At the top of the year, I reflect on the pure joy hidden in life's simplest moments and the anticipation that lights a spark within. Join me as we turn the pages of the calendar and our own lives, sharing how the pursuit of happiness can be as simple as circling dates for future adventures and embracing the coziness of community. Try this Happiness Hack!
At the top of the year, I reflect on the pure joy hidden in life's simplest moments and the anticipation that lights a spark within. Join me as we turn the pages of the calendar and our own lives, sharing how the pursuit of happiness can be as simple as circling dates for future adventures and embracing the coziness of community. Try this Happiness Hack!
*For speaking inquiries or for questions or comments on the podcast, contact Nickie at healandgrowwithnickiepodcast@gmail.com
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal health or professional advice.
Nickie is not responsible for any losses, damages, or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast.
This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice.
Speaker 1:
Happy New Year everyone. New Year, new me, just kidding. New Year same me. Hey, before we get going on today's episode, I wanted to invite you all to my one-time only, I think book club. Coming up on January 30th, we are reading Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker. You do not need to be sober or sober, curious, or participating in Dry January to join this book club. You can just want to read this book with me. I will put the details in the show notes, but it is on January 30th We'll be meeting. Also, if you'd like to join my winter support group on Facebook, I'd love to have you. It's just a place for us to gather and chat about how we're doing and how you're surviving the winter time. I will put that link in the show notes as well.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Heal and Grow with Nikki. I'm your host, nikki Kraminga Hill. Here we talk about everything Grief, hope, illness, work, family, tragedy, possibilities, fun stuff and not so fun stuff. It's all on the table. Let's take a look at our lives and work to Heal and Grow together. I'm so glad you're here.
Speaker 1:
Hello, hello, it is a brand new year. How are you? How are you feeling about the new year? Do you make new year's resolutions? What do you think about all of this new stuff? Or is it just another day, another year for you? I am feeling really positive and hopeful about 2024. I've got some really fun things planned that I will reference a little bit in today's episode. I'm also fully aware that my dad will most likely pass away this year, although I thought he was going to pass away last year and that didn't happen. That's just something that is in the back of my brain is that, hey, your dad's probably going to pass soon. That feels kind of weird, but I'm really, really excited about this year.
Speaker 1:
I've been off from work for the past week, which was just a really nice break. I got to see a lot of family. I got to catch up with a lot of friends. I got to hang out with Paul and Snowball. It was really nice and really needed.
Speaker 1:
As I've referenced before in this podcast, I was very reflective. I get really, really introspective and reflective at the end of the year, just thinking about all that has transpired, all the good, the bad, the ugly. How I would like the new year to go. During my reflection the past week or two, I realized I wanted to share something with you at the beginning of this year. I wanted to share with you today One of my happiness hacks. I stole that term from Gretchen Rubin, who has written several books but is most noted for her book, the Happiness Project. She talks about happiness hacks all the time in her podcast. Thanks, gretchen Rubin, I stole your idea.
Speaker 1:
I wanted to start the year off on a positive note by sharing this happiness hack with you. Many people I know are really struggling right now, personally and professionally. I just want to add a little bit of positivity to your life right now. That is this Always have something to look forward to. Always have something to look forward to. Obviously, this means something different for everyone. Many of you are listening right now and are thinking, yeah, because you already do something like this. It took me a long time to adhere to this happiness hack because I didn't realize how much having something to look forward to affected my mental health, especially during the winter season.
Speaker 1:
Here in Minnesota, I have made it a policy for myself to always have something to look forward to. This is what this looks like. For me specifically this year, but just in general, the most important thing for me is to have a vacation scheduled, and I realized that I am very, very privileged to even be able to do this, to be able to always have a vacation planned. My family did not ever go on vacation. When I was younger, I think we went I shouldn't say never. We went a couple of times, but my dad didn't like to travel and he didn't like to spend money on anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. So I just never went on vacation. Growing up I didn't understand what the big deal was. I didn't understand why people left Minnesota for the winter to go on vacation.
Speaker 1:
And now that I've had just a taste of what it's like to either go out of town for a couple of days or to actually get on an airplane and travel somewhere, now that I know how beneficial that is for me, I always try to have something on the calendar. Now this last year, paul and I didn't do this. We did not go on vacation. I actually was able to go on a vacation in February with my girlfriends, but Paul and I didn't go anywhere because just health in our family wasn't great and also we weren't really sure what we were gonna do with the dog, and I'm happy to say that we've gotten over that and there's some vacations planned. This year. I'm going on vacations with my girlfriend again excuse me vacation with my girlfriends again in February. That's just a standing vacation for us now, and I'm so grateful for it. Paul and I are going on a cruises and friends in October. I also have two business trips planned, which has never happened before. I'm excited. For those of you that travel for business a lot, I'm guessing you're like it's not that great, which is probably true because I'll be working the whole time, but I'll be somewhere else. I'm going to Florida at the end of this month for a podcasting conference. I'm going to Boise in October for the Polkadot Powerhouse Conference, and so I've got four things on the calendar already this year that I'm just thrilled about, and I know how lucky I am to be able to go do that.
