Love Your Life: Love Your Life: Midlife Reinvention, Emotional Regulation, & Parenting

How much time do you spend worrying about how other people feel, overthinking what you said, or feeling like it's your job to make things better when someone else is upset?

Yes, Yes, and Yes?!

So many of us are taking responsibility for things that aren't ours to carry.

I made this episode to help you feel calmer, more confident, and more in control of your life. As GenX women, we were taught to "keep the peace", "be the easy one", and to do what we could to make sure other people didn't...

Have you been doing all the "right" things but still feel exhausted, moody, foggy, or like your body has completely changed? You're not imagining it, and you're not alone.

In this episode, I sit down with women's hormone expert Bria Gadd to talk about what every woman should know about perimenopause. We discuss how to recognize the signs of perimenopause, why so many women are told they're "fine" even when they don't feel fine, and what you can do to support your body during this season of life.

You'll learn:

I turned 55 last week, and instead of sharing 55 things I've learned, I want to talk about the five basics I keep coming back to after 20 years of coaching women.

There's a lot of wellness advice out there! If you're in perimenopause, do this! If you're a woman in her 40s, don't do this! Make sure you're taking this supplement. Eat in this way! Don't forget the ice bath, sauna, special wide toe box shoes and gua sha.

Oh me oh my, for many reasons. One, confusion leads to overwhelm and two, much of the advice...

What if the way you receive compliments, ask for help, handle other people's moods, and look for validation has more to do with your childhood than you realized?

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I'm talking about the father wound and why you can have a loving, well-intentioned dad and still carry patterns from childhood into your adult relationships.

I was inspired to make this podcast by Terri Cole's work on the father wound and a conversation she had with Cathy Heller. In this episode I help you see how the father...

What if the reason you keep eating when you don't want to has nothing to do with willpower?

What if you're not broken, undisciplined, or lacking the ability to make good choices?

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I'm sharing the truth about emotional eating and helping you see it in a completely different way. 

And once you understand what I teach, you have leverage.

I'll explain why food is such an effective coping strategy, why beating yourself up about your eating can actually keep you stuck, and t...

In this BEST OF episode, we're revisiting an important conversation about how we can support ourselves and our kids through anxiety, big feelings, and the challenges of life right now.

I'll share what actually moves the needle in terms of us feeling happier in our everyday life, what our kids really need from us, and how we can help the people we love build the skills and confidence to navigate life's ups and downs.

Whether you're parenting a preteen, teen, or not a parent, this episode offers encouragement and practical ways to support yourself and...

Want to feel less guilty? Especially around your kids, friends, siblings, or spouse?

If you feel guilty saying no, worry about disappointing people, or find yourself overexplaining your decisions, this episode is for you.

I'm talking about why boundary guilt is so common, especially for women who were raised to put everyone else first. I'll teach you exactly how to stop interpreting someone else's discomfort as proof that your boundary is wrong and start trusting yourself instead.

I'm also breaking down the important difference between setting boundaries with healthy adults and setting boundaries w...

Have you ever told yourself, "I'll do it tomorrow," only to find yourself saying the same thing the next day? And the next?And the next? 

All the while, feeling worse and worse about yourself? (been there, done that 🫣)

This episode is going to help so much. Click play to learn how you're NOT lazy, unmotivated, or any other garbage your inner mean girl is telling you.

I have the amazing Monica Packer on the Love Your Life Show this week. She's the host of the About Progress podcast and author of the new b...

What if the first person you need to regulate isn't your child, your partner, or anyone else around you?  What if it's you?
In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, we're talking about a skill that can completely change the way you handle conflict, big feelings, and other people's problems: regulating yourself before you try to regulate someone else.

If you're anything like me, when someone around me is upset, frustrated, angry, or uncomfortable, I feel the urge to jump in.

To give advice!
To fix it!
To explain why t...

Have you ever walked away from a conversation thinking, Wait, what?!? How did that get turned around on me? 😵‍💫

Or found yourself replaying an argument, wishing you'd explained yourself just a little better?

If you're dealing with an emotionally immature person or a narcissist, more explaining won't help.

Listen in as I share 3 teachings that will help you so much! I know because I've been in these convos where my brain feels like it's a tangle of confusion.

