Redesign Your Life - One Imperfect Step at a Time

I hope you're all doing well! I'm doing a short episode this week because I'm officially on vacation.  Wherever you are and whether or not you're in the midst of holidays, I want to leave you with a question this week that you can absolutely journal on. I actually find this question helpful to ask in the moment, especially when I'm feeling a little stressed or overwhelmed...

 When my husband goes out of town, I have a little tradition: I pick a show we wouldn’t normally watch together and plow through an entire season. This time, I chose the show Alone . I ended up loving it so much that I knew I had to bring it into today’s podcast episode. If you’re not familiar, Alone is a wilderness survival show where contestants are dropped into extreme conditions to see how lon...

Being able to make decisions and giving yourself permission to change your mind is essential if you want to transform your life. Without making intentional choices, you’ll often find yourself stuck in a cycle, experiencing the same things over and over again. If you’re happy with your life as it is, that’s amazing! But if something feels off, staying on autopilot can lead to years of feeling unful...

On today's episode I talk about those moments in life when everything feels shaky and uncertain—like you’re just holding on, waiting for the dust to settle. We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re in it right now, stuck in that strange space where the future is a big question mark and our minds spin with all the “what ifs.” We’ve all been there, and while we can’t control everything, we can take s...

This week on the Courageously Unconventional podcast , I’m excited to introduce my coaching client, Dr. Mia Woodward. Mia Woodward M.D. MSc is a tenured clinician-scientist and certified life coach, a graduate of Yale College and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, she integrates her foundation in medicine with her deep passion for clinical behavior change research. She loves investigatin...

For today's podcast, I want to share something I wrote a few years ago. It’s a bit different from my usual episodes, but it feels fitting right now. As the seasons shift from fall to winter, many of us may start to feel a little off, or even stuck, in a seasonal funk. In this episode, I explore how you can approach these feelings with curiosity and self-compassion, reminding you that sometime...

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about having a purpose. Like what’s the point of it all? I think this is a pretty common question to ask yourself—especially when you’ve reached a point in life where you’ve checked off many of those big, cultural milestones that are supposed to define “success.” Maybe you’ve built a career, started a family, or bought a home, and now you’ve settled into your routi...

In today’s episode, I’m talking about a framework called the Emotional Cycle of Change developed by psychologists Don Kelley and Daryl Connor. It explains the emotional journey we undergo when we voluntarily decide to change our lives.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve likely experienced a roller coaster of emotions when tackling a challenging goal or trying to shift a habit. However, Kelley and...

This week, I’m excited to have Annie Margaret, PhD, on the podcast!  Annie Margaret, PhD, is a dynamic educator, leader, and public speaker serving as Executive Director of the Post-Internet Project and teaching faculty at the ATLAS Institute, University of Colorado Boulder. With a focus on neuroscience and evidence-based approaches, she helps individuals and teams learn to regulate their nervous...

Today, we’re diving into a topic that I’ve been working on with my clients lately: the power of immediate action.  A lot of times, we have these big ideas or plans for self-improvement. We think, "Oh, yeah, I’ll do that... later." We picture our future selves being more relaxed, more organized, more productive, but it’s always later , right? It’s always after we find more time or the per...

Last week, I did a podcast episode called Putting Yourself Out There to Make New Friends .  I got a follow-up question from one of my listeners, asking how to prioritize deepening the connections once you've made them. I think this is such a great question because, for most of us, having deep and meaningful relationships is one of the most important things in life. In Bronnie Ware's list...

A few months ago, I did a podcast episode with Dr. Em Wong called How to Live Vibrantly to 100 . In that episode, we talked about the importance of social ties and friendships as we age. Building and maintaining connections is one of the key factors for healthy aging. But let’s be honest, making friends and staying connected can be a challenge for many people, myself included. My husband and I had...

