Shows
Calmer ConversationsLet It Be Simple: A Pause, A Shift, A New Season“Being this gentle observer of your own experience… it sounds simple. But it’s life-changing.”In this episode, I’m sharing where I am right now, personally and with this podcast. I’ve been feeling the nudge to slow down, to shift the rhythm, and to give myself permission to stop doing things out of obligation. That includes releasing the idea that I need to show up here every week just because I said I would.You’ll hear about why it’s okay to follow your energy instead of the “shoulds,” how honoring your own cycles creates m...2025-07-3110 minCalmer ConversationsReminder: You Are Not Your EmotionsHave you ever caught yourself thinking, “Ugh, I’m just an angry person,” or “Why am I always like this?” In this episode of Calmer Conversations, I want to offer you what is hopefully an effective reframe: just because you feel an emotion doesn’t mean it defines who you are. Feeling anger doesn’t make you an angry person. Feeling fear doesn’t mean you’re fearful. I talk about how emotions are physical sensations that move through us and how the stories we attach to them are often what cause the most suffering. When we learn to separate who we ar...2025-07-2414 minCalmer ConversationsSelf-Regulation as a Form of ActivismI recorded this episode on the 4th of July—a day that made me reflect on the state of the world and how this inner work fits into it all. There’s so much heartbreak and division right now, and while I don’t follow the 24/7 news cycle, I do try to stay aware of what’s happening. In this conversation, I’m talking about the difference between reactive outrage and intentional action, and why nervous system regulation is a powerful place to begin if you want to create meaningful change. If you’ve ever questioned whether focusing on your emotion...2025-07-1717 minCalmer ConversationsWhy It's So Hard to Feel Your Feelings (And How to Start)In this episode, I’m exploring why so many of us struggle to feel our emotions, especially the hard ones like disappointment, anger, or grief. I share a story about my daughter at a yard sale that perfectly illustrates how emotional suppression often starts in childhood, and how we unintentionally carry those patterns into adulthood. I also talk about what’s really happening in our brains and bodies when we try to avoid discomfort, and why learning to feel our feelings is a powerful act of self-trust. If you’ve ever wondered why emotions can feel so overwhelming or how to...2025-07-1013 minCalmer ConversationsLetting Go of Right and Wrong: Living in AmbiguityMost of us were taught to see life in binaries: right or wrong, good or bad, success or failure. But what if the real magic happens when we step away from certainty and into ambiguity? In today’s episode, I explore how dropping binary thinking opens the door to deeper self-trust, creativity, and fulfillment. We’ll talk about why your brain craves certainty, how childhood conditioning shaped your relationship to “right” and “wrong,” and gentle ways you can start shifting toward nuance and possibility in your daily life. If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing the “right” way to do life, thi...2025-07-0317 minCalmer ConversationsTwo Questions to Help You Rewire Your MindYou don’t have to believe every thought your brain offers you.In this episode of Calmer Conversations, I share two of my favorite questions to gently interrupt overthinking and reconnect with yourself: Is it true? and What else could be true? You'll learn how these simple but powerful questions help create space between you and your thoughts, and why compassionate listening (not silencing your mind) is the first step toward real change. I’ll walk you through how overthinking is a coping mechanism, what happens when we engage with our thoughts differently, and how practicing these ques...2025-06-2617 minCalmer ConversationsStart with Your Nervous System, Change Your LifeToday on Calmer Conversations, we're getting into something foundational—why nervous system regulation is the real root of personal change. While mindset work is powerful, our nervous system state quietly directs our thoughts, actions, and how we experience life. I’m sharing why learning to regulate your nervous system is world-changing work, starting with you. If you’ve ever felt like mindset work isn’t enough, this might be the piece you’ve been missing. We’ll talk about why nervous system regulation matters, how it impacts your connection with others, and why doing this work for yourself ripples out farther...2025-06-1914 minCalmer ConversationsYou Don’t Need To Shut Your Brain Up—You Need To Get CuriousWhat if the thoughts you’re trying to silence are actually offering you something important?Today on Calmer Conversations, I’m sharing why trying to shut up your brain—or numb out your spiraling thoughts—might be making things harder, not easier. Instead of ignoring the loud, uncomfortable parts of yourself, I offer a different path: compassionate listening. You’ll hear why your brain acts the way it does, what ignoring it really costs you, and how learning to acknowledge and gently work with your inner critic can shift everything. This episode is an invitation to stop fighting y...2025-06-1219 minCalmer ConversationsThe 12 Core Pillars: A Personal Check-In for Real Life“You don’t need to be running on all 12 cylinders to feel balanced—but checking in helps you know where you are and where you want to go.”In this episode of Calmer Conversations, I’m walking you through a personal practice I return to again and again: checking in with the 12 pillars of health, purpose, relationships, and resources. These are the foundations I use in my own life and inside the Life Lab to help people feel more supported, more grounded, and more alive. This isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness. About pausing long enough to say—...2025-06-0515 minCalmer ConversationsCheck In With You: A Gentle Monthly PracticeHow do you want to remember last month? What story do you want to carry forward—and what are you ready to leave behind?In this episode of Calmer Conversations, I’m walking you through one of my favorite practices we use every month in the Life Lab: the monthly check-in. It’s simple, powerful, and something you can do right now, no journal or special planner required (though I’ve created one of those if you want it!). We’ll explore how to look back at your month—not to judge it, but to tell an intentional...2025-05-2917 minCalmer ConversationsBefore You Change, Notice What You're Choosing"You can’t choose something different until you’re aware of what you’re choosing."When I heard this, something clicked. It reminded me how often we’re moving through our days on autopilot—reacting, responding, spiraling—and not even realizing that we’re making choices at all.In this episode, I talk about what it means to notice. Noticing the small ways we show up with ourselves, with our thoughts, with the world around us. So often, the way we feel isn’t about what’s happening externally—it’s about what we’re choosing internally, whe...2025-05-2212 minCalmer ConversationsWhat If You Didn’t Need to Fix Your Body?In this episode of Calmer Conversations, we pause. We ground. And we talk about the relationship so many of us have with our bodies—especially as we move through midlife, motherhood, hormonal shifts, and the endless messaging that tells us we’re not quite enough. If you’ve ever felt like your body had to be fixed before it could be loved, this one is for you. I walk you through a powerful perspective shift: that your body isn’t your enemy—it’s your ally. It’s the vehicle through which you get to experience life. You don’t need to earn r...2025-05-1513 minCalmer ConversationsWhen It’s Time to Let Go of ‘Good’ ThingsToday’s episode is part grounding, part storytelling, part revelation—and it's rooted in something simple yet powerful: gardening. I share the story of how volunteering on a rose farm while studying for the GMAT led me to one of the biggest mindset shifts of my life. It’s all about the importance of letting go of what’s past its prime, even when it looks beautiful on the surface. Just like a rosebush needs deadheading to thrive, we sometimes need to lovingly prune our own lives—habits, beliefs, identities—that are no longer serving us. It’s not easy. It takes...2025-05-0817 min
Medium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and MothersEpisode 138: Move Through Your Outrage - How To Take Care of Yourself Insight #7 with Guest Cecelia Baum MandrykWhat if your nervous system didn’t believe it was safe to want something just for you?
