It's a Mindset

As AI becomes part of everyday life, how do we make sure we keep thinking for ourselves?

It’s there when we work, when we look for an answer and when we’re trying to get through a busy day. At the same time, we’re navigating our children’s digital lives and wondering what all this change means for the future.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Yasmin London, international keynote speaker, author, and Founder and CEO of First Movers Co., to explore human connection, digital resilience and the courage to have a say in what comes next.

Yasmin brings an extraordinary range of experience to this conversation. From international gold-medal swimming to serving as a NSW Police officer and working in technology leadership, her story is one of changing direction, learning through experience and taking action without having every answer in advance.

We talk about her book, First Movers, and why she believes we all have a role in shaping how technology is used. We explore the importance of women’s voices in decisions about AI, the support adults need to help young people navigate online spaces, and how we can keep exercising our own judgement while using tools that make life easier.

Yasmin also shares her three priorities for a human-centred future: protecting the human, preserving the mind and powering human connection. Our conversation moves from these bigger ideas to the everyday moments where we choose how to spend our attention, including the value of a conversation that a more convenient digital option might remove.

I found Yasmin’s story incredible, and I related to so much of this discussion, both as a mum of four and in considering my own use of AI. I came away feeling more passionate about the role we have in advocating for one another as the world changes.

There’s plenty here to reflect on, from the questions we ask at work to the conversations we have at home, and the small first moves we can make ourselves.

Key Episode Takeaways:

• Courageous action can come before confidence. Yasmin shares how learning through doing helped her move into unfamiliar work, and why we can begin without having every answer.
• Using AI thoughtfully includes deciding what to keep doing ourselves. Yasmin encourages us to practise critical thinking, creativity and judgement alongside the tools we use.
• Supporting young people online also means educating the adults around them. Understanding the digital world puts parents, educators and leaders in a better position to have informed conversations and offer support.
• Women’s experiences belong in the decisions shaping technology. Yasmin explores why participation, the ability to speak up and attention to real-world harms matter as AI develops.
• Convenience can remove opportunities for connection. Yasmin introduces “friction maxing”: deliberately choosing some less seamless experiences that give us a chance to interact, communicate and grow.

About the Guest:

Yasmin London is an international keynote speaker, event and podcast host, and Founder and CEO of First Movers Co. A former international gold medallist swimmer, decorated NSW Police officer and technology leader, she brings grit, empathy and real-world experience to conversations about leadership, digital culture, human connection and the future of technology.

Her work sits at the intersection of technology, gender, youth and culture. Through her book First Movers, she invites people to stop waiting for permission, choose courage over comfort and help shape a future guided by humanity. Yasmin also hosts the First Movers with Yas London podcast.

Show Resources:

Explore Yasmin’s work and her book, First Movers

Connect with Yasmin on LinkedIn

Follow Yasmin on Instagram: @yaslondon

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Explore Emma’s book, Worthy & Wealthy

Explore Emma’s website

Content note: This conversation includes references to suicide, cyberbullying and image-based sexual abuse, including references involving children. Please listen with care. If you need support in Australia, Lifeline is available 24/7 on 13 11 14.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @yaslondon. I’d love to hear what stayed with you.

Yours in staying human, Emma. X.

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered why you feel lost when so much seems to be going well?

You’re getting things done. You’re showing up for the people who need you. But there’s a part of you wondering where your own needs fit, and what you want this next chapter to look like.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Faye Evans, psychologist and author of Soulful Simplicity: A Neuro-Spiritual Path to Living with Intention, to explore how we can reconnect with ourselves through change and make more conscious choices about how we live.

Content note: This conversation includes discussion of domestic abuse, coercive control and a brief mention of disordered eating. Please listen with care.

Faye brings more than 30 years of professional experience alongside her own story of rebuilding her life. She shares her journey from Lima, Peru, to Australia, and the courage, faith and support that helped her find a way forward with her children.

We also explore a later turning point, when a successful career and a full life prompted new questions about where she wanted to direct her energy. That reflection became part of the foundation for her book and its three stages: LOST, FOUND and WHOLE.

Faye explains how these stages can help us understand where we are, including the uncertain space of knowing what we no longer want while still discovering what comes next. We talk about reclaiming parts of ourselves, practising discernment and making space to reflect before taking on more.

