Nina Cooke is a performance coach who specializes in helping people find success, balance, and happiness in their lives by questioning their most subterranean beliefs and thought patterns. I met her through a mutual friend who shared with me how helpful Nina had been in showing him how to unlock his own potential.
I spoke with Nina (actually, experienced a 2-hour session with her!) and was impressed by what I saw as her Buddhist philosophy applied to real human problems. In my case, we looked at some ways my faulty thinking has been holding me back in both my career and my wider mission on this planet.
After the session, it occurred to me that the same concepts and exercises Nina uses for performance coaching with entrepreneurs is highly relevant – and perfectly adaptable – to many of the diet and lifestyle habits that trip us up.
[powerpress]
So I got her on the Skype to talk about changing health behaviors through deep dives into our programmed thoughts. We covered:
- how almost all of life's challenges occur “between the ears”
- how thoughts drive behaviors and subsequent results
- Nina's childhood of separation from her family, and what that “taught” her about herself
- the psychic cost of fitting in and winning others' approval
- (almost) everyone's big sad question: “Am I stuck this way forever?”
- two self-help books that triggered Nina's journey of healing
- discovering the work of Morty Lefko
- weight loss and the fear of becoming someone else
- recasting failure as learning
- why we're scared to give up our attachment to our interpretation of reality (me and the recent North Carolina anti-transgender bill, for example)
- overeating as an optional stepping stone between discomfort and comfort
- replacing biscuits with naps
- the myth of “not enough”
- how we get programmed during the first six years of our lives, and can continue fulfilling that programming for the rest – unless we get wise to it
- the challenge question: “Is this always true?”
- letting go of interpretations and letting go of imaginary supports on a ropes course
- bad habits as gateways to peace and happiness
- the reality question: “Am I OK right now?”
- being one thought away from happiness
- and much more…
Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
Links
NinaCooke.co.uk
You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay
Feel the Fear… and Do It Anyway, by Susan Jeffers
Support the Podcast
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Gratitudes
I'm so grateful to the Plant Yourself Podcast Patrons who make it easy for me to devote time and energy to this project:
And many thanks to the folks who've generously taken the time to review the podcast on iTunes. Here are a couple of recent reviews:
NanThinks wrote: “What a find! This podcast has so much to offer. The thoughtful questions enrich the subject matter. I've learned so much and can't wait to listen to more.”
Amy00Good wrote: “This podcast is always thought-provoking. Howard always has interesting and insightful guests. He also does a great job of asking pertinent questions that keep me listening intently. Love it!”
And BeauDydleigh from the UK wrote: “Plant based discourse for those in the know and those who want to know more. Informative guest that help unpick why one could choose a vegan diet for health, happiness and well being. Thanks for your work.”
Thank you all for sharing your kind words!
Announcements
Check out my online TV show, Triangle Be Well. This week I talk about DUNNO YET
I can help you navigate the medical system and adopt a healthy lifestyle
I'm available for one-on-one consulting and coaching to help you navigate the medical system, make informed decisions, take control of your health destiny, and achieve true wellness and not just medical management of disease.
Ask your questions or share your feedback
Comment on the show notes for this episode (below)
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Email
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Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive amazon gift certificates from your actions on such links.
Dr Howie Jacobson
This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).
My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.
Here are three gigs that I do:
1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation
I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.
At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.
My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.
2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance
I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.
We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.
The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.
3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams
I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.
So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.
You CAN Change Other People!
Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.
What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.
Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.
Music
The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.
You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.
Gratitudes
Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.
Disclosure
This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.
This was a really great podcast.
I love how there is such a conviction for the people you work with (and your life purpose at large of helping others experience a healthy life) and as a host find it so powerful freely and vulnerably you jump into a discussion, and in this episode share your thoughts from a level 1 perspective (as any client would).
In Co-Active coaching we meet with clients and help them dig into your values (which one’s aren’t they honoring/which ones do they never compromise), what’s your dream / what do you want, help them experience different perspectives to achieve balance and make commitments and at the same time sit with the things/feelings we avoid. I loved this call because a lot that was brought up mirrors a lot of Co-Active coaching.
SO happy for this podcast and am sharing it with my cohorts as I think it will help us in better serving our clients esp the work/talk about limiting beliefs.
Thanks for this contribution!
Thanks, Edwin. I really appreciate your feedback, and your insights into the mirrors of your own coaching tradition.
i just loved this podcast. I really like that you question and push the speakers, not accepting things automatically. It feels more authentic!!
Thanks, Lani. Honestly, I do the podcast for myself. So if I’m not satisfied with an answer, I tend to cling to the question until I get resolution or it goes nowhere.When it takes a while, it’s usually because I didn’t ask a clear question at first.
Howard,
Another informative podcast. The methods spoken about and other methods may work for some and can be helpful. Another method that one should practice/try, is Self-Enquiry as taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Here is some links with more information:
David Godman[0], books written by him and books he recommends[1]. Chapter five of Be As You Are[2], Who am I?[3] and David Godman’s YouTube channel[4], which is filled with a lot information and stories. His blog[5], can get Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi books from here[6], if Amazon prices are too high.
[0] http://davidgodman.org/
[1] http://davidgodman.org/gen2/p/books/index.books.html
[2] http://davidgodman.org/gen2/p/books/godman.be-as-you-are.html
[3] http://davidgodman.org/gen2/p/ramana/who-am-i/who-am-i.html
[4] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBcqQGNwcSEwlv6gJXP-U9A
[5] https://sri-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.co.uk/
[6] http://avadhuta.com/ramanabooks.html
Here are some more links:
http://www.arunachala.org/
http://www.realization.org/p/ramana/ramana.html
http://www.realization.org/page/topics/self_inquiry.htm
http://www.arunachala-ramana.org/
http://avadhuta.com/ramanadocumentary.html
http://avadhuta.com/photos.html#Ram
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-enquiry_(Ramana_Maharshi)
Thank You and keep them coming.
Can also listen to these two podcasts[7, 8]. David Godman talks about Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi and his devotees.
[7] https://batgap.com/david-godman/
[8] https://batgap.com/david-godman-2/
Thank You
Here are some links about Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, from the author of Happiness and the Art of Being[0] by Michael James[1]. All of Michael James books[2]. Who am I?[3], Michael James’s YouTube channel[4]; audio files of the videos on YouTube[5]. Blog[6] and Google +[7].
[0] http://www.happinessofbeing.com/happiness_art_being.html
[1] http://www.happinessofbeing.com/
[2] http://www.happinessofbeing.com/books.html
[3] http://www.happinessofbeing.com/nan_yar.html
[4] https://www.youtube.com/user/SriRamanaTeachings
[5] https://www.mediafire.com/folder/19wqtnbiazt3k
[6] https://happinessofbeing.blogspot.com/
[7] https://plus.google.com/118083466017530757696
Thank You