every week. And literally, my doctor. My oncologist, who's now retired, put her hand on my shoulder and goes in her thick Russian accent, baby girl, we're just lucky you're alive. And I'm like, stop saying that, please.
So, yeah, as you can imagine, you're just like, please stop saying things like that. Like, I don't know how to.
How to respond, number one. And number two, like, can I go live life at some point?
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, can. Can I start back?
[00:07:10] Speaker C: Right?
[00:07:10] Speaker B: You're kind of in a. In a forever pause at that point, I would imagine.
[00:07:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I was in a holding pattern, so to speak, of, like, we're just. We're all waiting for it to come back, which isn't, like, a very good plan.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
So. So you wait. And now do you wait that full six months or like, you do.
[00:07:31] Speaker C: Yeah. So right around, like, the six, seven month mark, I was like, do you think I can go, like, try to go live life again? Because, like, I'm still recovering from everything, which is so hard on the body anyway. So it was fine that I was in. I was fine, but I wasn't fine that I was in this holding pattern. Sure. Because it gave me an opportunity to, like, rebuild a lot of strength. And I was still getting blood and platelets and dealing with a lot of side effects. And they were like, yeah, go for it. And I was like, okay, well, what do I do? They're like, eat right and exercise. I was like, what? That's it? That's all you got? For me.
[00:08:09] Speaker B: Thanks.
[00:08:10] Speaker C: Five years later, this is it.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: That's all.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: That's all.
[00:08:14] Speaker B: Wow.
Wow. So. So. So where does that land us? Like, are you in remission? Are you. And how many years ago was that? From today.
[00:08:26] Speaker C: So that was. It started in 2014. I am six years in remission. Wow. Yeah, I.
It left me going, okay, what's he. I don't know if I could swear, but.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Of course you can.
[00:08:43] Speaker C: What, the right. Five years of, like, being watched closely.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:50] Speaker C: The support, the medical team. Not only that, but, like, from friends and family. It's like. And now you're just going to tell me to go live life and not help me go do that?
[00:09:00] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, here. Like, you've been in this holding pattern, not entirely sure if today was the day. And now all of a sudden, it's like, okay, just start the engine back up. Go, go be free, little bird. And. But no plan. No, no plan. Just their work was done.
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Yeah. They killed the cancer. Which. I get it, you appreciate, which, you.
[00:09:23] Speaker B: Know, that part's great. But no plan to kind of restart.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: No.
So here I am at like 35, my life's completely destroyed.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:36] Speaker C: And I was flailing, to be honest. Like, I.
I had a nervous breakdown. I'm not gonna lie. I was in therapy for a lot of this time, and I still had a nervous breakdown. And I remember calling her that night that I was, like, legitimately in probably the worst place I've been in in a long time in my life. And she didn't answer the phone and didn't call me back for two days. When she previously said, anytime you need anything, you just call me.
[00:10:08] Speaker B: It's the worst thing that anybody can say to anybody because the problem is sometimes you don't answer the phone.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: Right.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: So you. She calls you back two days later.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: By then, I was like, I had already. So that night that I called her and she didn't call me back, my ex husband called my dad and his mom over, like, so embarrassed that they came over, and I'm sobbing in a pillow. And this is after my husband had to break down a bathroom door. So I didn't kill myself because I grabbed a bottle of pills. Like, that's how bad I was. Like, I would. I fought so hard to be alive, and I was, like, crushed by living.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Can you talk me through that? Because I think that that's a really.
