The Hard Way Out

Hi, guys! We've been a little MIA for the last 6 months---but all due to good reasons.  Lee came home and proposed we hop on the mics without a plan or topic today. Since I love podcasting (and chatting with Lee), I was game. In episode 27, we talk a little about what's been going on the last 6 months, and what the rest of the year looks like for us. Hopefully you'll find a little h...

In episode 26, we start out with a little small talk and laughter, as per usual. The conversation flows into discussing our recent experience with seeing Dr. Jordan Peterson live in Birmingham.  We talk about sacrifice, what we're supposed to do when we realize we've sacrificed the wrong thing, and how almost everything in life can be both good and bad.   Carrie discusses some of her rec...

In Episode 25, we chat about our recent experience with hanging Christmas lights (did I mention this is a first in all of our 17+ years of marriage?).  I thought I helped exactly as Lee needed me to. Lee felt differently. 😂 The entire ordeal led to a conversation about what each other values the most in other people -- and showed us why hanging Christmas lights really causes conflict between spou...

Join us for Episode 24, "Anxiously Attached", which just also happens to be one of my (Carrie's) favorite episodes to date!  If you struggle with any of the following, you may struggle with anxious attachment: fear of abandonment jealously, resentment, or anger toward your partner  need for reassurance  codependency preoccupation with your partner feeling depressed or sad when the c...

Join us for episode 23, where Lee goes down a rabbit hole about why things don't work well anymore in the world. We also mix in a little humor where we chat about animal scavenger hunts, rolling houses, and Gene who owns the local parts store. 

Join us for episode 22 where we talk about what FEAR really is... How are monsters under the bed for children comparable to problems in the future for adults? Why is telling a child, "There's no such thing as a monster under the bed" or "Don't be scared" a problem?  Why do we subject ourselves to scary movies and telling ghost stories?  Why is it important to recogniz...

Join us for some laughs about a whole lotta nothing in episode 21.  We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in episode 22, where we talk about our deepest fears.

Join us for episode 20, where we take a dive into our new toy - the cold plunge!  Lee has been wanting a cold plunge for years. I, Carrie, on the other hand, haven't. 😉 Regardless, I took my first plunge this morning and we'll see where it takes us.  We briefly chat about some of the benefits of cold water submersion and Lee goes down a rabbit hole as he explains how where his thoughts...

Join us for episode 19, where we talk about what jealousy is and the best way to overcome it (hint: it's not easy).  We share personal stories of how jealousy has affected our lives in the aftermath of betrayal. 

Join us for Episode 18, where we sit down with Lee's brother, Andrew, and his wife Holly.  Andrew, Holly, and their kiddos came to stay with us recently and we coerced them to sit down and record a podcast with us. We had to twist their arms - but only slightly. ;) In episode 18, we chat about everything from horses/barrel racing to whether or not the Virgin Mary actually rode a donkey into B...

Follow us on Instagram at @carrie.m.williams! In episode 17, we continue chatting about the steps we took after betrayal. In part one, we spoke of how our faith initially helped us forgive, but time proved that forgiveness wasn't enough. It was enough to initially save our marriage from ending, but it wasn't enough to keep our marriage from ending.  In Part Two, we dive into some of the...

Follow us on Instagram @carrie.m.williams 🫶 Many of you have asked us to talk about how we've built a thriving marriage after betrayal. Because this topic is so deep, episode 16 only covers the steps we took in the immediate aftermath. The truth is, we've evolved and our journey has required us to try MULTIPLE things. Every trust-building step we've taken has been critical, but ove...

We strayed from our norm in episode 15 and didn't talk about anything serious. I can't believe we were successful! Well, let me (Carrie) clarify. We talked about my massive fear of cockroaches and fishing hooks, so yeah, I suppose those are serious topics. 😉 In episode 15, we also recap some of our funny stories from our recent trip to Montana and Yellowstone. Somehow, that conversation...

Find us on Instagram at @carrie.m.williams  In episode 14 of The Hard Way Out, we sit down and chat for TWO amazing hours with traumatic breathwork healer, Katie Hopson.  I, Carrie,  have been working with Katie to uncover and unpack some of my deep-rooted fears that keep me stuck in a few areas of my life. When I say breathwork is life-changing, I mean it's LIFE CHANGING.  Somatic breathwork...

Don't worry, Amy G isn't another woman. I mean, she might be, but that's not what we're talking about on this episode. ;) Amy G. Dala is a helpful mnemonic to remember the part of the brain called the amygdala. You may or may not have heard of the amygdala, but if you haven't, it's time to listen to this podcast and do a little studying because trust me - she's i...

Episode 12 is the second of several episodes where we talk about healthy communication and why it's important in your relationships. Struggles in communication are what we hear about ALL the time, and is the area in which we struggle the most in our own marriage. If you can't communicate, you can't do much else... Over the years, we've poured tons of time into learning differen...

Have you ever heard something 50 times only to have it hit differently on that 51st time?  Well, that's what happened to me (Carrie) on a recent flight home from Minneapolis.  As I was watching a show series called "Couples Therapy" on my flight, I had a revelation about my internal struggles and Lee's role regarding my struggles. What I heard on this show wasn't much diff...

Don't forget to follow @leeandcarriewilliams and @carrie.m.williams on Instagram for podcast updates and info!  You've been asking for it and we're delivering - an intro into COMMUNICATION.   Communication is everything. It can and will make or break a relationship.  Typically speaking, issues at home, in the workplace, or with relationships in general, all lead back to one thing: t...

In this episode, Lee and Carrie chat about the final two personality traits that fall under the Big Five. Listen along as they discuss their similarities and differences with conscientious and openness. They even have a little fun discussing why Carrie can't help but pick Lee's clothes up off the floor every morning...;) This episode wraps up the last of the Big Five personality traits a...

Extraversion is one of the Big Five Personality traits. People high in extraversion are usually outgoing and energized by social situations. On the opposite end of the spectrum, people who are higher in introversion are typically more reserved and feel drained by social situations.  It's important to note that like all other Big Five Personality traits, your level of extraversion falls on sca...

On the scale of agreeableness, Carrie falls around the 99th percentile (highly agreeable), whereas Lee falls around the 1st percentile (highly disagreeable).  In short, Carrie's too nice and Lee isn't nice at all...;) This personality trait is the one they differ on the most and it causes the most amount of conflict in their marriage and their parenting.  Carrie is worried about peoples&...

In episode 6, Lee and Carrie chat about one of the big five personality traits, neuroticism (which is sensitivity to negative emotion).  One's level of neuroticism, like any other personality trait, can be better described as falling somewhere on a sliding scale. For example, Carrie is generally higher in neuroticism, as she tends to feel negative emotion more intensely than the majority of p...

Personalities are arguably one of the most complex things on earth. That's why it's critical to understand who you are (and who your spouse is) if you desire to create a strong, healthy, and communicative marriage or relationship.  In episode 5, Lee discusses different personalities and explains the Big Five Personality Test. Toward the end of the episode, Carrie and Lee begin talking ab...

Happy Easter!! In this podcast, Lee and Carrie talk about Easter and what it means, why eggs and rabbits are involved,  Christmas,  Abraham Lincoln, and more...

The game changed for Lee and Carrie when Lee asked, "But wouldn't you rather just trust me?" In this episode, Lee and Carrie talk about the importance of trust in a relationship, especially in marriage. Over the years, their definition of the word "trust" has changed.  Listen at how we navigate the subject today and why it works better than any alternative strategy we&apos...