Another blast from the past! I love this episode so much, it's a replay of episode #195, What Are You Sorry For? 'I'm sorry' is probably one of the most used phrases by women in our society. We have been conditioned to use this phrase not just when we have done something hurtful or wrong, but very often even when we are just taking up space as a human. Today we're going to take a closer look at why it's important to stop apologizing for being a breathing human and how to acknowledge our space in the world with more gratitude and grace.

Engaging in martyr behavior can be really easy for so many of us. In this week's podcast we're digging deeper into specific behaviors that a martyr engages in, and also ways that you can start to work through your own martyr tendencies.

This week I'm playing for you another great podcast from the past. Being a martyr is something that can come so easily for many of us, and being able to recognize how and when and where it is showing up in our lives can really help us to feel more powerful in our lives as we clean up our engagements with other people and show up more honestly and loving.

The Law of the Lid is a concept taught by John C. Maxwell, a leadership expert. When applied to the work we do here, we are talking about how our own self love puts a lid on our capacity to both give and receive love to and from others. When applied to people in our lives with whom we struggle to connect emotionally, this concept can help you to understand them and show up with more compassion and grace.

You know that phrase 'growing old gracefully'? It's time for a shift. How about we all start thinking about Growing Old Boldly? My friend, and fellow mid-life coach Kwavi, joins me today for a discussion about how we can start living more boldly as we age, and not less. We have so much amazingness to contribute to the world as we age, so let's jump in with both feet!

What makes a person lovable? Is it their charisma? Their kindness? Their willingness to serve? Actually, it isn't any of those things. Those things might make it easier to love someone, but whether we do love someone or not depends solely on our love ability. If you're interested in increasing your ability to love others, listen up!

When we struggle to show up our best selves, it can be really frustrating, even disheartening. And when we have a tendency to get on our case and even beat ourselves up for our mistakes and short-comings, we start digging a hole that makes it hard to start moving forward again. But when we can extend grace to ourselves for when we fall short of our ideal, we create a place that is so much easier to get moving again in the direction we want. Embracing the idea that sometimes we are just human and don't make decisions in alignment with what we want, is a powerful place to be, I call that the Sometimes Space. It's a beautiful place of acceptance and love and compassion.

Communication can be the source of our greatest connections to other people, or it can be the source of some of our greatest disconnections to other people. When communication is not happening or when things are misinterpreted, we create frustrations and relationship breakdowns. But when understood and entered into with intention and curiosity, communication can be just the thing to bring emotional intimacy and connection to the people we love. Good communication can change your relationship, and what we talk about today will get you started.

Have you ever said something like, 'I just wish I could take their agency away and make them do what I know is best for them!'? I think probably most of us have at some point, especially if we have adult children! And yet, agency is not only a gift from God for us to learn from our own choices, but it is also a gift from God to help us learn how to become more like Him in honoring and respecting others' agency. When we can learn to really accept other people's agency, then we are learning how to show up in more Christlike and loving ways.

Learning to advocate for ourselves is a skill that many of us haven't acquired yet, and until we do, we will struggle with self-respect and with having the equal relationships that we desire. When we come to realize that our wants and needs are just as important and valid as anyone else's, we can advocate with more clarity and confidence. Fellow life and divorce coach Samantha Nielsen joins me today in a discussion about what advocating means, why it's important, and how to do it.