82 - Diane Israel's Long Winding Road to Love - a podcast by Nicole DeBoom

Diane Israel is what I would call a reluctant visionary. She is a former professional triathlete and world class runner. Today she's a psychotherapist and a professor at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. And along the way she created an award-winning film called Beauty Mark. You don’t get from one place to the next without quite a journey in between. She spent so many years conflicted about who she was and her role in this great wide world that she couldn't be herself or as she would say, she didn't know who she was. Eventually Diane found that she excelled at movement – she became a standout runner and later a triathlon legend in the early days of the sport - until her need to control her life ultimately almost destroyed her. After years of enduring an eating disorder and athletic addiction, her body just simply stopped. And then she had to confront herself – if she wanted to survive.

This episode goes deep at times and focuses more on the process of how she got where she is today than the struggles of the past. In the end, through it all, Diane actually became a healer of others. Isn’t that interesting. But she first had to find peace and healing in herself which she fully admits is still happening every day that she spends on this planet.

I also have some good news - my first official sponsor is on board - a revolutionary company in the life insurance space - Health IQ. I have no idea how many of you have figured out life insurance, but Tim and I have always held back partly because we know we’re really healthy but we’d be paying as much as people who don’t place an emphasis on health and fitness. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t until we had our daughter Wilder that we actually made a will and started thinking about our financial future. So I started looking around for life insurance that might actually take everything we do to stay healthy into consideration and found Health IQ. I went on their website, took their Health Quiz and an agent immediately called me. They literally looked up my race results for me in Athlinks (thankfully I did the Boulder Peak Tri last summer!) or you can upload Strava or Runkeeper or other app data so they can prove you are actually active when seeking quotes. What they do is use science and data to secure lower rates on life insurance for health conscious people including runners, cyclists, strength trainers, vegans etc – 56% of Health IQ customers save 4-33% on life insurance. Going through the process myself, it's been extremely convenient and we're excited to save a lot of money! To see if you quality, get your free quote today at healthiq.com/RTW or mention the code RTW when you talk to an agent. Please remember to share the code RTW so they know I sent you!

Today we talk about:

Weasel Words
Addiction of all kinds
Coping mechanisms: Why they stop working in our 40s
How our greatest joy often brings us our greatest suffering
How much our background impacts who we become
Raising children to be healthy adults
How does a tortured child eventually become a healer?
Her film Beauty Mark - watch the trailer here - soon to be available on Amazon Prime!
Wasted emotions: Are there any?
How do we stop the self-judgment and blame
Hands and Feet: Contact Diane to get on the list for upcoming classes

This is an awesome, powerful episode. At the end of the day, her final nugget really brought us home: You count. You’re beautiful the way you are. You are loved. For more on Diane, to connect with her on any level, please reach out here.

Allright everyone, you know what time it is, it’s time to get out there and run this world. Have a great workout and I’ll see you next week.

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