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Change doesn’t fail because you don’t want it badly enough. It fails when your system is overwhelmed and survival is running the show. 

In this episode, I break down one of the most misunderstood phases of change: the Instability Zone. This is the first episode in a three-part series discussing the three zones of change. Here, in the Instability Zone, we focus on what happens when change is imposed, rather than chosen. 

Layoffs. Health diagnoses. Caregiving. Institutional collapse. The moments when urgency is loud, clarity is gone, and everyone keeps asking what you’re going to do next.

If you’ve ever felt frozen, panicked, exhausted by decisions you haven’t even made yet, or ashamed that you “should know what's next by now,” this episode will give you language for what’s actually happening. More importantly, it will tell you what not to do—and what does help—when you’re in true instability.

This episode is for anyone navigating abrupt, identity-shaking change and wondering why motivation, confidence, or future-thinking feel completely out of reach right now.

In This Episode:

• Why change is a process, not a single decision—and why desire alone can’t override instability
• How to recognize when you’re in the Instability Zone (hint: urgency without clarity)
• What’s really happening psychologically when your brain cannot manage to think about the future
• How grief disguises itself as urgency and drives panic-driven decisions 
• The difference between what ended and what didn’t—and why that distinction matters
• Why orientation comes before pivoting, rebranding, or “figuring it out”
• How rushing decisions in instability often makes change harder, not faster

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

Sometimes change is personal.
 Sometimes it’s bigger than you.

This episode of Changeology is about using your voice when the stakes are high and the world feels unstable. When staying quiet feels safer, but speaking up feels necessary. When the change you’re responding to isn’t something you chose, but something you’re living inside.

I’m joined by Sarah Ramsey, a PR strategist and communications expert who helps women and people from marginalized communities reclaim their voice and presence in public, professional, and political spaces. We talk about why waiting for permission is a losing strategy, how “being helpful” often becomes a fast track to invisibility, and why practicing your voice in small, ordinary moments is what prepares you for the moments that actually matter.

This isn’t about becoming an influencer or having the perfect talking points. It’s about being able to open your mouth when something is wrong. In a meeting. In your community. In public. In your own life.

Because the truth is: when change is this big, silence is still a choice.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why using your voice is a practice, not a personality trait
• How women are conditioned to wait for credentials, permission, or “the right time” to speak
• The quiet cost of always being the helper and never the authority
• What authenticity actually means when the world is on fire
• How small acts of speaking up prepare you for moments of real consequence

If you’ve been feeling the urge to say something, do something, or draw a clearer line, but don’t know where to start, this conversation is your starting point.

Use your voice now. Permission isn’t coming.

Connect with Sarah:

• Website: sarahramsey.com
• LinkedIn: Sarah Ramsey
• Instagram: @sarahramsey

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

At some point, most women realize their style hasn’t kept up with who they’ve become. And the default response after this realization is usually to immediately go shopping. 

Ellie Steinbrink says that’s exactly where things go sideways.

In this episode, I’m joined by Ellie Steinbrink, stylist, personal branding expert, and host of The Visibility Shift podcast, for a conversation about why so many women are dressing by outdated, unspoken rules instead of self-trust. We unpack “corporate black,” the mom uniform, body-based style myths, and the quiet fear that keeps women playing it safe even when they’re ready for something bigger.

This is a conversation about the messy middle of change: the gap between knowing you’re evolving and letting yourself be seen as someone new. 

Style isn’t superficial: It’s a mirror. It reveals where you’re still negotiating for approval instead of acting from self-trust.

If you’re in the middle of a career shift, a leadership transition, or a deeper identity change and your outward presentation still reflects who you used to be, this episode will give language to what’s stuck and a way forward.

In This Episode

• Why change often shows up as discomfort before clarity
• How outdated style rules keep you anchored to old identities
• The role “corporate black” plays in signaling safety over self-trust
• Why shopping feels productive but often stalls real change
• The moment between internal change and external visibility
• How self-trust becomes the real dress code during transition
• What to do when your closet no longer matches who you’re becoming

Connect with Ellie:

• [email protected]
• https://www.elliesteinbrink.com/ 
• Instagram: @style.decoded
• Podcast: The Visibility Shift
• LinkedIn

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

This episode is my honest look at a year that didn’t go the way I planned. I’m talking about the kind of year that forces you to sit still, drink something warm, and admit that the only silver lining you walked away with was resilience--aka, what you earn by getting dragged through situations you never signed up for. Add to that the human negativity bias, working hard to convince me the whole year was a wash.

I walk you through the moments that shaped 2025 for me: a long-awaited family trip derailed by illness and rain, the emotional gymnastics of parenting toddlers through airport chaos, and the strange comfort of realizing I can’t control most of what hits my life...only how I interpret it. I didn’t find a bright side in any of it--because sometimes, that's the honest truth--but I did manage to find a way to see these events as neutral instead of catastrophic. That’s where resilience started to take shape.

