#20: Client Convo! How to Stop Living Under Nonstop Pressure w/Nina Harada

Feeling pressure about big QUESTIONS?...Doing it ALL?...Choosing RIGHT...? This interview is for you!

If you've ever been curious about what coaching helps people with, my client & friend Nina's answer is a brilliant summary: "I stopped worrying about all the things I'm not doing, and I just kept doing the next, best thing."

That mentality (GOLD!) is what allowed her to take the insane pressure off herself to know - and do - ALL the things , and STILL set her life up in an intentional way, so she gets to do work AND art that she enjoys AND parent (etc...) on her terms!

In this conversation, you get to hear: 

• How challenging it was to not know what was next, and how coaching helped!
• "The major thing that coaching helped me with is taking the pressure off. When you feel like it's these BIG life decisions, and ohmygosh I need to figure out my ENTIRE next chapter...How am I supposed to move forward in that headspace? It's so much pressure."
• What it looked like (literally) to take "one step at a time" on the way from I don't know all the way to a new career (which, ps, she never could have imagined at the beginning of her search!)
• How letting go of the idea that "things need to be linear" made everything easier (even though it's a HARRRD paradigm to unlearn)

Nina's favorite tools from coaching?

• Taking action from alignment 🏃‍♀️🧭👌 — Literally being ok not knowing the exact results a decision will yield in your life, but being confident in that decision because you can trust you're in alignment with what you value, what you want & how you want to feel!
• Celebrating WINS 🥳🙌🍾 — YEARS ago, I shared a practice of regularly recording (and celebrating) wins & successes at the end of every month...and Nina's been doing it ever since! She shares how this is a huge antidote to the What even happened this week / month / year and Surely I'm not being productive enough problems!👌
• There is no such thing as a "wrong decision" 🤯🤯🤯

Plus: The 3 Interviewee Questions!

1. What would you say to someone considering getting coaching? 

Well, the fact that you know about coaching, and that it exists, means this is a thing that you've looked into and are thinking about...I would say: do it. Do it! Because you're the type of person who would do coaching.

2. What kind of decision maker would you call yourself today? 

Ok, I used to be really indecisive. That's like, Past Self, "used to be." And I feel pretty proud of myself that, now, I'm a clearer decsion maker. 

I'm not someone who's like, "Oh, I know right away." But I am someone who's done enough of the work, and has enough of the tools, that I can say, "Oh I know what I can do to be clear and feel good about the next decision."

3. What's the most self-honoring decision you've made in the last week, that you want to share with us?

Listen to Nina's PURE GOLD answer, which she prefaces with "...this is gonna sound so stupid." I swear: the little things ARE the big things.

When your decision making is more authentic & self-honoring in the SMALL (..."stupid"...) stuff, you're 500x more likely to be inclined to authentic, self-honoring decisions when it comes to the the BIG stuff (your job, your family, your health, oh my!) 

Nina Harada is a writer, artist, parent, fellow podcast host, and digital editor at LA Parent Magazine. She wears a lot of hats, both in life and in work, and she's realized that's where she thrives. (She's also a Gemini, if that explains anything).

Nina's coaching story summed up:

When I first sought out coaching, those multiple hats were confusing to me. I wanted all the things and at the same time thought I didn't know what I wanted. But one of the many takeaways from coaching is realizing there's time for it all. If it's meant for me, it will be. This eased my anxiety. Now I'm not worried about all the things I'm not doing — I'm focused on what I am doing and just keep doing the next best thing.

More links:

• https://www.ninaharada.com
• Follow on Instagram @ninaharada (for life, adventures & California-specific adventures)
• Follow on Instagram @ninaharadaart (to see her oil painting, watercolors, collage & affirmation decks)
• L.A. Parent Podcast: Real Parents, Real Conversations
• The Decision Masters Program (enrolling now for October 2022!)
• Listen on Apple - Listen on Spotify
• Download the Transcript