Dr. Noelle Nelson is a California-based psychologist, consultant and speaker. She is passionate about personal growth and happiness. She’s authored over a dozen books about finding our better selves.

In 2018, her home was destroyed in the Woolsey fire that tore through many parts of Southern California. Dr. Nelson was able to turn tragedy into hope. As part of her own healing process and to help others who have lived through natural disasters, she wrote Phoenix Rising - Surviving Catastrophic Loss: Fires, Floods, Hurricanes and Tornadoes, Amazon, where she explores the trauma of losing everything--the photos and memorabilia of a lifetime--how to survive the immediate aftermath and how to find the strength to start a new chapter in life.

In her more than 30 years of experience studying and researching human behavior, Dr. Nelson knows that we all could use inspiration in our lives. She shares her thoughts on empowerment, learning and growth on her twice-monthly podcast, "Up! Uplifting, Inspiring, Practical." In 2016, Dr. Nelson noticed that a segment of society is often disparaged and dismissed--those in their later years. Putting on her research hat once again, she found that far from the stereotypical views of older adults, a vast number are leading productive, happy and healthy lives. She decided to highlight them (over 600 and counting) on her Facebook page Meet The Amazings (@MeetTheAmazings) and wrote about many in her book The Longevity Secret, How to Live Happy, Healthy & Vibrant Into Your 70s, 80s, 90s and Beyond (Amazon Kindle).

Dr. Nelson believes that we can all enjoy happy, fulfilling lives while accomplishing great things in love, at home and at work, as we appreciate ourselves, our world and others.

In today’s episode Dr. Nelson shares how we can start anew after a disaster. In 2018 her home was destroyed by fire in approximately 45 minutes during the Woolsey Fire in Southern California. Nothing was left of her home or her possessions, even the cement driveway turned to powder. As impossible as it was to conceive that her home was gone, she never stopped carrying on. Dr. Nelson reflects on how she survived during the immediate aftermath of losing all per possessions and how she was able to start a new chapter in her life. As she shares, it was out of continuing the normal activities of her life, her anchors, that miracles came. Dr. Nelson’s story will remind you just how wonderful people are, that kindness is all around us, and that despite profound loss, we can start anew.

“When I look back, I think what allowed me to move on, to create a new story, were the numerous anchors I had developed throughout my life. Anchors are those activities and communities that hold purpose and meaning for us. I call them anchors because they are literally what anchor us to life.”

— Dr. Noelle Nelson

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To learn more about Dr. Noelle Nelson visit her website www.noellenelson.com on Facebook @drnoellenelson and listen to her podcast Up! Uplifting, Inspiring, Practical on Spotify

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.