On Her Terms with Nikki Elledge Brown

For when you keep “meaning” to do the thing you said you wanted to do… and then continue not doing it. 🙃 NOTES FROM THE FIELD. We talk overcorrecting, overcomplicating, mistaking pressure for support, and figuring out what actually makes a creative practice easier to return to. (Hint: it’s very #onherterms.) Related episodes referenced in this one: lof-fi podcasting (imperfection is a feature, no...

Reflecting on why the phrase “success leaves clues” has always felt incomplete to me. And how looking at **your own life** tells a much truer story. Join me to noodle on: Self-defined, context-dependent definitions of success (of course) Presence, inhabitation (fave word of late), and feeling alive as core measures of success Using memory and imagination as tools for grounding in the present Time...

In case you're allergic to religion and/or language that leans woo: When I say "spirit" - I mean that non-physical life force that animates us. The undeniable breath and energy that leaves the physical building on our last day in this form. Spirituality, then, is defined as what brings us to life. What gives us the truest most powerful energy. In other words: our highest values. Our telos. THE thi...

UPDATE: This started as a publish-weekly experiment, but it didn’t take long for that to feel unnecessarily pressured and performative, which is precisely *not the point. I’m going to keep recording these themed mini-collections and will share when they’re ready. If you were actually looking forward to the more regular rhythm, feel free to let me know that! Otherwise, consider these eps (like the...

We made it to episode 100! 🎉 All those extra zeroes before episodes 0–99 were officially worth it. In this episode, I revisit the year-in-review practice I created last New Year’s Eve, and how this year taught me the value of returning to it far more often than once every 365 days. Taking time to reflect on what has mattered most to us -- what we lived, learned, and still feel sparky revisiting--...

A metaphor upon which we can hang our open tabs and mental laundry with more grace and a lot less guilt. We care about a lot - our work, our people, ourselves. And we know life doesn’t happen in neat lines. More like spirals, squiggles, and polka dots. The carousel of progress* visual shared in this episode gives us a way to see and welcome that. It helps us look forward to what’s coming, be more...

A through-line of 2025 and beyond. We're exploring how thoughtful prep can make a moment richer and more meaningful, not less. This lesson was inspired by a tagline brainstorm for Holidays On Her Terms —a field guide designed to help my clients (and me) create holiday experiences we actually look forward to, enjoy in real time, and love to look back on. To me for a long time, prep felt sterile, bo...

if you cringe at the thought of adding another thing to your calendar (yet hate the feeling of "that was TODAY?!" schedule surprises)... if you relish the thought of rolling around in white space (till you find yourself lost in a scroll or clown-kerchief of chats you'll forget by tomorrow)... Hear me out on this one. Scheduling is devoting. When we take time to actually pre-commit to what truly ma...

Next time you're in rush mode, try this thought on for size: "I have all the time that I need." Best case: It's TRUE! And your brain will start searching for evidence to make it so. Worst case: It will at least help you feel a little better while you're speeding from this to that. 📮 Thoughts, Qs, topics you’d love to hear more about? Share here >> onherterms.com/convo ❤️ If this episode res...

The pace is the point. When life is fuller, (some) things take longer. Instead of feeling sad about that (which is, of course, human and allowed), what if we choose to see this as the scenic route™? We're not forcing patience or settling for a slower pace. We're focusing presence and savoring it. When we remember to, anyway ;) This has been one of my biggest lessons of 2025. I didn't realize how o...

Inspired by a game I’ve been playing with my gas tank this year. If abundance = having what we need when we need it… where could we gift that to ourselves proactively ? Adding a buffer to the baseline – in the gas tank, the savings account, the retirement account, the toilet paper or fave family cereal stash – helps quiet a lot of unnecessary survival noise. It's a very practical (and underra...

This is a special episode for you (and for me) to revisit anytime big, scary things are happening in the news or in our neighborhoods. We want to help. We want to respond. But sometimes we feel overwhelmed, guilty, unsure, frozen, or just tapped the F out. Here’s the thing: every one of us has a natural response style. The key is naming it, owning it, and practicing it in ways that feel steady, su...