I think that's a really important point to stop and. And then start on is that you spent sort of this enormous amount of energy to survive cancer to Beat it. To kick it in the ass. To then be given the news that, okay, you're, you're good ish. And you know, go, go live your life to then be like, but what life, right? Because the life that you had previously is gone. Right? There is a new of, of who you are, new lessons, new learnings. But all the stresses and the worry that would have probably compounded over those four years now just kind of comes to a head and you're left with your thoughts and, and can you kind of bring me to what that. Because I think the reality of it is, is your story, though unique? I think all of us have had somebody in our life that has been touched by something that has taken them down a few notches. And, and it's hard because, you know, sort of like your doctor saying the, you know, I'm, what is it? I'm. I'm happy, baby girl. I'm just happy you're still alive or something like that. People don't know what to say. Family members don't know what to say, which means inevitably you're left with your own thoughts and all the worries and the fears. And a lot of times what I've heard from peers of mine is you don't always say what's on your mind because everybody around you is already so stressed about losing you and about helping you that the last thing you're wanting to do is share with them that you don't even really want to, to potentially live or get up at a bed or da, da, da, da, da, da. So bring me to that moment of what was going through your. Your head.
[00:12:51] Speaker C: Yeah. So like, people just went back to normal life, which I, you know, it's not their fault at all.
And I was left in my own head, so to speak. And you know, everyone I had met throughout my cancer journey for four or five years said, oh, just wait till you, John, it's going to be amazing. Don't, don't wait. Like, just don't worry. And I was like, okay. So I get to the, to the end and my expectations don't match the reality.
I'm afraid constantly I'm living on razor's edge. Like, literally, like someone would ask me, my ex husband would ask me, like, what do you want for dinner? I just bite his head off.
I thought I was broken because, like, it wasn't. I wasn't happy. Like, you know, I survived this massive thing and I was like, angry, I was frustrated and I was like, what do you mean? Just go eat, right? And extra like you know, which just fueled the more, the anger even more and the frustration and the overwhelm with like, okay, but like all my plans that I had, like, I'm not going to be able to do any of them, right? Let alone like sit in a corporate office and listen to a customer complain about something I legitimately don't give a shit about anymore. Right.
[00:14:17] Speaker B: Well, it also feels so trivial in comparison to some of the things that you would have experienced over those years. So. So you get to that spot and I mean, here we are today. And I know that we're in a much different place today.
Help me understand how you, you fall to that spot locked in a, in a, in a bathroom or a bedroom, pill bottle in hand, potentially considering ending it all after just fighting the battle of your life to being somebody who is a trauma informed cancer coach today. That, that's a, There's a gap. There is also a very interesting story that I, I'm very curious of hearing.
[00:15:04] Speaker C: Yeah. So that night, you know, because everything I thought I was the problem, I thought I was broken. Like I would never be able to like live a normal, quote, unquote, normal life again. And I still don't to a certain extent.
And that was like the first time in, in, in all honesty, in five years that I admitted I was not okay.
Because every time somebody would ask me, are you okay? Yeah, sure. That was the standard answer, right? Like, you don't want to. I felt like a burden already asking for help for so many things, like to say, like, emotionally I'm not okay. Like, just felt like too much. Right.
[00:15:45] Speaker B: Fair.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: And so that night I just, I came home from work, I dropped my bag on the floor and I crumbled to the ground and said, I'm not okay. I can't do this anymore. And my ex husband was like, did something happen at work? Like, what? Like, he just didn't, he had no.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Clue, which he, he couldn't connect, that this potentially had to do with everything you had just recovered from and survived.
[00:16:11] Speaker C: Right? And so that night I was just like, you don't understand. I was so angry and I was so in a bad place. I, I was yelling at him. He couldn't understand. He was like, what's going on? Like, because to just walk in the door and just like start sobbing on the floor in the kitchen. I was like, you don't get it. I grabbed the bottle of pills that I had because I had a ton of medication and I ran upstairs and locked myself in the bedroom or the bathroom in the Bedroom. And he obviously came up and I was like. And he's like yelling through the door, and I'm like sitting there like, trying to get the bottle open. Like, literally when he broke down the door, he had to pry open my hand with pills inside of it. Like, I was in such a deep, dark place because I thought I was the only one experiencing this. Like, no one else that I talked to during or after was like, ever talked about how afraid they were or how catastrophic this was to their life. They're like, it's great. And I'm like, are we all lying to each other? Like, so I thought it was me. I was like, how do you solve that problem not being here?
