Kristina Brummer of The Spectacular Middle joins us for a conversation about journaling for 88 days straight and the clarity that comes when you listen to your intuition. We’re talking energetic honesty, returning to self, and the power in sticking with a wild idea.
Links mentioned in this episode:
+ get the free 88 journal prompts download → never think of what to write about ever again!
+ join me to set goals with your intuition → class starts on oct 27th
+ join the waitlist for A Year of You → next enrollment coming in November
+ connect on Instagram → DM me @kaileenelise
Where you can find Kristina:
+ connect on Instagram: @thespectacularmiddle
+ visit her website: thespectacularmiddle.com
Sort through the spiral without having to think about what to write.
When overwhelm hits, you need more than deep breaths, you need a journaling sesh to spill your guts and soothe your spirit.
This FREE guide includes 88 insight-provoking prompts focused on how you want to feel.
Listen to Episode 240 of Celebrate Cultivate
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Kaileen Elise Sues: [00:00:00] Hello. You are listening to Celebrate Cultivate. I am your host, coach, and voice in your earbuds, Kaileen Elise Sues. I have a guest interview for you today. She is a listener of Celebrate Cultivate. She's in her second year of A Year of You, and she is a very inspiring human. Kristina Brummer is the founder of The Spectacular Middle and a strategic operations partner who helps women entrepreneurs turn scattered ideas, tools, and moving pieces into businesses that actually work for them.
With a love for strategy, systems, and bringing order to complexity, Kristina works alongside her clients to create the structure and clarity they need to focus on the work that matters [00:01:00] most. Based in rural Alberta, Canada, Kristina is also deeply involved in her community and believes that meaningful work and a meaningful life don't have to come at the expense of one another.
Through The Spectacular Middle, she brings a practical, thoughtful approach to helping entrepreneurs build businesses with more clarity, intention, and breathing room, which of course we know we love that. You can connect and follow Kristina on Instagram. She's @thespectacularmiddle. Kristina, welcome to the show.
Kristina Brummer: Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Oh my gosh, I know. It feels like I talk to you all the time, and you listen to the podcast, so now we're just like bringing things together and having you here.
Kristina Brummer: Yes. It feels very meta because I'm like always looking forward to your next episode, and now one of them I will be listening to myself.
Kaileen Elise Sues: So exciting. Well, I wanna [00:02:00] start by just asking how would you describe your relationship with your inner voice or your intuition or whatever you call it now, like at this moment?
Kristina Brummer: At this moment, I think it's, like, very connected. I feel a sense of a knowing of that- Mm ... and an trust, like really explicit trust with what comes from that voice.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm. And h- what is the, like, way that you, you label it? Do you call it inner voice? Do you call it intuition? Like, what is your word of choice?
Kristina Brummer: I feel like I kind of interchange them when I'm- Yeah ... I think when I'm journaling or when I'm really, like, intentionally having a conversation, I would say inner voice.
And then, you know, if I'm just casually talking about it, I say I trust my intuition.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And is the, the way that you feel about it now different from when you began A Year of You more [00:03:00] than a year ago?
Kristina Brummer: 100%. And you know that because I, it was really hard to trust that, and I think that's part of why I joined A Year of You is because I'm very good at listening what everyone else's voice is, and I have always trusted my intuition, and if something felt funny or, you know, off, I would listen to that for sure.
But what I discovered in, like, our first few sessions was I was very afraid or in, you know, felt incapable of actually listening to the inner voice- Mm-hmm ... and having it be something deeper than superficial. And I remember us talking about that because I was saying it feels like I'm saying what I think I should rather than really feeling what that answer is, is and where it's coming from.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah. Do you think that's- Part of the learning process, like now that you've walked that path and [00:04:00] you've experienced that sort of like saying what you think you should, like do you think that was part of how you got to where you are or something else?
Kristina Brummer: I think so. I mean, I'm have been like from a very young age very good at compartmentalizing, and I think I compartmentalized my inner voice.
So it became something that was, you know, there al- always, but it... I feel like I just kind of put it in the, in the backseat because most of the time I was doing what is needed by others and, and not because I didn't have like a mind of my own or anything like that. I, I definitely think my choices were my own, but I felt like maybe people pleasing took over.