In Episode 138 of Medium Lady Talks, Erin is joined by life coach Cecelia Mandryk (@ceceliabmandryk) to continue our series on How to Take Care of Yourself. Together, they explore the difference between dopamine-driven quick fixes and the courageous work of sustained self-care. Cecelia offers powerful tools and reframes that help high-functioning people make their minds a calmer, safer place to be.
Erin and Cecelia talk about:
Why identifying what YOU want can feel threatening when you've le...2025-05-0546 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Use Noticing to Shift Your PatternsWelcome back to Calmer Conversations. In last week’s episode, we talked about how noticing—especially through the lens of therapy or venting—can sometimes leave us stuck in the same loops. This week, we shift that lens entirely. I walk you through how noticing becomes a powerful tool for change—not through shame, judgment, or urgency, but through gentle, curious observation. You’ll learn what it means to turn inward, to notice your own thought and emotion patterns, and how to gently zoom out so you can start to see your brain’s “lines of code” for what they are: practi...2025-05-0115 minCalmer ConversationsThe Noticing That Actually Changes ThingsIf you’ve ever thought, “I know what the problem is, but I just keep doing the same thing,” this episode is for you. Last week, we talked about what happens when noticing your patterns isn’t enough—when therapy, venting, or awareness has taken you as far as it can. This week, we’re flipping that around. In this episode, I discuss the kind of noticing that does move the needle—the deep, internal noticing that helps you understand your own brain, your nervous system, and the stories running beneath the surface. This is the work that actually changes your d...2025-04-2414 minMedium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and Mothers[REPOST] Episode 98: Is Your Burnout Preventable?This episode originally aired April 10, 2024. Enjoy Episode 98 of Medium Lady Talks!
~~~~
Welcome back, listeners! Today I’m solo on mic exploring a question that's inspired by a text chat I had with a friend: "Is your burnout preventable?" If you've ever found yourself plagued with exhaustion, resentful of all the things out of your control, and down the path to truly crippling physiological symptoms, this episode is for you.
Summary:
In this episode, we’ll think critically about burnout, examining it from different angles. I’ll reflect on a recent...2025-04-2147 minCalmer ConversationsWhy You're Still Stuck (Even If You've Been in Therapy for Years)If you’ve been in therapy or doing inner work for a while but still feel stuck in the same cycles, this episode is for you. I’m sharing a conversation that comes up over and over with clients: what happens when you’ve become deeply self-aware but change still isn’t happening. There’s nothing wrong with you—and there’s nothing wrong with therapy—but there comes a point where knowing your patterns just isn’t enough. Today, I talk about why noticing alone won’t create transformation, what to do when you hit a growth plateau, and how coaching and...2025-04-1714 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Stop the Spiral and Actually Process Your EmotionsI used to think spiraling was just part of being emotional—until I realized it was actually my brain’s sneaky way of avoiding what I really needed to feel. In this episode, I talk about the real difference between processing an emotion and spiraling in it. One helps you move through life with more ease. The other keeps you stuck. I share stories from clients, from my own life, and some really practical ways to recognize what’s happening in your brain and body so you can start feeling your feelings instead of being overwhelmed by them. This one’s...2025-04-1016 minCalmer ConversationsChange Doesn’t Have to Be So HardYou haven't failed—your method just might be exhausting. In this episode, I’m sharing one of the most powerful mindset shifts I use with clients (and in my own life): What if it could be easy? So often, we assume that change has to be hard, that we need to push, force, or shame ourselves into doing something differently. But what if we’ve been putting all our effort in the wrong place? I’ll walk you through what happens when we stop trying to change our actions directly and instead focus on the thoughts and feelings that create t...2025-04-0316 minCalmer ConversationsThe Self-Love Work That Changes EverythingWe hear all the time that self-love is important, but what does that actually mean? And why is it so hard to practice? After leading a four-day workshop on self-love, I wanted to bring some of the biggest takeaways here—why we resist self-love, how to recognize where we are in our relationship with ourselves, and what real self-love actually looks like in practice. If you’ve ever felt like self-love is too self-involved, too indulgent, or that you need to “fix” yourself before you can love who you are, tune in now. Because self-love isn’t about becoming someone di...2025-03-2716 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Create a Morning Routine That Supports YouMorning routines get a lot of hype, and for a long time, I believed I needed the perfect one to fix everything in my life. Over the years, I’ve had all kinds of morning routines—from an intense 4-hour spiritual practice to a quick 15-minute routine squeezed between the chaos of parenting. And what I’ve learned is this: there’s no single right way to start your day. In this episode, I’m sharing my personal journey with morning routines, what I’ve let go of, and how I make mine work for me right now. If you’ve ever...2025-03-2015 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Feel and Process Emotions in Real TimeYou haven't actually processed any emotion that hangs around for more than 60 to 90 seconds. Now, read that again. Most of us think we’re dealing with our emotions when we talk about them, distract ourselves, or push them down—but the truth is, if an emotion stays, we haven’t really processed it. In this episode, I’m breaking down what it actually means to feel an emotion in real time, why avoiding or resisting feelings makes them stick around longer, and how you can shift your emotional state in just a couple of minutes. If you’ve ever been caugh...2025-03-1313 minCalmer ConversationsWhat If Life Is More Beautiful Than I Can Imagine?What if life is already more beautiful, easier, or more abundant than you’ve allowed yourself to see? I came across a simple but powerful question that made me rethink how we experience the world, and I want to share it with you today. In this episode, I’ll talk about how your brain filters reality, why you might not be seeing the joy or calm that’s already present, and how a small shift in perspective can change the way you experience life. If you’ve ever felt stuck in the belief that things have to change before you can...2025-03-0615 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Stay Calm When Life Feels Out of ControlLife can feel overwhelming—whether it’s a tough day with your kids or the world just feels heavy. Lately, so many people have told me they feel unsettled, so I wanted to talk about how to find your own calm, no matter what’s happening around you. In this episode, I’m sharing