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Wow. So thankful that you didn't because you are here.
[00:17:33] Speaker C: Yes, I am spoiled alert. I didn't actually go through with it.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: So what happens? Yeah, so, I mean, obviously he. He knocks the door down, takes the pills out of your hand, but that doesn't change what's in your. Your head. That doesn't change the feelings that you have. So what do you do to get to a place where you are today?
[00:17:56] Speaker C: Yeah. So that night I was crying in front of my dad. My dad kept going, like, it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. I'm like, it's not okay. I'm like, yelling at him. I'm like, it's not okay. It's not going to be okay. And that moment that I was yelling back at him, I had this epiphany. I was like, you know what? No one's going to help you. No one's going to do it for you. Got to put your big girl pants on and figure it the out or you're going to.
So that next day, I got up and everyone was like, don't go to work. Don't do this. Like, I got up and went to work, and I don't think I worked an ounce that day.
But I put together a very messy, ugly, imperfect plan on how to get myself to a better place. Because I was like, what I'm doing is not working. It's not enough. I'm in therapy. It's still not enough. Like, I need like massive intervention here. So I intervened myself.
[00:18:54] Speaker B: Good on you.
[00:18:56] Speaker C: And I. I just kept like, everything that I put together on this very jankity list at the time. I just kept going down. I'm like, that didn't work. Try this, this, this. And it led me to the. It was leaving me breadcrumbs enough where I would just follow it and it was all intuition. It was all like, okay, well if it's the fear and the anxiety, like, let's figure out why, let's figure out all these things. And I was taking things from other things to apply them. Like, you know, a lot of some of the things, not a lot, but some of the things that I do, I took from like military, PTSD and trauma. Like, okay, there was, yes outside of them, but like, very similar. So I was like, okay, so like, let's see what they're doing. And like, things like you wouldn't think of traditionally.
[00:19:43] Speaker B: Where does that come from? Because that's not something that I would say. Every person would just naturally, you, you then started to both advocate, but do this research and go down this path. Like, is this something that was normal for you pre cancer?
[00:20:01] Speaker C: No. I came from corporate America. I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew, like, re getting my strength and energy back, although great, wasn't going to solve the problem here in my heart. And so I, I just, I, I, it was literally like intuition to guide me. And I started to was like, okay, the only time I feel good is when I do yoga. Well, why is that? And I kept like getting really curious about the things that were making me feel good and understanding. Like, why is there a correlation between me turning off my brain for an hour, moving and all these things, Right. Like, it didn't make sense and it was very, it wasn't linear, like I'm explaining it, but it just kept getting curious about, like, why is that? And then that led me to this and that led me to that. And then like, I just kept going. And like when I was in therapy and I went back to her the next week and was like, hey, this is what happened. Because my ex husband was like, you need to tell her. And I was like, I don't want to say anything.
I don't know why I was ashamed of it, but I think I was more embarrassed and because I was so strong during treatment and then to like get done and fall to my knees, basically almost broken.
I just didn't understand that even of myself.
[00:21:35] Speaker B: It was a disconnect to who you know yourself to be, right? Yeah.
[00:21:40] Speaker C: And so even some of the questions were leading me to answers. And that curiosity of like, why did she ask? That even led me to like, more, more and more of these small epiphanies along the way and small connections. And I was like, okay, because literally, like, she was helpful in talking to her for an hour, but she, she literally wasn't giving me really anything to do outside of that, which I'm not saying anything's wrong with therapy. I think everyone should be in therapy.
But it wasn't enough.
[00:22:19] Speaker B: Yeah. Can you share some of those tactics, actions, habits that you started to create for yourself that helped to really make the shift?
[00:22:31] Speaker C: Yeah. So I really dove into yoga and understanding the body mind connection of why is it that my nervous system is calmer after I do it, even during.
And you know, lo and behold, a 30 year study came out probably three years after I started to, to practice and become a yoga instructor, that yoga is more effective than therapy or medication when it comes to PTSD and trauma. And I was like, cool.