I was deeply inspired by Faye’s strength of character and the successful, happy life she has created for herself and her family here in Australia. I also loved hearing how she is continuing to reassess what matters to her now. There’s an invitation here to consider our own lives with more curiosity and compassion.

Key Episode Takeaways:

• LOST, FOUND and WHOLE can be revisited throughout life. Faye’s framework allows room for uncertainty and ongoing change, including the space between knowing what you no longer want and discovering what comes next.
• Reclaiming yourself can begin with recognising what you’ve set aside. Faye explores reconnecting with your voice, values and interests as you move into a different chapter.
• Discernment helps us choose where our energy goes. Pausing before another commitment creates room to consider what matters now, what fits and what we’re ready to leave behind.
• Feeling profoundly exhausted deserves attention. Faye invites reflection on what may need to shift in our lives, rather than automatically treating our struggle as a personal failing.
• Self-compassion matters when looking back. Faye encourages us to consider the knowledge and circumstances we had at the time, and to meet ourselves more kindly as we move forward.

About the Guest:

Faye Evans is a psychologist, author, speaker and Board-Approved Supervisor with more than 30 years’ experience supporting women through life transitions, identity change and personal growth. Her work integrates psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness and meaning-making, with a particular focus on women’s wellbeing, midlife and intentional living.

She is the author of Soulful Simplicity: A Neuro-Spiritual Path to Living with Intention, which explores moving from disconnection, over-functioning and living by expectation towards greater alignment, agency and wholeness. Drawing on professional expertise and lived experience, Faye brings a deeply human perspective to conversations about change, purpose and creating a life that feels more authentic and meaningful.

Show Resources:

Explore Faye’s website

Connect with Faye on LinkedIn

Follow Faye on Instagram: @psychologist_faye_evans

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Explore Emma’s website

Explore Emma’s book, Worthy & Wealthy

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @psychologist_faye_evans. I’d love to hear what stayed with you.

Yours in reclaiming yourself, Emma. X.

Have you ever held back what you really wanted to say because you were worried about how the conversation might go?

The concern you leave unspoken. The disagreement you brush aside. The conversation you keep rehearsing in your head, but never quite begin.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Tim Duggan, author, founder and optimist, to explore how we can get better at conflict and approach difficult conversations with more intention.

Tim co-founded Junkee Media and writes a weekly column on work for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. His latest book, Clear in Tension: How to Get Better at Conflict, grew from his own experience of avoiding conflict and his curiosity about how we can learn to handle it differently.

We explore why we swallow our words, how trust and values shape disagreements, and what it means to listen generously when we’re tempted to jump in with our own answer. Tim introduces his Four Terrains of Conflict and CLEAR method, offering ways to better understand the situation we’re in before deciding how to respond.

Our conversation also takes us into creativity, making space to think, and the choices we make around AI. Tim shares why he uses it for some tasks while protecting the writing and thinking he values doing himself, including the uncomfortable work of a personal apology.

After researching Tim, I was looking forward to hearing how to lean into conflict rather than avoid it, and it didn’t disappoint. He’s a master communicator, and I particularly enjoyed his reflections around AI. There’s plenty here to consider in our relationships, our work and the conversations we’ve been putting off.

Key Episode Takeaways:

• Getting better at conflict takes practice. Starting with lower-stakes conversations can help us build familiarity with the discomfort and prepare for more difficult moments.
• Trust and values shape how disagreement feels. Tim’s Four Terrains of Conflict offer a way to understand why some conversations allow a productive exchange of ideas while others feel much harder to navigate.
• Listening generously means noticing the urge to interrupt or solve. Tim’s CLEAR method invites us to clarify what matters, listen generously, explore what’s underneath, align on a shared direction and reset our story.
• Resolution is one possible outcome. Tim also explores what it means to repeat or release a conflict, and why recognising these possibilities can change how we approach it.
• Choosing which disagreements deserve our energy matters. Understanding what is important can help us be more intentional about the conversations we take on.
• AI raises questions about the skills we want to keep practising. Tim shares his concerns about outsourcing the effort involved in writing, thinking and making a meaningful apology.

