Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

In this busy holiday month, I’m coming to you with some mindset hacks–little pivots in your thinking that can help things feel a lot less stressful and give you more energy and resilience at any time of year.   Today’s mindset hack is to start training yourself to look for the loving reason why something has happened. When I say loving reason, I mean an explanation that suggests that things are wo...

You can be generous in some ways, and stingy in others. And it’s really fascinating to start to unpack where you are a natural giver, and where you might be more likely to freeze up and think, oh heck no. Maybe those are areas that you can think about differently and find your way to feeling more generous; but maybe those are just things that don’t suit you for some reason, and you can focus on ot...

While giving is often energizing, there are definitely times when it’s draining. Or even upsetting. It can leave you feeling taken advantage of, or unappreciated. And that doesn’t feel good.  In addition, sometimes *your* giving can make the person you’re trying to give to feel bad--micromanaged, or like you think they aren’t capable.  So today, let’s figure out how to keep giving in the realm of...

We think about giving to others in very practical ways, but there are ways that you can give to people emotionally, too. And some of them feel good. But others, really don’t. Today I talk with Damon Brown, a coach for non-traditional entrepreneurs who does a lot of emotional support in his line of work, as well as a multi-time author (links to his book just below), about how to value the emotional...

If you’ve ever had the thought that you could stand to be a more generous person, I hope today’s episode will show you that there are SO many ways to be giving–well beyond giving money or time–and that something you hear today will get you into the higher energy state of seeking to be of service to others.  This episode sponsored by:  Better Help Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BETTERP...

When you think of what being a better person means, I’m guessing that being generous is one of the first things that pops to mind. BUT, that’s not to say that we have to be 100% selfless, or always put others first, or give until it hurts. So, how do we find that balance?  Let’s start by looking at the benefits of being generous–not for the other person, but for you. In today’s episode I’m sharing...

You already know that gratitude is a nice way to appreciate something that has already happened, but did you know that gratitude can also help you create the future you want? Well…it can!  Today I’m sharing how to thank yourself for doing something that you haven’t done yet. It sounds a little weird, I get it, but basically, it’s about thinking how much your future self will appreciate the things...

We all know gratitude is good for you–we’ve heard the advice to keep a gratitude journal, and I’ve talked before about reminding yourself of all the things you’re grateful for while you’re lying in bed at night. But there’s something really powerful about actually expressing your thanks outloud. Since it’s Thanksgiving here in the U.S. today, today is a great day to take this idea for a test drive...

Hi friends. Today I’m replaying an interview from Thanksgiving, 2020 with Polly Campbell about how to practice gratitude even if you’re really busy and lazy and frankly don’t want to be bothered. We’re in a different place than we were in 2020, thankfully, but her advice is still as true as ever. I hope it helps you get in the grateful spirit.  Here’s a link to a full transcript of today’s episode...

Yesterday I talked about something you can do in the moment of feeling stressed out during a family gathering that will help you not get your feathers ruffled or your peace disturbed.  Today, I’m sharing a stress buster that you can do in advance that will help you stay in a groovy space the day of.  This episode sponsored by:  Better Help Nutrafol promo code “BETTER” Learn more about your ad choi...

Here’s the thing about family: You love them, and they can drive you crazy. Which makes you react in a way that you wish you hadn’t, and then you feel guilty. It can be a real merry-go-round of unpleasant feelings.  And when faced with those unpleasant feelings at a gathering where there is plenty of food and probably alcohol, it may be tempting to try to stuff them down with another piece of pie...

You’ve heard me say it before and you’ll hear me say it again, what you focus on grows. If you want more positive behavior, notice it. Call attention to it. We all love to be acknowledged for our efforts to do the decent thing. As a bonus, recognizing someone else doing something good helps you feel better, too.  This episode sponsored by:  Better Help Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

Have you ever been telling someone how you feel about something, and they told you to just calm down? Or that you’re over-reacting? Or that you shouldn’t feel that way? It didn’t feel good, right?  Today I’m sharing the opposite of that approach–aka, validating–aka, how to help the people you talk to feel seen, heard, and understood. Once you get the hang of this, it’s so fun, because you know wha...

