Mindset Unlimited: Tips, Tools, and Inspiration for Women in a Time of Change

Bite size mindset shifts can make a big difference during stressful times to help you engage intentionally instead of reactively. Compassionate accountability helps us embrace our humanity while challenging our status quo. Here we’re focusing on simple, practical tools, and encouragement as we navigate these difficult times.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I share some bite size mindset shifts for stressful times to help you show up in a sustainable way.

Some of what I explore in this episode includes:

• Consider how you talk to yourself – don’t let the times define you
• Changing how you think about taking action to stay purposeful and sustainable
• Overcoming overwhelm when things are really overwhelming
• Stay true to your moral compass and overcoming discomfort conditioning

Thanks for listening!  Have thoughts or questions about this episode? Share them with me!

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LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

the restlab podcast with Jordan Maney: Rest So You Can Rage

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Honoring menopause as a life stage, not just a phase to get through acknowledges the weight of this transition. We live in a society that hasn’t given much room to understanding women’s bodies. While there is more information now than before, there are still large gaps in support for the physical, mental, and emotional experience of menopause. Too often, women don’t even begin to ask for information until we are already experiencing the challenges of shifting hormones. We turn to managing symptoms instead of caring for this pivotal transition. 

 In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I invited Marelda Rodrigues to join me in a conversation about honoring menopause as a life stage and yourself as deserving of care.

Some of what we talk about in this episode includes:

• Experiencing grief in physical transitions
• Societal norms, gaps in information, and becoming an advocate for yourself
• Health and self-care look different in different phases of life
• Slowing down and making room to learn your new body

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

NPR – Doctors Urge FDA to Remove Warning On Hormone Therapy for Menopause

Last Week Tonight – Make America Healthy Again

Collaborative Leadership from Boardroom to Patient-Centered Caregiving episode

CONNECT WITH MARELDA

Website

Instagram – Decide to Heal

Instagram – Sovereign Becoming 

Menopause Guide

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

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Flexible routines for real life don’t come from a one-size-fits-all approach — no matter what the countless books and “success” formulas claim. Everyone’s life, capacity, and circumstances are different, and we all need space to account for how both direct and indirect events impact our time, energy, and priorities. Prescriptive systems that ignore this reality dismiss our lived experiences and fuel self-doubt. Instead of forcing yourself into someone else’s mold, you deserve routines that honor your humanity, support your energy, and meet you where you are. What works for you today might not work next month, and that’s okay. Structure and flexibility both have a role in building a system that works for you.

In this replay episode, I explore how to create flexible routines for real life that still incorporate structure but in a way that allows you to adapt when life shifts without losing yourself in the process.

Some of what I’ll cover in this episode includes:

• How to bake flexibility into your plans
• Determining routines that support you
• Meeting yourself where you’re at in creating new habits
• Understanding the relationship between time and energy
• Exercises to assess where you’re spending your energy

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, scattered, or drained, this conversation will help you design a daily rhythm that supports you — not just your to-do list.

Have thoughts or questions about this episode? Share them with me!

Send me a voice memo: https://www.speakpipe.com/MindsetUnlimited

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
Episode 7 – Can I Make Plans Yet
Reclaim Your Routine Workshop Series

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

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Empathy isn’t the problem—but lately, some voices claim that it is, arguing that empathy leads to irrational decisions or even “civilizational suicide.” If you’re someone who cares deeply, you probably reject the idea that empathy is a threat to society. In fact, you likely believe we need more empathy in the world, not less. Yet at the same time, you might find yourself struggling with empathy exhaustion & wondering how to stay engaged without burning out. This episode is to help you unpack how this flawed argument is connected to your exhaustion & how you can stay engaged in meaningful social change while caring for yourself as a compassionate person.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I explore how empathy is a complex human capacity we need to understand to avoid manipulation & prevent burnout.

Some of what I explore in this episode includes:

• Unmasking the manipulation of empathy in political & media narratives
• Breaking the cycle of empathy & self-erasure
• Understanding compassion fatigue
• Engaging practical tools for emotional resilience

Thoughts or questions? Share them with me!

https://www.speakpipe.com/MindsetUnlimited

EPISODES REFERENCED:

How to Avoid Overwhelm and Access Joy

How to Prioritize Your Needs (Beyond Maslow)

How to Navigate Societal Gaslighting & Stay Empowered 

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Darwin Misunderstood 

Interview with Sam Altman 

Suicidal Empathy critique 

Nazi Mind

Are Billionaires Good For Society? 

