Can trusting your intuition actually help you manage life's chaos? Discover the transformative secret of balancing intuition with neuroscience as we sit down with ADHD and executive function coach Tracey Bromley Goodwin. Tracey shares her expert tips on how to prioritize tasks and maintain a clear vision, transforming the inevitable overwhelm of a hectic life into manageable steps. We'll show you how tuning into your heart can provide the clarity needed to focus on what truly matters, leaving peripheral worries behind.
Join us for a heartfelt discussion on the essential yet often overlooked practice of self-care for moms, using the airplane oxygen mask analogy to illustrate its importance. Tracey and I explore why prioritizing your well-being is not just a luxury but a necessity for effective daily functioning and being the best for your family. Learn about the societal shifts recognizing mothers' need for self-care and the practical strategies to integrate mindfulness into your life. This episode is packed with actionable insights and supportive programs tailored to help women achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
To find Tracey Bromley Goodwin, you can visit her website at https://traceybromleygoodwin.com/ or on Instagram at @lessentheoverwhelm
Can trusting your intuition actually help you manage life's chaos? Discover the transformative secret of balancing intuition with neuroscience as we sit down with ADHD and executive function coach Tracey Bromley Goodwin. Tracey shares her expert tips on how to prioritize tasks and maintain a clear vision, transforming the inevitable overwhelm of a hectic life into manageable steps. We'll show you how tuning into your heart can provide the clarity needed to focus on what truly matters, leaving peripheral worries behind.
Join us for a heartfelt discussion on the essential yet often overlooked practice of self-care for moms, using the airplane oxygen mask analogy to illustrate its importance. Tracey and I explore why prioritizing your well-being is not just a luxury but a necessity for effective daily functioning and being the best for your family. Learn about the societal shifts recognizing mothers' need for self-care and the practical strategies to integrate mindfulness into your life. This episode is packed with actionable insights and supportive programs tailored to help women achieve a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
To find Tracey Bromley Goodwin, you can visit her website at https://traceybromleygoodwin.com/ or on Instagram at @lessentheoverwhelm
What's most important to recognize that, I believe, is that you need to have a vision of what you want your life to be like, without overwhelm. So if you don't have a really clear picture of what you want to be cultivating in your life, it's really hard to get there because you're constantly chasing like one little part, like oh, I'm going to be on time, or I'm going to do a little bit less, or I'm going to remember all the stuff I need when I go shopping, or I'm going to food prep, like you can do these little pieces, but unless you really have that picture of what you want it to all look like, it's really hard to step into it.
Carrie:
Welcome to Heart to Heart Parents. Let's connect with our kids and learn together. I'm Keri. I was a former teacher and speech therapist. I'm also a parent of two spirited, gifted, highly sensitive kids. I was quickly brought to my knees as a parent when I thought that I would see a rosy lens version of parenting just as they present on Instagram. But I quickly learned that's not real life of parenting just as they present on Instagram. But I quickly learned that's not real life. I will provide real life experiences and transform them into moments for connections and change for you to use in your house.
Carrie:
Hi there and welcome back. I'm Keri with Heart to Heart Parents Podcast here, and today I have an amazing guest, ms Tracy Bromley Goodwin, here. That's with us today and I have been reading up about her bio. It's been so fun to connect with her and I love how she bridges this piece of intuition with neuroscience. It's been such an amazing combination and I love. Tracy has a background in ADHD, executive function coaching and lately she's been working with programs for women who are feeling overwhelmed and giving some coaching ideas and tips. And it's just all these pieces that fit into my puzzle. I know there's probably a lot of mamas out there that it fits into their puzzle as well, tracy, is there anything else that I missed?
Tracey:
No, just that. I'm so excited to be here and, as I mentioned, I just love your heart to heart perspective and just like really leaning into that heart space is amazing, so I'm so happy to be here.
Carrie:
Thank you so much. It's been so much fun connecting with you recently and following what you're doing with your projects. It's it's really neat to see so many people out there living passionately and helping all of us mamas and women with our all of our schedules and our overwhelming days that we live. So I love that you have this program that you're doing for women. With our overactive schedules and the busy American or European any lifestyle I feel like it's everywhere nowadays. Do you have any tips for us as we dive in?
Tracey:
Yeah, I mean, I think when it comes to overwhelm and, like you said, overwhelm is everywhere it's probably the most used word that I've heard for the past 20 years from clients regardless of age.