I was like, my gut was guiding me in these things that now was science was validating. I was like, okay, so obviously I'm onto something and, and little things like that like now are coming out that I was doing back then, like meditation, all of these things that I'm like, yeah, I was doing that just like my intuition was telling me to do it. Ah. And now to be validated, it's like, that's amazing.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:23:32] Speaker C: So like yoga, meditation, breath work, having really strong foundational journaling of like questions that like, help me figure out things where I, I just was like, oh, that really gained some perspective. Like, like earmark that for whatever reason, because it came from one book that was like so obscure and you're like, doesn't make sense.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: So you do breath work, meditation, yoga, and somewhere along the line you come to a place of peace, happiness, like what, what would you say that emotion was when you felt like you were good again?
[00:24:18] Speaker C: It was like a calm washed over me. I was like, oh, this life is going to be different, but we're gonna rebuild a better life. And like, so it was like a sense of calm and ease because the hope was back that the life that I was going to build for myself was going to be better than maybe anything that I had had over already experienced.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Wow. I think this is profound because I think, you know, there's obviously going to be people listening to this or, or watching this that can resonate because they too have been through a similar journey or are potentially in a journey right now. But then there are others who, you know, thankfully are not, but maybe have had other traumas in their life. And I think what I'm hearing from you is, you know, through all of your research and sort of curating the, to figure out, like, what is it that I need to do in and above therapy, it was kind of going Back to a center. Right? And, you know, and it's so interesting because I have these conversations on a regular basis and it kind of sounds like all the woo, it's all the woo that helped you, like going to yoga, doing meditation, doing breath work. This is the stuff where most modern day individuals would think, well, that's, that's that stuff over there. But that's the stuff that actually helped to support you to get to a place where you felt, as you said, calm, good again. Right?
[00:25:53] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, I can handle life. Like, whatever's to come is going to, whether I want it or not. But I, I'm in a place where I, if it happens, like, I'm good, I am so good. And like, that's, it's a place I never thought possible.
Like, if you would have said I'd be where I'm at today, then I would have been like, what, what drugs are you on? That's not possible.
But it is. And I get it. When you're in that dark hole, like, you don't see the light. You just don't.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: What advice would you give to somebody who's potentially in a similar spot or maybe supporting somebody who's in a similar position in that dark, that darkness is sort of corralled and around them, what would you, what, what advice would you.
[00:26:49] Speaker C: Give them to honestly seek out support in, in some way, reach out? Even if it's just admitting to yourself that you're not okay? Which sometimes that, when I was in that dark spot, even admitting that I was not okay, like, out loud, saying the word terrified me, terrified me. So me breaking down that day when I finally was like, I'm not okay, was just. There was so much guilt and shame wrapped around it because I was like, I'm already a burden. And now here I am breaking down again. Like, who am I to ask for more support? Who am I to. Like when I, when you've already taken so much, right? Like, that's the, the weird, strange thing about like surviving or being in that dark place is like, you think it's your fault and then you blame yourself and then you're like, well, I can't ask for more.
I don't deserve that. I've already taken so much. Right? It's. You're so psychologically not there.
[00:28:00] Speaker B: Wow. And it's, that's actually a really, that's a scary thought to think that, you know, individuals who potentially are surrounded by, you know, people who would go to bat for them and, you know, love them unconditionally, but Regardless of what you have around you, when in that spot you feel like a burden, you maybe feel like you've already asked for too much and asking for that extra thing or being maybe just that much more honest would potentially harm or hurt them.
It sounds to me that there almost has to be like a courage within that. Like all that is true and still say it.
[00:28:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: Because you'll be better afterwards.
[00:28:45] Speaker C: Right. And I, I. And it's like you don't feel safe admitting that you're not okay.
So your sense of safety is even disconnected from reality, you know? And I'm like, everyone's gonna think I'm crazy for saying this, right? Like, there's so much vert, like white noise that's going on in your head when if I would have even just like months before that been like, I don't think I'm okay. Yeah, it would have been.