The People’s Media Project

From Compassion Fatigue to Resilience 

Hypernormalization  

Dr. Scott Lyons 

In Defense of Empathy

Why a Lack of Empathy Is the Root of All Evil

Social Change Now

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This podcast was produced by VF Coaching

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3 steps to building self-support in your work is essential for anyone experiencing any level of career instability. Whether you're questioning your path and considering a career change, dealing with layoffs, or feeling the strain of unclear goals and shifting expectations, these practices can provide a supportive space to discern your next step. Cultivating your ability to check in with yourself and make aligned choices empowers a sense of resilience even in an ever-changing professional landscape. You deserve to know what you need and to take up space in asking for it – even if it’s just the space to make an intentional decision.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I invited Miriam Raquel Sands to join me in a conversation about engaging 3 steps to building self-support in your work and beyond.

Some of what we talk about in this episode includes:

• The tension between stability and self-discovery in work.
• Unpacking career as identity and the emotional charge of non-linear careers
• Finding your way through self-reflection and aligning actions with values—not just external expectations.
• Creating a support structure with awareness of whether your environment truly supports your well-being

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

The Second Brain by Michael Gershon

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by Bj Fogg

Strozzi Institute

Resilience Through Unexpected Career Shifts

Leaning Into a Mid-Life Career Change

CONNECT WITH RAQUEL

Website

Instagram 

Podcasts

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

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How to Avoid Overwhelm and Access Joy in a Time of Change begins with recognizing our shared human struggle to maintain emotional equilibrium during turbulent periods. The journey involves understanding that our stress responses are natural support mechanisms, not personal failures, and learning to engage them with compassion and intentionality. By embracing our nervous system's signals and creating flexible, value-aligned routines, we can transform overwhelming experiences into opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Connecting with our inner landscape and broader ecosystems allows us to move beyond survival mode, accessing deeper reservoirs of resilience and joy that aren't dependent on external circumstances. This approach isn't about achieving some mythically perfect calm, but about cultivating a compassionate relationship with ourselves that honors our shared humanity and supports our capacity to show up authentically in a complex world.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I explore how to avoid overwhelm and access joy in a time of change through embodied empowerment rather than toxic positivity.

Some of what I explore in this episode includes:

• The difference between disassociating and self-care
• The role of your stress response and how you can respond to it.
• Making space for rest and recharging
• Schedule changes, to do lists, and creating routines that support you
• Connecting to an ecosystem for social change (because it can’t just be you)

LINKS TO EPISODES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:

7 Ways to Relax this Summer and Beyond

How to Create a Schedule that Works for You

Embracing Periods of Reflection

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

Valarie Kaur speech clip on Instagram

Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection by Deepa Iyer

Deepa Iyer Substack article: Grieve, Connect, Act, Reflect, Correct. (Repeat)

Valerie’s “Social Change Now” Study Group interest form

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective

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Finding alignment and the ability to return to yourself again and again supports resiliency as you navigate the waves of life. Alignment isn’t a fixed state we achieve once and then maintain effortlessly—it’s something we come back to again and again. It’s especially important during times of transition, uncertainty, or change. When things feel off, it’s not a sign of failure, but often a signal to pause and check in. This practice of reconnecting to yourself helps you make choices that reflect who you are and what you value. Whether you’re facing a major life shift or engaging the small, repeated decisions of daily life, cultivating a relationship with yourself through the practice of alignment helps make clarity feel more accessible and easeful.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I invited Kim Romain to join me in a conversation about cultivating a practice that supports finding alignment and the ability to return to yourself again and again.

Some of what we talk about in this episode includes:

• How to tell the difference between belonging and fitting in
• What alignment really feels like—and why it's not about perfection
• Understanding supportive resilience (as opposed to the societally weaponized)
• Reclaiming your power to choose, even in hard moments

Through this episode, you’ll learn how to work with alignment as a living practice—one that supports clarity, resilience, and choice through both major transitions and everyday moments.