Tracey:
So it's things I hear from young people, it's things that I hear from people at a completely different stage in life, and that that overwhelm, it just ends up bringing about feelings of shame and guilt. And what's most important to recognize that, I believe, is that you need to have a vision of what you want your life to be like without overwhelm. So if you don't have a really clear picture of what you want to be cultivating in your life, it's really hard to get there, because you're constantly chasing like one little part, like oh, I'm going to be on time, or I'm going to do a little bit less, or I'm going to remember all the stuff I need when I go shopping, or I'm going to food prep, like you can do these little pieces, but unless you really have that picture of what you want it to all look like, it's really hard to step into it.
Carrie:
Wow, that's that makes so much sense that we can choose these pieces and trying to maybe prioritize what's the most important thing for them. Yeah, I definitely feel that I feel, as I'm learning to calm my system and become a more mindful mama and a more mindful woman wife all these pieces I definitely become a little bit more scattered. Have you heard this at?
Tracey:
all I have? Yes, I have, and you know, sometimes I wonder if that feeling happens, because the more, the more in tune you are with what's in your heart. I think it also makes the things that are out of alignment or that are kind of frenzied. It's almost like they pop up even more, or like you notice them, or they happen in a more intense level. So if someone is kind of forgetful by nature anyway, and then they're really tuning into what's on the inside, some of what they might be forgetful about maybe isn't that important in before it took up mental space where maybe it doesn't really need to. That's the part that I think is so unique person to person, and it's something to just kind of think about when you start listening to your intuition or listening to your heart. What sort of things around you maybe fall to the wayside, which then in turn it might make you feel scattered, but maybe it's just because those things don't need to be at the forefront.
Carrie:
Maybe it's more important that you're listening to what you're listening to Okay, wow, yeah, that makes sense and it's the prioritizing piece again. I feel like that just comes up. Is that kind of the name of the game, I think?
Tracey:
so and prioritizing is an executive functioning skill. So if we're just thinking of, you know, our brains and all the different skills that they have, some people are really good at prioritizing and it just kind of naturally happens. Other people it's a real challenge because the brain isn't putting things in any particular order in its constant reaction versus responding. And then I think when we are thinking about intuition in our heart, all of that gets kind of muddled if we can't hear it. So if we can't hear what it's telling us, then it makes prioritizing most likely we're doing it incorrectly, like we're doing it in the wrong order, because we're not really listening or letting that voice kind of guide us. And that's not easy because we're busy and moms are really busy and you're running around doing all the things and I think that has gotten more and more intense over time and the expectations that people are putting on themselves and then again feeling bad when they don't get there, which is not what we want to be doing at all.
Carrie:
Yeah, that makes so much sense because it definitely pops me into my head and my mind when my kids are having a rough time and I tend to forget, like oh, we forgot your water bottle because we're having a meltdown on the way to school.
Tracey:
Yeah exactly Exactly and with those kind of, you know, day to day kind of logistics. I'm a huge fan of having multiple things in multiple locations, like having one set of books at school and one set of books at home, or having, you know, for me I'll use an example chapstick. Like I need chapstick and if I don't have it near me it makes me grumpy. So when I don't have multiple, when I didn't do a good job putting them in multiple locations, so it's kind of trying to figure out how can you take things out of your brain so you don't even have to think about them anymore. So if there's multiple water bottles everywhere or whatever it is that your child usually forgets, and you have it stocked up in multiple locations, you don't have to think about it anymore.
Tracey:
So you know, for moms with ADHD this is harder because if you don't have strategies for yourself yet, it can make it really difficult to be able to implement strategies that are going to work, you know, for your family, and that's where that shame and guilt part comes in, where it doesn't need to be there. We're all doing the best we can possibly do at any given moment in time with the skillset that you know, and we. The great thing is is we can make improvements. Like you can always teach your brain to do new things. That's not like an end point. You know. We get to keep doing it, which is what I love about the work I do.
Carrie:
I love that. I think I'm going to use that saying with my kiddos. I love that because, yeah, my son, he's starting to pick up, like maybe I am the absent-minded professor. I haven't ever told him that, but the cues that he's starting to say is mom, I'm really forgetful and I always lose my things, and so he's starting to kind of notice. So I love, I love that term and I'm writing down your tips. There's already so many things. I'm like wow, tracy, can you come into my house and help me organize?
