In this episode of Cultivate Contentment, I dive into what Christmas looks like on our farm and how it has evolved over the years. While Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, it comes with its own unique set of challenges, especially when you're juggling farm life and family expectations. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to create the perfect holiday for my boys, but over time, I’ve learned to let go of that impossible standard and focus more on the meaningful moments.

Christmas on a farm is far from the idyllic snowy scenes you see in movies—it's hot, cows still need milking, and the work doesn’t stop just because it’s a holiday. In this episode, I reflect on the changes I’ve made to celebrate the season without letting the pressure take away the joy. From gift-giving strategies to finding time to enjoy the day amidst the farm chores, I share my personal journey of simplifying Christmas and making it work for our family in a way that feels right.

Key Points Covered in this Episode:

• The Reality of Christmas on the Farm
• Letting Go of the ‘Perfect’ Christmas
• The Gift-Giving Strategy
• Making Time for Family Amidst the Farm Chaos
• The Pressure to Create Magic for the Kids
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Resources & Links:

Grounded Farm Wife Journal

Connect with Jessica:

Follow me on Instagram@groundedfarmwife

Check out my websitewww.groundedfarmwife.com.au

Find the complete show notes here: https://www.groundedfarmwife.com.au/podcast-1/21

In this episode of Cultivate Contentment, I sit down with Jessica Fishburn, a pelvic health and pain physiotherapist, and a fellow rural woman.

Jessica is an experienced Pelvic Health & Pain Physiotherapist with a fierce passion in population education. Leading with compassion and humility, Jessica is committed to changing the experience of health and wellbeing for rural women. Together with her business partners, Jessica is a Director of Gen Health Hamilton and Pro Feet Footwear Hamilton, a combined allied health clinic and a specialist podiatry shoe store respectively.

Professionally, Jessica strives to achieve the best outcomes for each individual despite rural isolation, using the latest evidence, technology and networks. As an advocate for women's health literacy, Jessica thoroughly enjoys her presenting roles at events, forums, conferences and universities.

Personally, Jessica is committed to lifelong learning and development. She strives to challenge the status quo, to be challenged to be the best leader she can be. Jessica endeavour's to think global and act local. Outside of her working roles, Jess is a mum, a wife, a volunteer, a board chair, a hiker, a veggie gardener, an ocean swimmer and the occasional salsa dancer

Today we talk about a topic that’s often overlooked but incredibly important for our well-being: the nervous system and how it impacts our emotions and health. Jessica shares her expertise in a way that’s not only practical but incredibly relatable for us farm wives and mums navigating the busy, often chaotic, rhythms of rural life.

We dive deep into how our nervous system plays a key role in how we manage stress and emotional health, especially when life on the farm feels like it’s constantly pulling us in a million different directions. Jessica shares easy, actionable ways to help balance our nervous system and reduce stress through simple daily practices, which can make a huge difference in how we feel and respond to life’s challenges.

We also dive into pelvic health and talk about some staggering figures around the number of women who suffer from pelvic health issues each year. It’s a topic that can be uncomfortable to talk about and often hard to find the right help. Jessica offers some great tips around finding the right health professional and tips for communicating what you’re experiencing.

Key Points Covered in this Episode

• How the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems affect our stress levels
• Simple ways to balance your nervous system and shift out of "fight or flight"
• The impact of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins on mood and energy
• Finding flow and how it can boost resilience and happiness
• Easy practices like breathwork, structuring your day, and mindfulness to help reduce stress
• The importance of pelvic health and why it’s important to seek help when needed

Resources & Links:

Grounded Farm Wife Journal

CONNECT WITH Jessica:

Follow me on Instagram @groundedfarmwife

Check out my website www.groundedfarmwife.com.au

CONNECT WITH Jessica:

• Follow her at @jessica.fishberg or @genhealthhamilton
• Check out her website

Find the complete show notes here:

In this episode of Cultivate Contentment, I continue exploring the experience of change and focus on what happens after you’ve taken that brave first step but haven’t yet arrived at where you want to be. This stage—the in-between, often called the liminal space—can be incredibly challenging. It’s that place where you’ve left behind the familiar, but the future isn’t fully clear yet. As rural women, farmwives, and mothers, we often find ourselves here, navigating new roles and letting go of old routines that have been ingrained in us for years. This space can feel disorienting and uncomfortable, but it’s also a time for growth and transformation.

Drawing from my own personal experiences and using agricultural metaphors that feel so familiar to life on the farm, I share how this liminal space can lead to powerful growth, even though it may feel uncertain. It’s a lot like planting a crop—you’ve done the work, you’ve planted the seeds, and now you need to nurture them and trust that growth will happen, even if you can’t see the results yet. In this episode, I’m offering practical advice on how to stay patient and trust the process, even when it’s tempting to slip back into old habits.

• Understanding the Liminal Space This in-between phase is a transitional period where you’re no longer in the old, but you’re not quite in the new either. I talk about how I’ve experienced this in my own life and how it often feels unsettling and uncomfortable. Recognizing that this is a natural part of any change can help us embrace it, rather than resist it. It’s like standing on a bridge between two places—you’re on your way, but you’re not quite there yet.

• The Importance of Gradual, Incremental Changes Change doesn’t happen overnight, and trying to force it can often leave us feeling overwhelmed. In this episode, I share how I’ve learned to make slow, incremental changes in my own life to help ease the discomfort of the liminal space. It’s about taking one step at a time, without trying to do too much at once. These small, manageable shifts can create lasting change without feeling like you’ve taken on too much.

• Trusting the Process, Much Like Tending to a Crop On the farm, we know that you don’t see the results of your work right away. After planting, it takes time for crops to grow, and you need to trust that all the nurturing and care will pay off. I apply that same mindset to navigating this liminal space. Even when you can’t see the progress, trust that growth is happening beneath the surface. It’s all part of the process, and having faith in that can help you keep moving forward.

• Resisting the Urge to Revert Back to Familiar Routines When things get uncomfortable, it’s natural to want to go back to what’s familiar, even if that old routine or role wasn’t serving you. I’ve been there myself, and in this episode, I discuss how to resist the urge to revert back to old habits. Instead, I encourage you to stay the course and trust that this discomfort is part of the growth process. It’s hard, but staying committed to the change you’ve started is so important.

• Embracing the Liminal Space as a Time for Reflection and Growth Though the liminal space is filled with uncertainty, it’s also a time for deep reflection and personal growth. I talk about how this period, though difficult, can be one of the most transformative if you allow yourself to sit in the discomfort and reflect on where you’re going. Much like how we tend to our crops, we need to tend to our inner growth and trust that, in time, the fruits of our labor will emerge.