The holidays promise joy, but for many they amplify grief, overwhelm, and unspoken expectations. In this episode, we explore why December can feel so heavy and how to shift from survival mode to genuine connection through emotional maturity. You’ll hear a powerful client story that traces seasonal stress back to an ungrieved loss, and learn how simple mindset shifts, like turning “have to” into “choose to,” can instantly lighten the load. We break down a practical toolkit for navigating the season: naming your emotions, identifying the thoughts beneath them, and taking responsibility for what you need. You’ll also get exercises for redefining traditions, delegating with clarity, and creating holidays rooted in presence, boundaries, and love.

If this speaks to you, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review. For deeper support, join our Marriage Growth Community through the link in the show notes.

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

In this episode, Seth and Stacy share how their marriage transformed when they stopped debating surface issues and started exploring the beliefs driving their reactions. With simple shifts—like turning accusations into requests and regulating their bodies in real time—they rebuilt psychological safety and emotional intimacy. Their story shows that when couples name patterns with compassion, connection grows naturally.

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/marriage-growth-community

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Nathan and Michaela share how a simple morning ritual and a second chair became the unlikely catalyst that's reshaping their marriage. By choosing curiosity over being right and speaking fears early instead of silently spiraling, they built a daily rhythm of connection that is rebuilding trust and intimacy. This episode unpacks the small, intentional choices any couple can use to move from seeing each other as adversaries to truly advocating for one another.

Please let us know in the comments what you're taking away from this episode

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/marriage-growth-community

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Feeling stuck in the same argument on repeat? In this episode, I dig into why “better communication tools” don’t stick and how a true shift happens when you change the engine of your conversations: your beliefs. Instead of white-knuckling behavior change from the caboose, we show how to start at the root—what you believe about yourself, your partner, conflict, and love—and let that new engine drive different thoughts, feelings, and actions.

• change vs transformation in marriage
• the train model of belief, thought, feeling, action
• why tools fail without belief shifts
• tension reframed as the birthplace of growth
• proving and protecting as the conflict loop
• survival needs of being right and in control
• moving to curiosity, humility and vulnerability
• practical prompts to review recent conflicts
• building a case for care and self-worth
• small steps to contribute newly in hard talks

If you want a community and more transformational distinctions, I invite you to join the Marriage Growth Community. The link is below. 

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Julia reveals how self-worth quietly sets the tone of a marriage, from generational scripts and early attachment to the Four M’s that sabotage intimacy, and shares the practices that turned a parent–child dynamic into a shoulder-to-shoulder partnership. She invites you to question core beliefs, feel and grieve, set boundaries, and choose truth as the highest form of intimacy.

• marriage as a space for love, not performance

• the Four M’s that erode connection: mothering, martyring, manipulating, managing

• why unworthiness normalises enabling, denial, and small betrayals

• using a life timeline to reveal patterns and build compassion

• moving from head beliefs to body-based healing and grief

• boundaries that end over-functioning and restore adult-to-adult relating

• redefining love as truth, responsibility, and mutual worth

• daily questions that link beliefs to thoughts, feelings, and actions

• choosing partnership over parent–child dynamics

If you want the marriage that you long for, click that first link in the show notes, and this will take you straight to the resource that's going to solve that for you

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

We trace Sari and Corey’s path from a decade of conflict avoidance to a practical, hopeful toolbox for intimacy. Addiction recovery, leadership at home and work, and the science of shame become catalysts for trust, curiosity, and partnership.

• early marriage shaped by addiction, loss, and avoidance
• the moral story that made conflict feel wrong
• loneliness as the hidden cost of peacekeeping
• honesty and transparency as recurring triggers
• leadership gaps across business and home
• the vacation planning pattern as a mirror
• “stay in your own backyard” as a core tool
• rewriting pessimistic stories with curiosity
• listening to the body to catch shame early
• choosing connection over being right
• why they invest in recurring breakthroughs

Please let us know in the comments what you're taking away from this episode

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Jordan and Heather share their transformative marriage journey, revealing how they moved from feeling stuck in a mess to experiencing profound growth in just one year. With Heather's 500% increase in hope and Jordan's 50% increase in emotional intelligence, they demonstrate how meaningful change happens through personal responsibility.

