Nov 18, 2021
Finding Joy and Well-being with Nicole Bensen
Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
1. Be inspired by how Nicole found the common thread in all
her work and made that the center of her
entrepreneurship.
2. Hear how she took the daunting leap from a dream job with
perks beyond belief at Google to starting her own
business.
3. Discover the uber luxe retreat locations Nicole is
planning for.
Resources:
-- My first book, Relationship Ready: How I Stopped Fucking Randos
and Started Cupcaking My Soulmate, is available
on Amazon and Audible. Grab your copy
now!
-- Subscribe to my mailing list on my website.
-- Visit my website to learn about my coaching
programs.
-- Visit
Nicole’s website ┃Instagram ┃Facebook
-- Watch TED talk, Jia Jiang: What I Learned From 100 Days of
Rejection
-- Check out Villa Honegg and Burgenstock
Resort in Switzerland
-- Check out happiness researcher Sonja Lyubormirsky
-- Read Are You Busy Or Productive? By Christine
Carter
Episode Highlights
The Pinnacle of Corporate Life in Silicon Valley
Nicole started as a recruiter making 80 calls a day and 10 client
visits a week.
She was recruited to work at Google in their recruiting
program.
She went on to be the program manager of many programs including
the Wellbeing Program for Google’s Executive Female
Leaders.
She worked and lived in Switzerland for part of her time with
Google.
At Google she had perks beyond belief and learned how to create
luxurious Leadership programs and retreats for the highest
positions at Google.
After nearly a decade she found herself as the program manager of 9
demanding programs.
Some Sneaky Burnout Symptoms
Waking up in the night with tightness in the chest, hard to
breath.
Shaking hands.
Chipping teeth.
“I’m so busy” is a sign that we are stretched too thin. If we
are stretched too thin, we are missing our opportunity to do things
to the best of our ability.
“I’m bored” can be a sign of being so overloaded that we become
numb.
Feeling imposter’s syndrome. We will jump to deliver
everything so we can keep up.
Headaches.
Sleeping too much or too little.
We Become Resilient by Getting Up After a
Fall
Nicole took a leave of absence and did ALL the things (books,
conferences, her doctor, work stress coach, couple’s therapist,
psychiatrist, etc) to get back to a healthier mental place. Near
the end of her leave, Nicole decided to choose her wellbeing and
follow her dream to start her own business drawing on all of her
experience.
Self-compassion, mindfulness, and resilience are
integral.
Staying in our comfort zone stunts our resilience among so many
other things.
Need to practice failing and getting up.
“Focus on what’s strong, not what’s wrong”
What I LOVE About What I Do
Supporting others in chasing their dreams
Creating experiences for people to learn about themselves so they
can pursue their dreams and best selves
Learning and doing research about how our brains work
Studying happiness and wellbeing
Creating courses and quirky exercises to practice the
concepts
Tips for Developing Happiness and Joy
If you try a practice or strategy and it doesn’t work, even though
it works for EVERYONE else, try something else.
Make tiny goals or M.V.E.s (Minimum Viable Experiments).
These create energy and momentum.
Surround yourself with happy people. The friends of your own
friends are affected by your happiness (or unhappiness).
Laugh! Try Laughter Yoga in which you force yourself to
laugh. Its starts off feeling cheesy, but we end up actually
feeling happier afterwards.
The Hard Part
Practicing being brave, working on my own resilience, putting
myself out there,
Launching a new program after hundreds of hours of creating
something with love and tears… and then crickets.
I Don’t Do it All… No One Can Do it All
Doing it all is not a healthy goal.
I pick and choose what gets my attention that day or
week.
Not feeling bad about not doing it all is a
practice.
I want to set boundaries and make wellbeing a priority.
About Nicole
Nicole lives in the Bay Area with her husband, two children, two
kitties, and a baby on the way. Nicole’s father was a
software engineer and she has lived around Silicon Valley for most
of her life. She started her career as a recruiter for
staffing agencies and moved over to Google when a former manager
recruited her to Google’s recruiting program. At Google she
worked in the recruiting organization then became a program manager
in Switzerland. Nicole was the program manager for the
Wellbeing Program for Google’s Executive Female Leaders along with
9 other programs.
After nearly a decade at Google and experiencing extreme burnout,
Nicole reflected on her work experience and chose to create a
company that centered all the things she was passionate
about. She is the Founder and CEO of Tentacles and Tea, a
Happiness Ambassador, Positive Psychology Coach, and Creator of
Transformational Experiences. Nicole offers one-on-one coaching,
group programs, and corporate workshops, and luxurious retreats in
the dreamiest locations near and far.
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To pursuing our passions and building our businesses,
Heidi B