These 3 things will help you stop getting pulled into exhausting conversations and start protecti...

Do you ever notice that you can be having a perfectly fine day… and then someone else's mood changes everything?

Your teenager is grumpy, and suddenly you're walking on eggshells.

Your husband is frustrated, and you can't seem to relax.

Someone is disappointed in you, and you spend the rest of the day wondering what you did wrong.

You might not think of yourself as someone who gets angry or has a bad mood. You probably think of yourself as stressed, overwhelmed, worried, or exhausted.

But what if part of...

Do you ever find yourself talking, talking, talking…trying to explain your decision, your actions, your boundary? Hoping that if you talk enough, the other person will understand?

Uh…me!!!

And in this episode, I'll be talking about why so many of us women overexplain, how confidence is involved, how what happened in our childhood could be involved, how relationships with narcissists are involved, how it could be harming our relationships with our teens and young adults, and much more.

Plus, I give you actual ways to stop. Ways that work! I had all...

How often do you say "It's fine" when it really isn't? 
Or agreeing to something you don't want to do just to keep the peace?

So many of us have become experts at pretending. 
Pretending we're okay. 
Pretending we don't have needs. 
Pretending someone else's behavior doesn't bother us. 

While those habits may have helped us as kids (or in our emotionally immature relationships), they hold us back as adults and women trying to be in supportive, emotionally safe and mature relationships.

Pretending and people pleasing leave us feeling disco...

In this week's episode, I'm joined by friendship expert, ADHD coach, and author Caroline Maguire to talk about the friendship skills most of us were never taught.

We explore how past relational wounds, people-pleasing, fear of rejection, and even being easily distracted can impact our ability to build and maintain meaningful friendships. Caroline shares practical tools to help us stop performing for connection and start creating relationships that feel more genuine, supportive, and fulfilling.

This was a super fun conversation (we found out she's living next to the small town I grew up in...

Warrior, when was the last time you asked yourself what you want?

Not what your kids need.
Not what your partner wants.
Not what needs fixing.
Not what everyone else expects of you.

What do you want?

For many of us, especially moms, focusing on everyone else starts as healthy and necessary. When our kids are little, they need us to prioritize their needs. And, as they grow, many of us never make the shift back. We keep organizing our lives around everyone else's wants, feelings, and goals while losing...

How do we raise emotionally intelligent kids?

It's not what our instinct tells us!

It's not by preventing them from having big feelings or to try to get them to think positively or see "the bright side".

It's also not to expect them to not have emotions or to think that our big feeling kid is doing something wrong that needs to be fixed.

Nope!

And yet, that's what most of us were taught (for sure me!) and so that's how we parent until we learn differently.

...

What if one of the number one skills for feeling calmer, more confident, and more in control of your life was something you were never taught?

If you're a genX, boomer, or early millennial, chances are…you weren't!

Which is why, for this episode of the Love Your Life Show, I'm doing a masterclass on emotional maturity.

Many of us grew up believing we were responsible for other people's feelings. We learned to keep the peace, make others happy, and avoid upsetting anyone around us. While those habits may have earned us praise by...

Re-airing this one because your messages told me you needed it.

Here's the part of parenting nobody prepares you for. If you do your job well, you raise humans who don't need you anymore. That's the goal. And it can feel brutal.

What I've learned, and what I teach, is that we don't actually want them to need us. We want them to want us. And that shift changes everything.

This episode covers the 3 jobs that set you up for exactly that, whether your kids are still home, halfway out, or fully launched.<...

This week's episode brings you two great things!

First , an awesome conversation with an Aussie! I figure you might want to just chill out this week and this is the perfect convo to pop in your ears as you go for a walk. Enjoy!

Second, the things we talk about and the honesty we share with each other will help you feel less stress, avoidance, or discomfort around money. 

How do I know? Because this is a re-air of an episode I did back in Covid and since then (and practicing the things s...

For the woman who feels responsible for everyone and everything: This episode will help so much!!! ⁣
⁣
Do you ever look at other women relaxing on a porch, laughing with their family, or their posts on social media… and wonder why things feel so much heavier for you?⁣
⁣
You're not alone! I felt this way too! Everything felt so heavy and serious. Many of us GenX women were raised to be good girls and taught incorrect messages about emotional intelligence - like we were responsible for other people's feelings. ⁣
Which is why we are great at reading t...