what’s helped me and my clients stay steady when things feel chaotic. Because real peace doesn’t come from everything around you being perfect—it comes from how you work with your own mind and emotions. If you’ve been feeling anxious, frustrated, or just off, this o...2025-02-2714 minCalmer ConversationsHealing Insomnia with Mindset and MindfulnessToday I want to talk about insomnia–I’m not a doctor so I won’t be giving any medical advice or supplements to take, but I want to talk about how I’ve seen the issue of sleep come up time and time again for my coaching clients. While there might be real things happening in your body that are preventing sleep, I think it’s also really important to look at the stories you have around sleep. We know that the thoughts that we have, the beliefs we have, create our reality. So how can we use this idea...2025-02-2015 minCalmer ConversationsDreaming vs. Doing: How to Work With Your DesiresI’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between daydreaming about a different life and actually knowing what you want. Someone sent in a question about this—about feeling stuck in a cycle of imagining a better future but never really knowing how to get there. And I get it. It’s so easy to think happiness is somewhere else, in some other version of life that feels just out of reach. So in this episode, I want to talk about that—about how to tell the difference between dreaming and wanting, how to know if something is a rea...2025-02-1313 minCalmer ConversationsWhat College Football Taught Me About Failure, Growth, and Living in the MomentI didn’t expect to learn so much from watching college football, but I did. This season, I got caught up in the games, cheering with my in-laws, and I started to see how much sports can teach us about life. In this episode, I’m sharing five key lessons I learned—about handling failure, learning from challenges, and staying present in the moment. Even if you’re not into sports, these ideas might help you look at problems differently and find new ways to keep going. Stay tuned till the end—I’ve also got a free guided meditation f...2025-02-0619 minCalmer ConversationsTransform Your Mornings: The Power of Self-TalkToday we're gonna talk about the things you tell yourself that really matter and I'm specifically gonna talk about waking up early in the morning. When you tune in, you will learn how the phrases we tell ourselves can significantly impact our feelings and actions throughout the day. By challenging the common narrative of tiredness and shifting to more positive affirmations, such as “I'm alive,” you can change their mindset and improve your morning routines. Along with the positive affirmations, I’m sharing a few other practical exercises and insights on how to cultivate a more positive self-dialogue to enhanc...2025-01-3014 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Use Goals to Support Personal GrowthDoes this sound familiar? You generally set unrealistic goals believing that when you attain them, you will have successfully become a new or more perfect version of yourself? But when you do attain them, nothing has actually changed. If so, this episode is for you because we are going to talk about the healthy way to use goals for yourself to create true and lasting change. I want to teach you how to use goals as supportive ideals–whether they are New Year’s Resolutions or goals you’ve set any other time of year— rather than another way to beat...2025-01-2317 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Keep New Year’s Resolutions Past JanuaryI hope that you are having an amazing new year so far! It is mid-January, which is the time of the year when a lot of people drop their New Year's resolutions or best intentions for change. So today I want to talk to you about how you might continue with these resolutions if you want to and any support that I can offer you. In the episode, you will learn how thoughts and feelings drive actions, and how understanding this can lead to more sustainable change. I hope you’ll feel encouraged to look at your underlying beliefs an...2025-01-1617 minCalmer ConversationsProgress vs. PerfectionIf you’ve ever found yourself saying you’ll go to the gym every single day or creating any other unrealistic plans that no human being can actually stick to, this episode is for you! We all do this to some degree, but why does perfectionism happen? In this conversation, I’m going to dig deep into how trying to be perfect keeps you stuck and how to help your brain start seeing things differently. The truth is, you don’t need to become an entirely new person to make changes in your life. Here’s what to do instead. 2025-01-0923 minCalmer ConversationsSetting Goals That Work for Your BrainIn this episode, we’re going to talk about goal setting and how to do it in a way that works for your brain. You’ve probably set New Year’s resolutions before, and chances are, they failed or didn’t work as well as you wanted them to. The truth is, we set goals because we think reaching them is going to make us feel a certain way - accomplished, worthy, talented, whatever it is for you. But your mindset won’t suddenly shift once you get to your goal. It’s going to shift as you go along if you...2025-01-0215 minCalmer ConversationsThe Art of Nourishing YourselfWelcome to the New Year! I’m recording this episode just a couple of days after giving birth, and my postpartum experience got me thinking about the topic of creating a life that feels genuinely nourishing and brings you closer to yourself. If you’re a high achiever like me, it can be second nature to dismiss nourishing activities as something that’s not worth doing. Or you might secretly believe that you’re a better person if you do hard things instead of the things that you enjoy. As you’re setting your intentions for 2025, I hope that this episo...2024-12-2621 minCalmer ConversationsA Deeper Understanding of the Nervous SystemYou’ve likely heard about your nervous system before, but you’re probably not sure how it works, what it does for your body, and, most importantly, why it matters. So, in this episode, I’m breaking down everything you need to know using simple and practical language. The truth is that your nervous system is constantly sending and receiving signals throughout your body that affect everything from your stress response to pleasure. And when you know how to work with your nervous system, not against it, you can make lasting changes and turn your brain into a calmer place...2024-12-1920 minCalmer ConversationsPractical Strategies for Overcoming Dread and Other Hard EmotionsToday we're gonna talk about dread and how perhaps to feel less of it in your life. You can substitute pretty much any emotion in here for dread. So even if you don't tend to feel a lot of dread in your life, this will be applicable to you. If you're somebody who experiences the Sunday Scaries, or you dread upcoming social events or things like that, then this will be really helpful for you because I'll be talking specifically about dread. When you listen, you will hear practical strategies for understanding the physical sensations associated with dread, allowing...2024-12-1217 minCalmer ConversationsThe Brain-Friendly Way to Process Big EmotionsIf you often tense up when others around you experience big