If your year felt heavy, or if you ended December convinced you failed more than you grew, this episode is for you. I break down how our minds naturally overemphasize the hard moments and undervalue the wins, and how you can overcome negativity bias so you see a more accurate version of your life. Not a positive spin--a genuine one. Because resilience becomes real once you stop letting negativity bias run the narrative.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How negativity bias exaggerates what went wrong and hides what went right
• Why resilience sucks to build, and often shows up disguised as disappointment
• The role of neutral interpretation when positivity feels dishonest
• What we can actually can control when life refuses to follow the damn script
• How to see the year you actually lived instead of the version your brain fixates on

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

Show Notes

Walking Away from the Success You've Built: The Art of Making Countercultural Decisions (with Jordan Schanda King)

Some seasons of life don’t ask politely. They rip open the seams of your identity and force you to decide what you’re willing to carry into the next chapter. This episode is about that moment. It’s about the woman you become when the version of you that built your success isn't a fit anymore.

Jordan Schanda King is a serial entrepreneur, author, and former founder of Easy Scaling and Scaling School. She’s built and sold multiple companies, supported hundreds of women in scaling their businesses, and lived most of her working life in the dual roles of visionary and integrator. Somewhere between her second and third child, her ambition shape-shifted, her identity cracked open, and the business she once loved no longer fit. Her decision to sell Easy Scaling at the peak of its success became the catalyst for a full internal reorientation.

This is for anyone who feels the quiet tension of outgrowing the life--and success--they've built. 

Women whose ambition feels different than it used to. 

Mothers who sense they’re changing in ways no one talks about--and in ways they couldn't have predicted.

Jordan’s story is a clean, honest look at identity shapeshifting, trusting your gut, and giving yourself permission to evolve without apology.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why identity shifts often show up as confusion, restlessness, or a sudden lack of attachment to work you used to love
• The profound shift to motherhood, and how it can fundamentally alter your ambition, energy, and sense of self
• The difference between pressure-driven ambition and grounded desire, and how Jordan recognized the line
• What really happens emotionally and practically when you sell a business at your peak
• Why most women already know the answer to the change they’re avoiding

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

Changeology Clinic:

When you’re stuck in “I can’t,” you’re not broken—you’re obeying invisible rules you never agreed to. Those rules usually start with a “should.” In this episode of Changeology Clinic, Meg unpacks how those subtle, inherited scripts quietly dictate your behavior, shape your identity, and block your ability to change. 

Drawing from her background in developmental psychology and years of coaching women through identity-level change, Meg introduces one of her most practical tools: Small Acts of Rebellion. 

These are the tiny, intentional choices that challenge the “insidious shoulds” and rebuild two essential ingredients for real transformation—self-efficacy (trusting yourself to follow through) and psychological safety (feeling safe enough to try). 

If you’re exhausted by perfectionism, stuck in people-pleasing, or constantly negotiating between what you want and what’s expected, this one’s for you. You’ll learn how to stop asking for permission and start taking small, deliberate steps that return you to your own authority. 

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

-How “insidious shoulds” unconsciously shape your behavior and identity--without your consent
-Why rebellion (done right) is a powerful psychological tool—not just an act of defiance
-The two building blocks of meaningful change: self-efficacy and psychological safety
-How small, low-stakes acts of rebellion rebuild self-trust and confidence over time
-Real examples of small rebellions that disrupt overwork, guilt, and perfectionism

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

When It Keeps You Up at Night: How Sleep Training Became a Masterclass in Change

When you’re running on no sleep, even the smallest change can feel impossible. In this episode of Changeology, I’m joined by Sarah Smith, certified pediatric sleep consultant and founder of Swallowtail Sleep. Sarah helps families of children from newborn to age eight create evidence-based sleep plans tailored to each child’s physiology—and each parent’s sanity.

Sarah’s approach is rooted in empathy, data, and partnership. Our conversation isn’t just about sleep—it’s about how we navigate change when we’re exhausted, anxious, or grieving the version of parenthood we thought we’d have. We explore what sleep disruption can teach us about emotional regulation, trust, and the messy, nonlinear process of change.

If you’ve ever resisted change because it was inconvenient, questioned your instincts as a parent, or struggled to stay calm in the chaos, this one’s for you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why even “good” change brings grief—and what to do with it
• How resistance shows up in parenting and what it really means
• Why disruption is data (and how to use it to guide your next step)
• The parallels between fitness, coaching, and sleep work
• The difference between boundaries and control—and how to hold them without guilt

Connect with Sarah:

www.swallowtailsleep.com

Instagram: swallowtail.sleep

Facebook: swallowtailsleep

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

What if the voice you’ve been quieting is the one that would change everything? Today we talk about the messy middle between “I can’t” and “I’m doing it”—where intuition lives, fear gets loud, and small, repeatable moves create outsized momentum.

 My guest is Amanda Riffee—bestselling author of Unleashing You, internationally certified expansion & empowerment coach, speaker, and host of the Unleashing You with Amanda Riffee podcast. After 18 years in corporate leadership (17 with the same company), Amanda hit burnout on repeat and made a radical, values-led pivot that turned into retreats, a hit podcast, a book tour, and a business that actually fits.

