Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson

For years, I thought New Year's resolutions would finally turn me into the “best version” of myself. Spoiler: they mostly left me discouraged, exhausted, and convinced I was already falling behind.

So I stopped.

Today we’re walking through:

If resolutions haven’t been working for you (or haven’t felt kind)… this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

To go deeper, grab my brand-new guided journal The Story of This Year — the complete version of this process with prompts and space to reflect:

Since the podcast will be on hiatus for a while, the best place to stay connected is my email list:

Thank you for being here. This community is one of my life’s greatest gifts.

Podcast Sponsors:

- ⁠⁠Antique Candle Co. ⁠⁠

- ⁠⁠BetterHelp⁠⁠

- ⁠⁠NIV Application Bible⁠⁠

- ⁠⁠Piper and Leaf⁠

- Please donate today at ⁠MercyShips.org/podcast⁠

- Visit ⁠OmahaSteaks.com⁠ for 50% off site-wide during their Sizzle All the Way Sale. And for an extra $35 off, use promo code FUN at checkout.

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In today’s Girls Night, we’re talking about what to do when you’ve done everything “right” and it’s still not working.

Maybe you’ve followed the rules, made the plans, gone to therapy, prayed the prayers, checked all the boxes… and yet your life, career, relationships, or family story still don’t look anything like what you hoped for. It feels like you’re stuck in a giant “this is not what I ordered” moment, especially in this Everything Era where all the big decisions seem to pile up at once.

As we wrap up this season of the show (and before I take a break from Girls Night for a good chunk of next year), I’m sharing two things I really want to leave you with:

You get to want what you want.

You have more agency than it feels like you do.

I’ll read a section from my book, Create a Life You Love, and we’ll walk through practical tools for what to do when doors aren’t opening: when to quit, when to keep going, when to change tactics, how to invest in the life you have right now, and how to ask for help when you’re exhausted.

If you’re looking around thinking, “I thought I’d be further along by now,” this episode is for you. You are not behind. You are not failing. And you’re not as stuck as you feel. 💛

Podcast Sponsors:

- ⁠Antique Candle Co. ⁠

- ⁠BetterHelp⁠

- ⁠NIV Application Bible⁠

- ⁠Piper and Leaf

- Please donate today at MercyShips.org/podcast

- Visit OmahaSteaks.com for 50% off site-wide during their Sizzle All the Way Sale. And for an extra $35 off, use promo code FUN at checkout.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Girls Night!

We’re down to the final few episodes of the year, and today we’re diving into something so many of us feel this time of year but rarely say out loud:

👉 Why does the holiday season sometimes feel like one big “This is not what I ordered”?

Maybe you thought you’d be spending Christmas with someone special this year, or reaching a goal you’d hoped to hit by December. Maybe family dynamics are messy or complicated, or your little family doesn’t look the way you imagined. Or maybe you had big dreams for a magical, cozy December… and somehow you slid into the holidays exhausted and overwhelmed, wondering where the magic went.

If any of that sounds familiar, this episode is absolutely for you.

Today we’re asking two big questions:

✨ How do we set ourselves up for delight — not disappointment — this holiday season?

We’ll talk about the moment you realize you’ve gone from experiencing Christmas to creating Christmas, why so many of us approach December like college finals week, and the gentle, intentional steps we can take to build a season we actually get to feel and enjoy.

We’ll walk through:

⭐️ noticing the expectations we’re carrying

My hope is that this conversation feels freeing, grounding, and hopeful — like a deep breath in the middle of a busy month. You deserve to experience the magic you’re so faithfully creating, friend. Let’s build a December that feels more like the one our hearts have been longing for.

Mentioned in this episode:

💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]

💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]

💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]

🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]

Stay connected:

📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]

🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]

💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]

Podcast Sponsors:

- ⁠Antique Candle Co. ⁠

- ⁠BetterHelp⁠

- ⁠NIV Application Bible⁠

- ⁠Piper and Leaf

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Girls Night, we’re doing something a little different — and incredibly special.

As my twins turn five (how?!), I’ve been reflecting on everything I wish I could go back and tell myself before becoming a mom. The fears, the hopes, the questions, the emotions — the moments when I looked around and thought, “This is not what I ordered.”

So in today’s episode, I’m sharing four letters I wrote to the woman I was before motherhood — the woman who was wondering…

💌 Who will I be after I become a mom?

If you’re planning, trying, pregnant, or simply wondering if you’ll ever feel “ready,” these letters are for you. They’re honest, tender, hopeful, and full of the things I wish someone would have told me years ago.

We’ll talk about what actually happens to your identity, how marriage shifts (and strengthens), how to navigate fear in a world that feels overwhelming, and why motherhood isn’t something you download — it’s something you grow into.

And if these letters resonate with you, you can get the full series for free at StephanieMayWilson.com/letters — they’re yours to keep or share with a friend who needs them.

At the end of the episode, I’ll also share more about Becoming Mama — the course my best friend Kelsey (a brilliant therapist) and I created to help you prepare emotionally, mentally, and practically for this huge transition. It’s the roadmap we wish we’d had, and enrollment is open for just a few more days.

Wherever you are on the path to motherhood, friend — you’re not alone.

Mentioned in this episode:

💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]

💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]

💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]

🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]

Stay connected:

📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]

🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]

💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]

Podcast Sponsors:

- Antique Candle Co.

- BetterHelp

- NIV Application Bible

- Piper and Leaf

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All season long, we’ve been talking about what I call The Everything Era—that season when you have to make so many of the biggest, most consequential decisions of your life all at once. It’s full of possibility, but it’s also full of pressure—especially when some of those decisions don’t seem to fit together very well.

And one of the trickiest examples of that is the tension between career and motherhood. What happens when the rhythm that used to work suddenly doesn’t anymore? When the version of success you used to chase doesn’t quite fit the life you have now? Or when your family needs you in one way, but your career seems to demand something entirely different?

My guest today is Neha Ruch, founder of Mother Untitled and author of The Power Pause: How to Plan a Career Break After Kids—and Come Back Stronger Than Ever.

Through her work, Neha is helping women rethink what it means to take a pause in their careers after having kids—showing that stepping back doesn’t mean stepping away from your ambition. She’s helping us reimagine this in-between space as a powerful, intentional season of reflection and realignment—a chance to build a life and career that actually work together, not against each other.

Whether you’re already a mom, planning for motherhood, or just thinking about what your next chapter might hold, this conversation will give you permission to press pause—not out of fear or failure, but as a power move.

Alright friends, let’s dive in. Here’s my conversation with Neha Ruch.

Mentioned in this episode:

💛 The Power Pause

💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]

💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]

💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]

🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]

Stay connected:

📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]

📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/neha_ruch]

🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]

💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes life doesn’t go the way we planned. The job ends, the relationship shifts, the dream unravels — and we’re left standing in the in-between, wondering how to trust again.

Mentioned in this episode:

💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife]

💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried]

💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama]

🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/]

Stay connected:

📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/]

🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/]

💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve been feeling disconnected lately — like everyone else has their people and somehow you just… don’t — you’re not alone.

In this episode, we’re talking about why friendships fade, why loneliness doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you, and how to start again.

Stephanie shares the five most common kinds of disconnection, what science says about why friendship really matters, and a simple recipe for rebuilding the kind of circle every woman needs.

💛 Listen in, share this episode with a friend who might need it too, and remember: you’re not behind — you’re just between circles.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season, we’ve been talking about what to do when you look around at your life and think, “Wait… this is not what I ordered.” Maybe things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would — and now you’re asking those big, scary, beautiful questions: Who am I now? What do I want? Where do I go from here?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have you ever woken up one day and thought, “I don’t even know who I am anymore?”

Maybe it’s after motherhood, a breakup, a big move, burnout, or even after finally reaching a goal you worked so hard for — and suddenly realizing it doesn’t feel the way you thought it would. Somewhere along the way, between the to-do lists and expectations, you lost touch with the person underneath it all.

In this episode, we’re talking about how to find your way back. 💛

We’ll talk about:

This isn’t a “self-care” conversation — it’s a coming home to yourself conversation.

So grab a cozy drink and join me — let’s reintroduce you to you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Girls Night, we’re asking one of the biggest — and maybe most important — questions we can ask ourselves:

Do you like your life?

So many of us have followed all the rules, checked all the boxes, and built the kind of life we thought we were supposed to want — only to look around and wonder why it doesn’t feel like home. In this episode, we’re slowing down, taking inventory, and learning how to remodel the parts of our lives that no longer fit.

We’ll walk room-by-room through your “life house” — your relationships, your body, your work, your faith, your family, your joy — and ask some simple but powerful questions:

This isn’t about burning it all down. It’s about noticing what’s working, what’s not, and making small, thoughtful changes that help your life feel like you again.

If you’ve been trudging along a path that feels uphill and exhausting, this episode will help you find a new route — one that’s easier, freer, and a lot more beautiful.

Resources Mentioned:

Love Your Single Life

Just Married

Becoming Mama

Stephanie’s Journals & Guides

Let’s be friends!

Instagram

Website

Join the Girls Night Community

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