About the Guest:

Tim Duggan is an author, founder and optimist. He co-founded Junkee Media, is the Chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance and writes a weekly column on work for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

His work explores complex ideas about how we live and work. His latest book, Clear in Tension: How to Get Better at Conflict, draws on his research into disagreement and communication, alongside his own experience of learning to approach conflict.

Show Resources:

Explore Tim’s book, Clear in Tension

Read Tim’s writing on Substack

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn

Follow Tim on Instagram: @tim_duggan

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Explore Emma’s website

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @tim_duggan. I’d love to hear what stayed with you.

Yours in courageous conversations, Emma. X.

What if a belief you’ve carried for years no longer reflects what you want for your life?

You want to try something new.
You can imagine what might become possible.
And then a familiar thought arrives: that’s not for me.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by spiritual hypnotherapist Lynnsey Robinson, founder of the Align Your Mind™ mindset app and co-host of the High Vibin’ It and Spiritual Kinks podcasts.

We explore Lynnsey’s approach to hypnotherapy, the subconscious mind and the beliefs that can influence how we see ourselves and our possibilities. She shares how she works with clients to examine familiar patterns, and explains the distinction between hypnotherapy for personal change and stage hypnosis for entertainment.

Having experienced hypnotherapy and been hypnotised myself, I was curious to understand those differences and hear more about Lynnsey’s work. We also discuss the fear of being seen, the stories we tell ourselves about what we’re capable of, and why those stories can be worth revisiting.

Lynnsey’s own journey brings another layer to the conversation. After becoming a mum, she found herself drawn back to studying hypnotherapy while also feeling the pressure to choose a familiar, financially predictable path. Her story opens up an honest discussion about following an interest, making room for uncertainty and beginning with small steps.

I share how that has appeared in my own life, from changing direction at 45 to listening to the nudge towards yoga teacher training—something I’m enjoying exploring as a hobby.

We also talk about how our definition of success evolves. Can you be grateful for what you have and still want to grow? Can you appreciate where you are without deciding that you’re finished?

This conversation offers a chance to become curious about your inner dialogue, consider what you’d like to move towards, and explore Lynnsey’s perspective on hypnotherapy, intuition and manifesting.

Key Episode Takeaways:

• Explore the distinction between hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis, including Lynnsey’s explanation of awareness and choice during a session.
• Become curious about familiar beliefs rather than automatically treating them as permanent truths about who you are.
• Make an intimidating goal more approachable by starting with a small, practical step.
• Consider what you want to move towards, alongside what you’d like to leave behind.
• Allow gratitude and ambition to coexist—you can appreciate your life and still be interested in what comes next.
• When a discouraging thought appears, ask: “What would I like to believe instead?”

About the Guest:

Lynnsey Robinson is a spiritual hypnotherapist and founder of the Align Your Mind™ mindset app. Her work focuses on helping women explore limiting beliefs, connect with their intuition and move towards a life that feels aligned with them.

She brings a spiritual perspective to hypnotherapy, mindset and manifesting, and co-hosts the High Vibin’ It and Spiritual Kinks podcasts. In this episode, she shares both her approach to working with clients and the personal decisions that brought her into this work.

Show Resources:

Explore Lynnsey’s offerings

Follow Lynnsey on Instagram: @lynnseyrobinson

Try Align Your Mind free for 7 days

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Explore Emma’s website

If you explore hypnotherapy recordings, choose a safe place where you can rest undisturbed. Don’t listen to them while driving or operating machinery.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @lynnseyrobinson.

Yours in curiosity and possibility, Emma. X.

What is your body trying to tell you — and how often do you pause long enough to listen?

A little tension. A feeling of restlessness. Tiredness you keep promising yourself you’ll deal with later.

When life is full, it’s easy to brush those feelings aside and keep going. But becoming more aware of them can open up a different conversation with yourself.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Melissa Lever, a physiotherapist, Pilates instructor and founder of Body Intuition Collective, to explore interoception: our ability to notice signals from within the body.

Drawing on 20 years of clinical experience, Melissa shares how seeing people return to her practice with recurring discomfort prompted her to explore the relationship between physical sensations, stress and the demands of daily life.