I might not have broken down that night. I can't guarantee that because obviously. Yeah, no, but so I say just even admitting to yourself out loud, like, I don't think I'm okay. I think I need more help. I think I need support. I think I need something maybe outside the traditional of just therapy. I think I need more. Right.
And then like, that's the best self care you can give yourself is just like saying it, saying like, I need more.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: I've read that you emphasize that happiness requires active participation. Talk to me more about that and what that means to you.
[00:30:01] Speaker C: So like, everyone's like, I want happiness. Right. Well, you can go on a vacation and get happiness. Sure. That's, you know, what people do, Right. But that only lasts for like what, a couple weeks maybe when you come back. And then reality hits of like all these things. It's actively participating in it every day. It's a choice. It's a choice to wake up and look at this world as like an opportunity to have the best damn day ever. Or, oh, it's just Monday, right? Like, it's Monday. Like, yes. You know, and I think that's why I mean like active participation towards it, right? We, we get to choose how we get to it doesn't mean the day is going to be great when I say, oh my God, today is a great day for a great day, but it gives me a better opportunity to have one.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:55] Speaker C: And sure, that they could be a dumpster fire, but so when you're, you're.
[00:31:01] Speaker B: Working with, I mean, I, obviously in your work, you're doing work as a trauma informed cancer coach, but I mean, I think a Lot of what you speak to and what you, you teach you has the ability to sort of land on a multitude of ears because of its usefulness.
You said that self awareness sort of plays a role in terms of how you work through or recover from trauma.
Challenging moments, big experiences, sort of on that pathway to living a more happy and fulfilled life. Talk to me about self awareness and sort of how you're defining it and that process for people to get to it.
[00:31:47] Speaker C: Right. I think self awareness is, is a lot of different things. I think it's understanding, number one, where your headspace is at.
And although we'd like to become this thing immediately, we have to meet ourselves where we're at. So, so it's the awareness of, number one, what's going on and number two, where we're at in that journey. Right. Because obviously the transformation is a process and everyone wants to get to the end of the process, but we can't just start in the middle if you're not there. We have to meet you where you're at, bring you up to that.
So that's number one. Number two is like understanding being self aware of what's going on in your body because of trauma.
Any trauma, big T, little T, trauma is going to disconnect you from that.
Right. Our brain and our body are, they're one thing, they're not two separate components, although we treat them as such.
And so the self awareness of like what's happening in your body and, and then on top of that, what is your body telling your mind that your mind's not even listening to?
[00:32:59] Speaker B: And would you suggest somebody do that daily, weekly? Like what, what would that kind of check in, look at, look like for someone?
[00:33:07] Speaker C: I personally do it every single day. Every single day we wake up, we're not going to be the same person we were yesterday. Tomorrow, we're not going to be the same person we were today.
Otherwise, otherwise we're just going to carry what we had yesterday into today into tomorrow and into, you know, Saturday and Sunday and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday all over again.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: So if you were to sort of make a desire for the audience to walk away with something today that is an actionable movement habit that they can create, not starting Monday, starting today, what would that, what would that be? What would your encouragement be? What would that, what would you want to land with them after our conversation today?
[00:34:02] Speaker C: Start before you're ready, number one. And you can start with as little as just walking without headphones on and listening to your thoughts.
[00:34:11] Speaker B: Say that Again.
[00:34:14] Speaker C: Start before you're ready. And it can be as simple as walking, listening to your own thoughts without headphones, without TV noise, without anything movement. And here's why I say walking or some sort of movement.
There are, there are studies and research done that when you move your body, there are parts of your brain that actually start to let their guard down, for lack of a better word. There's a scientific name for it, but it's not necessary so you're more honest and truthful with yourself.
[00:34:52] Speaker B: I hope that landed with everybody who's watching or listening to this. That when you get out and you move that by nature something that we don't know what it's called, the scientific term, but you have the ability to become more self aware and go inwards and do that introspection that maybe allows you to answer the questions of, of maybe what's bothering you and come up with the answers of what's the next right step for you?
