Beyond Balance

Well hello there. Yesterday in my Morning Pages, a stream-of-consciousness list came to me. I drew a line down the page. And on one side wrote “things I’m good at” and the other: “things I’m not good at.” Know thyself , etc. The “ good at list ” included things like “taking risks” and “warmly nurturing my kids” and “writing in bed” and “big visioning and creating” and “hosting” and “being a boss”...

My husband Sam observed the other day that I’ve given myself “weekend homework” with this Substack. He is not wrong 😂. In many ways, I’ve been writing these 10 essays for 10 years. Some of them have had lives as earlier drafts in my podcast Beyond Balance, and my program 40 Early Mornings, and almost every single thing I say here I’ve said in a coaching session, on a retreat, or in a regular old...

"Perfectionism is ... the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life." Anne Lammott says really eloquently what we all FEEL when it comes to the trap of perfectionism. Perfectionism is one of the biggest symptoms of stress and hustle culture and I wish I could tell you I've figured out how to completely recover from it. But -- like everything I share on...

Cath & Clara are back in their frank conversation series, this time talking about the decision to become a parent (or not).  Clara asks Cath pointed questions about her own journey into motherhood. And as usual, Cath's approach is to hopefully bust some of the myths of "stress culture" that lead parents to burnout and keep us from being present as parents.  This episode provides...

Join Cath & Clara Artschwager for a frank conversation series, this time talking about marriage and relationships and how to avoid the myths that "stress culture" keep us feeling bad when things aren't "perfect."  Cath interviews Clara in this episode to talk vulnerably about Clara's new marriage and her realization that not having a "honeymoon period" w...

How much of our lives are spent rushing around feeling like we’re always behind where we should be?  Like there’s never enough time?  Like we are barreling through the everyday just to crash at the end or race to the weekend? Or quite simply, how much of our days are spent multitasking and in many places at once – without actually being present with what (and who) is right in front of us? If you e...

When was the last time you took a real break? It's a simple question and one that is NOT so easy to answer. Stress and stress culture puts so much emphasis on the hustle and the grind, glorifies busyness into a badge of honor, and makes us confuse our accomplishments and achievements with our worth and value. The external messages we get somehow dupe us into thinking that clearing out our inb...

Being a parent is stressful.  Marriage can be stressful.  Any partnership requires communication.  Welcome to the most candid episode I've recorded yet, which is Part 2 to the Beyond Balance episode titled:  “Is Parenting Stress Ruining Anyone Else’s Marriage? Asking For a Friend.” (Parenting Stress - Part 1)" Featuring my husband Sam as my first ever podcast guest and conversation partn...

Happy New Year! In this first episode of 2023, I am NOT going to tell you that you *should* start a daily meditation practice this year to reduce stress. (Because even though that *would* work, *should* is the land where all good intentions and New Years Resolutions go to die!) Instead, I am giving you my BEST secret stress-reducing weapon. This tool is easy to use. Simple to remember. Impossible...

Raise your hand if you’ve ever excitedly set a New Year’s Resolution and … it failed 🙋‍♀️ You’re in good company (me too!).  We start the year with the best of intentions, and yet…  In this episode, I share the THREE REASONS why your New Years Resolutions Fail:  Hint #1: You might be setting the wrong resolution in the first place.  Hint #2: You might not need as much hustle & grind as you th...

The tension this time of year is real. Choose Stress Culture's hustle & bustle and end the year burnt out. Or — Take Winter's Wisdom as an invitation to slow way down and BE in this time of year, calm and bright. Nature is teacher and the lesson of Winter reminds us that quiet and bare clarity and darkness are all necessary seasons of growth, relationships, success, and simply being...

I've got to be honest -- the question in the title of this episode is my own -- which makes this episode my scariest one yet to share  😳 But listen, I know I'm not alone. In fact, I knew it was finally time to record this episode when a mom I had never met (and who had absolutely no idea that I host a podcast about stress!) came right up to me on the playground recently to tell me all a...

Today's episode starts with a breakdown of our stress problem -- 1. The "I feel stressed" right now part of the problem. 2. The "Stress Culture" problem: when all of our chronically stressed-out individual nervous systems come together to form a collective nervous system (our families, our companies, our communities) that is also stuck in a stress response and the characte...

In this episode, I share a few stories from the Real Life Wild of my life right now -- what's challenging me, where my growing edges are, and the practice that's keeping me present and connected these days. This episode includes my favorite new question to ask instead of "What do you do?" and "How are you?" because don't we need more complex, full, human openers...

Welcome, welcome, welcome back to Beyond Balance! The listener question that inspired this episode, "I Feel Bad About My Stress" – "How do I  unwind "freezing" and/or "flight" as coping mechanisms? I can’t stop scrolling /Netflix at night. It’s like I’m afraid to go asleep. Worse bc I know all the tools but don’t use them and can’t break this habit of a negative...

The Beyond Balance Podcast is back, and Season 2 is all about YOU. This seasons' short, actionable episodes are centered around questions from you, the listeners, about stress. How we can heal from our stress, better manage our stress, reduce our stress, and one calmer nervous system at a time: begin to dismantle stress culture. This week's questions ask: How do I “befriend” my stress ra...

This is the episode where I share all my best secrets.  And admit the truth:  It is not easy to listen long enough to yourself to understand what it is that YOU really need.  The outside messages, stories, influences, pressures, heck social media feeds, are all loud and noisy and make this work challenging to do.  But it can be simple. And it is possible.  To listen, to get honest, to clarify boun...

The hustle & grind culture, with its "sleep when you're done" mentality, left no place for rest. But you know better. We can't run on 100mph all the time (unless you want to crash & burn at the end of it).  In this episode:  Challenge narratives that save rest for the weak or the weekend; Transform your mindset from one of "working so hard to prove our worthiness b...

In January 2014, I was a budding Big Law associate attorney at one of the highest-grossing, top litigation firms in the country. I had shiny degrees from the right Ivy League schools, a growing six-figure salary with yearly 5-figure bonuses. I billed impressive hours each month, had a closet overflowing with all the pin stripe power pencil skirt suits and highest heels, and by all readily-acceptab...

Have you ever heard this advice? "Start before you're ready!" It sounds shiny and exciting and for those of us who love the thrill of an "all or nothing approach," it's a tempting invitation almost every time. And it's also a recipe for burnout. In this episode, learn how to transform empty mindset shifts into well-resourced plans. And whether you're "p...

In this episode, host Catherine Zack begins to answer the question you might very well be wondering:  How does a corporate litigator quit her big law career to ... teach meditation?  In this episode, Catherine shares Part 1 of that answer.  Here, you'll learn more about:  - the power of story as a teaching and connection tool (and the caveats about how and where it doesn't work well);  -...

I’m tired. You’re tired.  We’re all a little collectively exhausted. In this episode, you'll learn: A working definition of burnout and how to assess your own burnout levels at any given moment My 3 best mindset shifts to set the stage for recovery from overwhelm and exhaustion How to build up a reserve of resiliency and energy to begin to bring yourself back from the edge of burnout.  Learn...

Join-corporate-lawyer-turned-meditation-teacher and executive mindfulness coach Catherine Zack in a brand new podcast, Beyond Balance.  Designed as a conversation with fellow Type-A, high-achieving, prone-to-stress perfectionists who are ready to trade in the hustle & grind for something much more sustainable and inspiring, this podcast explore what lies: beyond the myth of balance, beyond the...