Don't Quit Now - The Future You is Watching

What if you treated your dreams like your child was in the hospital — and nothing could stop you from getting there?

In this powerful and soul-stirring episode of Glow Wild, we’re diving deep into what it really means to not give up. From the emotional grit it takes to stay in the game, to the science behind perseverance and motivation, this is your go-to pep talk for when quitting feels easier than continuing.

Host [Your Name] shares a raw and real moment from her own morning workout — when her kids told her to quit — and how she turned it into a lesson in resilience. You'll also hear an unforgettable story from Ed Mylett that reframes how we treat our goals, plus research-backed tools you can use when the fire fades.

Whether you're rebuilding, launching, healing, or just barely hanging on — this episode is here to remind you:

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to keep going.

💡 In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why failure is not the opposite of success — it’s a stepping stone to it
• What the “hospital story” from Ed Mylett teaches us about showing up, no matter what
• How to model resilience for your kids, friends, or inner circle
• The science behind grit and how it outperforms talent (Angela Duckworth's research)
• A powerful tool called Implementation Intentions — and how to use it to push through hard moments
• Why finishing what you start builds unshakable self-trust and momentum

🔥 Perfect For You If…

• You're struggling to stay motivated
• You've failed recently and wonder if it's time to give up
• You're chasing a dream or rebuilding after a setback
• You’re ready for a mindset reset that blends heart + science
• You need a motivational boost that sticks longer than your morning coffee

📲 Share the Glow:

Loved this episode?
🎤 Tag us on Instagram: @GlowWildPodcast
💬 DM us what you’re pushing through right now
⭐️ Leave a 5-star review to help others find their fire