[00:35:21] Speaker C: Right. Like a really large example of that is they would never, they stopped interviewing Lance Armstrong before he worked out. They found out he was more truthful and honest after he exercised.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: Wow, interesting.
What's the one thing that you do on a day to day basis to help stack your happiness?
[00:35:45] Speaker C: I would say journaling and exercise number. I would. Those are non negotiables for me. I mean I do other things as well. But like exercise for me is therapy and to get to that point, you know, I wake up and I journal. Well, I need to know what I'm trying to exercise out. Right. So it's understanding, like what are, what are the thoughts that are even there?
Yeah.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: I love that. You have to be like the fifth guest I've had that speaks to exercise being like their number one go to and their therapy. I hope that's, that's coming out loud and strong for everybody.
What's the one piece of advice that either you would give someone who's, you know, taking their first step or maybe a piece of advice that somebody has given you along the way that's really like, it's, it's a golden, it's a golden nugget.
[00:36:49] Speaker C: I think the best advice, and this is like really generalized and I, I mean, but you hear it all over, over and over again. Start before you're ready because you're never going to be ready. You just won't.
You just won't. You'll leave it till tomorrow and the next day and the next day. That's the best advice I got and it's so true. And Number two is that have a plan.
And not just have a plan, but have an implementation strategy. And if you don't have one, seek out somebody who's been through it that can help you with that. Because there are so many things on my journey that I've done with a coach myself that I'm like, oh, my God, this is so much easier.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. Well. And I think sometimes because we get stuck in our head and all those thoughts start to take over when we're in a ick or a funk or in a dark spot, it's nice to have somebody on the other side that sort of understands the trajectory of where we're going so they can kind of pull us out, but also, you know, see things from the gray zone that potentially you can't see. Right.
[00:38:08] Speaker C: 100%.
[00:38:09] Speaker B: Brilliant. Brilliant. Okay. I want to ask you some lightning round questions, some things about you that I think the audience might be interested in. So, morning or night person?
[00:38:20] Speaker C: Morning.
[00:38:21] Speaker B: All right.
Do you have a favorite book?
[00:38:25] Speaker C: Oh, it's hard to choose one. Oh, my gosh.
So the non. My favorite nonfiction book is She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I read it when I was in high school, and I finished the book, and I didn't realize it was written by a man.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: Really?
[00:38:45] Speaker C: Yes, it's from a woman. It's written in a woman's perspective. And I got done with it, and it was mind blowing, and I set it down, I was like, it's written by a man. Like, I was blown away.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: Awesome. Okay, you have a. Do you have another book you want to throw out as well?
[00:39:02] Speaker C: I would say after that is probably.
I mean, the Body Keeps the Score is just like a classic to understand.
[00:39:09] Speaker B: Like, totally agree.
[00:39:11] Speaker C: There's so much more to health than, like, just diet and exercise.
[00:39:16] Speaker B: 100. Yeah. And I mean, that one speaks a lot to how trauma sort of stores itself in our body.
[00:39:21] Speaker C: That is a good book.
[00:39:21] Speaker B: That's a good one. I've read that one. What's your favorite way to unwind after a busy day?
[00:39:29] Speaker C: I. Oh, that's a good one. I like spending time with myself or with friends, and it's a way for me to switch gears.
[00:39:39] Speaker B: I like that. And if you could only keep one habit for the rest of your life, what would that habit be?
[00:39:47] Speaker C: Exercise. Movement. Like, after going through a stroke and having to like having no movement, I don't want to ever be back there.
[00:40:00] Speaker B: Thank you so much for sharing your story, your journey, your wisdom. I hope you have an amazing year, and cheers to your continued health well.
[00:40:11] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I appreciate being here and you having me with you.
[00:40:16] Speaker A: Hey, thanks for listening to the Happy Stack Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who could use a little extra happiness in their life. Let's keep stacking those wins together. See you next time.