emotions, such as anger or anxiety, tune in. These situations come up a lot during the holiday season when we spend time with family, but you can use the mindset shifts in this episode at any time of the year to center yourself. How we respond to other people's emotions is typically ingrained in our brains as children. But now that you’re an adult, you get to take responsibility for your feelings despite what’s happening around you. You can allow others to have their emotional experience and...2024-12-0519 minCalmer ConversationsHow to Feel Calmer During the HolidaysThe holiday season is barreling towards us, and with it come family dinners, work parties, and just the general intensity of this time of the year. It’s easy to feel like you already know what’s coming and brace yourself for impact. But let me ask you a question, what if you could walk into these same situations but have a completely different internal experience? You can’t control your uncle drinking maybe a little bit too much or the gravy being *always* late, but you can change how your brain and body respond to these things. In this e...2024-11-2823 minCalmer ConversationsHow You Talk to Yourself (and Others) MattersLast week on Calmer Conversations, we talked about how I’m structuring my maternity leave. Go back and listen to that if you haven’t – it’s actionable even if you aren’t pregnant! Today, in this same vein, I want to talk about how you talk to yourself, but in the context of pregnancy. Again, this is something that even if you're not pregnant, it should be applicable to you. I'm at the end of a pregnancy, so that's the framing that I'm going to take today but the whole of the episode is about how you talk to yoursel...2024-11-2116 minCalmer ConversationsHow I’m Structuring My Maternity LeaveOn the newest episode of Calmer Conversations, I'm going to talk about maternity leave, but before you totally shut off if that's not a place you are in your life or will ever be, the framing in which I'm gonna talk about it is figuring out what you like, because I think it's really important and it plays a big part in in my maternity leave and how I'm approaching it. So even if you're not going on maternity leave in the near future or if you will ever go on maternity leave or if you have zero interest...2024-11-1423 minCalmer ConversationsCreating Emotional Responsibility to Feel More EmpoweredA lot of times when I’m out walking, doing yoga, or meditating, I get a lot of clarity around new topics for the podcast. Today’s episode is one of those topics – emotional responsibility, or taking responsibility for how you feel. I wanted to bring this to Calmer Conversations because it’s something that comes up very often in my 1:1 coaching and group programs. This episode is bite sized and will teach you how you can start to consider your own emotions, rather than the ingrained belief that many of us have which is that we are responsible for othe...2024-11-0716 minCalmer ConversationsThe Role of Identity in Making ChangeToday I want to talk about the rule of identity, and specifically past identity and future identity, in creating change in your life. That change could be something that feels relatively small, like you may want to feel calmer (even though I would argue that's probably a big change), or it could be something really major, like you want to change careers or I you want to make a big move or do something else really drastic in your life. No matter where you are in that space, you're probably listening because you want to feel differently in your l...2024-10-3124 minCalmer ConversationsUnderstanding Your Brain (The Motivational Triad)Have you ever set a goal, say waking up really early to work out before you get your day started… but then your alarm goes off in the morning and you hit snooze. You end up feeling disappointed, frustrated, and maybe angry. You set a new commitment to do better the next day, but then the cycle repeats. If so, this episode is going to be really interesting for you. We’re exploring the duality of the brain, focusing on the primitive and higher functioning parts. When you listen, you’ll learn how these two parts influence behavior, decision-making, and th...2024-10-2424 minCalmer ConversationsWhat is Brain Based Change?A lot of times in this work you’ll hear me mention “brain based change”, but what does this actually mean? When I am talking about using your brain to change, about using a brain based approach to creating change in your life, to feeling differently, to acting differently, what I'm talking about fundamentally is understanding what's happening in your head. This means understanding what is happening in your nervous system and working with that so that you can create change from a root cause level. The foundation of this is, you can probably guess it, is understanding your though...2024-10-1727 minCalmer ConversationsOn Turning 40 and My 10 Year ReflectionAs I'm recording this episode on September 10th, yesterday was my birthday and I turned 40, which feels momentous. So for this episode, I was thinking, because it was on my brain a lot yesterday and today even, that I might share a little bit about where I was 10 years ago in case that helps you and also just to give you a little bit more of an idea of my story and where I've come from and what's happened in my life and what I've kind of created over that time period. I’m blown away when I look at...2024-10-1024 minCalmer ConversationsReframing “I’ll be happy when…”Before listening to this episode, I want you to take five minutes to end this thought: “I’ll be happy when…” or you can insert calm/successful/loved or whatever it is you’re desiring at this moment. Give yourself the opportunity to brainstorm and write down everything that comes up, whether it’s something big or small. The reason why I want to start to play with this question and the reason why we're devoting an entire episode to it is because it pushes our happiness off into the future – that happiness can only come when you’ve checked all the...2024-10-0321 minCalmer ConversationsThought Work and Nervous System Regulation for ParentsIf you’ve listened to the past couple episodes of the podcast or if you’re connected with me on social media, you know that my family and I have recently moved from a small island in Maine to Virginia. Not only that, my kids are starting school for the first time ever. So in this episode, I want to discuss how I have been using her work to support myself and my children through the changes and shifts in our lives. You will learn the importance of understanding and processing our own thoughts and emotions, as well as carin...2024-09-2621 minCalmer ConversationsHow I Use Thought Work in My Daily LifeIn this episode, I thought I would share my personal experience of using the tools and skills I talk about in each episode of this podcast during a period of change and uncertainty in my own life. I’m sharing how I navigated the emotions and challenges that arose during our recent move (while being pregnant!) and how I stayed grounded and calm throughout the process. You’ll hear the importance of recognizing and accepting emotions, asking meaningful questions, and being aware of thoughts and beliefs. I’m also highlighting the power of practicing tools such as EFT tapping, cohere...2024-09-1925 