Today we're addressing head-on a harmful, 100% false belief that many of us carry throughout our day-to-day lives. And that's the belief that other people's happiness, comfort, energy, whatever, is more important than ours. It's the belief that being a good parent, a good spouse or a good employee means driving ourselves into the ground for the sake of the greater good.

The truth is, if you love others, if you want your family to be healthy and happy, if you want to have a successful career and have lasting joy in it, you must put yourself first. And today, we're going to talk about why.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e16-self-care-putting-your-own-oxygen-mask-on-first/

Today, we'll dive into five additional insights and tips that I don't cover in my book that will help you take your validation game to the next level. And what that ultimately means, of course, is that you'll feel better equipped to support others, you'll develop deeper and more satisfying relationships and you'll be more confident dealing with conflict in the workplace, in your marriage than really in any other relationship in your life. Let's dive in.

Show Notes:

https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e15-validation:-honing-your-skill/

Today we're addressing a question I've received from a handful of readers and listeners: "How do I handle certain relationships where I feel like the other person is constantly complaining?"

The question most often comes up when talking about validation, because we often feel like validation only encourages the complaining and ends up draining our energy, connection and happiness.

So today we'll address these concerns head on, because I can tell you right now that the solution is actually quite simple and we'll give you actionable tools and sample dialog even to help you effectively validate and support these people in your life without enabling them or sacrificing your own happiness. Let's dive in.

Show Notes:

https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e14-how-to-deal-with-constant-complainers/

In today's episode of the I Hear You podcast, we're talking about another foundational element of healthy relationships: vulnerability. You take vulnerability out of a relationship and you're left with a dry, transactional connection. It's like trying to keep a plant growing without water. It just doesn't work.

So today we're going to talk about what vulnerability is, what it looks like and why it's so valuable. We'll clear up a couple of misconceptions, explore a handful of tips on how to increase our willingness to get vulnerable, and last of all, talk about what we can do if we feel our partner isn't very vulnerable.

Show Notes:

https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e13-vulnerability/

In today's episode, we dig into how simple, subtle word choices can silently sap our power, productivity and happiness. We start off with some fascinating research demonstrating the reality of the mind-body connection and dive into 10 changes you can start making today to instantly bring greater power, productivity and happiness into your life.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e12-empowering-language/

Today, we're going to take a moment to step back and make sure we have our ladders up on the right wall. We want to make sure we know what matters most to us in life and then to make sure that that's what we're working toward. Make sure that's how we're measuring our life, so that we're not inadvertently pushing away what matters most under the guise of creating it.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e11-how-will-you-measure-your-life/

On this week's episode of the I Hear You podcast, we're discussing 10 Ways to Brighten Someone's Day. You've likely heard the phrase "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." That's attributed to a number of different people, but I love that phrase. I love that concept, that reminder, because it's true and it's also easy to lose sight of. We often underestimate the impact of a simple act of kindness. And yet studies, and likely your own personal experience, have shown time and time again that as givers, we benefit almost as much, if not more, from the service as the recipients. So, in the spirit of giving, let's dive into 10 simple ways to brighten the lives of those around you.

Note: I somehow missed #7 when recording...but it is available in the transcript in the show notes at the link below. ;)

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e10-10-ways-to-brighten-someones-day/

How aware are you of your day to day expectations? Of what you're expecting from life, your significant other or even strangers that you run into throughout the day? Chances are you carry dozens, if not hundreds of expectations throughout each day. And chances are also good, that you're only aware of a small fraction of them. Think of a recent interaction where you became frustrated, angry or disappointed. This could be with a romantic partner, a coworker, a friend, a family member. But what caused the upset? Did they leave dirty dishes in the sink? Did they not respond to your e-mail, your text? Or did they not invite you to go out last weekend? In most cases, the anger, frustration or hurt you feel has more to do with your unmet expectations than it does with whatever actually happened. And today, we're going to explore this. We'll explain how uncommunicated expectations are harmful to ourselves and our relationships. We're going to talk about a few simple ways of bringing awareness to our expectations. And lastly, we'll talk about ways to hold expectations, no matter how high they may be, in a healthy, positive, truth based way.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e9-expectations-the-silent-killer-of-relationships

Boundaries play a key role in helping us build stronger, healthier relationships, and they also play a key role in boosting and maintaining our energy, health, happiness and confidence.

If you have a hard time saying no to people, because you don't want to be rude, or maybe there's someone in your life that you're always covering for because they're acting irresponsibly, or maybe you're always helping people, but no one ever seems to be there for you. If any of these things relate or apply or sound familiar, you likely have a boundary problem.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e8-boundaries-when-to-say-yes-and-how-to-say-no

Today we’re diving into a tendency that the vast majority of the world struggles with. And I’m not exaggerating there. This tendency, known as codependency, is an unhealthy reliance on or concern for other people’s problems, emotions, actions, or opinion of us. And it’s a sneaky little devil, because it’s often disguised as kindness, compassion, caring, patience, and so on.

We’re going to define codependency, talk about why it’s so harmful to us and our relationships, look at several examples of how it shows up in our day-to-day lives, and discuss a handful of techniques for getting out of it. We’ll be referring to codependency throughout this entire podcast series, so this is a worthwhile listen.

Show Notes: https://michaelssorensen.com/podcast/e7-codependency-your-happiness-matters-too