Mm. And so what I wanted, which, you know, the inner voice was sharing, I wasn't listening.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm. Yeah. And so how do you feel about listening to what your inner voice tells you now or what you receive from your inner voice?
Kristina Brummer: [00:05:00] It's really exciting actually. Yeah. Because I would say that, you know, for sure, like it's been a year since, 'cause I just started my second year in A Year of You, and the...
It feels like I went from being, "Oh, I really need this and I can do this," to, "No, I actually really need this and I'm really doing it." And I think that that's the difference now. I feel like when I am hearing my inner voice, I don't have to like... It doesn't have to be so formal. It actually comes a lot more easy.
Mm-hmm. And it's feels like in my body really like a h- like a hard yes, like when the answer comes or the, the image comes. It's very, very solid.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Solid and clear and easier- Yeah ... to trust probably because you, you feel that solidness.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. It's very grounded, and, you know, it feels like my truth when it comes.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Right. Yeah. Well, it... I know, and we're gonna get to it, but I know [00:06:00] you have your reasons for having developed such a strong sense of it. But I'm also... My, my son is learning Spanish. I have started playing with Duolingo again, and it's hard for me not to use that analogy of learning language because we've been talking a lot about like, "Well, what is the word for socks," you know, in Spanish.
Mm-hmm. And I have to ask Siri 'cause I can't remember. And it's like you know what a sock is, and you know what sock is in English, but there's this other thing that defines sock. And then there's also in other languages other words that take whole paragraphs in English to define. And so I, I do think that there is a similarity in that- When we learn how to communicate with our intuition or with our inner voice, there is a l- kind of an on-ramp, a learning process, but it's tricky because it's within you, and so it isn't like a new language.
It's a new relationship, but one that's always been there. How do you [00:07:00] feel about that?
Kristina Brummer: I think that's a really good way of describing it, 'cause I do feel like that. It, it feels like I had to get to know myself.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm.
Kristina Brummer: And, like, you know, first date you don't... You kinda- Yeah ... say stuff that's very s- surface, and then the second date maybe you say things a little more and, and just really get to know myself on a deeper level so that I could, you know, be a part of the dance and the rhythm when the answers came.
And sometimes it's not words. Sometimes it's a feeling. Sometimes it's a pause. But I do think that my instincts with that dance or rhythm with my inner voice has really changed. Mm. It's less pushing-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Brummer: and more flow, for sure.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I'm so happy. When you look back at where you were a year plus ago, was there any one particular circumstance or situation that motivated you to join A Year of You, or what brought [00:08:00]you into it?
Kristina Brummer: You know, I'm not really sure that it was at a particular circumstance. I'm... I mean, I joined your ecosystem probably a year or so before that.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And, you know, started following you and talking with you, and I just... I've done a lotta training, and most of it has been focused on how do I support my business, how do I support my family, all those sort of things.
And what I noticed was different i- is that yours was, how do I support myself? Mm. And I think last year I was just ready- Mm ... to finally do something that was about me. And- Mm-hmm ... it wasn't necessarily for my business or there wasn't for my family, and it was probably the first time when I felt I didn't need a justification for- Mm
spending time, energy, and money on myself in that way.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Why do you think you didn't feel like you needed to justify it?
Kristina Brummer: I don't, I just think I was ready. I mean, I-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Uh-huh ...
Kristina Brummer: like, [00:09:00] last year I turned 55, but it don't feel like it was monumentally tied to an age. But-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Uh-huh ...
Kristina Brummer: you know, I think the season that I am in my life certainly has something to do with it.
I'm, you, you get to a point where you're ready to, you know, focus on yourself. I think that just happens- Yeah ... at some point, but I don't think it was like, "A-ha," like, "This is the moment." I think- Yeah ... I had a choice. Well, I had another program that I was doing that was related to my business, and I, I had the choice to choose to end doing that or, and then start this, and I just thought, "It's time to make it about me and not about everything else."
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And I think I recognized probably through, you know, listening to what you have and talking with you as well that- In fact, by doing that, I would improve all those other things as well, and it was just time for me to be the first on the list.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yes. Yes. Okay. Well, that makes me wanna [00:10:00] reorganize and kind of jump to one of the questions that I had for you, which is, like, when we were talking about recording this, you shared that the work that you've been doing inside of y- A Year of You has given you a lot of clarity on who you are, like you just said, but also, that clarity has informed how you want to show up in your business.