Tracey:
I can, I can.
Carrie:
Yeah, yeah. Have you heard that term the absent-minded professor before?
Tracey:
I have, yes, all the time, all the time, yeah, and I like to kind of think of it as so there even when somebody has that you know persona or it's part of their makeup, is to kind of think about. So what areas of your life are you not forgetful, like there are always areas where you don't forget. Maybe it's your favorite thing you like to do, or it's your child something, their favorite something. I mean, yes, there are kids who still lose that stuff too or forget to do it, but there's usually one little teeny pocket somewhere that you can use as kind of an anchor and then think about okay, well, if you're doing it here, how do we do it in other areas? And it really has to come from their brain. They need help doing that, but everyone thinks so differently and every unique brain can come up with a really good idea. They just need the right questions to get there okay.
Carrie:
Yeah, that's really helpful, and do you have any tips for mamas to help us stay grounded as we're trying to get there? I swear if somebody asked me one more time where their shoes are so walking away is always the one in hiding.
Tracey:
thinking about taking deep breaths is probably the number one strategy that I think people talk about it all the time. But it also gets kind of a bad rap of like I've tried to take deep breaths and it's not doing anything for me, but it truly is. How you link up to your intuition is through your breath, so it can regulate our nervous system, and it's built in Like we don't really have to do all that much, like we're breathing. So if we can step away and really like go in the bathroom and close the door and stand there for one minute and do a round of box breathing, that's my favorite, where you know counting in for four and pausing for four, letting it out for four and then just having a pause and then repeating it it completely, can reset.
Tracey:
You know it's not going to make you go out there and suddenly everything is solved. It can make you, it can bring you back to at least you can think clearly, because we all stop thinking clearly when we're wound up and amped up ourselves, and that never happens. And we're human. So it's also like we're not supposed to be robots. You know we're not supposed to be robots. You know we're not supposed to do it all perfectly, have the solution all the time, have the right answer. It's just not possible.
Carrie:
I love that. It's true, cause right, we have the social media inundation of the robot version of parenting. It's so not accurate.
Tracey:
It's not None of us. It doesn't matter how much you know about tips and tricks and all sorts of things. It does not mean that you don't get upset, stressed, feel unsure of what to do in a moment or any of those things yeah, I love that.
Carrie:
I love the box breathing too for moms, because I always am teaching my kids it. But oh yeah, I forget to use it myself in those moments. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah I like that.
Tracey:
You know the analogy of like your oxygen mast and in an airplane. And I never believed that. I was like no way, I would not do that. I would take the mask and I would put it on my kids before myself. And then, like, the more I thought about it year after year, I was like, okay, I mean, I guess if I didn't put it on myself I won't be able to help them both put it on themselves, because I won't be able to do that. And it just started to shift my thinking of it's not selfish and I think that kind of gets ingrained that if as a mom, you're doing that for yourself, that there's some that's not okay. Like you have to sacrifice whatever in that moment to deal with whatever is in front of you. Where it's the opposite, like to be present, you have to give yourself the gift of taking deep breaths.
Carrie:
Yeah, I love that so much. My husband and I actually joke about the exact version with the oxygen mask and whenever we're on a flight, I'm always looking at him but I'm definitely like you're going to need to strap the kids in. Get yourself, then get the kids, Cause I'll be passed out or trying to get the kids. So, yeah, and I love how society is we're really shifting into that mindful piece of moms need their oxygen masks and moms can't be the best version of themselves without it. I love that. You just can't, can't it's not possible.
Carrie:
Yeah, yeah, it's so. It's so helpful to think about that, because it also comes into the play of the executive functioning skills. For myself, if I've lost my oxygen mask, I cannot find my kids' shoes.
Tracey:
No, you won't as hard as you try, it won't happen, or you won't be able to move through that situation in a way that's helpful for everyone, including yourself, you're so right, yeah, and this program that you have for women, it sounds amazing.
Carrie:
I love that it's. It goes right along with what society is bringing to us right now All of this pieces for overstressed families and overstressed moms and women and I love your program Does it make? Does it make us feel more Zen? What does it look like at the end of it?
Tracey:
Yeah, so at the end of it, I think it looks different from person to person, depending just on what they were hoping to get or where they want to be.
Carrie:
But what?