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

Empowered & Embodied Show episodes referenced:

Finding Your Center in the Midst of Chaos

Personal Agency and Systemic Awareness 

Mindset Unlimited episodes referenced:

Why Work Life Balance is a Myth

How to Create Belonging with Amena Chaudhry

CONNECT WITH KIM

Website

LinkedIn

Substack

YouTube

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective

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“Where do we go from here” is a common question when we encounter a crossroads in life. Whether a transition is big or small, each point is an invitation learn more about yourself and choose what is aligned for the person you are becoming. This episode engages two types of transition reflection. First the riptide transition point, when you realize you’ve unconsciously slid back into ways of being you thought you’d moved away from. Second the seismic transition point, when something outside your control cracks your stability. Though vastly different levels of outward impact, they both impact who you understand yourself to be in relation to your life. Radical self-compassion and connecting with trusted others for support allow the room to intentionally answer where do we go from here.

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, I explore ways we answer the question “Where do we go from here” through reflections on this podcast and speaking to federal workers facing layoffs.

Some of what I explore in this episode includes:

• Why I started this podcast
• My relationship to podcasting & perfectionism
• My background in Sociology
• A letter to Federal Workers

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

Assigned Reading by Becky Mollenkamp

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This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

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Cultivating an intentional community is a powerful and critical antidote to the disconnection fed by our current societal structures and now is the time to cultivate. I say that because we’re living in a time where those structures are breaking down. Our individualistic, hierarchical culture is hitting its limits, and it feels rather like it’s composting itself. But compost makes great soil, and with intention, we can use that breakdown to grow something new.

In this episode of Unlimited, I invited sisters Nancy and Amy Harrington to join me in a conversation about cultivating intentional community and the shifts that support connection, collaboration, and care.

Some of what we talk about in this episode includes:

• Rebuilding trust in relationships with other women
• Redefining leadership—from hierarchy to a circle of self and co-leadership
• Developing community agreements rooted in consent, care, and shared responsibility
• Practicing the power of asking, receiving, and mutual support

Through this episode, you’ll gain inspiration and ideas for building community rooted in belonging, consent, and care.

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

262 Women’s Project with Deb Drummond

Dia Bondi – Communication Coach

Becky Mollenkamp

Cher Hale – On the Death of Mentorship

CONNECT WITH AMY AND NANCY:

Website

Facebook   

LinkedIn

Instagram

The Passionistas Project Sisterhood

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

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What’s really draining your energy isn’t solely the stressors in your life but the patterns you’ve learned to deal with them. If you’re feeling emotionally drained, constantly second-guessing yourself, or stuck in a cycle of over-responsibility and burnout—you’re not alone, and there’s nothing wrong with you. The ways your unconscious has learned to help you may no longer support the life you want. While the state of the world is undeniably overwhelming, many of the most persistent energy drains come from within—especially in how we respond to stress, pressure, and high expectations. In this real-life Energy Leadership Index (ELI) debrief, I walk through a coaching session with a creative, purpose-driven client who’s feeling depleted. Together, we explore how her energy is shaped by both external stressors and internal beliefs, including guilt around setting boundaries, fear of letting others down, and the pressure to always get things right. 

In this episode of Mindset Unlimited, you’ll hear Valerie use the Energy Leadership Index Assessment Debrief to help a client explore the question: “What’s really draining your energy and how can you reclaim it using your strengths?”

Some of what we engage in this episode include:

• What the Energy Leadership Index (ELI) Assessment is and how it works
• The 7 levels of energy and how they influence stress, mindset, and behavior
• How your energy levels can lead to exhaustion, motivation, and or both
• Identifying practical strategies that fit you when it comes to supports like setting boundaries and honoring your capacity

If you’re navigating stress, fatigue, or emotional exhaustion and want insight into how to reclaim your energy and feel more empowered, this episode is for you.

LINKS TO REFERENCES MADE IN THIS EPISODE:

Sign up for the Energy Leadership Index Assessment Use Code APRILELI for $150 off!

Unlocking Your Leadership Energy episode

You’re More Than Your Personality Test episode

Toxic Positivity episode

CONNECT WITH VALERIE:

Ask Valerie (anonymous form)

Sign up for Valerie’s newsletter

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Schedule an exploration call

This podcast was produced by Valerie Friedlander Coaching

Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective

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