And I think that obviously that makes perfect sense to me, and I also, you know, think that it all... It is good that there are so many business trainings out there and, you know, like everything else, if you have a pediatrician and you're meeting with him about your child's tonsils, like I'm always so tempted to be like, "Look at my tonsils, too," but, like, their focus, their specialty is on children
And so like- Yeah ... they probably don't put their eyeballs in a lot of adults' mouths, and if they did, they don't know really what the reference points are, right? Like, and so for the same thing, like, there are all these different things we have to learn on our path, and when we're focused on building our business, and when we're focused on, you know, supporting our families, when [00:11:00] we're...
Whatever we're focusing on, it makes sense that we aren't, like, spreading so thin that we're trying to also improve ourself, you know, connection with our inner voice. But it does get to a point where when you have accumulated so much knowledge like you have, so much life experience, then when you turn inward and integrate all of that knowledge with this deeper connection to yourself, it changes the way you relate to your business and to your other people in your family and to your body and all these things.
But I'm wondering for you, especially since you focus on helping others with their businesses, what does it look like for you in a practical sense to apply this new information to your work?
Kristina Brummer: It's funny because at the beginning, it was very much a focus on, like, how do I, how do I exist in my day? Like- Right
and as an entrepreneur, you work for yourself. I... But before that, I've been in my business now for five years, [00:12:00]and before that, I had, like, a, a long corporate career. Mm-hmm. And what I discovered was in your entrepreneur career, it's a lot more challenging to create the boundaries. Mm-hmm. You know, you- when you work 9:00 to 5:00 or whatever that is, you...
There are some physical boundaries. You go to work. You commute to work. Like, there's time- Mm-hmm ... bound things that help you put your work into that container, and I mean, I kinda had jobs where that still bled over a little bit, but not to the you know, massive level that it does when you're an entrepreneur.
Like, it, you, there is just this expansion of your boundaries that then k- kind of comes out of hand.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: Um, and you become your work. You become... I mean, I, I like working, but it just, I lost myself and my own identity in there, and that isn't a byproduct I ever expected.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: I think the freedom of location and time and all of [00:13:00] those things was exactly what I wanted, and then it was also like, oh, this is exactly what I have, and I don't really know how to function within it.
And so I think what has happened since, for me, I think, like, learning all along, and, you know, I'm, I have always been sort of self-aware and, and have good emotional EQ and all those things. But what I noticed is when I started in September last year with A Year of You, I, I remember telling you, like, "I'm not doing anything else.
I am all in." And, and for the first time, I, like, really dug deep into the work instead of buying a course or putting it on the shelf and that kind of thing. So as you know, I do all the things, and then I incessantly tell you about all the things. And but it had made a huge difference because it felt like this on-ramp from last September, and I would say probably the first part was really frustrating.
And [00:14:00] then- Yeah ... we got to, like, May is p- I think when I said to you, like, "I'm frustrated," 'cause I can't, like, I can't, like, I'm not connecting or what have you. You weren't
Kaileen Elise Sues: getting to where you wanted to go with that connection- No ... to your inner voice. Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. And it felt that way in my business as well. It was, it very paralleled.
I feel like I was frustrated in my business from September last year until May. Mm-hmm. But I was laying some foundation. And then in June, I made a decision, and I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna try this thing." And then I'm... You know, I really dug deeper. And I would say that now from June to today, it, like, just has changed exponentially.
Like, all of the puzzle pieces really feel like they've connected for me. Mm-hmm. And in my business, the ripple effects have been huge. I've really discovered how to hold boundaries because I actually understand what I want those boundaries to be now. Mm-hmm. And [00:15:00] I understand how I wanna show up for my clients, but also for myself.
And I really have let go of reacting in, in place of responding. Mm-hmm. And I think that that's because, you know, that inner w- work is that you're... You don't ask your inner voice to react. You're, you're asking, like, you're thoughtfully thinking about what that response will be, and so I feel like that has changed for me as well.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And I... Like, just in the last couple weeks, it's even, you know, rolling more. I've changed a lot of the way I work, and it has informed the way I'm helping clients because of course, I create systems for clients, so I've been refining my systems, and it's benefiting them because I'm more clear.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah.
