How to take up space with Terri Miller

Terri Miller brings her expertise in education to create plain language to disseminate science and policy to a very broad audience via the Federal Trade Commission. She provides us with strategies to cultivate grace for ourselves, and to give us time and space for learning, growing, and sharing. Terri and I talk about science, and life, and distraction and presence all at once and how we find friends to be mirrors on our work-life journeys (hint: it's just life). Terri shares that she is not a yoga practitioner or scientist by trade but that this podcast and the samma says reminders help her get energy out and remember to breathe-- helping to show that this podcast is for all: In and out of the academy- those who love or are less familiar with yoga principles. Other mental chatter-stopping takeaways are:

• Is it ever enough? It’s not, so on this moment I will take a breath and just be to try to find the balance of being a professional, a high performer and being able to stop in the middle of that and just breathe
• “What works” for wellness is found by “trail and error on what works for you: Right now a tool is to live in all the spaces of your house- take up this space that I’ve purchased. Using all the space—shake up the monotony of “this is what I do”
• How do you unlearn or learn that other people’s opinions about me (appearance, activities) doesn’t define you? It starts with “confidence at home… is in the everyday things… and conversations.”
• You don’t need “their” permission. Not everyone has to like you… who you are and what you bring to the table and what your values are (is never based on someone else's opinion).
• Talking to ourselves the way our best friend would speak to us… how do we become one of our own best friends…Maybe that’s the cheat code to be our own best friend and boost each other (to speak more kindly to ourselves in our own minds)
• You think these things in your head… but when you do it in practice, it’s a moment to walk into a room not caring what other people think. I am going to take up all the space. I don’t need permission.
• Give interns or student staff a seat at the table so they can understand context. Either at big meetings or when not appropriate, one on one… Have empathy, creating space…giving pieces that they need to tie it together… carve out the time to have those conversations. Being intentional about their time with you. There are things they want to get out of the time with you and a lot of that doesn’t happen without intention
• The practice of …being in the seat of a learner and having a curiosity about things ideally would help you to remember that you have not always known the things that you know…and that you don’t know everything
• “One thing that has been so helpful during this “intimidating work, imposter syndrome, am I enough, there’s not enough hours in the day, is this the right fit… did I make a bad career choice/decision.” Is to run into the fire and set up 1:1 with your boss. Creates the opportunity to show what you’re bringing to the table and to get feedback
• Flourishing is when I have carved out space for people who are important to me
• How important it is to not should on yourself. When you’ve given what you have to give, leave some grace for yourself. And in that moment you carved for yourself, don’t “should.”

Find Terri on Linked In at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terri-miller1/