She introduces her four-step approach — notice, interpret, regulate and align — and explains how we can begin asking what we’re feeling, what it might mean in context, and what support or adjustment we might need.

We explore the habit of pushing through, the importance of boundaries, and the added complexity of interpreting how we feel during perimenopause. Melissa also shares how movement, time outdoors and connection fit into her own life, alongside seeking appropriate professional support.

Melissa and I first connected on Instagram, and as I learnt more about her work, I was intrigued. With many of us navigating menopause, perimenopause and busy lives, I wanted to understand how we could become more attentive to ourselves. Our conversation also reminded me that loving what you do doesn’t mean you can do everything.

Beyond her professional work, Melissa reflects on seven months travelling around Australia with her husband, three children and their dog. The experience challenged her love of planning and helped her clarify what she wanted to make more room for at home.

We also talk about the courage involved in building something new after an established career, and how success can evolve from professional achievement to a life with greater connection, wellbeing and presence.

This conversation is an invitation to become curious about how you feel, rather than automatically carrying on.

Key Episode Takeaways:

• Interoception is awareness of signals from within your body. Melissa explains how noticing those sensations can become a skill we practise in everyday life.
• Pause before you push through. Her four-step approach — notice, interpret, regulate and align — offers a way to consider what you’re feeling and what you might need.
• Context matters, particularly during perimenopause. Hormonal changes, sleep, stress and workload can overlap, making curiosity and appropriate professional support valuable.
• Boundaries help create room for wellbeing. Saying yes to something can also mean giving up time for rest, connection or another personal priority.
• Success can change as your life changes. Melissa shares why good health, time and presence have become central to her definition of wealth.

About the Guest:

Melissa Lever is a physiotherapist with 20 years of clinical experience, a Pilates instructor, clinic co-owner and mum of three based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Her clinical work includes physiotherapy and Pilates, with a focus on helping people move in ways suited to their individual needs.

She founded Body Intuition Collective to help people develop greater awareness of their body’s internal signals. Through education, retreats and online programs, Melissa brings together her physiotherapy experience and interest in interoception, supporting women to explore their wellbeing and make choices that reflect what matters to them.

Show Resources:

Explore Melissa’s website

Follow Melissa on Instagram: @bodyintuitioncollective

Habits Program — Perimenopause Edition

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Explore Emma’s book, Worthy & Wealthy

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @bodyintuitioncollective. We’d love to hear what resonated with you.

Yours in listening to yourself, Emma. X.

What might become possible if you stopped waiting to feel confident and acted first?

We often assume confidence is something we need before we introduce ourselves, ask a question, extend an invitation or pursue an opportunity. But what if confidence is actually created by doing the very things that make us uncomfortable?

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by speaker, author and social courage expert Nick Bendel. In August 2019, Nick began an ambitious project to have lunch with 500 strangers. What started as a way for a natural introvert to improve his social skills and build relationships became a six-year exploration of courage, confidence, rejection and human connection.

The project eventually inspired his book, The 500 Lunches Effect: How Social Courage Changes Everything. I was immediately intrigued by Nick’s story. I certainly enjoy a long lunch, but meeting 500 strangers is an entirely different proposition. I wanted to understand what compelled him to begin, what kept him going and what he discovered through talking to people from vastly different professions, ages and backgrounds.

Nick explains that social courage means taking action when we don’t feel completely ready or when we risk being judged, rejected, criticised or embarrassed. It might involve asking for a promotion, speaking in front of an audience, approaching someone at an event or inviting somebody on a date. We explore why fear of another person’s reaction can create hesitation, how easily we turn rejection into a judgement about our worth and why somebody else’s “no” is generally far less personal than we imagine.

Nick also shares practical ways to make social connection feel less intimidating. We don’t need a brilliant opening line or an impressive story. A simple introduction, genuine curiosity and thoughtful listening can be enough to begin a meaningful conversation.

Our conversation moves beyond networking to consider the deeper importance of human connection. In a world where so much communication now occurs digitally, it is possible to move through our days surrounded by people without truly connecting with any of them.

Nick’s experience is an invitation to become a little more courageous, a little more curious and more willing to take the small social risks that can open the door to new relationships and opportunities.

