Always Becoming: Real Stories of Resilience, Healing, & Growth

As the year comes to a close, there's so much talk about resolutions, glow-ups, and how this is finally going to be "your year." And while a new beginning can feel exciting, it can also bring pressure, fear, and the quiet worry that nothing will really change.

In this final episode of the year, I reflect on what it actually means to make a year your year. Not through drastic reinvention or unrealistic expectations, not in a "new year, new me" way, but in a way that makes space for growth without burning yourself out or expecting everything to magically change overnight.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions (and what to try instead)
• Letting go of all-or-nothing thinking around growth
• The "one word" practice I've used for years and how it creates gentle, meaningful direction
• Making space for growth without needing to reinvent yourself
• Redefining what it actually means for this to be your year

This episode is an invitation to approach the new year with curiosity instead of pressure, to remember that progress doesn't have to be loud or dramatic to be real, and a reminder that you don't have to reinvent yourself or have everything figured out to move forward.

If you're heading into the new year feeling hopeful but cautious, excited but scared, this one's for you!

💛If this episode resonates, feel free to DM me on Instagram and tell me what your word for this year is, I'd love to hear it! Thank you so much for being here this year!

✨ Lets connect on instagram: @mikalen.co

In this episode I'm joined by one of my best friends, Abbey, for an honest conversation about trauma, healing, and the quiet ways our past continues to shape us.

Abbey opens up about surviving a life-altering car accident and how that moment changed her relationship with boundaries, safety, and the world around her. We also talk about growing up in a home where her dad was physically present but emotionally unavailable due to bipolar disorder and how those early experiences influenced the way she learned love, attachment, and self-protection.

We explore how unprocessed trauma shows up later in life, especially in relationships, and what it looks like to start unlearning patterns that once helped you survive but no longer serve you.

This conversation is a reminder that healing isn't about blaming the past, but understanding it so you can move forward with more compassion for yourself.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Surviving a traumatic car accident and its lasting emotional impact
• Growing up with an emotionally unavailable parent
• How childhood experiences shape attachment and relationships
• Unlearning survival patterns in adulthood
• How trauma can show up in dating and connection
• The ongoing process of healing
• Giving yourself grace while you're still becoming

✨Lets connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

🎨 Connect with Abbey:

@abigail_vk_

@artfullyabbey

In this episode, we're talking about something I think a lot of us quietly wrestle with: How do you honor your own feelings, while also caring deeply about what other people are going through?

Lately, I've been feeling the weight of my own emotions and the heaviness of the world around me, and it made me realize how often we try to choose between the two. But the truth is: you don't have to pick. You can be hurting and compassionate. You can care for others and acknowledge your own pain. You can hold both at the same time.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why your emotions don't become less valid when someone else has it worse
• How to care about others without abandoning yourself
• The difference between compassion and emotional over-identification
• What healthy empathy looks like
• How to set gentle boundaries around emotional consumption
• And permission to feel your feelings without guilt

If you're someone who feels everything, your own pain, other people's pain, the world's pain, this is a reminder that your heart is not too much. You are allowed to feel it all… without forgetting yourself in the process.

✨Lets connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

Some days, showing up for yourself feels impossible. You're tired, overwhelmed, unmotivated and skipping the thing you said you'd do feels so much easier. But every time we break a promise to ourselves our self-trust erodes. And without self-trust, it becomes harder to make decisions, harder to follow through, and harder to feel grounded in who we are.

In this episode I share what it really looks like to show up for yourself even when it's uncomfortable. I open up about why self-trust is one of the most important foundations in healing and growth, how tiny promises create big internal shifts, and how following through (even imperfectly) builds confidence from the inside out.

If you've been procrastinating something that matters to you, feeling unmotivated, or struggling to trust yourself, this episode is a little reminder that you can count on you.

In this episode we talk about:

• Why it's so easy to break promises to yourself
• How skipping the small things slowly erodes self-trust
• What showing up for yourself really means
• How consistency builds confidence
• Rebuilding self-trust through tiny, doable follow-throughs

✨Lets connect on instagram: @mikalen.co

If you grew up being known as the "high achiever," you probably know the pressure that comes with it. The need to always be doing, producing, and proving your worth through accomplishments. But what happens when life doesn't go according to plan? When you're in a season of uncertainty, and all the usual markers of success disappear?

In this episode, I get real about my own journey of redefining success during unemployment, unmet expectations, and years of tying my value to achievement. I share what it's been like to unlearn societal beliefs, navigate identity loss, and rebuild self-worth from the inside out.

Whether you're feeling behind, stuck, or questioning your path, this episode is a reminder that your worth isn't measured by what you do, it's who you are.

