Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

This week I’m talking about activism--getting involved in causes you care about and lending your voice, time, and energy to creating positive change in the world. After all, being a better person isn’t just about you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is a very special day on the How to Be a Better Person podcast. I’m declaring a new international holiday. It’s Unreturned Message Forgiveness Day. Woo hoo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s face it, other people’s happiness isn’t under your control. Sure, you can love someone and support them, but if you’re trying to make them feel a certain way, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Here's something to remind yourself of before you go rushing in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm talking to someone who is a total expert at doing good in the world by living unapologetically as yourself. Lisa Cherney, who has been mentoring entrepreneurs for over 20 years, teaches that you don't have to do anything just because people like it (evidenced by the fact that she closed her seven-figure business that people loved because it was wearing her out). Learn more about your ad...

Something we do when we’re overly focused on other people’s happiness is apologize. A lot. I’m not talking about owning up to something that you truly got or did wrong. I’m talking about a reflexive “I’m sorry” for anything that doesn’t go off without a hitch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I surveyed listeners, I asked them what they struggled with when it came to being a better person. And so many of them said people-pleasing. Even Tupac Shakur, lion of hip-hop, said, “I gotta stop treating people like I owe them something.” Let's talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We need more nature in our lives, and a great way to get it is to get yourself a houseplant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While it’s tempting to stay busy and wait for “things to calm down,” being able to be nimble during transitions requires you to be somewhat in touch with how you feel about what’s changing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Being able to ride the waves of change IS possible. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. It takes some self-care. Which is why I’m bringing my nutritionist bestie, Mary Sheila Gonnella, back on to talk us through some practical strategies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve got a quick but powerful little ritual to share with you today that will help you take stock of what’s happened, be grateful for what you’ve got, and plant some seeds for the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transition is a fact of life, but it’s not easy. And that’s why I want to talk about how to stay steady during times of transition this week. Because that is where we’re at. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a particular type of conversation with a particular type of person I want to talk about today -- and that is talking with the folks who reach out to you on behalf of someone who is running for office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes you have to keep your mouth shut. It’s the only way you can listen. But it’s often not easy to do! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalist and author Harriet Marsden is used to dealing with haters. As evidence, an anonymous reader sent Harriet a copy of my book (How to Be a Better Person), with a very passive aggressive note, and Harriet had the good humor to snap a pic and post it on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you ask an open-ended question, you’re going to get a much richer response and invite whomever you're talking to into a true dialogue. And I’m guessing that you may not realize how many dead-end questions you might be asking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know we all need places to turn that aren’t roiled by turmoil right now, and that you come to this podcast for inspiration and ideas. But being a better person also means making the world a better place, and I can’t not acknowledge that the world is feeling like a very mixed up place and the intensity of that does not appear to be lessening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...

Cultivating your ability to observe things is a crucial piece of reining in your attention. Today I'm going to talk about how you can build your observation skills by watching the clouds. If you can learn to watch the clouds, you can learn to watch your thoughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I’m talking about how to strengthen your listening muscles. Because not listening is something many folks who have taken my survey name as the top thing that they struggle with when it comes to being a better person. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m excited to talk to Paula Rizzo, author of Listful Living and Listful Thinking, about how to stay focused on what matters when we have so very many things to distract us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our attention was already scattered before corona hit, and now it’s like an order of hashbrowns from Waffle House--it’s scattered, smothered, covered, and chunked. One thing we can do to bring it back is to reduce the number of attention-stealers we’re exposed to on a daily basis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I’m talking about attention, because a) our brains are all over the place and b) that scattered feeling is at the root of so many of the things we’re struggling with now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of weeks ago, I asked listeners to share the single best thing they’ve done that has helped them take their stress levels down several notches since the pandemic started. I was really inspired by your answers so I want to share them today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you hear a recommendation to do some deep breathing and you think, ‘Oh God, please no! Anything but that,’ I have a true confession for you: I feel the same way. Every time I think, ‘Noooooooooooo I don’t wannnnnnna.’ And then I do it anyway and it always ALWAYS helps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm talking to Kim Charlot, the founder of Eden’s Leaves, an herbal products company, about easy ways to use herbs to bring our bodies back into balance naturally. Just hearing her talk is like a tonic for my nerves, I swear! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I recently discovered something that helps me sleep better every time and it’s something you don’t often hear about. And it literally is as easy as flipping a switch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices