About Progress

This monthly series features an episode sharing my recent highs and lows, how my habits are going, a Do Something List update, plus what I'm loving lately and my commitments for the upcoming month. I hope this glimpse into my life, my family, my work, and my own self development encourages you in your own journey. Around here the goal is never perfection, just to keep trying, even if in very simple ways. I think you'll see that with all of the big changes going on for me, taking the smallest of steps has helped to keep me afloat and feeling like myself. As always, I encourage you to get messy, too! My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every relationship deals with conflict, just in different ways. Some are avoidant, while others are confrontational. Some are constantly simmering, while others are explosive. Our guest today is therapist Trevor Hanson. Not only does he want to help us reframe how we see conflict--not an inhibitor to a successful marriage, but necessary to it—he wants to help you get better at what he calls “healthy conflict—” the kind where we can come together with different fears, needs, and messages, but still come away connected. Because a partnership takes two people, with different backgrounds and different emotional responses, couples can often find themselves caught in a negative cycle. Trevor goes in to detail about what this can look like, and offers advice on where to start. In his words, "If you can change at least one half of the cycle, you've changed 50% of the problem." Kwame Christian on conflict and people pleasing. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method This epis

Is there something that has made you think other people can do that, but not me? This is part of a monthly series to convince you otherwise. These episodes feature real women from this community who are answering the question “How do you…?” about their various passions and pursuits. Today's episode features Kylie, a mom who got into photography as a passion and profession. She shares how this is something she's loved since childhood and her progression since then. If you've wondered how to get into photography as a creative outlet, you'll be inspired by Kylie's belief that anyone with a camera can be a photographer - and that includes your phone! She also has tips and tricks for where to find resources to support you as you explore a potential new hobby that allows for documentation, creativity, and growth with a new skill. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily is a mother of 6 struggling to juggle the various demands of her life, including finding time for herself to pursue higher education. What started off as a surface level issue of finding the time and focus for her writing, turned into a deeper conversation about family support and communication. This same thing happens quite often when I am coaching, where women think they are struggling in one area but it is really much deeper. As you listen to this live coaching call with Emily, you can apply some of the questions and thought processes to your own life. In this episode specifically we talk about re-potentializing (I explain it!) and how to manage the support, or lack thereof, from loved ones. We will all experience really good people, even close loved ones, that are not enrolled in our visions. This episode will teach you that you can honor their fears without bending to them. Past coaching call on rituals with Sara My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Le

I once had a workshop attendee ask me about self-love, and I answered honestly. I don't always love every part of myself, but I do respect myself. This is a different attitude than what was initially more popular when About Progress first started, and many voices were echoing that to "just love yourself" would fix everything. In this short episode I want to ask you, what would change for you if you moved the goal post from love to respect? I also share some wise marriage advice that applies here, and some questions you can ask yourself to shift your mindset. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quick disclaimer! While not explicit, the topic we are covering today is adult in nature. Those who typically listen with kids around may consider putting in earbuds instead. Over the last 6+ years talking about perfectionism on this blog and podcast we have covered intimacy, but never specifically this topic. Today's episode address the ways that perfectionism interferes with, and even sabotages, the way you show up to, and experience, sex. This is not an interview meant to make you feel uncomfortable and discouraged, but it will help you examine your behavior and give you some things to try if you want to get more comfortable with your sexuality. After reading her illuminating book, Come As You Are, I was determine to have this author on the podcast. A few years later, we finally get to learn from our expert guest Emily Nagoski PhD, a sex therapist, who specializes in teaching women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habi

Today I want to talk about curiosity, but I first have to address our desire for certainty. We tend to want straightforward, black-and-white, prescriptions for the 'right' way to be. But what happens when things inevitably don't work out the most perfect way? We blame ourselves for that failure. So, instead of certainty I want to encourage you to lean into curiosity. From pie crusts to parenting, you can get curious about failures. If you find yourself spiraling towards the shame and blame cycle, the tips in this episode are for you. Along with previously shared progress principles like courage and discomfort, this way of reframing failures will be a helpful tool in your progress journey. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few years ago I got really interested in block planning after seeing the success that some other influential people were having with this way of scheduling their days. For a while I found it helpful, until real life started getting in the way. I still acknowledge some of the pros to block scheduling, like dividing your focus and making less decisions, but also see some downsides that affected myself and others. If this method, or others, has felt too rigid or required too much energy to maintain, I want to introduce rhythm scheduling and how a more flexible approach can feel like a better fit for you. Through my own personal examples, as well as the examples of several different types of women that I have worked with, I'm going to guide you through identifying your own seasons and guideposts for this method. Rhythm scheduling is meant to be flexible, it's allowed to change throughout your year, and it has an emphasis on your actual priorities. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes St

This monthly series features an episode sharing my recent highs and lows, how my habits are going, a Do Something List update, plus what I'm loving lately and my commitments for the upcoming month. I hope this glimpse into my life, my family, my work, and my own self development encourages you in your own journey. Around here the goal is never perfection, just to keep trying, even if in very simple ways. I think you'll see that with all of the big changes going on for me, taking the smallest of steps has helped to keep me afloat and feeling like myself. As always, I encourage you to get messy, too! Baby E's Birth Story, DSL Training My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has your spiritual life shifted the last few years? You’re not alone. And while that can be beautiful (and of course challenging), it also poses some logistical challenges. Including: what can a personal spiritual practice look like for me now. Years ago, I did something terrifying: I shared with the internet about my then decade-plus series of faith crises. One of the things I didn’t get to share there, but I did in a later episode, is how these years challenged my actual habits of nourishing and maintaining my spirituality. That’s why today I am looking forward to sharing a coaching call I did with a Progressor named Heather—a woman who is experiencing a change in her season, and a shift in her spiritual life that she wants to support with a new habit. I know it’ll help you do the same—whether that’s now, later, or simply to help someone else going through it. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is there something that has made you think other people can do that, but not me? This is part of a monthly series to convince you otherwise. These episodes feature real women from this community who are answering the question “How do you…?” about their various passions and pursuits. Today’s episode features Michelle, a mom who wanted to empower her kids to try everything, to be courageous, and do things that scare you. From drawing, to rock climbing, she pursued the interests that her kids had, right alongside them. She learned that all of her "have-not skills" now bring her joy, and she can actually do so much more than she thought she could. If you are needing that extra little push to do something, which we love to do around here, this interview will inspire you. Michelle describes how allowing herself to adventure more, in a literal outdoor sense at first, overflowed into more areas of her life that she wasn't expecting but now benefits greatly from. She also shares one really specific and doable tip: sta

After 15 years of marriage, I was reflecting on the conflict between my husband Brad and I, and it's not what you might expect. Our problem was a lack of conflict due to our people pleasing tendencies. With awareness, time, and work, we learned to face our fears and get good at conflict. Today's eye-opening interview taught me another word for this: negotiation, and it's not just reserved for business and law. Though he is a lawyer, my conversation with Kwame Christian is not what you might expect from one. He shares his own story as a recovering people pleaser and how he navigates relationships now. Kwame has really practical tips, such as using his compassionate curiosity framework, that you can implement right now. Plus, he advocates for having a strong relationship with yourself, including questions you can ask to make valuable improvements. My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Often at the beginning of a new year we are bombarded with the messaging that we need to change our bodies in a very specific way. I want to dive into that a little bit today, but know that this is not an episode about loving or accepting our bodies. I am being very honest about my current struggles as I'm heavily pregnant and just getting older. And I don't necessarily have a magic recipe for dealing with this, but I do have a mantra that I tell myself that settles my thoughts just enough: BODIES CHANGE. In this bite-sized episode I'm sharing some more vulnerable thoughts so that you realize that you don't have to feel so alone. You don't have to carry the weight of the pressures you're facing anymore. My hope is that in sharing what works for me, maybe the same simple touchstone will help you connect back to yourself when you need to.  My FREE DSL Training My FREE habits class Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "Do Something List" is the one thing that really started this all - the blog, the podcast, the community, and everything else. Several years ago, and six months before I turned 30, I had an idea to create a sort of bucket list. I have spoken about this time in our lives before, and share more in the episode, but it was truly a time where I just did not feel like myself. From the outside, I had everything I wanted, but on the inside I felt like a shell of myself. Pursuing that first list helped me find me, and I have made one every year since. In this episode I'll walk you through exactly how to create your own Do Something List, and you can get the DSL training that I reference to follow along with me. I'll explain what it is NOT (no goals! no shoulds!) and what it IS. The most important thing to remember is that this list will not be something that you fear, it will be something that feels fulfilling and grows with you in your current season. You'll hear me go through the whole process as I create my own