Yes, yes, yes. Okay. Well, that decision that you made in, in June, what was that?
Kristina Brummer: I was searching for something, and of course, I had made the commitment to [00:16:00] search in your ecosystem of what I had. And I was like, "Oh, I, you know, I'm gonna check the resources." So I looked at your website and the stuff we have in our s- what you call the studio, and you have an 88 days, or 88 journal prompts.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yes.
Kristina Brummer: And so I downloaded it, and I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna journal every day for 88 days- ... and try to go deeper with connecting with my inner voice," because I... And it was probably just after you and I had had a conversation about how frustrated I was.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And I'm like, "I need something to shift," um, and I needed to get out of my head.
A- and, you know, I didn't really have much more thought to it than that. I was like, "I, I need a prompt." Mm-hmm. And so I downloaded it, and then there was 88 of them, and you... The practice that you have us do is eight minutes of journaling, and I thought, "Well, that seems very aligned." Yeah. So I printed it off, and [00:17:00] I literally started day one, just wrote, "Today is day one of Kaileen prompts."
So... And I picked the first one on the list, and I didn't search them. I ha- I, like, throughout the whole 88 days, I just picked the next one on the list. There was no order other than the order you have them in the document. And- Right ... um, my intention was to do it, uh, in the mornings when I have, like, a normal morning routine of getting up and journaling.
But some days I couldn't, and I... There was no judgment, and the only commitment was it had to get done. And I, I will admit, one night I did it at, like, 11:45. But,
Kaileen Elise Sues: um- Okay, but you didn't ever cheat. You didn't skip. Like, you literally did it- I did not
Kristina Brummer: cheat ... for
Kaileen Elise Sues: 88 days. Wow.
Kristina Brummer: I did it for 88 days.
Kaileen Elise Sues: That's-
Kristina Brummer: Yeah ...
Kaileen Elise Sues: so incredible.
Have... Okay, I am somebody who will think of these sorts of things and then bail, like, at day 22 and [00:18:00] be like, "Well, life's busy. I have three children. Ha ha ha." But, like- ... have you done that before, or- No ... is this kind of out of the ordinary for you?
Kristina Brummer: No, it's very out of the ordinary. And, and one of that, the byproducts of that out of the ordinary is that I have had a long life belief that I'm not someone who implements or im- or, you know, follows through.
And there's been lots of evidence in my life that that's not true, but it never felt really personal. And this just felt personal to me and, and now I have evidence that I, I do implement and I do follow through. And-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah ...
Kristina Brummer: I think what made it, you know, n- not, I don't know if easy is the right word, but what I recognized kind of, I would say like maybe a three or four weeks in, is there was...
I'm like, "Why is this working?" Yeah. I actually was like, "I don't understand how I haven't just not done this." Right. Like, why is this working?
Kaileen Elise Sues: [00:19:00] Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: And I said, "Oh, okay, it's simple." there, like, I don't have to overthink it because I literally just have a piece of paper that tells me what the prompt is, and I read it.
So it was very simple.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: I could do it anywhere. I just needed my note- my journal book.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And I could actually in real time see the benefit of what was happening, but then I also had this vision, or I was holding onto something about how the, what the benefits would be after the 88 days. Like I really- Mm-hmm
felt that there was gonna be something at the end of it, a feeling or a connection, you know, and this evidence that I can implement. So it, it wasn't h- it wasn't complicated. I didn't make it complicated.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah. Yeah. So now you know that if you keep things simple... And what was the second one?
Kristina Brummer: It, it, I need to be able to see, like, the benefits.
The
Kaileen Elise Sues: benefit. Like- Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. [00:20:00]
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah. Okay, so this is definitely a learning that you can bring forward to other things. But did you get to day 88 and be, like have some big revelation? Or w- how did you feel when you got to 88 days?
Kristina Brummer: I f- I felt very accomplished, actually. Yeah. And I know it seems small as an accomplishment.
No. But it felt huge.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: And, you know, I, I, I had told you about it, so there was some accountability. And but that accountability for once didn't feel heavy. It didn't feel like, oh, I'm gonna shame myself because I didn't do it. It just felt like you shared it. But then-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah ...
Kristina Brummer: we also
Kaileen Elise Sues: talked about it in- But you didn't tell us about it until you were kind of into it.
I feel like you had- Yeah ... committed to yourself and th- Yeah ... and then told us. You were kinda deep into it by the time you shared it.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah, I think so. And, and, you know, sharing it with the, the, the group that we have as well, like, you know, was... I think it, I think I shared it when it came up about something we were all talking about, you know?
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm ...
Kristina Brummer: journaling and something [00:21:00] like that. But yeah, I, but I, I mean, I felt very accomplished. And then I w- I kinda did like a, "Well, what did I learn?" And I, I actually, a lot. I-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm ...
Kristina Brummer: I learned to pause. I learned that the answer doesn't always come.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm.
Kristina Brummer: And that sometimes you need to sit with it a little longer or, you know, sometimes I was surprised some of the answers were not what I expected.
Mm. Some of them were, like, instant, and that was kind of surprising and exciting as well. And then the part that I've already said, like, I really gave myself evidence that I can implement when it's something that matters and, you know, if I don't overcomplicate it.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm.
Kristina Brummer: And yeah, just this deeper connection with my inner voice.
Like now when I'm calling on there, it doesn't feel like I'm pushing. It feels- Mm-hmm ... like much more connected, which is- Yeah ... really nice.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: And then the very next day I'm like, "Oh, [00:22:00] no. I don't- I was- ... have a prompt."
Kaileen Elise Sues: I know. I was gonna ask what did you do on day 89?
Kristina Brummer: Okay. Well, I did something very funny. I literally said to myself, "Okay, now what?"
And then I said, "Well, there are some things that I wanna do, and now that I know that I can implement."
Kaileen Elise Sues: Ah.
Kristina Brummer: And I don't wanna lose the practice. So I've continued journaling for 80- like, the... not with those same prompts, but-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Okay ...
Kristina Brummer: I basically now said to myself, "Okay, there are 137 days left in the year."
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: What can I achieve in 137 days? Because I'm now this implementer.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: And I was like... So I, you know, have wanted to improve my, like, health journey. It's probably- Mm-hmm ... a common thing when you're- Definitely ... well, I turn 56 tomorrow, so it's-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Okay.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. So it's probably a pretty normal thing when your, uh, birthday or time is coming.
But so I'm basically now doing a prompt each [00:23:00] morning about, like, how can I, like, improve or commit to my health journey- Mm-hmm ... for the next 137 days.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Oh, I love it. Okay. That is amazing. Is there anything that if someone's listening to this and they're like, "Oh my gosh, I wanna do that," like, is there anything that you wish you had known when you were starting, or any advice that you would give to somebody if they're getting ready to download my PDF?
Which, by the way, was not intended to be an 88-day endeavor. Like, the whole thing is built so that you pick how you wanna feel, and you can just pick a prompt. And I just love the way that, that you, you took it and ran with it and made it your own. But yeah, is there any advice that you would give to your past self or to someone listening?
Kristina Brummer: I, you know what? I don't think so, and the reason being is that there was such little thought, that's probably why it worked. Yeah. Because I didn't overthink it. I'm like a, you know, major overthinker. Mm-hmm. So I think it, [00:24:00] it's that piece of I needed something, and so I just did it. I guess that's the advice.
Don't overthink it. Mm-hmm. And I- it was ironic, and probably not ironic to most of us who listen to you or your, yourself, but as I went through the list, and I told you, I, I literally just read it down the page as it printed, but I will say that the prompts actually were very timely when I got to them, and that was a really interesting arc that I discovered.
Yeah. Is that, you know, like prompt number 50, when I got to that one, it was the prompt I needed. So that was very interesting. But I guess, you know, the advice I would give is just, just do it, and if you're, if you are someone, you know, who like, like I was before, that really was tr- struggling with and pushing to try and connect with their inner voice, I, you know, give it a try.
Like, just print it out and do the same thing.
Kaileen Elise Sues: [00:25:00] Yes. Yes. And to your point, that's one of the main aspects of journaling with your intuition is that it puts you in receiving mode, and so your, your aim is to listen and to feel and to receive, not to think through the answers. And sometimes journaling does involve thought.
