3 Ways to Live a Holistic Life by Jackie Johnson of Wildling Botanicals
Jackie Johnson is a Holistic Brand Strategist who founded Wildling Botanicals, Wildling Herbs, and Wildling Dreams Consulting. Through her businesses, she has created proprietary body care and herbal supplement products from homegrown, clean ingredients she farms herself. Jackie's credentials also include a 15-year career in business, helping grow retail, hospitality, and fitness companies before striking out on her own to create luxury wellness products she wasn't finding in the marketplace. She brings a much-needed perspective to the beauty world by joining nature and business together to empower people inside and out.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANI PHOTOGRAPHY
I love gardening. By far, it is the funniest part of my business and a pleasure to do. But, the one thing I despise is a sudden change in the weather. On a sunny day, I feel like the world is mine. I can take plants from the greenhouse and put them in the soil. I can sit outside of the greenhouse making up new floral combinations and arrangements. Life is good. On a rainy day, life is still going well and I know my farm needs the moisture but something inside of me wants to be outside enjoying a sunny day. Then during a fire season like this year, I am in a constant state of fight or flight. Covering flowers, running things into the greenhouse, and watering everything like crazy so none of my plants will fry and die.
I just took you on an emotional roller coaster. Now think, what is the only common denominator on each of these days?ME!
Tip 1 : You Have To Be Willing To Work On You.
If you are not willing to work on you, feel free to read no further. In every single scenario, I was the common denominator. I attached my emotions to every outcome. One sunny day, I was living my best life. Then the rainy day came, I was actually envious of the rain doing some of the work for me, and during fire season I was in sheer panic. Emotions can change like the weather. You have to be willing to work on you, so you can weather the weather.
Working on you isn’t simply saying “I need to work on X.” It’s writing down what your challenges are and how they relate to how you want to grow and coming up with a plan with steps of how you want to change. It’s ok to recognize and identify the things in your personality that are hindering your growth and holding you back. It’s the first step to be able to work on yourself. Be ready to peel back the layers and dig deep.
Tip 2: Get Off The Rollercoaster - Don’t Let Your Emotions Rule You
Living this way does not serve you. Emotions are temporary if you choose to let them move past you like cool water on a hot day or a beautiful floral fragrance in the wind. When situations arise that are out of your control and negative emotions come:
1. Recognize the emotion. Acknowledge that the situation is perhaps overwhelming and making you feel insecure.
2. Assess whether or not you can do something to positively change the situation (and therefore your emotion). If there is, great! Go take that active step towards a solution. If there’s not… in the words of Queen Elsa...
3. Let it go! Setting emotions free is the only way you can make room for new experiences and make new memories. You can’t fix every situation every time. That’s ok. Learn to be ok with not being in total control all the time. You can’t change every situation but what you can change is how you emotionally respond to situations beyond your control.
Tip 3: Life Experiences Will Shape And Mold You - You have to trust the process.
Enjoy the journey. I really mean that. Life has a way of shaping us and molding us into something beautiful. When I was 20, I hit the lowest point of self-esteem in my life. Over 70% of my hair had fallen out, I was covered in a head-to-toe rash, and I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror. I was at the pinnacle of my professional career in the corporate world. I was young. I had friends. I was fit. I had connections. To the outsider, I had it all. However, internally I was miserable.
Out of that horrible experience, I was able to create Wildling Botanicals (my natural skin and hair care line). I began farming my key herbal and plant ingredients. I was blessed with a platform to share my experience of wellness to reach other people who were also dealing with various health issues. How did all that happen? I acknowledged that something was off in my life. I assessed what I could do to change it and what was beyond my capacity and let those things go. From there I was able to create products that helped heal my body. Through fixing my external body, I was able to start an internal process that supported taking back my life and sustaining long-lasting change.
It’s a long process because living a holistic life is not something you do once and check it off your To-Do List. It’s a daily check-in with your emotions, as well as your mental and physical wellbeing. There are no shortcuts to do that. However, my hope is that these tips give you a blueprint for how you might take back your own life. You’re no longer powerless and stuck on the rollercoaster of emotions controlling you. That way, when the bad weather rolls in, you feel more equipped to weather the storm and live a more holistic life.
Jackie Johnson: @jackie_johnson_ceo
Wildling Botanicals: @wildling_botanicals