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New year, new courage. We’re stepping across the threshold with two clarifying questions—what is mine to hold and what is mine to let go—and using them to untangle people-pleasing, set clearer boundaries, and build a steadier inner life. A surprising health scare pressed pause and brought sharp focus to the survival patterns that once kept me safe, especially fawning: the reflex to merge, appease, and smooth over to protect connection.

I share how I discovered fawning, what it looks like in everyday moments at work, home, and church, and why it’s not manipulation but a nervous system strategy. We unpack detachment as compassionate clarity, not distance, and explore how small practices—breath, body awareness, short honest statements—help us move from automatic yes to thoughtful choice. You’ll hear how trauma and memory shape quick reactions in the amygdala, and how unfawning invites a slow rewiring toward psychological flexibility, agency, and peace.

Listen to E67, Autonomy

Listen to E149, Reimagining Our Personal Sense of Agency

Read more from Dr. Ingrid Clayton: Fawning

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