minCalmer ConversationsReal Thought Work vs. Toxic PositivityToday on Calmer Conversations, I want to talk about the difference between intentional thought work and toxic positivity. Sometimes when people find out about this work or sometimes when I get questions about it, they think that coaching or they think mindset work is really about only using positive affirmations or always keeping a positive mindset and I don't think that could be further from the truth. In reality, when I think about this work, I really think about how it's an embracing of all of your humanity and all of the thoughts you have, all of the emotions...2024-09-1218 minCalmer ConversationsMoving from “Silly” Thoughts into Curiosity for More ChangeToday I want to talk about silly thoughts, more specifically that there are no silly thoughts or that what we judge as silly thoughts are actually not silly. While this sounds a little bit funny to be using the word silly so many times, I think this is something that comes up quite a lot, particularly for people who have an active cognitive brain, consider themselves to be overachievers, or have a decent understanding of how their brain works. Most thoughts don't make logical sense and are based on past experiences and beliefs. In truth, calling a thought silly...2024-09-0523 minCalmer ConversationsBonus Skill #2 for Creating Calmer Change: AllowingIn this episode, we’re jumping into the second bonus tool of creating calmer change: allowing. If you haven’t listened to the previous episodes in this series, be sure to do that first! Now, allowing is a foundational skill that can be used to shift your mindset and bring intentionality into your life. When listening, you will learn the concept of allowing and its opposite of resisting and how resisting emotions can hinder personal growth. I’m sharing the importance of accepting and processing emotions, and providing some of my favorite techniques such as EFT tapping and coherent breathi...2024-08-2921 minCalmer ConversationsBonus Skill #1 for Creating Calmer Change: Slowing DownOver the past few episodes of the podcast we've gone through the foundational tools that I use and teach over and over again, and they appear in almost everything that I talk about and everything that I teach – that is awareness, acceptance, and curiosity. So tune into the past three episodes if you haven’t. But as I was recording the episodes, these two other tools kept floating around in my mind as really foundational tools as well. I don't talk about them perhaps not as much, but I think that it's worth putting them here towards the beginning of t...2024-08-2223 minCalmer Conversations3 Tools for Calmer Change: CuriosityIf you’ve missed it, we are in the middle of a three week series that's about working with your brain, specifically the three tools that I use daily and that I teach over and over again in different permutations with my clients, so they are underlying all of the work that I do. These three tools are awareness, acceptance, and curiosity. Last week, we talked about acceptance and the week before we talked about awareness. So before tuning into this episode, be sure to go back and listen to those two first. Today though, I am excited to div...2024-08-1525 minCalmer Conversations3 Tools for Calmer Change: AcceptanceWelcome to the newest episode of Calmer Conversations, right now we're in the middle of a three-week mini series on working with your brain and nervous system (so tune into last week’s episode if you haven’t already). Throughout the series, I'm talking about the three specific tools that I use and teach over and over again to create lasting change in my clients lives. Most of the work that we do comes back to these three tools because they manifest in different ways and we use them in different ways as individuals. The three tools are awareness, acce...2024-08-0822 minCalmer Conversations3 Tools for Calmer Change: AwarenessOver the next three episodes of Calmer Conversations, I'm going to cover three tools that I think are key in creating more calm in your life or making change in your life. These three tools are something that I use over and over again with my clients and that I use every single day in my own life – awareness, acceptance and curiosity. Today we are focusing on awareness. We're going to start at the beginning, and specifically look at non-judgmental or gentle observer type awareness. I’ll be the first to say that awareness is simple but not always easy...2024-08-0125 minCalmer ConversationsWorking With Your Nervous System for More Lasting ChangeToday our topic is your nervous system and why it matters. If you are even tangentially interested in personal growth, which I'm guessing you probably are if you're listening to this podcast, you've likely heard about your nervous system and nervous system regulation. A lot of personal growth focuses on mindset and understanding and working with the thoughts that you have. This is really huge, important life-changing work, it's a big part of what I do, it's what we've talked about in the first two episodes – but here's the thing, I don't actually think that you can make a re...2024-07-2523 minCalmer ConversationsDitching Shame and Willpower to Create Change That Feels GoodSo many of my clients have it all together when they come to work with me… at least on paper. They’ve historically been really great in the academic space, they are really accomplished in their jobs, and they’ve accomplished a lot in their lives; however, they don’t feel great while in it and a big part of their success has only happened because they have been really mean to themselves. Are you nodding along? Do you feel like you can only thrive under massive amounts of shame and self-discipline? This used to be me too. So in this...2024-07-1824 minCalmer ConversationsRewiring Your Brain: How Thought Habits Shape Your LifeWelcome to the inaugural episode of Calmer Conversations – I am so excited to be podcasting again and to give you a more expansive view of what I talk about in my videos on Instagram. This work is so impactful and meaningful and I can’t wait to dive in with you. In this first episode, I want to talk about something that is really the foundation of the work we will do here together on this show, which is changing your conditioning. Why? Recognizing and then shifting your mental and nervous system habits is the fastest way to create last...2024-07-1822 minCalmer ConversationsWelcome to Calmer ConversationsImagine a life where you feel good and are accomplishing your goals without stress, overwhelm, or willpower… Welcome to Calmer Conversations. Your host and coach, Cecelia Mandryk, knows that the secret to feeling better in life – to actually enjoying your life – is creating a calmer conversation between your brain and body. Those feelings you’re dealing with on a daily basis aren’t just a ‘you’ thing, they’re human things, and totally workable. In each episode you’ll get evidence-based, bite-sized tips you can implement in your life to create lasting change. Let's change the conversation between your brain and your bod...2024-07-0302 min
Harmony in a HurryEpisode 12 - Cecelia Baum MandrykToday, we talked to Cecelia Baum Mandryk. Cecelia is a mental health counsellor, certified life coach, Ayurvedic practitioner, and yoga and breath instructor.
