As painful as it is, we need to face what life throws at us. We’ve got no better choice because the more we try to hide in things masquerading as our allies the more we are dragged into the pit of darkness. And without us knowing, it’s manifesting in ways that slowly suck the life and energy out of us leaving us in a mess. One’s journey to permanent weight loss is never easy. What with all the triggers we have to deal with, which are brought about by all the pain and trauma of the past that we’re not aware of. Added to the fact that our personal lives are not in tuned to what our authentic being is. Once this is not addressed we will just be circling back to where we have been, in a state of despair. Weight loss is not all about avoiding food and drowning yourself in massive exercise. It’s all about inner work. It’s our emotions we are dealing with here. What triggers food obsession is emotional in nature and that’s what we need to master. And we need the help of emotional mastery tools to be in alignment with what we truly want for ourselves and not just what our emotions dictate. Alcohol was Heather Nickel’s coping mechanism. She was invincible, the life of the party, sexy, funny, the dancing queen, and the sociable extrovert. She needed alcohol to get more energy, sleep better, entertain herself, and when problems arose, it kept them under the surface. It was her magic potion. And that started a story of her health, mental, financial and marital struggles. But her need for change, the training she received, and her decades-long study of self-development were the perfect equation to set her free from the shackles that alcohol had on her life. Her formula that set her free is now called the Sober Effect Rx. In her coaching practice, she has been helping women transform their lives for years. She has combined her two passions, sobriety, and coaching, and now specializes in helping women pour their magic potion down the drain. In this episode, Heather shares how mindset work saves her from the unthinkable life struggles and trials she endured decades back and in recent years. From hiding in the company of wine and alcohol which she thought to be her savior from all those pain and hurts to now being a woman rooted in faith and trust that no matter what happens everything will turn out well. And that’s coming from someone who has undergone one enormous challenge after another as if she’s the only one tasked to bear them all. "You can do all the work. But if you don't do the final thing, which is taking action, you'll be stuck in that loop of just journaling and thinking and thinking and thinking. And action is the key that grounds you, roots you, anchors you, and convinces you that the mindset work you've been doing is real." - Heather Nickel   What you'll learn from this episode: 02:20 - Facing health issues in the early years of her adult life, a troubled marriage, major struggles in the family happening all at once 06:34 - From wine o'clock to mindset work 10:03 - What is mindset work? 14:17 - How mindset work becomes a step towards faith, trust, and God [silent meditation] 17:18 - Listening to that whisper and eventually taking that leap 18:59 - How everything boils down to 'taking action' 20:30 - Experiencing an enormous health challenge this year, 2022 [but still letting go and letting God] 25:25 - How gratitude gets you through amidst the pain in life 27:35 - Detoxing in crying 29:11 - Twice the pain [shoulder injury and breast cancer] and how she faces all that with a hopeful attitude 32:33 - What keeps her mental state strong despite the unimaginable that she went through 35:26 - Seeing the positive in the pain 37:45 - Facing each frontier with much enthusiasm and faith that everything will turn out well   Connect with Heather Nickel: Website: www.beyondbetterlife.com/   Connect With Leslie Thornton: weightlossalbany.com E: Leslie@LeslieMThornton.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn