Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

In this episode of Delay the Binge™, Pam Dwyer sits down with Michele Phillips, President of Key Performance, bestselling author of Happiness Is a Habit, and author of the new book Energize Your Happiness, for a powerful, practical, and heart-filled conversation about energy, emotion, and everyday habits.

Together, Pam and Michele explore:

What Michele really means by “energize your happiness”

Why she wants people to run on alignment, not adrenaline

How she turned her own anger and “too much energy” into wisdom and leadership

Her brilliant practice of naming her inner voices “Wanda” (fight/flight, fear, judgment) and “Grace” (wisdom, courage, compassion)

The 90-second rule for emotional hijacks and why pausing matters

Why conflict is energy asking for direction

How quiet depletion shows up—especially in women who are doing it all

Why trying to “wrestle a bad habit to the ground” doesn’t work

Michele’s approach of adding positive habits instead of starting with deprivation

How identity shifts happen slowly, and why we must celebrate small wins

The role of journaling, brain dumps, and clarity in healing and decision-making

Pam also weaves in the core ideas of Delay the Binge™—the purposeful pause, delaying the urge, and starting from where you left off instead of “starting over.”

If you’ve ever felt:

Drained but still pushing

Stuck in the same emotional patterns

Guilty for being angry

Or afraid you’ll never “get it together”…

this conversation will give you language, tools, and a deep sense of hope.

🔗 Connect with Michele Phillips

Book: Energize Your Happiness
Website: key2unlock.com
Instagram: @energizewithmichele
LinkedIn

🔗 Connect with Pam / Delay the Binge™

Podcast: Delay the Binge™
Community & updates: delaythebinge.com
Short stories as PJ Hamilton: Short Stories from the Heart of the Piney Woods  

💛 If this episode gave you a little unexpected hope, hit subscribe, share it with a friend, and remember:
You don’t have to fix everything.
You just have to pause long enough to choose one powerful next step.

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We share a simple way to navigate seasons of change with clarity: pair quarterly goals with a living calendar that reveals your true priorities. Through a personal story, we show how structure can hold new opportunities without burnout or chaos.

• why quarterly goals beat yearly plans for real life
• how a living calendar turns intention into action
• scheduling everything that matters, including rest and thinking time
• protecting pauses for clarity, prayer, and processing
• adapting structure each quarter to match your season
• aligning opportunities with purpose without losing momentum

Join our community at delaythebinge.com
If you want help editing, publishing, or producing your podcast, I would be honored to support you with the same intention I pour into my own. Just reach out. Let's create something beautiful together
Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss either conversation

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

The loudest voices say move faster, buy sooner, decide now. We chose a different path. This launch explores how a quiet pause can protect your time, money, and energy, and why sustainable change starts with one small, honest step you can actually keep.

We open up about renaming the show to Delay the Binge and reaffirm the Plus One Theory at its core: you don’t need the whole staircase, only the next right step. From the irony of preaching slowness on short-form platforms to the reality that tired people don’t pause, we map the gap between urgency and discernment. You’ll hear how “paid recognition” dressed as flattery nearly slipped through, why pressure isn’t empowerment, and how a simple boundary script can defuse high-pressure pitches without burning bridges.

We also get candid about investing in great services at the wrong time. Excitement isn’t a strategy; timing and structure are. With practical tools like a paper-and-pencil year review, we show how to extract lessons without shame: list what you tried, what worked, what drained you, then circle one next step. Delay the binge isn’t just about food. It’s about pausing before any pattern that pulls you away from yourself, overworking, overspending, overreacting, overpleasing, and the quiet depletion that hides under a polished life.

Expect reflective solos, “me too” stories from real people, and grounded insights from experts in habits, trauma, and health, without pedestals. If you’re ready to replace urgency with clarity and momentum with integrity, this space will help you build a life that doesn’t rush you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a breath, and leave a review to help others find their next steady step.

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We unveil Delay the Binge, a rebrand rooted in listening to our stories and yours. We explain how a purposeful pause between urge and action helps us move beyond willpower and shame across food, work, and people-pleasing.

• the shift from Plus One to Delay the Binge
• the pause as the small, doable step
• why willpower fails and shame keeps you stuck
• the many forms of binge behavior beyond food
• practical ways to pause when the urge hits
• how stories and participation reduce shame
• what to expect from teaching, stories, and conversations
• the invitation to share lived experience

Sign up on our email list at delaythebinge.com
Sign up on that email list y'all

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We explore why listening is the missing human skill, how to organize stories as the listener, and how simple tools can ease quiet depletion and conflict. Christine Miles shares The Listening Path and shows how “tell me more” turns noise into meaning at home, at work, and within.

• listening as an under-taught human skill
• hearing versus understanding
• the listener’s job to organize the story
• using the Compass and tell me more
• asking how did that make you feel
• quiet depletion and internal signals
• systems thinking for culture and teams
• scalable listening education in schools
• practical tools for parents and leaders
• go first to see, hear, and understand

Join the Delay the Binge Early Access list at delaythebinge.com. Go grab Christine’s book, What Is It Costing You Not to Listen? Connect with Christine at thelisteningpath.com.

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We name the moment before a binge as quiet depletion and show how to interrupt it with three practical pauses that bring the frontal cortex back online. We share a gentle path forward, plus details on the Delay the Binge Collective and how to join quietly.

• defining quiet depletion and why it matters
• lower brain chatter versus higher brain choice
• naming feelings to reengage the frontal cortex
• the three pauses: name it, locate it, meet the need
• unmet needs beneath binge urges
• what the Delay the Binge Collective is and how it works
• anonymity, low-pressure participation, expert contributors
• why this method works better than diets or willpower
• identity restoration and nervous system alignment
• community updates and next steps

You can join at DelayTheBinge.com, and when you do, you'll get the Holiday Urge survival kit immediately!

So join us at DelayTheBinge.com and get your free holiday kit and be part of something new!

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

What if the reason you’re snapping, shutting down, or reaching for quick fixes isn’t lack of willpower but quiet depletion—the slow fade that turns joy into numbness? We shine a light on the exhaustion beneath the exhaustion and share how a three-second pause can change your day and your brain. From a raw story about a health scare to the science of why the prefrontal cortex goes offline under stress, we connect the dots between invisible labor, holiday pressure, and binge reactions that are really survival signals.

We break down practical ways to come back to yourself: the three gates (Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?), identifying one place you’ve gone missing, lowering a single expectation this season, and asking daily what you need. You’ll hear how to use the holidays as fuel instead of a trigger by swapping judgment for curiosity and giving yourself permission to step out of emotional over-responsibility. Instead of chasing motivation, we show you how micro-pauses rebuild safety and restore agency.

We also talk about why healing thrives in community. Delay the Binge isn’t about gritting your teeth; it’s about creating space between feeling and action so you can listen to your body and choose differently. If you’ve felt like life is happening to you and your spark is dimming, this conversation offers a path back—one pause, one gate, one delay at a time. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and join the waitlist at DelayTheBinge. Your return starts with a breath.

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We share a health scare that reframes maintenance through kindness and nervous system safety, then walk through ten lessons that make change last. Tools matter, but emotional regulation and the purposeful pause do the heavy lifting.

• plus one theory and mission
• ICU story and why kindness sustains change
• limits of tools for dysregulated wiring
• maintenance before the tool as foundation
• ten core maintenance lessons explained
• action before motivation to build momentum
• purposeful pause to break reflex loops
• identity work and structure over goals
• reassurance that you are rewiring not failing
• holiday stories launch and community invitation

If you're not on my list yet, head over to pamdwyerspeaker.com and join. You'll get access to the entire Christmas series, and you'll get new stories every Tuesday. If this episode helped you, send it to someone who needs hope today.

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We break down a simple framework for hard seasons: the storm outside, the shelter we run to, and the fire that starts inside when pressure builds. We share five clear steps to rise above both reactions, find fresh air, and rebuild with boundaries and vision.

• storm, shelter, and fire explained
• the third option as a pause for perspective
• naming the storm and the fire to create distance
• stepping outside, breathing, journaling, prayer for clarity
• three-column exercise: control, influence, release
• letting the storm cool the shelter and teach
• rebuilding with wisdom, boundaries, and new windows
• kindness, clarity, and courage for teams and communities

If your team, organization, or conference needs this message, visit pamdwyer.com/speaking and book me for your next event
So please share, like, follow, join my email list and stay in the know with all that's going on

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com

Let us know if you would like to be our guest!

We open our hearts to the quiet kind of rejection—when people turn away without words—and trace how it shapes belonging, faith, and self-worth. We offer a plus one step forward: send love, set boundaries, and find closure within, guided by a love that never ghosts.

• the sound and shape of quiet rejection
• childhood roots of feeling unseen
• marriage loss and the rupture of belonging
• family silence and capacity versus need
• ghosting culture, avoidance, and its cost
• reframing rejection as misalignment
• self-given closure and soft boundaries
• faith as anchor and unghosting love
• choosing love over bitterness and finishing stronger

If this message spoke to you, to your heart, share it with someone who's struggling with silence

This is Delay the Binge™, formerly The Plus One Theory Podcast

Delay the Binge™ is a trademark of TPKK Concepts LLC.
© 2025 Pam Dwyer. All rights reserved.
Learn more: DelayTheBinge.com

Storytelling that transforms. Healing that lasts.
From bestselling author Pam Dwyer (PJ Hamilton).
Books + speaking: PamDwyer.com