She is passionate about helping people live the life they want to live and feel how they want to feel using mindset tools, nervous system regulation, and curious inquiry. She knows that enjoying life, feeling calm, and even joyful is available to everyone.
You can connect with her here:
instagram
her website
Find out more about Caroline:
I am Caroline Jones, a transformative...2024-06-0616 min
Money, Manifestation & BusinessManifesting a Multiple 6-Figure Business from a Calm Brain with Cecelia MandrykWe’re continuing our series today that’s highlighting past and current members of The Soulful Six Figure Mastermind – I’m excited to introduce you to Cecelia Mandryk, a coach and educator helping high achievers make their brain a calmer place to be without burning down their life to do so. She has been focusing on her money mindset for a short amount of time but has already created massive results (including a $40K+ month!). But I love this conversation because Cecelia shows the work that it took to get to this point, the work that a lot of people g...2024-05-0851 minMedium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and MothersEpisode 94: PART TWO 12 Questions to Help You Get Out of Your Own Way in 2024Welcome back to Medium Lady Talks! In part two we’re continuing with the second half of 12 powerful questions to help you break free from self-limiting beliefs and pave the way for personal growth in 2024. Reflecting on inspiring interviews from previous episodes, I’ll discuss questions 7-12 that will spark introspection and guide you toward a more intentional and fulfilling life.
PART TWO - Questions 7-12
Gradual Progress and Realistic Spaces:
In what small, gradual ways can you move towards a more realistic and purposeful space?
Sharing Your Story and Facing Sacrifices:
What beliefs do you hold...2023-12-2926 minMedium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and MothersEpisode 94: PART ONE 12 Questions to Help You Get Out of Your Own Way in 2024Welcome to the first half of episode 94! In this episode, we're exploring the first 6 of 12 powerful questions to help you break free from self-limiting beliefs and pave the way for personal growth in 2024. Reflecting on inspiring interviews from previous episodes, I've crafted questions that will spark introspection and guide you toward a more intentional and fulfilling life.
PART ONE - Questions 1-6
Reflect on Your Shoulds vs. Wants:
What 'shoulds' are holding you back, and how can you align your goals with what you truly want?
Taking Small, Intentional Steps:
What small, intentional steps can you...2023-12-2732 minMedium Lady Talks: Burnout Recovery for Millennials and MothersEpisode 90 Finding Calm in the Life you Already Have with High Achiever Coach Cecelia MandrykToday’s episode continues the MLT interview series “How to Get Out of Your Own Way.” and features Cecelia Baum Mandryk a life coach for high achievers. Cecelia’s mission in life is to help high achievers make their brains a calmer place to be, without radical life changes.
Episode Highlights
Cecelia's unique journey from geologist to life coach and the pivotal life transitions that guided her path.
Exploring unhealthy perfectionism among high achievers and practical reflections to identify these patterns.
Sharing my personal struggles as a high achiever and Cecelia's insights on transitioning from external validati...2023-11-1558 min
The Money Love Podcast101: Using Habits & Discipline to Become the Best Version of You with Life Coach Cecelia MandrykIf you’re someone who struggles with doing what you say you’re going to do, if you identify as an undisciplined person, or if it seems like your well-intended plans are constantly falling short, then this week’s episode of The Money Love Podcast is for you. This week I am sitting down with Cecelia Mandryk, a life coach who’s passion is helping people live better lives through self discipline and habit change, to break down the importance of your financial habits and how to establish them and stick with them (aka discipline) in a way that feels ea...2023-04-1854 min
Happiness CreatedLet’s Talk About LoveIt’s Valentine’s Day! And I’m going to break down some myths about love. Love can be carefree bliss, but it can also be messy and complicated to navigate. Love is a feeling, an emotion, and an overall choice. It’s something we nurture and grow through our thoughts. Contrary to popular belief, self-love is not rooted in arrogance or narcissism.In this episode, I am debunking common misconceptions and sharing ways to hold love even closer than before. By the end of this episode, I encourage you to start with self-love...2023-02-1416 minHappiness CreatedYour Relationship with YouWhen you’re able to accept and love yourself for who you are in the present moment, feelings like happiness, joy, and contentment come a lot easier. There’s also less resistance around building habits that support your goals and working through mindset challenges.If that’s the case, then why are we so quick to neglect our relationship with ourselves? In this episode, I unpack what it means to have a relationship with yourself and share some strategies to foster a more loving connection. I recap why using willpower to fix a problem never works...2023-02-0716 minHappiness CreatedIt's not the Circumstance's FaultWhen you’re feeling any sort of emotion, how often do you attribute that feeling to something outside of yourself? Most of us do this often and aren’t even aware of it. It can feel disempowering when your emotional state is dependent on external circumstances or people’s behaviors that are completely outside of your control. But, when you start to bring awareness and acceptance to your thoughts and intentionally shift the narrative, your lived experience can completely change. This process isn’t meant to promote toxic positivity or bypass yourself. Rather, I invite you to pra...2023-01-3115 minHappiness CreatedWorking with Self-SabotageSelf-sabotage is when people do or don't do things that block their success and prevent them from accomplishing their goals. It's not about circumstances, but rather the active choices we make to resist growth. In today’s episode, I break down why we self-sabotage, the four most common ways that this cycle occurs, and solutions to break out of the pattern. In short, your primitive brain wants you to maintain the status quo, even if your prefrontal cortex is committed to success. It might look like procrastinating, quitting, not setting goals, or distracting yourself with other activities. But...2023-01-2420 minHappiness CreatedConnecting with Your Future SelfWhen you talk to your future self, that version of you knows your past, present, and future. They have the wisdom to get you where you want to go and can reveal your ‘why’ and ‘how’ in ways that no one else can. In this episode, I dive into what I mean when I talk about ‘future self' and share questions to guide conversations with that person. I also explain how connecting to future you is a great tool for creating happiness and joy in your life. Our brains are wired to choose known...2023-01-1713 minHappiness CreatedWhy Can’t I...When we set a goal, we typically use willpower to drive our actions. But, what happens when life gets in the way? I was caught in this loop for so many years where I would feel motivated to exercise every day, eat food that made my body feel good, and avoid drinking alcohol, but then I hit a wall. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just continue to thrive in all areas of my life. What I didn’t realize is that willpower is a limited resource. It works against your brain and nervous system, which e...2023-01-1021 minHappiness CreatedHow to Set a GoalI have a five-step framework for setting goals that works with your brain and nervous system to create sustainable change. The reason why so many people have trouble meeting their New Year’s resolutions is because they rely on shaming and judging themselves to get there. But, what if you could love yourself and feel happiness along the way? In order to reach your goals, you have to start digging deeper than the actual accomplishment. You’ll most likely find that you’re chasing a feeling by pursuing a certain milestone. Maybe you want a promotion so that yo...2023-01-0320 minHappiness CreatedWhy Celebrating Is ImportantDo you allow yourself a moment to acknowledge where you are today and how far you’ve come? If you’re anything like I used to be, it might feel awkward, even challenging, to do that.In this episode, I explain why celebration might be hard for you, why it’s important to practice, and the role that it plays in creating happiness. Typically, your brain’s default setting is to zero in on where you’re failing, but you can change how you experience life by intentionally shifting what you pay attention t...2022-12-2725 minHappiness CreatedBoundariesYour personal boundaries are about your own truth and what you want in your life, not about manipulating people into adhering to your standards. In this episode, I detail what boundaries are, why they’re important, and explain how setting boundaries is related to your happiness. I offer up different scenarios where you can set loving, respectful boundaries. By clearly communicating your request and the consequences if it’s not met, it allows you to build relationships in a much closer, authentic way. When you uphold your boundaries, you avoid situations where you feel resentful, disappointed, or taken...2022-12-2022 minHappiness CreatedLetting People Be PeopleFor many of us, this is the time of year when we get together with family and friends, which can trigger a mix of emotions. Maybe you don’t agree with your cousin’s political views, or you don’t like that your mother-in-law serves ham instead of turkey. Perhaps the tension runs deeper and there are unhealed wounds that you’re reminded of during the holiday season. Regardless of your relationship with this time of year, we can use these gatherings as an opportunity to examine the expectations that we set for people and practice letting go of perfe...2022-12-1513 minHappiness CreatedLooking Forward To Plan TodayI find that one of the best ways to reverse engineer your goals is to write a letter to yourself about your future year from the perspective that it’s already happened. In this case, you would write a letter to yourself as if it’s December 2023. This exercise helps you get really clear on your goals, obstacles that your brain presents, and strategies for working through those roadblocks. It also helps you hone in on what’s important and create certain milestones that help you measure your progress throughout the year. In this episode, I share...2022-12-0615 minHappiness CreatedMaking MistakesMistakes are an integral part of the human experience, but we tend to have a low tolerance for them. What happens in your brain and body when you make an error? If you’re anything like I was, you might feel a pit in your stomach and your thoughts start to spiral. Many of us subscribe to this story that we’re incapable of success or unworthy of happiness when we make a mistake. When you start to notice that pattern, you have an opportunity to acknowledge it and choose something different. In this episode, I share an ex...2022-12-0614 minHappiness CreatedGratitude, Celebrations & ProgressHappiness and growth aren’t naturally part of your brain’s agenda, but you can train it to create new neural pathways that recognize gratitude, progress, and wins. In this episode, I break down how you can reset your brain’s default mode to enjoy life more and take responsibility for your reality in a whole different way. Because our brain wants to keep us alive, it spends a lot of energy searching for what might be wrong or what might hurt us. In a primal sense, this function serves us well. But, in modern life, it often m...2022-11-2218 minHappiness CreatedFeeling LovableWhen people say they want to feel happier or less stuck, it's oftentimes wrapped up with the desire to feel lovable, valuable, and worthy. The problem is, we usually attribute those feelings to something outside of ourselves. I’ll be lovable if I lose weight. I’ll be valuable if I get married. I’ll be worthy if I buy a big house. The list of “if” statements that we create for ourselves goes on and on. What if I told you that feeling lovable only comes from within you? This concept has been integral to my own growth...2022-11-1619 minHappiness CreatedLife is a ChoiceOne of the coaching principles that really changed my life was understanding that I have complete authority over the choices that I make. In this episode, I walk you through a quick exercise to illustrate this concept and share what happened in my life when I started to take responsibility for the choices I was making. If you're feeling stuck, it might seem like you are just a victim of your circumstances. However, we subconsciously make choices every day that keep us in that cycle. We show up to the job that we don’t like, engage in...2022-11-0818 minHappiness CreatedTwo Things You (Probably) DoThere are two things that you probably do that are keeping your experience of happiness smaller than maybe it could be in your life. The first one is engaging with thoughts and beliefs that don't serve you and the second one is being unwilling to feel certain feelings. In this episode, I illustrate examples of how these concepts can show up in your life and explain how you can start to shift out of the narratives that are keeping you stuck. For many of us, our inner-dialogue can convince us of anything. Even though our thoughts might n...2022-11-0121 minHappiness CreatedThe Foundation of HappinessI consider the relationship you have with yourself to be the foundation of happiness. It determines everything that you create in your life and how you approach the world. In today’s episode, I break down what it might look like if your self-concept leaves you feeling stuck or like something just isn't right in your life, and I share the four main strategies that I use to help people shift their self-confidence and create a solid relationship with themselves. Does your job title or the car you drive really deliver the happiness that you thought it wou...2022-10-2518 minHappiness CreatedHappiness is a FeelingHappiness is a feeling that stems from the beliefs that you have in your life. We often think that how we feel is related to outside circumstances, but the