The Freedom From Empty Podcast

Remembering to Dream

Dreaming of a better future is a key ingredient to well-being and our ability to realize our full potential. But somewhere along the way, you may have forgotten how to dream. In this episode I share more about my own experience with finding, losing, and then rediscovering my capacity to dream. I also issue an invitation for you to explore your dreams (or the obstacles that might be standing in your way). 

Holding on Too Tightly

Many of us have been conditioned to “just do it” or go out and make things happen. And if we don’t? We must not want “it” badly enough. But what if holding on too tight and forcing things leads to poor results (at best) and injury or illness (at worst). In this episode I explore what I am learning about letting go. 

When We Are Whole

What does it mean to make ourselves whole and not perfect? We put human beings on a perfection pedestal to look up to but we may not even have an image of what it means to be whole. We will dive into imagining what being whole means from positive and negative emotions and behaviors to sustaining our spiritual, mental, & physical energies as well. 

Warning Signs!

Warning signs are messages from our body that something isn’t right. If we learn to listen to them sooner rather than later, we can avoid a crash. I recently came face to face with a warning sign I ignored for too long.

 

7 Tips for Coping with Anxiety and Supporting Your Well-Being in a Crisis and Beyond

With a deep-seated awareness of the one-year anniversary of pandemic shutdowns across the United States, and the fatigue many of us are feeling, I am bringing back the most downloaded episode of the podcast to date “7 Tips for Coping with Anxiety and Supporting Your Well-Being in a Crisis and Beyond.” These simple, no-cost tips are immediately accessible for you to calm your nervous system, regain your executive functioning, and support your overall well-being.   

Interview with 6 Steps' Founding Member Erin Reece

On Episode 60 of the podcast, I am joined by my first ever guest: Erin Reece of Bear Accounting & Financial Solutions, a Founding Member of the 6 Steps for Stress Recovery and Burnout Prevention. ⁠
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Listen to hear how this program has influenced her personally and professionally in every aspect of her life. ⁠

3 Things I Wish I Had Known About Burnout

In this episode I share the three things that I wish I had known about burnout decades ago. I like to imagine that this knowledge could have helped me avoid my epic crash and burn. I couldn’t save myself then, but perhaps I can help guide you to a more sustainable and healthier future filled with perspective, peace, presence and purpose. 

Tips for Healing

Our nation is not well. We are not well. But we can heal. As individuals, communities and as a country. It will take time, and patience, and peeling back the layers one by one by one. It will require showing up with kindness, empathy, respect and compassion for ourselves and for each other. In this episode I share four important things I have learned about what it takes to heal. The longer we wait, the longer it will take. Begin now.

Recalibration

Many of us have been conditioned to believe that we must perform at all costs. That life and work is supposed to look like a steady, linear, upward trajectory of effort, responsibility and success. We get busier and busier and busier. But rarely check in to see how we are doing. Or whether we are actually living our lives in alignment with our purpose and well-being.

I am learning to embrace a more cyclical rhythm, and a pace that is sensitive to, and recalibrated often, in the face of different seasons, stressors and circumstances. I am learning to weave and fold well-being into the fabric of my life with intention and practice. And to check-in with myself often.

In a season of our lives where the only certainty seems to be uncertainty, I encourage you to embrace a regular practice of recalibration. More in this episode. 

A Most Difficult Season

The holiday season is fully loaded--with expectations, idealistic messages, charged relationships, and traumas present and past. And this year, many of us may be navigating the impact of a global pandemic on the holiday rituals that have been a light for us in years past. If you are struggling this holiday season, I feel you. Sometimes we hold on tightly to control because we are trying to assuage our grief and pain without fully feeling it. In this episode, I invite you to release your grip a little bit and see what happens. Do you need to let go of control, celebrate simple gifts or discover the beauty that can be found among the mess and abandoned expectations? Wrapping my arms around you this season and holding space, not only for the tears, but also for the relief and peace that can come when we allow ourselves to feel what we have been afraid to feel. Be gentle and kind with you.