Key Episode Takeaways:

About the Guest:

Nick Bendel is a speaker, author and social courage expert who helps people overcome hesitation and create more opportunities in their careers and lives.

He is the author of The 500 Lunches Effect: How Social Courage Changes Everything, based on his six-year project to have lunch with 500 strangers. Drawing on his background as a journalist and business owner, Nick explores how small acts of social courage shape relationships, confidence and success. He speaks and writes about social courage, networking, confidence, personal growth and the hidden role hesitation plays in human potential.

Show Resources:

Visit Nick’s website: https://www.nickbendel.com

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-bendel

Follow Nick on Instagram: @mrnickbendel

Follow Emma Lagerlow on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Discover more about Emma and her work: https://www.emmalagerlow.com/

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us at @emmalagerlow and @mrnickbendel.

Yours in courage and connection, Emma. X.

What happens to a family when mental ill health enters their lives without warning?

The focus understandably turns to the person who is unwell. But surrounding them are often parents, partners, siblings and friends trying to make sense of an unfamiliar system while carrying fear, uncertainty and responsibility of their own.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by perioperative nurse, carer peer worker, SANE peer ambassador and author Sarah Martin. Sarah and her family became what she describes as “accidental carers” when one of her children experienced a mental health crisis while travelling overseas. What followed changed the course of their lives and eventually inspired Sarah’s first book, Dear Psychosis.

Her second book, Dear Carer, turns its attention to the people standing beside someone living with complex mental ill health.

Sarah shares how little support her family could find for themselves and why stigma, privacy and the desire to protect a loved one caused them to become increasingly silent. We explore the isolation this can create for carers and the difference it makes to feel genuinely seen, heard and understood by someone who is willing to listen.

We also discuss the practical knowledge families may need when navigating mental health services and emergencies, from understanding the roles of different clinicians to recognising a loved one’s triggers and preparing a toolkit before a crisis occurs.

At the heart of our conversation is Sarah’s message that carers must be cared for too.

She speaks candidly about the years she spent placing her own needs aside, why accepting invitations and seeking psychological support became important parts of her own wellbeing, and how looking after yourself ultimately helps the person who depends on you.

I first met Sarah through the Expert Author Community, and her first book, Dear Psychosis, left an enormous impression on me. With my own children entering adulthood, I found her family’s experience riveting, moving and confronting. Sarah also showed me what an honest and incredibly compelling book could be, so it was a genuine honour to finally have this conversation with her.

Key Episode Takeaways:

About the Guest:

Sarah Martin is a perioperative nurse with more than 40 years of experience, a carer peer worker and a SANE peer ambassador. She is also a mum of three, one of whom lives with bipolar affective disorder.

Sarah is the author of Dear Psychosis, which shares her family’s experience of complex mental ill health, and Dear Carer, created to provide carers with the information, perspectives and practical guidance Sarah wished her own family had been able to access. Through her writing and advocacy, she is committed to reducing the stigma and silence surrounding mental ill health and helping carers feel less alone.

Show Resources:

Connect with Sarah Martin on Instagram: @sarahmartin.author

Connect with Sarah Martin on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088825839661

Connect with Sarah Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-martin123/

Follow Emma Lagerlow on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Discover more about Emma and her work: https://www.emmalagerlow.com/

Mental Health Support:

If you or someone you know needs support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. You can also access information and peer support through SANE.

If this episode raises concerns for you or someone you love, please contact an appropriate mental health support service or emergency service in your location.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us at @emmalagerlow and @sarahmartin.author.

Yours in compassion and connection, Emma. X.

What if performing at your best didn’t have to come at the expense of your health?

For so many ambitious and driven people, looking after ourselves can become something we continually plan to return to later.

Once the deadline has passed.

Once the project is finished.

Once life becomes a little less demanding.

But what if our wellbeing isn’t separate from our ability to perform? What if it’s actually the foundation that allows us to keep doing the work that matters to us?

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Jessica Spendlove—speaker, coach, advisor and author of For the Long Run: Build Your Daily Operating System for Energy, Recovery and Wellbeing.

Jess has spent 15 years working at the intersection of wellbeing and high performance. Her career began in performance nutrition, working with hundreds of elite athletes, Olympic medallists, seven professional sporting teams and the Special Forces. Today, she brings those lessons into her work with corporate leaders, high-performing teams and organisations.