Today I’m interviewing Colleen Doyle Bryant, author of Rooted in Decency: Finding Inner Peace in a World Gone Sideways because, I mean… a) we need it and b) if that doesn’t fit the theme of being a better person, honestly, I don’t know what does! I asked Colleen, what decency even is, why it feels like it’s on the decline, and what kinds of things each of us can do as individuals to help bring bac...

There’s no denying: There are a lot of bummers in the world. You could really spend all day, all week, maybe even your whole life just dwelling on them. While it’s true that bummers exist, it’s not the whole story. There are also plenty of beautiful, uplifting, heartwarming things in the world.  Lately I got a reminder that it’s on us to actively seek out the positive, and so now I’m passing that...

It’s a busy time of year so I’m bringing you a few more quick hits–simple, easy, quick things you can do to make the world a better place and to boost your own feelings of being a decent human.  When it comes to making a difference in yourself and the world, there are two ways basic ways to approach it: increase the positive, or decrease the negative. Today’s episode is about the second half of th...

Today’s big idea is that there is a balance that you’ve got to strike in order to improve your relationship to life admin.  And that is to make peace with the fact that while the human brain loves to close open loops–and cross things off the to-do list–it’s also true that there will always, always be more to do on the adulting front. So you can't let your peace of mind depend on how many things ar...

Today’s big idea is actually three ideas for making life admin less overwhelming. These are mindset shifts that will help you think about adulting differently--a key step in making it all feel a little less relentless. Contribute your tips and successes to the Life Admin Tipsheet! How to Be a Better Person Tees, Mugs, Totes & More 35 percent off through Sun 11/13!!!  This episode is brought to you...

Frankly, life admin just makes me want to lie down. Which is why I’m excited to be interviewing my friend, Jessica Tudos, a mindful organizer based in Toronto whom I always love talking to about how to get a grip on the many facets of life while still respecting things like creativity and being moved by inspiration and having a lot of things going on because you’re genuinely interested in a lot of...

Scheduling is one of my VERY LEAST favorite life admin tasks. Am I the only one with an allergy to planning for something that's not related to having fun? Today’s big idea is my very best tip to make sure that you have the majority of the appointments that you, your pet, and your family needs with next to no effort on your part. Contribute your tips and successes to the Life Admin Tipsheet! This...

This week on the podcast I’m talking about how to take better care of all the details of life–making appointments, paying bills, prepping your taxes, keeping your paperwork up to date, your car maintained, your communication handled, etc., etc., etc. In other words, I’m talking about adulting. And when I went to research this topic I realized it had a very technical sounding name: life admin.  Whi...

There’s just something about how you say stuff to another person that can come straight off the truth, like a wind that comes down a mountain. You’re not overthinking, you’re just talking and boom, there it is.  Sometimes honestly I don’t really know what I think about something until I talk to someone about it. I’m a big believer in verbal processing.  Today I’m sharing 3 ways to get your verbal...

When you can tell that you’re not thinking clearly about something it can be so frustrating! So you just try to think harder and that really doesn’t get you anywhere.  Here’s what I’ve learned–it’s not trying to think the same thing, just harder, that helps you think more clearly. It’s thinking differently. Which…how do you do that exactly?  I’ve got 2 questions to ask yourself that help you do ju...

Have you ever been so focused on thinking about something clearly that you ended up completely overthinking it?  Yeah, me too.  Today I’m re-playing an interview with Melody Wilding, a licensed social worker, an executive coach and author of Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work. Although this interview originally aired in October, 2021, Melody’s insights...

Sometimes there’s just so much stuff rattling around inside your head that it’s hard to sit with one thought. Today I’m sharing the morning ritual I’ve been doing that has helped me extract all that noise from my brain and put it somewhere where a) I don’t have to think about it anymore and b) get some objectivity on those thoughts.  It’s part of a week of episodes dedicated to thinking straight–s...