When doing all the right things still feels hard 😵‍💫

Have you ever thought, I've done so much work on myself. Why does this still get to me?

On this walk-and-talk episode, I'm opening up about marriage, growth, and the ongoing practice of letting go of control. 

I share how these patterns still surface in my own life and why that doesn't mean you're failing. 

If you're navigating tension with a partner, worry about a teen, or the emotional pull of an adult child, this conversation will offer support, perspective, and a gentler wa...

Does anyone else sometimes feel like the only way they feel calm is if they know everything and have a say in all the things? Or that if you don't stay on top of things, those things will fall apart!

And if you don't remind, manage, anticipate, and fix… things won't get done?

Great news warrior - you are not alone!

Even better news?

You don't have to feel this way.

In this episode, I'm talking about what it really means to be "the one who holds it all to...

Do you ever find yourself replaying conversations, second-guessing your decisions, or lying awake worrying about your teen’s future?

That mental loop has a name. It’s called rumination. And it’s quietly draining your energy, increasing anxiety, and affecting how you show up in your life and your relationships.

If you catch yourself overanalyzing everything you said, everything they said, and what it all means… this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

Inside this episode, you’ll learn:

Why rumination feels productive but actually keeps you stuck

The differ...

Do you ever find yourself replaying conversations, second-guessing your decisions, or lying awake worrying about your teen's future?

That mental loop has a name. It's called rumination. And it's quietly draining your energy, increasing anxiety, and affecting how you show up in your life and your relationships.

If you catch yourself overanalyzing everything you said, everything they said, and what it all means… this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

Inside this episode, you'll learn:

What if this summer didn’t leave you exhausted… but actually felt good?

So many midlife moms head into summer hoping it will be fun, relaxing, and connecting… and then find themselves overwhelmed, reactive, and running on empty by September.

In this episode, I’m showing you how to do it differently.

Not with a rigid plan. Not with more pressure. But with simple, intentional shifts that change how your days feel and in a way that helps the teens or young adults in your house.

We’re talking about the mindset an...

What if this summer didn't leave you exhausted… but actually felt good?

So many midlife moms head into summer hoping it will be fun, relaxing, and connecting… and then find themselves overwhelmed, reactive, and running on empty by September.

In this episode, I'm showing you how to do it differently.

Not with a rigid plan. Not with more pressure. But with simple, intentional shifts that change how your days feel and in a way that helps the teens or young adults in your house.

...

Do you feel like your mind automatically goes to worst-case scenarios, overthinking, or worrying about what might go wrong?

You’re not broken.
Your brain is just doing what it was designed to do.

But here’s the problem… When your brain fixates on the negative, it can leave you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and stuck in patterns of stress, self-doubt, and overthinking.

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I’m teaching you:

Why your brain has a natural negativity bias (and why you feel more anxious)

How ov...

Do you feel like your mind automatically goes to worst-case scenarios, overthinking, or worrying about what might go wrong?

You're not broken. Your brain is just doing what it was designed to do.

But here's the problem… When your brain fixates on the negative, it can leave you feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and stuck in patterns of stress, self-doubt, and overthinking.

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I'm teaching you:

Do you ever feel responsible for solving everyone else’s problems? Whether it’s your teen, your adult child, your partner, or even your friends, it’s easy to slip into fixing mode.

But what if constantly helping is actually weakening the relationship and leaving you feeling resentful?

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I’m teaching a skill that will help you support the people you love without over-functioning, people-pleasing, or taking on emotional labor that isn’t yours.

You’ll learn a simple framework that helps others feel understood...

Do you ever feel responsible for solving everyone else's problems? Whether it's your teen, your adult child, your partner, or even your friends, it's easy to slip into fixing mode.

But what if constantly helping is actually weakening the relationship and leaving you feeling resentful?

In this episode of The Love Your Life Show, I'm teaching a skill that will help you support the people you love without over-functioning, people-pleasing, or taking on emotional labor that isn't yours.

You'll learn a simple framework that helps others feel...