truth is that the thought that occurs between an external event and our feeling about it is responsible for our emotional state. Have you ever thought that if everyone just played their part perfectly in your life, you could finally be happy? Maybe you’ve thought that a week at the beach would make your job less grueling or getting a massage would help you finally relax. It’s eas...2022-10-1812 minHappiness CreatedHappiness Doesn’t Come From Being PerfectStriving for perfection is a behavior that is entirely possible to unlearn, and I’m living proof of it. Perfectionism is related to the thought and belief that you must execute your life flawlessly to be happy, lovable, worthy, or even a good and acceptable person. So many of us subscribe to the myth that once you’ve achieved perfection, you’ll be happy. However, perfection is objectively impossible. Perfectionism brings up a lot of feelings of judgment for yourself and others. I share examples of what perfectionism looks like in action and break down how it causes...2022-10-1115 minHappiness CreatedDon't Listen to Everything Your Brain Tells YouThe first thought you have is not the most true thoughtーit's just the thought you're used to having. On today’s episode, I explain how the different parts of your brain work together to keep you safe, but how that doesn't always lead to truth and happiness. I illustrate how you can move away from beliefs and thoughts that are keeping you stuck exactly where you are. Your brain’s job is to keep you alive, not tell the truth. Our belief systems are essentially thoughts that we’ve repeated to ourselves over and over again. Luckily...2022-10-0414 minHappiness CreatedHow People Pleasing Gets in the Way of HappinessThe term “people-pleasing” is pretty ironic because at the end of the day, it’s more about trying to manipulate other people and control how they act or what they think about you. It’s our primitive brain’s way of staying safe and avoiding tough feelings, like disappointing someone or making them angry. Because it’s something that’s so ingrained in our biological makeup and social conditioning, getting out of the people-pleasing feedback loop isn’t easy. Luckily, though, it's entirely possible. The rewards that await you on the other side, like contentment, authenticity, and your own happines...2022-09-2717 minHappiness CreatedHow to be Happy in Your RelationshipsWhere are you requiring that people act in certain ways so that you can feel happy and secure about your relationship? Most of us have an explicit list or manual for our friends, partners, parents, or really anyone that we interact with of how they're supposed to act. But, when you place your happiness in someone else’s hands, you’re taking a huge emotional gamble. On today’s episode, I explore how to be happier in your relationships. I challenge you to ask what you can do, think, and believe to feel worthy and valuable in your ow...2022-09-2017 minHappiness CreatedImposter SyndromeThe great news about imposter syndrome is that you already contain everything you need to change your belief system and rewrite the story of belonging. It’s entirely possible to feel at home in your body and ditch the cycle of imposter syndrome一trust me, I’m living proof of it. On today’s episode, I share the story of how I stumbled into the field of geology and struggled with severe imposter syndrome for many years. It wasn’t until I started diving deeper into my yoga practice that I was able to evaluate my thoughts and the sto...2022-09-1312 minHappiness CreatedWhy Positive Thinking Doesn't Work (For Most Of Us)Happiness is often on the same playing field as positivity, but positive thinking usually leads to feelings of shame or disappointment. What I like to practice instead is shifting to a place of neutrality and using a ‘thought ladder’ technique to eventually get to a place where I feel genuine contentment. On today’s episode, I explore the nuances of positive thinking, share examples of what toxic positivity looks like in action, and explain how to get out of that cycle. How many times have you heard phrases like “fake it ‘til you make it” or “put on a happy face...2022-09-0616 minHappiness CreatedHow Your Self-Concept Impacts Your HappinessSelf-concept is who you are, how you feel, and how you act in the world. It helps shape your daily life and plays a major role in your lived experience. In today's episode, I explain how your self-concept contributes to your overall happiness, how to identify positive and negative self-concept, and dive into my go-to ways to understand how it’s showing up in your life. What does your inner-voice sound like? Is it kind or critical? Is it forgiving or harsh? The narrative that you hold about who you are creates how you feel about yourself, and...2022-08-3015 minHappiness CreatedPart of Being Happy is Feeling Like ___Even though this show is called Happiness Created, it’s impossible to talk about easy-to-feel emotions without addressing the other hard-to-feel ones. In order to embody happiness, we have to practice feeling the whole spectrum of emotions and sharpen our resilience to work through challenges. On today’s episode, I debunk the top four myths that I hear about happiness and make the argument for allowing yourself to really feel your feelings. People often feel like it’s unsafe to feel their emotions or that they lack the capacity to feel certain things. The truth is that emotion...2022-08-3015 minHappiness CreatedCreating HappinessMany of us have been taught to surrender our power over how we feel to other people and what's happening in the world around us. But, the reality is that we’re entirely responsible for neutralizing our thoughts and reactions. On today’s episode, I dive into where happiness and other emotional states come from and share ways to practice non-judgmental curiosity about your feelings. Brain chemistry and a propensity to happiness play a large role in our emotions, but it’s just one piece of a very large puzzle. Learning how to step into what’s available...2022-08-3014 minHappiness CreatedWhat Is HappinessWelcome to the first episode of Happiness Created! On today’s episode, I’m laying the foundation for what you can expect from this show and unpacking a huge question: what is happiness? I share my tangible take on happiness, my current working definition, and tools to help define happiness for yourself. Some of the most common questions that come up with my clients are around how to create happiness and why it can be so hard to find. The good news is that we can cultivate happiness exactly where we are一it just takes a little digging...2022-08-3014 minHappiness CreatedIntroducing Happiness CreatedHave you ever felt like, on the outside, your life looks great? Maybe even enviable. But on the inside, there is a seed of discontentment starting to grow? Or that the old ways of finding joy, copying, and self-soothing don’t seem to work anymore. Maybe you feel like despite knowing how to find the answers in your job or in your family, you can’t seem to riddle the mystery that is your own satisfaction? Hi, my name is Cecelia Mandryk, and I’m a life coach. I’ve worked with dozens of high-achieving individuals who feel in c...2022-07-2602 min