Let’s glow through what we go through — together. 🌱✨

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, I'm Nicole and you're listening to Glow Wild. Hey everyone, I'm Nicole and you are listening to Glow Wild. This podcast is about overcoming trauma, struggle, unhappiness, or a rut you're in and finding the will to move on and to find joy again in your life. So, Today I'm going to talk about a very personal matter that put me into essentially a tailspin. I was a miserable person and I was awful to other people and awful to myself and I definitely played the victim role way better than I ever thought I would. So what I want to share with you today is the story of my second daughter, Parker's birth. When I delivered, I had a blood clot in my lung, which essentially led, 15 hours later, to a postpartum hemorrhage. When the procedure to attempt to stop the bleeding was performed, I was left with an undetected, injury that went unrepaired and unnoticed for weeks until finally I saw a specialist in another state who told me that he's never seen anything like it. I'm the worst case scenario for him and went on to have 13 surgeries over the next three years. That meant traveling across the country from Utah to New York to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, having a hamstring removed as a flap surgery, basically harvesting a muscle to help repair the injury, as well as my cheek muscle removed to further repair the injury. Many of those reconstructions failed and I had to keep going and keep going. I also had to live with two different ostomy bags, which if you are wearing an ostomy bag, I'm sure you know it's not easy. It's essentially when they pull your intestines out into your stomach and you're shitting into a bag on your stomach. So I'm a 35-year-old woman at the time. I mean... What the fuck? I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who I was anymore. It really taught me that my entire life, my identity had been based on my gender or the ability to be intimate with my partner or to go to the bathroom like a normal human. And when those things are taken away from you, you really feel like you've lost yourself. I remember crying and being miserable in the bathroom one day. And my husband told me, you need to get therapy. I mean, you are not doing well. And I looked at him and I said, but no one understands what I'm going through. This injury is so rare. It rarely happens in the United States. How could a therapist possibly understand what I'm feeling? I've suffered loss. I've lost family members and good friends. But this isn't like that. I feel like I am lost and I am not myself. And I don't understand how anyone could get that. So I should have gone to therapy at the time. I'm sure it would have helped. But instead, I decided to wallow in my misery. You know, it didn't work. I was awful to myself. I began drinking every night after my kids went to bed and trying to numb the pain. And I acted out. I acted out on people who didn't deserve it. And I can never really convey to any of them how sorry I am. I was just so miserable and terrible. inside my own head that entire time. But what happened when I came home from my final surgery at the Mayo Clinic, a month later, I found out that my three-year-old daughter, Parker, who I had just had three years before, was diagnosed with stage four cancer. And I can't tell you how or why another traumatic event so close to my other traumatic injury shifted my focus completely. I suddenly realized I had to stop being a victim, that I had to stand up and be strong. I didn't want my daughter to be scared. She had no idea what was going on. And I'll never forget being told that by the ER doctor that day, who was also a mom, with tears in her eyes, that this is going to be a long road for you. And I honestly, at that time, had no idea how hard that road would be, but I also had no idea what a gift I had just been given. So, what my daughter's cancer diagnosed taught me was that you can't be a victim. You have to stand strong and face every day with courage, and you have to be open to positivity. I mean, I couldn't cry all day every day like I want to do. I had to do normal, fun things with my daughter. When we were shipped to Utah, on a life flight for nine months to spend that entire nine months, minute by minute, day by day, sleeping in the same bed, just the two of us. Of course, we had visits from my husband and my other daughter, but she was in school and we had to keep life as normal as we could for our family, despite all the challenges we had been through. So what I came away with from all of this is that you cannot play the victim despite the circumstances you're in. And I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times. You have to find a way to change your state of mind. And for me, it took a stage four cancer diagnosis of my youngest daughter for me to learn that. And I hope that none of you have to learn that way. But that was my wake-up call that I've got to be strong. I've got to take care of myself. I've got to take care of my daughter, my family. And I've got to be a positive role model for her and everyone around me. The second thing I learned was I couldn't wallow in sadness and just sit there on the couch day after day, zoning out or watching movies, I had to move my body. To keep me from going insane, because we were always in a hospital room or locked inside because we couldn't go places with her weakened immune system, I subscribed to an online community of fitness classes and I did one every single day. And the third thing I did, which I Those along with movement, but I found a purpose from what I was going through. I now wanted to support research and funding for childhood cancer research because it is widely underfunded, widely unresearched, and I don't know how I came upon it, but I found a team of for Sloan Kettering that you can apply to run the New York City Marathon and raise money for cancer research. I was invited, which blew my mind. First of all, applying was like out of the norm. I hadn't run in about 20 years. Second, I heard it's harder to get into than an Ivy League, so I had no expectations. And third, I realized I have to start running and I've got to start raising money. if I want to do this thing. I believe it took me about a year to prep for that race, but I did it. I raised over$15,000 thanks to all of you and all of the people that supported me along the way. And now I'm an advocate for funding for cancer research, especially for children. They are so innocent. They don't deserve it. I mean, no one deserves cancer, but to see your three-year-old go through the insane treatments they put them through, there has to be a better way. So let's recap. First of all, I had to find strength. I had to get out of that rut and realize I have to face every day with courage. I can't break down anymore. And I have to be strong. If you are struggling with something that you just don't see a way out of, you've got to change something in your daily pattern. You've got to do something that scares you or reach out to a friend. Connection is really important. Do something. that reminds you