 If you’re on the cusp of a leap—or you’re done outsourcing your decisions to fear, ego, or someone else’s expectations—this conversation is your permission slip. We break down the difference between intuition and anxiety, how to take the first three steps when you can’t see the whole staircase, and how to use your values to decide what’s truly worth your energy.

What You’ll Learn 

• How to tell intuition from fear and ego (and why your first quiet signal matters)
• The “first three steps” method to start anything when you can’t see the roadmap
• Using values as a decision filter to avoid burnout-level sacrifice
• Boundary-setting in real life: “If it’s not a heck yes, it’s a heck no”
• Small steps → big outcomes: Amanda’s first retreat story and how she trusted the nudge

Connect with Amanda

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/amandariffee_coaching/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-riffee/

Website:
https://acrprofessionalcoaching.com/

Unleashing You Book:
https://acrprofessionalcoaching.com/unleashing-you-book

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

*On alignment, approval, and why the most honest choice often looks wrong to everyone else*

I thought I was just (procrastinating) planning a birthday party for my twins. Every time I thought about the party, I found myself knee-deep in shoulds: good-mom expectations, Pinterest-perfect pressure, and the quiet panic of wanting to do it “right.” 

Shouldn’t a “good mom” want to plan a big, fun party for her kids? Shouldn’t a “good mom” get excited about it?

By the time I’d debated cake flavors, shade tents, and guest lists, I realized the party I was planning had nothing to do with my kids’ joy and everything to do with other people’s comfort and expectations, and with my own "shoulds."

It was at that point that I realized that my procrastination was telling me something. I didn’t want to plan or host a big party. 

So I did something that felt completely countercultural: I didn’t throw the party. I made a different choice. A few humans our kids love, a day at the pool, and homemade ice cream…and it turned out to be one of the most joyful, aligned, and connected experiences of my life, both for me and for my kids. 

This Changeology Clinic episode isn’t really about parenting. 

It’s about the invisible expectations that shape your decisions, and how terrifying it can feel to choose what’s true for you instead. 

It’s about what happens when you stop twisting yourself into someone else’s definition of “good.” 

It’s about that moment you realize that being authentic might cost you approval…and decide to do it anyway.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How “good” quietly becomes a performance
• Why procrastination is often your body’s way of saying “this isn’t it”
• What alignment actually feels like (and why it often starts as guilt)
• Three coaching questions that will help you make the choice that’s true over the one that looks right
• Why disappointing people might be the most honest--and rebellious--thing you ever do

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram

Send us a text

What happens when you've achieved everything you thought you wanted—only to realize you still feel dangerously empty? Lesley Calvo’s story is a masterclass in radical reinvention. After building a career at the top of the fashion world, designing for names like Hugo Boss, Dior, and Cartier, Lesley found herself deeply unfulfilled, burned out, and quietly suicidal. What came next was a full-body pivot, fueled by intuition, deep healing, and an unwavering commitment to finding out what real success feels like.

Lesley Calvo is a Mindset and Energy Coach who helps people break free from internal limitations and reconnect with their joy, peace, and power. Formerly a world-renowned jewelry designer, Lesley left her career at its peak to begin a new chapter—one rooted in healing, spirituality, and self-trust. Today, she works with clients around the globe and is leading a powerful research project on happiness.

Why This Episode Matters:
If you’ve ever wondered why “having it all” still doesn’t feel like enough—or you’re craving a life that feels more aligned, soulful, and free—this episode is for you. Lesley offers both spiritual insight and grounded, practical tools for finding your way back to yourself.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🌟 The truth about success: what no one tells you when you’re at the top
 🌟 How Lesley moved from suicidal burnout to self-love and deep peace
 🌟 Why the nervous system resists change—and how to work with it
🌟 A body-based tool to distinguish intuition from fear
🌟 How to move through identity death when letting go of “who you were”
🌟 The overlooked power of micro-movements (and how 1° shifts change everything)

🎙 Tune in to the full episode via the link in the comments below!

Connect with Lesley:

https://www.lesleycalvo.com/

 Instagram

Facebook

START HERE: The Personal Change Pattern Assessment

Discover the unique psychological pattern keeping you stuck in the same status quo. In under 5 minutes, you’ll see which psychological patterns most often keep you stuck—overthinking, over-adapting, second-guessing—so you can choose your next move with accuracy.

***FED Impact Coaching***

Coaching for current or former employees in federal or adjacent fields whose roles, identity, or sense of stability have been disrupted by government restructuring.

***The REAL Change Kickstart (45-Day 1:1 Intensive)***

For women who know something needs to change and are ready to stop circling the decision.

***The REALignment Private Coaching Experience (3 or 6 Months)***

For women already mid-transition who want support integrating change in every aspect of their lives, not just initiating it.

Connect with Meg:

Website

LinkedIn

Instagram