Learning to make decisions quickly and confidently is essential for making the best use of our time. But for many of us, that's easier said than done. In today's episode I explore decision-making concepts from a book called Time Warrior by Steve Chandler. I share my own experience applying Chandler’s ideas, including how I tackled a big decision that’s been weighing on my mind. Whether y...

Change is an inevitable part of life, but navigating it can be challenging. In this episode, I share five tips to help you manage and embrace change. Acknowledge that a lot IS going on in your life . When you're making big changes—like moving or switching jobs—things are far from routine. It's natural for our brains and bodies to sound the alarm when faced with uncertainty since they’re...

This week on the Courageously Unconventional podcast, I’m thrilled to be joined by my friend, Heather Delaney! From the moment we met, Heather and I connected over our shared love for travel and nomadic living. If her name sounds familiar, it might be because you’ve heard her mentioned in my recent podcast conversation with her husband, David Delaney. Today, Heather shares her own unique perspecti...

This week I wanted to share a conversation I had on The Making Work Fun podcast with Maria Stoyadinova. Maria and I recorded this episode several months ago and when I listened back, I realized that it would be perfect for all of you. We talk about… How courage is NOT a character trait, but something that you can become skilled in creating (even when you feel scared) How to find & build your s...

This week on the Courageously Unconventional podcast, I'm joined by my friend, David Delaney! My husband and I met David and his wife Heather a little over a year ago, and we quickly bonded over our shared nomadic lifestyles. Since then we've caravanned in our RVs with the Delaneys in two countries and have spent endless hours enjoying being neighbors and supporting each other in our cre...

I just wanted to pop in here and say that I'm on a break this week for the podcast. I'll be back next week featuring my friend David Delaney, where we talk all about how to create a life that's NOT centered around work. So you're not going to want to miss that one! In the mean time, I'm off to Wisconsin to be with my family, but I'll be thinking of all of you along th...

This week on the Courageously Unconventional podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Em Wong! Dr. Em is an integrative medicine doctor who teaches about brain care and does wellness coaching. She is an artist and author of iHeal Mag online. Her goal is to be healthy of mind and body at her 100th birthday party—and she wants to invite you along on the journey. In our conversation, we talk about the book sh...

In this episode, I take you through a powerful exercise from Tim Ferriss called fear-setting. This exercise is meant to address your fears, reduce risks, and move forward towards what you want in life. You'll definitely want a journal or blank word document for this exercise! Get ready to confront your fears and take that next small step forward toward your dreams. Fear-Setting Questions Writ...

Did you know you can just decide that you're going to change your life? Like right now? You don't need anyone's permission, you don't need an elaborate plan or fancy program, you don't need the perfect time. If there's something in your life that you want to be different, you can just decide right now that you want to do something about it. The key is to make the chan...

Consider the last few decisions you've made in your life. Were you going toward a future you were excited to live or was it more about escaping something you didn't want?  It's natural to seek relief from negative experiences or situations, but this can lead to reactive choices. Part of living a fulfilling life means creating a vision for what you want and actively moving towards it...

How much are you enjoying your life as it is today? In today's episode, I talk about how to enjoy your life more, even as you plan to make changes in your life. The reality is that if you don't know how to enjoy your life now, or at least SOME elements of your life now, you could change all the things in the world and still be unhappy. You'll learn : - How to use gratitude to overco...

This week on the Courageously Unconventional podcast, I'm joined by Priyanka Venugopal. I met Priyanka several years ago when I was working as a coach for physicians who wanted to lose weight. It was such a joy to coach her, and it has been SO fun and inspiring for me to watch her go from practicing as a physician to becoming an entrepreneur over the years. In this episode, you'll hear m...

In this episode of the Courageously Unconventional podcast, we explore why many of us feel compelled to justify our decisions and how this need can impact our mental and emotional well-being. Topics Discussed : The psychological and social factors driving the need to justify decisions Strategies to let go of the need to justify your decisions Creating awareness and embracing self-compassion Practi...