Write Your Story with Ally Fallon

Do you have an artist in you that you’ve tucked away because… Obligations and responsibilities took precedence over art?  You were shamed or ridiculed for being “unrealistic” or having your “head in the clouds”? You’ve forgotten what it felt like to be creative? You got hurt and had to close your heart to survive?  You were told you’re &ld...

There's been a cultural obsession recently with optimizing your life, your health, your body and more. And while optimization can provide support and scaffolding, there’s a hidden danger of focusing too much on optimization.  I’ll unpack that silent drawback in today’s episode.  I’ll also share an update from my most recent trip to Montana and the status of my yog...

In today’s episode, I share a metaphor I’ve been using in my yoga classes lately that has served me in the rest of my life, too.   If you’re new here, or if you missed it, I’m teaching yoga! For now it’s one each week at Hot Yoga of East Nashville, a free / donation based 60 minute flow class on Fridays at 4:30. If you’re in Nashville or if you come to...

Human beings have a primal need that we don’t often talk about.  It’s not food or water or love, although we need those things too.  It’s the human need that drives you to watch Netflix, scroll Instagram, gasp at a text message that says, “you’ll never guess what happened!?” and even binge a great audiobook (the three I mention in the episode are in th...

AI has been a constant topic of conversation lately, mainly because we’re watching the world change at a rapid pace in ways that are unprecedented and can be unnerving.  We’re in uncharted territory.   As nostalgic as I can sometimes feel about a time when iPhones didn’t rule our lives, I tend toward the belief that, in general, the best times are ahead of us &mdas...

If we’re all a sort of “hero” in our own personal narrative, it begs an obvious question: who is narrating the story?  I watched Harold and the Purple Crayon on Netflix with my kids over the weekend, a children's book turned movie where the main character of a book goes searching for the narrator of his story so that he can better understand his purpose in life.  My kid...

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked in the past ten years is if I would talk about my evolving process with the Christian faith of my childhood.  I even recorded an episode called, “Are you still a Christian?” here:  Finally, after years of avoiding and evading the question, after nearly a decade of processing and evolving privately, I’m ready to shar...

One of the most common questions I am asked from anyone who is writing about their life goes like this:  How do I write about the people who hurt me?  Maybe you find yourself wanting to write about your parents, lovers, ex-lovers, siblings, neighbors, bosses, co-workers, etc but you aren’t sure how you would do that in a way that is true and also respectful.  Maybe you aren&rs...

Research shows that a daily practice of gratitude can make you happier but have you had a time in life when “gratitude” felt impossible? Have you ever felt like “staying positive” might be blocking you from feeling what was true for you that day?  What is the line between “being grateful” and pretending things are different than they actually are? Is it hea...

Today’s episode is a love letter to anyone who feels like they are fumbling and stumbling their way through something right now. Whether it’s work or working out or parenting or creativity, if you feel like a beginner or like you don’t know exactly what to do next, you’re normal, you’re doing great, and this episode is for you.  Host: Ally Fallon //  @allyfa...

I heard recently about a publishing scam that would be hard to detect by an average consumer and that preys on the vulnerabilities of new, hopeful authors. And yet with just a little bit of publishing context you can arm yourself with enough information to sniff out the fakers and find a publishing path that works for you. I hope this episode finds you before the scammers do! Host: Ally Fallon //...

I had a conversation with a friend recently about raising boys (of all things) that reminded me of something I already know: a story without conflict or tension is not a story.  So why are so many of us trying to avoid conflict and tension in our lives?  Sure, problems are unpleasant to deal with but tiptoeing around potential problems causes a story (read: a life) to fall flat. A story...

What will make me truly happy?  Recently I watched an Instagram reel where a psychologist shared data that suggests parents with young children are not as happy as those couples who are child-free or who have grown kids. In the comments section, you could hear the defensiveness. The frustration. The incredulity from parents of young children who felt misrepresented. As someone with young chil...

Are you up against a problem in your life that you don’t know how to solve? Have you tried everything you know to try in order to solve it? Maybe strategies that worked in the past are feeling insufficient this time around?  Whether it’s a personal problem or a political, global or corporate one — in this episode i’ll offer a suggestion that may surprise you—and...

Do you ever feel like you have to be the strong one? Like you have to get your ducks in a row, get your act together, pull it all off—or if you don’t do it, who will?  In today's episode I unpack the idea that your greatest leverage to shift any situation—personal or corporate—is not in your strength or composure or ability or even intelligence but in your capacity to...

Have you ever felt like — once you get your act together — then your life can start? Once you find the right partner? Once you finally get pregnant? Once you write your book? Once you finish your degree? Once your business is profitable? Once your house is clean? Once you finally kicked that bad habit? Once you master that particular skill? And yet the trouble is, we can spend our enti...

If you’ve ever tried to write literally anything , you’ve dealt with that familiar, sinking feeling: staring at the blinking cursor, convinced you have something to say but unsure how to get the words right. But have you ever considered that writer’s block might be about more than just trying to find the right words?  In today’s episode, I share the key idea that write...

If you ever feel “stuck” or like you’re spinning your wheels, maybe there’s a story you’re telling that no longer serves you. On today’s episode, I talk about how to know which story is ready to be retired, and what happens when we let go of old, tired stories that were dragging us down.  I also introduce you to one of my favorite poets, assuming you don&rs...

Have you ever faced a problem that you didn’t know how to change or solve? Perhaps it’s time to fully receive the gift that the difficulty is here to give you.  This isn’t a cheap form of glossing over the details.  It’s not about quickly “flipping” the story to be a positive one.  It’s about listening deeply to what is taking place and rece...

Is the rise of AI making you uncomfortable? Does it make you wonder about how we will evolve as a species? What the effects will be on the human psyche? Does it make you question how the value of creativity will shift and change as AI takes over?   These questions are valuable ones to ask and answer while we navigate this wild new world we’re living in.  And yet on today&rsquo...

Do you ever get the sense that there is a higher, wiser part of you that can stay at peace even when there is chaos around you? A part of you that  is able to intuit the next, right step when you’re in unknown territory? That sees through the masks of others and recognizes the truth of who they are? There are many words for this wise voice — I’ve been known to call it the &l...

It’s possible that “staying positive” could be keeping you stuck.  In today’s episode, I use the analogy of writing a book (first draft first, second draft second) to talk about how we naturally grow and develop as people. A first draft is inevitably messy and chaotic, raw and guttural. The second draft is cleaner and holds more clarity. But there’s no getting to...

This episode idea started as a joke.  But the more I talked about it, the more I realized I do actually want to take a break from self-improvement — a journey I’ve been on for nearly 20 years.  Before you judge me, or dismiss me, hear me out.  In today’s episode I’ll talk about what happens when we stop trying to become “better” than we already ar...

Have you ever felt like there was something you wanted to do — like write a book or take an improv class or start a yoga practice — but you were avoiding it because you hate the feeling of being a beginner?  It can be uncomfortable to not know what’s coming next, to make mistakes, to feel out of place, to wobble or stutter or unknowingly break decorum.  And yet reconnec...

When I ask a writer working on a manuscript why they are writing a book, or what they hope happens with their book, one of the most common sentiments I hear is they want to “help as many people as possible.” While this desire makes sense, and I know it comes from a good place, I want to point out one of the major pitfalls of “helping as many people as possible” as motivatio...