Tracey:
it does is it brings you to a place of really understanding your own brain and mind and understanding that you can make really teeny tiny shifts and how you think or how you listen to intuition that have huge impact on your life. There's a lot in the program about thinking about your core values and using that as like an inner compass for everything that you do, and when you start doing that, you automatically start shifting. You bring more calm and confidence into your life because you're using it as an anchor and a foundation and you're saying, OK, do I do this or that? Rather than waste mental energy and become overwhelmed, you get to decide. Does it connect to that value? Can I take a breath and see how I feel and then make?
Carrie:
a decision.
Tracey:
And that can take 60 seconds. It doesn't. Sometimes our brains think, if I'm going to change, that's like really scary, and oftentimes our subconscious mind wants to, just not that. It wants to keep us in an unhappy state, but it keeps us at whatever threshold we've been at because that's, that's all it knows and anything different good or bad is feeling the same way. It's scary and it's a change.
Tracey:
So part of this program is helping people understand that and shifting their mindset, leaning into intuition and then learning strategies that work for their brain. So it's not a cookie cutter kind of approach. It's thinking about okay, this doesn't look like this for anyone else in my family, but here's how it's going to look for me and here's what I now know I need to do. So then in turn, overwhelm lessons and we feel better. So it's really fun in a community of people. So people are not feeling in isolation because, like you said, in social media sometimes portrays like what the things apparently are, like for people that look like it's perfect and it can make people feel so alone and so like why can't I get there, what's wrong with me? Where that has nothing to do with any of it and taking a minute to give yourself the gift of just figuring out what you want in your life and for your family and having the strategies to get there. You just feel so much better.
Carrie:
Wow, that's amazing. I love that and I love how you bring in the intuitive component. That's. That's so powerful. I feel like it's the word is spreading and people are really tuning in and it's it's really been powerful. So many, so many people. Yes, yes.
Tracey:
So when you can tap into that, it just eases worry, indecision. It just really pulls all of those things way down and then when they surface, you know that you can come back and take deep breaths, listen to your heart, intuition and move through it.
Carrie:
Yeah, that's amazing. I love that, and I was reading about your intuitive background and how you've sort of came to terms with it and learned about it and did. Did you use it as a parent as well? Have you been using your heart? What does that look like for you, a parent as well? Have?
Tracey:
you been using your heart. What does that look like for you? Definitely yes, yes. And I think for me, um, for me in the beginning, just as a parent it was it was hard to like figure out, like what's my intuition and what's like Like what's my intuition and what's like fact, or what's overwhelm, or what's my heart telling me. It was confusing until I decided no, my intuition is right and it does tell me everything. The right thing to do. So when I let go of some of the need to control things so that everything would work out a certain way, parenting became a lot easier, a lot easier, because I was able to trust in something bigger than myself to guide me, but also that I could listen to it. So it evolved over time. Definitely.
Tracey:
And, pat, when you become a parent, I think you're just so.
Tracey:
I mean, you just love those little people so much Like you can't even explain the love you have in your heart, and it can make that intuition get a little muddled, but it's always there and that's what I love helping people do, so that they don't have to lose it for any extent of time.
Tracey:
They can keep it with them through parenting. And it's you're, I always say, when I'm working with younger people or a parent will call and say well, the doctor said I should do this, or the teacher said this, or this person, I'm like your gut instinct, your intuition as a parent, is going to steer you in the right direction, like you know deep down inside, and it's okay to listen to that and to explore what it's telling you and take into consideration what other people are telling you. But if it ever feels off, there's a reason why it feels off and that's the part where you have to pause and think yeah, which is hard when you're a parent, it's like your emotions are, so you know, they're so strong yeah yeah, it's true, when we get in our emotions and we get into our monkey minds and definitely clouds it.
Carrie:
Yeah yeah, so in those day-to-day yeah, or as soon as they're asking for their shoes or their water bottle. That's exactly, it goes down a whole other path. Yes, becomes real, it becomes real exactly, yes, so are you? Do you uh, view yourself as a highly sensitive person, or what does it? How, or what's your mindset on that piece?