Together, we explore why even some of the best performers in the world are still working to master the fundamentals, and why the increasingly complicated world of protocols, optimisation and extreme routines can make wellbeing feel harder than it needs to be.

Jess shares her philosophy of upgrading rather than overhauling. Instead of measuring ourselves against an ideal routine—or even a previous version of ourselves—she encourages us to create rhythms that suit our current season and can be maintained on our busiest days, not only our best ones.

We also discuss why knowledge alone doesn’t always lead to change. Drawing on her experience in professional sport, Jess explains how our environment, systems and relationships can influence our behaviour far more than another piece of information.

Connection is another important part of the conversation. Jess explores why sustainable wellbeing includes our relationships, values and sense of purpose, and what can happen when achievement begins to take priority over everything else.

Jess and I first met at a speaker training workshop with Sally Prosser, and it was lovely to reconnect. I continue to be blown away by Jess’s drive—particularly knowing that she wrote this book while navigating business and motherhood with a very young daughter.

Yet what I found most interesting was how that season shaped the book itself. Rather than presenting a rigid formula, Jess has created an approach that recognises that our capacity changes and that sustainable performance needs to leave room for the reality of our lives.

This is such a thoughtful conversation about ambition, energy, recovery, relationships and redefining success so that we can continue doing meaningful work without losing ourselves in the process.

Key Episode Takeaways:

About the Guest:

Jessica Spendlove speaks, coaches and writes about sustainable high performance and wellbeing. She is a keynote speaker, advisor and author of For the Long Run: Build Your Daily Operating System for Energy, Recovery and Wellbeing.

Across her 15-year career, Jess has worked with hundreds of elite athletes, Olympic medallists, seven professional sporting teams, the Special Forces, corporate leaders and high-performing organisations. Her work helps people embed wellbeing as a foundation for sustainable performance and leadership.

Jess is also an Associate with Monash University’s Corporate Education program and host of the Stay at the Top podcast. Through her speaking, coaching and writing, she is working to change the narrative so that success is achieved not at the expense of our health, but because of it.

Show Resources:

Learn More About Jessica’s Book, For the Long Run: https://jessicaspendlove.com/book/

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaspendlove/

Follow Jessica on Instagram: @jessicaspendlove

Follow Emma on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Visit Emma’s Website: https://www.emmalagerlow.com/

Learn More About Emma’s Book, Worthy & Wealthy: https://www.amazon.com.au/Worthy-Wealthy-Discovering-Abundance-Fulfilment/dp/1998528022

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @jessicaspendlove.

Yours in Sustainable Success, Emma. X.

Has looking after your health started to feel like another full-time job?

There’s always something else we’re told we should be doing. Another habit to add. Another number to track. Another expert telling us what we’re getting wrong. And with so much information available, it can sometimes feel harder—not easier—to know where to begin.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by author, speaker and naturopath Susan Hunter, whose work challenges the story the wellness industry has been selling Gen X women. Susan has worked predominantly with women for more than 20 years and is the author of the book, The Health Edit: How Gen X Women Are Resetting the Script on Midlife.

Together, we explore why women have become both the wellness industry’s biggest market and some of its most confused consumers. We talk about the guilt and overwhelm that can arise when caring for our health becomes another long list of things to manage, particularly for women already carrying full professional, family and mental loads.

Susan shares her approach to simplifying health by identifying the area that needs our attention most, focusing on one essential change and allowing that change to become part of our lives before trying to do more. Rather than continually adding new routines, treatments or targets, she encourages women to develop the clarity and confidence to make health decisions that are genuinely relevant to them.

We also explore movement as an important health foundation, why constantly tracking our bodies can sometimes disconnect us from how we actually feel, and what a post-optimisation approach to health could look like.

As a woman in midlife myself, I found this conversation incredibly informative. I loved Susan’s hopeful perspective that our forties and fifties can be a time to think more intentionally about our long-term health, while also becoming clearer about our purpose, values and the way we want to live.

This is a thoughtful conversation about moving beyond health overwhelm, trusting ourselves more and recognising that caring for our wellbeing doesn’t need to mean doing everything at once.