you are loved, that you're strong, and that you are capable of getting yourself out of this rut. The second takeaway is you should move your body. And it had to have tremendous impact on my mindset and identity at the time. During my surgeries, I couldn't work out. I was... unable to do anything. And I became too depressed to even take myself for a walk. It was a miserable existence for quite a while. And had Parker not been diagnosed, I don't know that I would have gotten out of it like I did. And third takeaway from today is to find a purpose higher than you. What do you love to do? What lights you up? What have you experienced in your life that resonates with you and makes you want to take action. My purpose now is helping to bring awareness to childhood cancer and the research and the terrible drugs they're using for kids. I mean, it's over the top. Because children's cells reproduce so quickly, they have to use more intense treatment than adults. The side effects are awful, and it's awful to watch your child go through something like that. So I found a voice and a purpose in raising awareness for childhood cancer. And another terrible thing happened to me the year I was getting married. I got a call from from my mom. She kept calling over and over again. I was at a friend's. We were visiting them in Colorado. And I was just like, come on, mom. Like, what the hell? Then I get on my email and I've got, call me, call me, call me. And the final email said, call me. Your grandfather shot himself. So I was completely shocked. And that put me in just such a dark place to think, I'm getting married that year. He was supposed to be there. My dad was picking him up on the way to our wedding and he ended it. And his note just said, I'm sorry and I love you. But it doesn't really answer any questions. So suicide was another purpose I wanted to bring awareness to and that if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or you have someone in your life who committed suicide, I'm here. You can email me. You can ask questions. I will try to answer them for you. But know that there's support and that you are better off here because your purpose is yet to be found if you're feeling that way. And I truly believe that. So we've talked about what shifted for me and what the turning point was, and I had to make a decision to either wallow in all of my sadness like I had for three years or to stand up, be courageous, and feel the weight but fight through it anyway. We've talked about what I did, how I did it, and how I kept going through such a hard time. So of course there were days when I would feel completely defeated and suddenly realizing if I kept waiting for my circumstances to change, I would lose myself entirely. So as I've kind of talked about, I had to make those changes in my life and I hope that you learn something today that will change the way you look at your situation. Here are some tools I want you to use that I used during this time and I still use today. They're repetitive because everyone talks about this stuff, but I am here to say as I am still standing, despite everything I've been through, they work, and if you put them to work every day, you will see a difference. Every single morning I wake up an hour before my kids at about 5.30 a.m. just so I can have a cup of coffee and reflect on what I want to get done for the day. So I write down five goals for the day. Then I write down five big dreams for my life, whatever it is. Like mine right now are rebuilding my home, having a healthy lifestyle, safe family, having a beautiful landscaped garden and yard, which we don't currently have and can't afford. But, you know, dream big. And that helps me get into the groove of the day. And then I write down 10 gratitudes. Simple things like getting rest, going to bed early. It felt really good last night going to bed early. Or this quiet time in the morning for me is so important. My kids, obviously, my family, my parents, my brother. Everything feels a little bit better when you're grateful for it. And then I write down 10 things I appreciate about myself. Which coming from someone who has always been at the butt of my own jokes, I love self-deprecation. It's my shtick. I have to think a little bit harder on these. Like today, for example, I wrote down my strength, my willingness to put myself out here and totally embarrassed the hell out of myself on a podcast. I mean, what do I know about podcasting? Absolutely nothing. So I'm appreciating that I'm putting myself to the test. And I am very grateful for my talent in art. It hasn't always been talent, but hard work. And I appreciate that I have that work ethic to get better and better each day. So I want to speak to any of you right now who are struggling with And let you know that you're not alone. I want you to do something different today. Just one little thing different. Maybe write down one gratitude. One thing you're grateful for. Or think about what lit you up as a kid. Or something like I did. Running I used to love. Then I loathed it. I mean, hated it. I had aches and pains and I... just made up every excuse as to why I couldn't run anymore. But then I decided to run a damn marathon and I did it and I did it well. So I want you to do one thing today that's out of your routine and make it matter. I want you to remember the core of this podcast is not to fake joy or pretend that you're happy until you make it. I hate that, fake it till you make it. I want you to do the work. We all have to do the work to get to the other side. I don't want your kid's cancer diagnosis or your own cancer diagnosis or some other awful loss to be the wake-up call that you need like I did. I want you to change your life today and I know you can because if I can do it, anyone can do it. If you knew me years ago when I was going through those surgeries, you probably would have hated me. I hated me. I was a miserable victim. But I can tell you on the other side, I feel so much better. I'm motivated. I'm ready. I am putting myself out there in a big way, which is so hard for me. I don't like being the center of attention, and here I am talking to you, acting like I know something, but I can tell you from experience, I have learned a lot. So if you're listening and hurting, give yourself permission to stand up just today, write down one thing you're grateful for, call a friend, step outside into the light, Joy is waiting for you, even if it feels completely impossible right now. I promise you, making that one little change today will start to compound and you'll start doing more things each day to make you happy. In the next episode, I'm actually going to have a guest, so you won't have to listen to just me. And I'm going to be talking to someone super exciting and knowledgeable. And I don't want to spoil the surprise yet, but it will be a very heartfelt, deep connection or full of connection. And you will get so much out of it. Thank you so much. I am going to work on getting better every time. I'm going to bring you as much information as I can and help you change baby step by baby step into a whole new you. So come back, glow wild, and have a great day.