I mean, that's how a lot of us learned how to journal, and sometimes it's good to co-collaborate with the mind and the inner voice, but I love that you just took the time to respond to the prompt and not complicate it, like you said.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. I mean, I definitely, like, the brain, I love how you always say that co-collaborate, because that did happen.
Mm-hmm. So it was like the, the, the prompt when I would write it down on the paper, that's kind of when I would read it and, like, the answer would come immediately from my inner voice. And then sometimes I would write a little more than I expected from that, but then the mind would come in [00:26:00] and join the party, and then it would be, you know, more information.
Sometimes it was, like, a mind map or, you know, doodles or whatever. Like-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah ...
Kristina Brummer: but, you know, I, I am a thinking person, so definitely the, the co-collaboration was happening- Yeah ... ep- on every time that I was doing the journaling, so.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Of course. And it- that's the other thing that's so cool about journaling, especially when you do it over and over again, is that it can take different shapes and forms, and there isn't one right or way to- wrong way to do it.
And it can be a release. It can be a grocery list. Like, it can turn into so many different things when you're sitting down with your pen to paper, and unfortunately, or whatever, it's not unfortunate, it's just reality, like the day and age that we're in, we're spending less and less time with our, our pen to paper unless we really make it a habit.
So I'm just so excited about this. I, I love the story, and I love the way that it really helped you [00:27:00] change this perception and this persona of yourself within yourself through a long-term practice. Like, however long it takes to impl- like, create a habit, you did it two times over, three times over, and that's amazing.
I just, I, I love this so much. Well, I have, I have four more questions for you-ish before we wrap up. So first, I have to know, what are you celebrating right now? Based on some things you've told us, I feel like I might know.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah, I mean, I think I'm celebrating that things really are clicking for me. Like, I've always- Mm
thought I was a grounded person, and I actually just feel more grounded, but I, I feel, like, really vibrantly aware, which- Mm ... I don't know how to describe it differently. Like, I just feel really aware of what it is I'm moving towards and what I want, and I think that clarity has come from this process. And, and not just the 88 days.
I, for me, it's been this whole [00:28:00] year, and I'm super excited to move into my second year with A Year of You because I feel like it's just this great opportunity to go, like, even deeper, which is exciting to me.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm.
Kristina Brummer: I feel like I'm kind of reclaiming my life because the last five years I've been so in the hustle, and yet even though I was saying, "I'm not gonna be in the hustle," but I, I have been.
And it's taken me this past year, and now even more so in the last six months, to remember what it's like to take the day off or to- Mm ... you know, rest on the weekends and to hold boundaries and all those things so that I can have a life and live it, which is what I wanted the freedom of working for myself to help create.
So I think I'm celebrating, like, that return to myself in that way, but at, at a, at a, a different level, a much deeper level.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm. [00:29:00] Yes. Yeah. Okay. Celebrating all of that with you. So good. What are you cultivating?
Kristina Brummer: I think just... I feel like I'm cultivating the fruit from what I planted, right? Mm. I'm... It, it's very appropriate.
Where, where I moved to here is very much farm, and it's harvest season right now, and I feel like I'm doing that. Like, I've really planted a lot of seeds over the last fi- five years, and then more so in the last year. So I feel like I'm cultivating all of that rich connection with myself. And I wrote down these core values for myself.
Mm. And they weren't what I expected them to be, and they're sort of staring at me on my, on my desktop here, and it's simplicity and space. And I recognize that I want things to be simple- Mm ... in my physical environment, but in my processes. And so the 88 days that I did felt simple. It didn't feel complicated.
Mm. And then I'm [00:30:00] cultivating, like, emotional richness. I want my interactions with myself and with others to be deeper and, you know, on that emotional level.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And energetic honesty, which was a really- Ooh ... exciting one for me because I recognize that- I have to honor my energy m- in different parts of my day, in different parts of my week, in the month, season, everything.
Like, just really getting connected to what my energy is and how I can use it or cultivate it. Um-
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yes. Oh, that's such a- And that- ... cool term. I've never heard that before, like those
Kristina Brummer: together. Yeah. I just was like, well, I'm not really being honest about what my energy is. Mm-hmm. And I think that that's what, you know, came to it.