Speaker 1:
Another thing that I look forward to is having a new book. I like books so much that I have a whole shelf of stuff that I haven't read yet, because I'll find a book that I'm so excited to read and I'll start it, but then I'll find another one, so then I'll start that one, but then I'll find another one. But the point is I love reading and I always have a great book to read and I always look forward to going to bed because I've stopped scrolling before bed and I've started reading and it's been so wonderful. Another thing that I always look forward to is coming home to snowball man. I never had a dog until I met Paul. I didn't understand what I was missing out on, and I always look forward to coming home because she's here and she's so sweet and so funny and she's always so happy to see us that it's just a joy to come home.
Speaker 1:
Paul and I have committed to having one official date a month hopefully more than that, but at least one a month and we have such fun dates, even if it's quote unquote only going out to dinner, like last night we went to a restaurant that was new to us, the Apostle's Supper Club in St Paul, and it was just so fun to just go somewhere new and to not be on our phones and to just talk to each other. And he actually has a surprise date scheduled for us this weekend and I have a date scheduled for us in March, and so just having a date on the calendar is so fun. The girlfriends that I travel with every February, we've recently started going to the Salt Cave every month, once a month. The Salt Cave is in Minneapolis. It's wonderful. I highly recommend it.
Speaker 1:
I will try to remember to link all of this stuff in the show notes, but just seeing them once a month and having us do something relaxing together is so good for my heart and my soul and my mental health. That's what I have monthly meetings with polka dot powerhouse. That are always on the calendar and they are always so fun. Yes, it's a networking meeting, but it's just super chill and casual and I just really look forward to it. So those are the things that are on my calendar this year as something to look forward to, and if you haven't done so already, I encourage you to get out your calendar today or tomorrow and just put something on the books, in the books, on the books. I think those are both correct, I don't know.
Speaker 1:
Just put something in your calendar that you're looking forward to once a month. You don't have to spend any money. Maybe it's, you know, reading a book, catching up on your favorite television show, going to the movies which, of course, does cost money. Paul and I haven't gone to a movie in about three years, so that needs to be something we put back on our list. Maybe a volunteer opportunity. Just get something on your calendar, make it a priority. This could be something that's just for you or something for your family, or something for your friends, but put something that you are looking forward to on your calendar once a month. And here's why we need hope, we need optimism, we need to be contributing positively to our communities and and having something to look forward to makes us feel better, and when we feel better, the people around us also feel better, and isn't that awesome? Isn't that what we want? To feel better and to have everyone feeling better. So that is my challenge for you this week, dear listener is to have something, some things, many things possibly to look forward to, because it's gonna make a huge difference in the way that you walk through the world, in the way that you see the world and in the ways in which you interact with the world. So that's my two cents for this week.
Speaker 1:
If you enjoyed this podcast or any of my work, please buy me a coffee. I would love that coffee. In fact, a few people have bought me a coffee this past month and I want to do a huge shout out to them. Thank you, zoe. Thank you Anthony. Oh, my gosh, anthony, it was so good to hear from you. We haven't talked in years. Allison, thank you so much for buying me a coffee. Mark, thank you for buying me coffee. Not only does it pay for my coffee, but it it pays for my podcasting expenses, so I really really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:
Everybody, you could also support me by buying a copy of my book or purchasing a copy for someone else. It deals heavily with the grief process, which is something I find people don't really want to talk about. But reading my book may help you process the grief that you are having in your life, whether it's a person or a pet who has passed, or maybe you know you're grieving a relationship that's ending or a job that's ending. I'll obviously link my book Things I'm Thinking About in the show notes. I have a guest next week, yay, okay, I'm so excited to share next week's podcast as well, but you're gonna have to wait till Tuesday, the 9th. But I have a guest next week.
Speaker 1:
I hope you're doing well, friends. I hope that your year has started out strong, or however. You need it to strong, need it to strong. What does that mean? However, you need it to start. I woke up, did a bunch of stuff today Today is actually January 1st and then I went back to bed. So that's how I'm starting out strong, at any rate. Thank you so much for healing and growing with me today.
Speaker 2:
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, health or professional advice. I am not responsible for any losses, damages or liabilities that may arise from the use of this podcast. This podcast is not intended to replace professional medical advice.