Key Episode Takeaways:

About the Guest:

Susan Hunter is an author, speaker and naturopath who believes the wellness industry has been selling Gen X women the wrong story. Through her work, Susan encourages women to view their health as a source of creative power in the second half of life—not as another part of themselves that needs to be continually optimised.

Her debut book, The Health Edit: How Gen X Women Are Resetting the Script on Midlife, offers an alternative to the overwhelm and complexity surrounding women’s health. Susan’s approach is grounded in greater clarity, realistic change and moving away from the idea that more is always better. She is also launching The Health Edit podcast alongside the book.

Show Resources:

Visit Susan’s website: https://www.susanhunter.com.au/

Read Susan’s Substack: https://susanhunterhealth.substack.com/

Follow Susan on Instagram: @susanhunterhealth

Connect with Susan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-hunter-67282024/

Follow, Emma the Podcast Host on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Visit Emma's website: https://www.emmalagerlow.com/

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @susanhunterhealth.

Yours in Simplicity, Emma. X.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself: Who am I without what I do?

Without the job title. The achievements. The roles you play. The expectations you’ve spent years trying to meet.

It’s one of life’s most important questions, in my opinion: Who are you, really?

And it’s exactly the question at the heart of my conversation with author, speaker and coach Dion Elliott Jensen, whose new book Conscious Footsteps explores what can happen when we begin looking beyond what we do and reconnecting with who we are underneath it all.

For much of Dion’s life, his identity and sense of worth were intertwined with achievement, career, status and the roles he played. But when life began dismantling so much of what he believed defined him, he was faced with a confronting question:

Who am I when everything I thought defined me is gone?

What followed wasn’t, as Dion describes it, a process of reinventing himself. It was one of remembering who he already was.

I believe so much of our lives can be spent attaching our identity to external markers — what we achieve, how successful we are, the work we do and what other people think of us. So when I discovered Dion’s philosophy of “I am who I am, not what I do,” how could I not take the opportunity to interview him?

And there is so much more to his story than this alone.

In this episode of It’s a Mindset, Dion and I explore identity, authenticity and what it means to live more consciously. We talk about the masks and roles we can accumulate throughout our lives, and what may be waiting underneath them when we become curious enough to look.

We explore the power of journaling and why putting our thoughts onto paper can be incredibly cathartic, as well as the importance of curiosity — not only about ourselves, but about the people around us.

And we delve into Dion’s fascinating perspective on love: why he believes love is the one true emotion and why it can be okay for love to be a one-way street.

At its heart, this is a conversation about looking beyond what we’ve achieved and asking ourselves some bigger questions about who we are, how we want to live and what really matters.

Key Episode Takeaways:

About the Guest:

Dion Elliott Jensen is an author, speaker and coach whose work explores identity, leadership, authenticity, purpose and love.

For much of his life, Dion believed his worth was measured by what he achieved, building his identity around career, success, status and the roles he played. When life began dismantling many of those external markers, he found himself confronting the question: Who am I when everything I thought defined me is gone?

That question became the beginning of a profound personal journey — one Dion describes not as reinvention, but as remembering.

Today, Dion helps individuals and organisations redefine identity, lead more authentically and live with greater purpose, challenging people to look beyond titles, expectations and the masks they have learned to wear.

He is the author of Conscious Footsteps and is guided by a simple but powerful philosophy:

“I am who I am, not what I do.”

Through his writing, speaking and coaching, Dion encourages us to consider whether our greatest transformation comes not from becoming someone new, but from letting go of who we thought we had to be.

Show Resources:

Follow Dion on Instagram: @dionelliottjensen

Check Out Dion's Website: https://dionelliottjensen.com/

Learn More About Dion's Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Conscious-Footsteps-Dion-Elliott-Jensen/dp/1764311922

Follow Emma, the Podcast Host on Instagram: @emmalagerlow

Learn More About 1:1 Coaching with Emma: https://www.emmalagerlow.com/become-the-butterfly-coaching-program

Book a FREE Call with Emma: https://calendly.com/hello-emmalagerlow/30mincall

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag us @emmalagerlow and @dionelliottjensen.

Yours in Being Conscious, Emma. X.