What does it look like to show up for your day-to-day work when it sometimes feels like we're livestreaming Earth: The Final Season ? What are we doing here, fam? 🙃 This fresh episode is part palette cleanse, part context-setting. Before we round out our first 100 On Her Terms® episodes, I want to acknowledge the bigness of what we're witnessing and co-creating on the world stage right now (and f...

As a fun, #onherterms-y way to celebrate my upcoming 40th bday, I've been inviting friends, fam, classmates, clients, and colleagues to join me for a series of 40 real-time reconnection calls - the sparky 40 project. 🎂 (I see each convo as lighting a candle on the cake!) I've managed to host about 30 convos so far, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour or two, total free for alls, mini coaching sess...

NOTE: This episode was originally recorded as a video to share time-sensitive context about the live *BODY on her terms* workshop I hosted in May 2025, part of The On Her Terms® Mutual Inspiration Society. I'm keeping it here in the archive because it's full of divine breadcrumbs that help paint a picture of what's in progress over here. If you're thinking of joining us (but haven't yet), this con...

Ever had something you know you want to do… and yet, you just can't seem to start? The longer you wait, the heavier it feels. Then, when you DO finally start, it turns into an endless game of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (one task triggering five more until you're buried in steps you never meant to take on, questioning major life decisions and fighting the urge to check your IG reels)? Just me? 🐭...

Reflections from a nerd on NYE.  NOTE: The habits playlist lives at onherterms.com/spotify. Would love to know what YOUR truth and dare challenge is! Would also love to hear any of your answers and you scroll camera roll for your year's highlight REAL: 2024 SPEED ROUND ⚡ biggest win favorite memory most useful daily habit most valuable lesson most courageous move you made one word or phrase to s...

This one was inspired by a messy manicure and the reality of progress. Perfection is not a prerequisite for progress. But how often do we keep ourselves from moving forward because on some level, we believe it is? Ex. If I can't write a chapter a week, I won't even write a paragraph. (I don't recommend trying this thought at home.) That is not how that works! Logically we know this. Like batting a...

Mama said there'd be days like this. - The Shirelles Before you give up and declare energetic bankruptcy on an unusually meh or squirrely day, give this one a listen. Gimme 10 minutes and we'll make a practical plan so you can save your own day when you want to, whether you have five minutes, 30 minutes, or a full hour. This strategy is like an energetic emergency kit. Like packing snacks. Water....

This one’s a quickie. Sharing a playful game and pattern interrupt we can use to check in with ourselves: is this action getting me CLOSER to what I want, or further from what I want? Closer = warmer. More fun, more fulfilling, more energizing. Faster. Further - cooler. Seems fun in the moment but actually LESS so. Slowing us down. Making it harder. Once you’ve identified which is true, you g...

You want to WANT to do it, but you don’t yet. Or you’d be doing it. On some level, you believe there’s more benefits to NOT doing it. Or you’d be doing it. Have you ever considered the drawbacks to not doing it? It’s like standing on a hot sidewalk barefoot. Standing still and talking about it… doesn’t help! The longer you stand there, the more damage you’re doing. Helpful Q to actually answer: Wh...

If you’re feeling impatient with your progress and wishing you could fast forward, flip to the back of the book, this bud’s for you. Instead of snoozing your satisfaction and delaying (even denying) gratification till you reach your imaginary endgame, let’s try something different. Use that happily ever after to your advantage. Take a good look into that future to see what you expect to feel when...

Let's talk about the power of a habit vortex. (Sharing more mixed metaphors with you in this one.) Pour out all the puzzle pieces of habits you'd like to try and experiment with. Notice the ones you feel the most emotional attachment to. (There's likely a lot of resistance to those too.) Start with the small-stakes moves. As you build your trust, energy, and consistency muscles with these, you'll...

This one is a mini masterclass / case study sharing how I've been weaning myself off my daily caffeine fix without major effort and extremes. DISCLAIMER: I'm clearly not a medical doctor, nor am I suggesting what you do with your body. I am sharing what's worked for me and encouraging you to do your own research and explore what works for YOU and your bod / life. That's the #onherterms way. Tune i...

I LOVE external tracking, and yet true, sustainable inspiration is an inside job. Internally tracking what we think and how we feel BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER we take action can be incredibly useful as we build new habits. More in the ep, of course, but here's an at-a-glance summary: BEFORE: Like taking a pic of the garage before you declutter it. If you don't document this current state of the uni...