In this episode we'll talk about:

• Growing up as a "high achiever" and how it shapes identity
• Losing your sense of self when career plans fall apart
• The pressure to "be successful" in your 20s
• Redefining what success really means
• Finding value beyond external achievements

🎙️ Tune in for an honest, heartfelt conversation on letting go of perfectionism and learning to find peace in the in-between.

✨Lets connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

In this week's episode of Always Becoming, I'm sharing the books that played a big role in my healing journey, the ones that gave me tools, perspective, hope, and comfort when I needed it most. From self-discovery and love to grief and creativity, these stories helped me reconnect with myself and remember what's possible.

I talk about how both nonfiction and fiction can support healing in different ways. Nonfiction gives you knowledge and frameworks to grow, while fiction lets you escape, dream, and see yourself in someone else's story.

In this episode I share:

• How reading helped me process, heal, and reconnect with my creativity
• Why fiction and nonfiction both matter on the healing journey
• The specific books that deeply resonated with me and what I learned from each one

Books Mentioned:

📘 Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies & Glow in the F*cking Dark — Tara Schuster

📕Worthy — Jamie Kern Lima

📘Getting the Love You Want — Harville Hendrix & Helen LaKelly Hunt

📗 Attached — Amir Levine & Rachel Heller

📘 Liberating Love — Kylie McBeath & Mark Groves

📗 The Path to Love — Deepak Chopra

📕 A Heart in a Body in the World — Deb Caletti

📘 The Midnight Library — Matt Haig

📗 Nine Perfect Strangers — Liane Moriarty

📕 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow — Gabrielle Zevin

📘 The Last Love Note — Emma Grey

If you've been looking for stories or tools to help you heal, feel inspired, or just feel seen, I think you'll find something in this episode to love.

✨ Let's connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

This episode kicks off a new interview series on Always Becoming called "To Be Honest," where I sit down with real people to share raw, honest stories of resilience because I think it's so beautiful how the human heart can endure so much and still keep going.

In this first conversation, I talk with my mom about her powerful healing journey. How she went from feeling depressed and angry, even when her life looked "perfect," to experiencing a spiritual awakening that changed everything. It's emotional, hopeful, and full of wisdom for anyone navigating their own healing or watching a loved one struggle.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What was really going on beneath the surface when life seemed "good" on the outside
• How depression and anger can impact relationships and daily life
• The turning point that led to her spiritual experience and deep inner healing
• The practices that help her continue growing today
• Why you can't compare your trauma or healing journey to anyone else's
• How to support yourself (or a parent) through dark seasons
• Her advice for finding peace, purpose, and joy again

If you're in a hard season, or if someone you love is, this episode will remind you that healing is possible and that it's never too late to become who you're meant to be.

✨ Let's connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

Connect and work with Michele: https://madewellwithmichele.com

In this episode of Always Becoming, I'm sharing my journey with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth). I'll dive into what it is, how it impacted my life, and what healing has looked like for me so far. From the symptoms and struggles to treatment and body acceptance, this is an honest look at living with gut health challenges and learning to love your body again.

Here's what you'll hear in this episode:

• What SIBO is and how I discovered I had it
• The symptoms I was experiencing and how they affected my daily life
• My treatment journey and the improvements I've seen
• The emotional toll of chronic health struggles and body image
• Encouragement and advice for anyone experiencing something similar

If you've ever struggled with your health or body image, I hope this episode reminds you that you're not alone and that healing is possible.

✨ Let's connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co

When life isn't going the way you hoped, it's easy to fall into the trap of believing everything sucks. But if we wait for things to be perfect, we'll never find happiness. Luckily joy doesn't have to wait for perfect circumstances. That's where a joy reset comes in!

In this episode, I'll share 5 simple steps you can use to start noticing small joys, even in the middle of hard seasons, and how those little moments can add up to a life you actually love.

• Why waiting for perfect keeps us stuck

• The power of micro-joys in everyday life

• Simple practices to spark joy right where you are

• How small joys make life feel lighter

✨ Let's connect on Instagram: @mikalen.cox

Welcome to the very first episode of Always Becoming!

In this episode, I'm sharing my story of heartbreak, rejection, and what it looks like to pick yourself back up when life feels like it's fallen apart.

Together we'll talk about:

• How to feel your feelings without letting them overtake you
• How self worth changes the way you see and experience rejection
• The importance of community and vulnerability in tough seasons
• Why healing isn't linear (and why that's actually okay)

If you're in a season of rebuilding, this one's for you.

✨ Let's connect on Instagram: @mikalen.co