I had the idea to start sharing "progress principles" based on things that I was struggling with personally, and that my coaching clients were struggling with, as well. Today I want to come back to something that you will be familiar with if you've been a long-time listener, and that's the all-or-nothing trap. I don't like to encourage any extremes here, but can it really work to do things in the middle? I say yes! And it starts with courage. In this bite-sized episode I have three tips that will give you the permission, and gentle nudge, to have courage when it comes to your personal growth. I hope you take that courage and lean into it to do something (not all or nothing!) with what you've learned today. My FREE habits class is now available!! Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year I had the opportunity to interview a returning favorite, Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, and her sister Carolyn Bever, which produced two of the most thought-provoking episodes of that year. We discussed how to parent your perfectionistic child in part one and part two of that interview. During that conversation the idea of self-expansion was brought up, and I knew we would need a whole future episode to deep dive that topic. Today is that day. Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife joins me to explain what it is, and why self-expansion will improve every area of your life, including relationships (her major area of expertise!) She offers unique insight as a therapist that will help you ask yourself the tough questions and see what type of self-expansion is possible in your season. Tune in and learn how your pursuit of growth in this way is one of the kindest things you can do for your relationship with your self, and with others. My FREE habits class is now available!! Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Le

This monthly series features an episode sharing my recent highs and lows, how my habits are going, a Do Something List update, plus what I'm loving lately and my commitments for the upcoming month. I hope this glimpse into my life, my family, my work, and my own self development encourages you in your own journey. Around here the goal is never perfection, just to keep trying, even if in very simple ways. I think you'll see that with all of the big changes going on for me, taking the smallest of steps has helped to keep me afloat and feeling like myself. As always, I encourage you to get messy, too! My FREE habits class is now available!! Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you dive head first into a list of goals or resolutions for the new year, I want you to do something first. Get clear about your values. In this episode I will teach you why that matters, down to the impact it can have on your smallest day-to-day decisions. And for those of you asking, "What even are my values?" I created the Ultimate Values Exercise, a thorough, yet approachable, place to start. (And here's the 15 minute online quiz I mentioned.) Tune in to hear four truths about values, my top five values, and an extremely vulnerable story related to one of them: leadership. It's a voice memo I recorded during a low point with the podcast, one that I never intended to ever air. I'm sharing it now to illustrate how knowing my values, and clinging to them, kept me going during a lot of self doubt. I hope you feel inspired and equipped to begin living a more value driven life that is truly fulfilling, meaningful, and clear. Get my Did Something guide in the weekly newsletter! My FREE habits class is no

In this month's edition of "Dear Progressor," you'll hear from members of this community who called in and answered my prompt to share their did something lists. I based this on the idea that we need to look back in order to better look forward - in this case to a new year! This episode is really fun because it's not just a laundry list of goals and achievements. We get to hear a lot of fun things! And I kick it off with 3 things on my own did something list. These women share things ranging from the word that describes their past year, the old hobbies they got back into, returning to their education and even book publishing! I hope this inspires you to create your own Did Something List so you can see all that you really did accomplish over this past year and go confidently into 2023. My FREE habits class is now available!! Full Show Notes Sticky Habit Method DSL Workshop in January Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I feel pretty in tune with the rhythms of this community, so I tried to predict what topics we (including me) would need as the year ends and a new one begins. I find that many of us have heightened expectations, yet lowered faculties from all of our demands, and that can lead to some anxiety. Today I'm talking with licensed therapist Kimberley Quinlan, an expert on anxiety disorders in her practice and on her podcast, My Anxiety Toolkit. This is her second time on the podcast, you can listen to the first interview here. Kimberley breaks down several safety behaviors that you may be engaging in, and the way she describes perfectionism as one of them is spot on. Her advice for approaching the new year is to know your values instead of set goals, and be very compassionate to yourself. We both offer our personal experiences related to the topic, she shares some research on procrastination, and then ends with a challenge for you to put pen to paper and set yourself up for success as we move into 2023! Get my Did