Tracey:
yeah, um, I think I am a highly sensitive person. I would say, yeah, I definitely have always been like that. I think I feel things really, really deeply which at some points in my life was overwhelming. Like what do I do with all of this feeling? Like what do I do with all of this like feeling and, over time, just practicing different things like yoga, like paying attention to when I haven't been out in nature enough exercise. I removed alcohol from my life a year ago and that has been like a game changer when it comes to overwhelm for me personally, and getting certified in Reiki was also like a big like helped. All of those things helped me be more in alignment with being highly sensitive versus like fighting it.
Carrie:
I love that so much. We removed alcohol about a year and a half, maybe two years ago, for ourselves. Yeah, as well. Yeah, it's really. I feel like it really helps us to tune into our hearts so much easier. Oh my gosh, it's been amazing for us. Yeah, me too, so it's been. It just amps our gifts, which is awesome. I love that. Superpowers totally does. I agree. I'm um. I studied Reiki as well and that's what helped me to come back to connecting to my heart. As a mom was when I um studied. Reiki was super helpful.
Tracey:
I love that. Yeah, really makes a great path.
Carrie:
Yes, yes, and I was going to ask you what your superpowers are, but I feel like listening, hearing your intuition might be one of them. Would you say anything?
Tracey:
different. No, I definitely think that that is. I think that's, that's what it? Would be yeah, that and listening. I love listening. I love listening. I can listen to people to whatever, all day. That's definitely a superpower as well.
Carrie:
Well, that makes sense, because that goes with listening to your heart. I can see why you're in tune, you're ready to receive, and that's a powerful thing. Not everybody is there, so that's really cool. Sounds like you're doing the right thing. Work in progress. Yeah, yeah, I love it. Well, tracy, is there anything else that you would love to share about your program? I think it's. I'm I'm excited about it. You have something coming up with it. Is that right excited?
Tracey:
about it. You have something coming up with it, Is that right? Yeah, so I have. I have a workshop coming up in it's in a couple of weeks, um, which is a workshop all about lessening overwhelm this summer um 15 minutes or less per day. So it's a like laser focus kind of some things people can do to just feel grounded and not that racing around kind of summer energy that sometimes people get. Even though it's supposed to be like you slow down, a lot of times it actually amps up.
Tracey:
So that's all about that, and then I'll offer something similar to that in August, as we just start shifting and thinking about school a little bit. And then the three month coaching program, which is Lesson Low Overwhelm Society. That will kick off again, probably around the third week in September. Yeah, so we have lots going on.
Carrie:
You have a lot of great programs. I love that and I love the timeline that you're looking at with school and coming back into play for busy people.
Tracey:
Yeah, for sure.
Carrie:
I wanted to ask you I forgot to ask this question earlier If sometimes in my family I ask my family members, if they're asking me where things are, I make them give me a kiss when I find it for them, is that bad reinforcement?
Tracey:
No, it's funny. I was reading an article the other day and it was talking about hugging, and when you hug, you know whoever. 20 seconds or more of a hug produces even more like wonderful feeling neurotransmitters. So you can take that into consideration too. Well, extra.
Carrie:
We might have to adjust it. That's what I started doing in my family. Hold on, don't go away 20 seconds. My son will be timing that so he can get back to his Legos, but it'll be like okay enough.
Tracey:
Yeah, 20 seconds, my son will be timing that so he can get back to his Legos.
Carrie:
But yeah, once they're nine, you have to just hold on to them as they're trying to run away. You do, you so do, yeah, yeah. Well, that's been, that's so great. Is there anywhere that our listeners can find you?
Tracey:
Sure. So I love being on Instagram, which kind of makes me laugh because I never used to go on Instagram and now I find it really fun. So I'm at lesson the overwhelm on Instagram, and then people can visit my website, tracy Bromley goodwincom, and there's freebies there and resources people can get, and I offer clarity calls. So if anyone's just feeling like I don't really know where I fit in all of this, I'm more than happy to jump on a call and help people figure out. You know what their next steps are when they're thinking about lessening overwhelm in their life.
Carrie:
Wow, that's amazing, Tracy. You're giving back so much to so many people. I love it and helping us all on this path of motherhood or womanhood as well. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to chat with us and meet with us. I really appreciate all of your knowledge.
Tracey:
Oh, thank you so much. This was so much fun. I'm so glad we get to do it this was so much fun.
Carrie:
I'm so glad we get to do it. If there's a parent that you think this could resonate with, please be sure to share it with them so we can all benefit from each other. Follow Heart to Heart Parents Podcast on Instagram for daily fun ideas and tips. Happy week.