Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

I was inspired to make this the first episode of a week of episodes on real money talk because I just this morning had a moment of total money panic. I went to check the balance on our joint account--my spouse and I both pay in equal amounts each month and we use that joint money for our expenses, so it ends up getting spent by the end of every month and replenished at the start of each month. And...

Being a better person isn't a fluke of genetics or good parenting. Everyone has inherent goodness. Everyday, you’re faced with hundreds of decisions, and it’s in those decisions where you have the potential to move toward better. Sign up for the How to Be a Better Person newsletter and never miss an episode! Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

You don’t have to be a better person ALL the time. And thank goodness for that. Because trying to do anything 100% of the time is a recipe for burnout. Sign up for the How to Be a Better Person newsletter and never miss an episode! Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking for the opportunity keeps your eyes open to what good things might be trying to emerge. And finding those opportunities is what helps you use the simple act of living your life as a personal development seminar. Sign up for the How to Be a Better Person newsletter and never miss an episode! Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

ven though it’s a simple concept, awareness is a pretty rare and wonderful thing, like an orchid in a sea of carnations. Because it’s a lot more convenient to not pay attention to stuff--particularly your own stuff. Being able to see yourself clearly is how you start to make better choices. It’s also an easy and effective way to wade into change. Sign up for the How to Be a Better Person newslette...

You don’t have to transform yourself into Mother Theresa or Gandhi or whomever your ideal ‘good person’ is. Truly, you just have to care enough to opt for a better choice at your next opportunity. Sign up for the How to Be a Better Person newsletter and never miss an episode! Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s something that may seem very small that actually has the potential to have a very big impact on your community at large, and that is to have more conversations with the people you know about the laws, policies, bodies, and people that govern where you live. Chatting with friends is something that might have gotten you labelled a 'bad student' when you were in school, but now it's something...

You elected officials are very interested in hearing what people think about the issues that they’re working on--or not working on. And, remember, you are one of those people. So, they want to hear from YOU. Here's how to do it, and how your writing or calling or Tweeting amplifies your influence in a mega way. Sign up for the podcast newsletter! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...

Today, we’re going to learn how a person who gives a shit--which is how I think of that desire to make a difference in yourself and the world--can become more engaged in democracy. I’m interviewing Nirva LaFortune, who is my city council representative here in Providence, Rhode Island. Nirva is also my neighbor and my friend, and most excitingly, she is running for mayor of Providence--that electi...

Local news outlets are a crucial piece of democracy. Journalists for local papers attend town hall meetings and school board meetings and zoning meetings and committee hearings and THEN THEY REPORT ON THEM. If the government or other entities that serve the public are up to shenanigans, or not fulfilling their duties, journalists are who bring that to light, and who report the full spectrum of a s...

This week on the podcast, in honor of Election Day (which is tomorrow), I’m talking about how to be a better, more engaged citizen. Most of us know it’s important to vote in our presidential elections, but those only come around every four years, and there are so many more opportunities to influence your state and local government for the better. Democracy is, after all, by the people and for the...

Thanks to social media it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in images of seemingly perfect people, in seemingly perfect spaces, living seemingly perfect lives. It seems like a fun diversion, but it’s often creating feelings of anxiety, depression, and making us feel worse about ourselves. So, what to do? Well, you COULD get off social media altogether, and I would applaud you. Or…. you could...

Today’s big idea is that the things about you that don’t fit an image of perfection are actually a source of strength. They are often actually what you’re here to help other people with. Distilled into one catchy phrase, your mess is your message. Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I hope to help us all see how perfectionism might be driving our desire to be better and to embrace all the many glorious ways we’re imperfect. Today I’m talking to someone who can help us do just that clinical psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Cousineau. Tara is the author of The Kindness Cure, creator of the course Overcome Perfectionism Through Self-Compassion for the meditatio...

Not just the type A, dot every I, and cross every T form of perfectionism that a lot of people associate with the term. I’m going to share some of the ways perfectionism shows up so that you can have a better idea of whether it’s something you are experiencing without potentially realizing it. Got a comment or a question? I'm all ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the podcast I’m talking about perfectionism, because as honorable as it is to care about being a better person and to give a shit about bringing your best and making a difference, we can go overboard with it all and feel like crap if we’re not doing our best at all times, which leads to feeling bad about ourselves and burn out. That’s not what we’re after! Got a comment or a question?...

Devoting some time to stretching is a great way to check in with yourself and your body and see how you’re feeling, where you might be feeling tension that you weren’t aware of, and just sending yourself some love. But you probably already knew that. Today is not about knowing, it's about doing. Legs up the wall * Both feet straight up the wall for a few minutes * Open your legs into a V for a few...

The great thing about nature is that it has that magic ability to both calm you and energize you. And that’s precisely what we’re after during this week dedicated to dawdling and replenishing. Let me know what you do to replenish! Take a pic of you enjoying some nature and tag me on Instagram! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that you’ve said no to some stuff and cleared some space in your schedule and your head, and you’ve spent some time alone and had a chance to digest some emotions, let’s get your senses involved and do something that feels physically fantastic. Let me know what you do to replenish! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spending time alone is a key ingredient for replenishment. The thing is, when you’re alone, no one is talking to you, or asking you to do something, and you can hear yourself think. Even if you are the most extroverted extrovert, alone time is still helpful and important. Let me know what you do to replenish! Take a pic of you during your alone time and tag me on Instagram! Learn more about your a...

This week on the podcast I’m doing things a little differently, and trying to create some space for us all to slow down a little bit, catch our breath, and refill our wells a bit. I’m calling it the Five-Day Dawdle--as in, five days of doing the definition of dawdling, which is to move slowly . Every day this week I’ll give you one easy thing you can do with whatever you’ve got, wherever you are,...

There are many big, capital-D decisions that can take a really long time to figure out. Things like, should you move, change jobs, break up, have kids, or anything that feels like it’s going to change your life. These big decisions require taking your time, being patient, and thinking things through. But it’s really hard to be on the verge of figuring out what to do next. So how do you find some p...

One way to avoid overthinking or ignoring some of the things that you need to decide is to give yourself a deadline. In other words, some times you need to decide WHEN you’re going to decide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Because you are listening to a podcast called How to be a Better Person, you give a shit, about a lot of things, including making good choices. And that desire, while beautiful, can also be a slippery slope into overthinking. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? That’s why I’m excited to be interviewing Melody Wilding, a licensed social worker, an executive coach and author of Trust Yourself: Stop...

One of the reasons why decisions can be so taxing is that we’re over-relying on our brains to make them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making pro and con lists and doing research and mulling things over, but your brain isn’t the only game in town. There’s also your heart, which is all about love. It sees possibility and seeks expansion and understands things like truth and beauty--all things tha...