• Jordan describes how childhood trauma from his mother's suicide attempts created abandonment fears he carried into marriage
• Heather reveals the deep loneliness she felt despite being married to someone she loved
• Both partners identified their conflict patterns—Jordan avoiding, Heather pursuing—that created disconnection
• Learning to recognize and name emotions changed how they handle disagreements
• Self-responsibility became key as they learned to meet their own needs instead of demanding the other fill their voids
• Staying present during uncomfortable feelings rather than avoiding them transformed their ability to resolve conflicts
• Small shifts in perspective created significant improvements in communication and connection
• Growth isn't linear—they embrace the process with grace for being human

If you're feeling stuck in your marriage, consider joining one of Julia's Breakthrough retreats where couples learn practical tools to see and understand each other, even in the most difficult conversations.

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Julia welcomes Josh and Heather, a couple who have transformed their 23-year marriage through coaching and attending Breakthrough couples retreats over the past five years.

• Heather has gone from weekly angry outbursts to zero, while Josh has reduced his interrupting by 40%

• Their relationship once featured little communication, with Heather's outbursts driven by feelings of "not being enough"

• Josh describes how his need to control conversations stemmed from fear of abandonment and loneliness

• The couple experienced an "atomic bomb" moment when Josh's infidelity was revealed, forcing them to choose between real change or separation

• Heather learned to recognize her "impaired thinking" patterns and voice her needs instead of shutting down

• Josh discovered that what he thought was love (based on childhood observations) wasn't actually healthy connection

• Both emphasize that working on their individual relationships with themselves was crucial to healing their marriage

• They now describe their marriage as "exciting not dreaded" and find joy in the work of relationship

Rate, review, and share this episode if it made a difference for you!

🎁 Free Gift: Download my 10 Prompts to Resolve Difficult Conversations

https://beautifuloutcome.com/prompt-starters

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

Shane and Charity share their journey from deep connection as newlyweds to growing disconnection after military retirement, and how they found their way back to each other through a structured approach to communication. They reveal how transitions in life inevitably change marriages, requiring couples to "die" to their old relationship patterns in order for new, deeper connections to emerge.

• Married 10 years, both retired from military careers, experienced gradual disconnection despite deep love for each other
• Initially unsure why conversations felt one-sided and surface-level despite their efforts
• Charity felt resentful when trying different approaches to connect, while Shane was physically present but emotionally distracted
• Discovered the concept of "staying in your backyard" - focusing on what you can control rather than trying to change your partner
• Implemented a weekly "couple's connection" hour with a structured framework that includes dedicated connection time
• Created personalized "promises" to each other about their individual growth work
• Now experience greater empathy, creativity, and safety in their relationship
• Feel like "marriage nerds" who genuinely look forward to their connection sessions

"We must die to the marriage we have in order for a new one to emerge." Difficult conversations don't go away - they just get harder to have if we avoid them.

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...

In this episode of Hey Julia Woods, Julia dives deep into the often misunderstood concept of self-care—and how it can radically transform your marriage. Far beyond bubble baths and spa days, authentic self-care is about nurturing your spirit, soul, and body in a way that builds emotional resilience and deepens connection with your spouse.

Julia shares powerful insights from years of coaching couples through disconnection, codependency, and burnout. She unpacks how the lack of self-care leads to resentment, unhealthy patterns, and loneliness in marriage—and how learning to "mother yourself" can create space for healing, intimacy, and sustainable love.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your relationship, overextended in your role, or unsure how to care for yourself without feeling guilty, this episode is for you. You’ll learn practical ways to recognize emotional depletion, set healthy boundaries, and show up in your marriage from a place of fullness rather than need.

Whether you’re navigating marriage struggles, working on personal growth, or just want to build a stronger emotional foundation, this conversation will equip you with tools to reconnect with yourself—and your partner.

Create the connection you long for by attending the next Breakthrough event 

https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat-sept-25

_______

👉 Learn More about Breakthrough Workshops:
https://beautifuloutcome.com/retreat

💥💥Everything you need to grow the marriage you long for is waiting for you in the Marriage Growth Community:

https://beautifuloutcome.com/mgc-one-time-offer


🎁 Free Gift for you! 100 Prompts and Ideas to Connect with your Spouse!

🎁 FREE GIFT: Turn Defensiveness into Connection! https://beautifuloutcome.com/e-guide

_

👉 Take the free communication quiz! What’s YOUR communication type?! https://beautifuloutcome.com/communication-quiz

_______

Where you can find me:

INSTAGRAM: Connect with me at @HeyJuliaWoods
YOUTUBE: Subscribe to @HeyJuliaWoods
SHOP: Marriage resources in my storefront
RETREATS: Attend a Marriage Workshop...