A natural storyteller, Donna Thistlethwaite is passionate about empowering others to thrive in life. She has demonstrated incredible courage, resilience and transformation to successfully move from darkness and fear to shining her light. After a breakdown in 2012, Donna rose up to receive ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2016 and found her purpose in career coaching and speaking. As an entrepreneur and speaker, Donna shares her story to help others. She has featured in media internationally, including the beloved television series Australian Story.
A natural storyteller, Donna Thistlethwaite is passionate about empowering others to thrive in life. She has demonstrated incredible courage, resilience and transformation to successfully move from darkness and fear to shining her light. After a breakdown in 2012, Donna rose up to receive ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’ in 2016 and found her purpose in career coaching and speaking. As an entrepreneur and speaker, Donna shares her story to help others. She has featured in media internationally, including the beloved television series Australian Story.
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Thank you for being part of the Health and Fitness Travel, Strong, Healthy Women Interview Series, where we are shining a light on the importance of self-care, not as an indulgence but a necessity to reduce stress and general health issues.
Is there such a thing as a typical day for you and what does that look like?
My day starts off with a 10 -15 minute meditation around 5am. I like to use the time before my 9 year old son, Matthew, gets up although he’s now knows that a closed door on our spare room means mum’s meditating and will be out soon.
Matt and I have fairly leisurely mornings then I get stuck into working from home after school drop-off. My day is a mix of coaching consultations, training delivery, telephone conversations, coffees and working on building my speaking and training business in mental health.
At the end of each day I text three gratitudes to a group of four other women as part of a practice that’s been going for 3+ years (I get to read theirs too).
Can you share a time when you felt your well-being was challenged in the past and what did you overcome it?
It was challenged in a major way in 2012 when I had a mental health crisis triggered at work. The combination of my psyche and a particular challenge created a perfect storm which led to an unravelling of my career as a human resources professional and my wellbeing. I lost sight of my strengths and past successes and feared that I would be sacked from my job of 16+ years. Unfortunately, I got to the point of making a significant attempt on my life. It was a miracle that I survived but I’m so grateful that I did.
A couple of years later I realised that I hadn’t actually dealt with what caused the crisis. I vowed to work out what I needed to thrive in life and found a bunch of resilience strategies that completely changed my life for the better. Accepting myself and owning my story were also key in overcoming my challenges.
What does being healthy mean to you and how do you keep this at the forefront when life gets unavoidably busy?
For me it means having energy and feeling fulfilled in my life. It’s physical, mental and spiritual. I maintain good health by eating well and having good self-care which includes cycling three times a week. Even when I’m busy, cycling is a priority because I know it actually gives me more energy for other life activities. I feel so grateful to have a passion that happens to be good for me. I reckon we all need to find that thing! My self-care strategies are deeply embedded routines because I appreciate the risks of not thriving.
Have you ever taken a holiday specifically for your well-being? Can you share what the experience was like?
As a self-employed person it can sometimes feel challenging to take time completely off but I’ve come to realise how essential it is. A couple of years ago we travelled to Bali with another family to just relax and recover. I deliberately left my phone at home and spent lots of time lounging around pools and enjoying massages at the large villas that we rented in three different towns.
The highlight for me was having a chef for the week we were at Seminyak. It wasn’t that expensive but felt like total luxury to me because I got to escape meal planning and preparations which have become a chore in my home life.
We had a great mix of time with our friends and time on our own, with children and without children. A super relaxing holiday.
Every woman’s idea of self-care is different, tell us about yours?
My self-care regime includes the daily gratitude practice, cycling three times per week, daily meditation, connection with friends and a regular Lush bubble bath. Thankfully my family get how important self-care is and are supportive of me doing what I need to do to be the best version of me.
Want to tell your story? Reach out to us via info@healthandfitnesstravel.com.au and be featured as our next strong, healthy woman.