Your college kid is coming home… and you want it to go well.
You’re excited to see them. You’ve missed them. You can’t wait to hug them, cook for them, and have them back in your house again.

But here’s the thing most parents don’t realize.

The child who left for college is not exactly the same kid coming home. And your home is not the same place they left either.

This is a brand new stage of parenting.

In this episode, I’m sharing two simple but...

Your college kid is coming home… and you want it to go well.
You're excited to see them. You've missed them. You can't wait to hug them, cook for them, and have them back in your house again.

But here's the thing most parents don't realize.

The child who left for college is not exactly the same kid coming home. And your home is not the same place they left either.

This is a brand new stage of parenting.

In this episode, I'm sharing two simple but powerful things every pa...

What if the reason you feel exhausted, inflamed, anxious, or just not like yourself in midlife isn’t a lack of willpower… but a handful of small habits quietly working against you?

In this episode, I’m sharing the 5 things I started and the 5 things I stopped in perimenopause that completely changed my energy, sleep, mood, and overall health.

If you are navigating perimenopause symptoms, struggling with midlife weight gain and inflammation, or wondering how to feel better in midlife without overhauling your entire life, this episode is for you.

These are not extrem...

What if the reason you feel exhausted, inflamed, anxious, or just not like yourself in midlife isn't a lack of willpower… but a handful of small habits quietly working against you?

In this episode, I'm sharing the 5 things I started and the 5 things I stopped in perimenopause that completely changed my energy, sleep, mood, and overall health.

If you are navigating perimenopause symptoms, struggling with midlife weight gain and inflammation, or wondering how to feel better in midlife without overhauling your entire life, this episode is for you.

These are not extreme protocols.

If you’ve ever noticed yourself feeling more stiff, less coordinated, or just not as strong and capable in your body as you used to, this episode is for you.

I’m joined by Megan Dahlman, a strength and mobility coach who specializes in helping women move better, feel stronger, and protect their bodies as they age. Megan has such a calming, empowering way of cutting through the noise and confusion and helping you understand what your body actually needs in midlife.

In this conversation, we talk about what’s really happening in our muscles, joints...

If you've ever noticed yourself feeling more stiff, less coordinated, or just not as strong and capable in your body as you used to, this episode is for you.

I'm joined by Megan Dahlman, a strength and mobility coach who specializes in helping women move better, feel stronger, and protect their bodies as they age. Megan has such a calming, empowering way of cutting through the noise and confusion and helping you understand what your body actually needs in midlife.

In this conversation, we talk about what's really happening in our muscles, joints, and bones...

If you’ve ever felt like something is wrong with you and no matter how much you try to fix yourself, it never feels like enough, this episode is for you. I talk about why that feeling exists and how we get stuck in the cycle of self-criticism and over-improvement. I also share how you can start stepping out of it so you can feel calmer, lighter, and more at peace with yourself.
This is especially helpful if you’re navigating midlife, relationships, parenting, or just feeling like you’ve been trying so hard for so long.

Insi...

What if the problem was never you?

For so many years, I believed that if I could just fix myself enough, improve enough, and be better enough, I would finally feel calm, confident, and at peace. Yet, no matter how much I worked on myself, there was always something else to fix.

In this deeply personal episode, I share one of the most life changing truths I've learned in over 20 years of coaching and doing my own emotional healing work. 🩷

This episode is about what happens when you stop treating yourself like a pro...

Last week, I shared a more personal reflection on why this podcast exists. Today, I want to bring it back to coaching and answer a powerful question: after 400 episodes, what actually helps the most?

In this episode, I teach the first of two foundational skills that reduce emotional suffering, reactivity, and relationship drama. This simple but profound shift will help you feel more calm, more empowered, and less at the mercy of other people’s behavior.

If you’ve ever felt hijacked by your emotions or stuck in patterns you don’t like, this is where...

Last week, I shared a more personal reflection on why this podcast exists. Today, I want to bring it back to coaching and answer a powerful question: after 400 episodes, what actually helps the most?

In this episode, I teach the first of two foundational skills that reduce emotional suffering, reactivity, and relationship drama. This simple but profound shift will help you feel more calm, more empowered, and less at the mercy of other people's behavior.

If you've ever felt hijacked by your emotions or stuck in patterns you don't like, this is where the change...