And then the last two were, like, I focusing on nourishment and care and, and not, like, self-care, I'm gonna go get a pedicure, which is nice, but, like, deeper. Mm-hmm. [00:31:00] And really, what do I want my days to nourish my, you know, mind, body, spirit? And then the last one is refined growth. I'm like, I can learn all the th- I love learning.
I'm a learner. Lifelong learner. Oh, don't
Kaileen Elise Sues: we all? Yeah. You're among friends here.
Kristina Brummer: Yes. But I think when I, you know, I started to hear you last year, I did say to myself, like, I, this is not going to be something I just phone in or kinda do, but I'm, like, really want to refine the growth that's gonna come as a result of it.
And I think that, you know, I've been cultivating that for sure.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Oh, you so have. Yes, totally. Okay, what are you releasing?
Kristina Brummer: I, you know, I think probably a lot of cliche things, but, like, for sure people pleasing, over comparison.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Kristina Brummer: And I think that idea of I should be doing it this way or it should be this way.
Um, and yeah, and, and I'm definitely [00:32:00] releasing that I'm not an implementer 'cause we've proven that to be wrong.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yes, that is released. Released, released. Released. Yeah. Totally. Okay, and then what are you ready to receive? Now that you are at this point on your birthday eve, what are you calling in? What are you ready to receive?
Kristina Brummer: I'm really ready to receive abundance.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm.
Kristina Brummer: But not in a, you know- A frivolous term. Like, I don't, I don't think I really knew what that meant before.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Mm-hmm.
Kristina Brummer: And now I feel like it's, I'm ... It feels more real to me, more solid about that I'm ready, and I've built sort of the framework for myself to actually receive all of that abundance that I'm hoping for.
You know, a re- a, a richness in, in my health, in my wealth, in my connections, and all of those things. Like, that f- really feels like I'm maybe have the space to actually receive that now.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Yeah. [00:33:00] You do. You totally do. And I, I think it's so interesting because you are both desiring simplicity and also ready to receive abundance, and it's because you have this clarity of what that abundance means to you and not any external shoulds or all of those cliches that you're releasing that can sometimes really muck up the works when it comes to aspiring for abundance.
And you have ... You don't have any of that. Like, you have all this, like, grounded foundation in who you are and what you want and what you bring to the table in your work, in your relationships, and so that is going to result in abundance no matter what.
Kristina Brummer: Yeah.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Well, Kristina, ugh, this has been such an amazing conversation.
I have one last little thing before we say goodbye. So I have this series on Instagram Stories called Friday F's where I share a find, a feature, a [00:34:00] favorite, and any other miscellaneous F's that I have to give. I'm curious if you would be willing to be our guest curator for this Friday?
Kristina Brummer: I would love to.
Yeah.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Okay. Yay. I can't wait to see what your F's are. Thank you so much for being here, for sharing your story, for, like, going deep even though it is just this, like, quick conversation. I feel like we have such a strong picture of who you are and what this experience has been for you so far. If listeners want to get in touch to explore your work, where can they find you?
Kristina Brummer: Yeah. So @thespectacularmiddle on Instagram and same on the website.
Kaileen Elise Sues: Okay. Well, I'll put those links in the show notes. Thank you everyone for listening. As always, if you have heard about my goal setting with Intuition workshop and you want to sneak in, the signups are open for just a little while longer.
We will be setting goals with our intuition on October [00:35:00] 27th, 28th, 29th. And of course, I will put a link in the show notes to the 88 journal prompts so that if you want to spend the next 88 days journaling with your intuition and having all of the amazing changes that Kristina experienced, you can do that for free.
And I will be back with a new episode next week. We will have our monthly visioning practice for November. I'll talk to you then.
Keep reading for more inspiration
Manifestation Journaling: How to Write What You Really Want and Reach Your Goals
Manifestation journaling blends intuition, gratitude, and the grounding act of writing. This process of slowing down and putting pen to paper call your dreams into reality.
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Come find me in the DMs, I’m @kaileenelise
Heeeey! I’m Kaileen Elise Sues.
Former HR girlie, failed SAHM, fresh 40-something. Your favorite coach and voice of calm with useful practices, intuitive insights, and small shifts that make a real impact.
My approach isn't about forcing you onto a proven path. It's about helping you break through emotional blocks and discover your true north. Because it’s about time you embraced your deepest wisdom and started living the life of your dreams.
