More Than Pod

Kristen Luna Smith shares personal insights on overcoming past insecurities and embracing self-acceptance, emphasizing that you're more than your past. She discusses how childhood experiences shape us and how to turn those experiences into positive growth.

Chapters00:00Introduction and personal update on a successful presentation02:16The importance of celebrating your wins and self-pride04:34Women often downplay their achievements and how to change that05:57Understanding the phrase 'more than your past' and its meaning07:26How childhood and past experiences shape us09:45The impact of middle school and social media on self-esteem12:32Recognizing and overcoming childhood insecurities15:40Turning past pain into positive growth18:46The importance of separating past from present identity22:42Letting go of societal and familial expectations26:59The power of self-affirmation and challenging old insecurities29:49Embracing change and writing your own story31:33Final thoughts: Be yourself and move forward confidently

Kristen Luna Smith opens up about preparing for a major work presentation and how that pressure sparked a bigger reflection on self-worth, confidence, and comparison. This episode connects professional self-doubt with dating and future goals, showing how the feeling of “not being enough” can show up in more than one area of life.In this solo episode, Kristen shares how to separate momentary insecurity from actual lack of worth, why confidence does not mean never feeling unsure, and why you do not have to become a different person to deserve the life or relationship you want.

02:24 - Why experienced people still second-guess themselves
05:50 - Remembering you earned your seat in the room
06:20 - The week’s mindset: believing in yourself
10:27 - How self-worth shows up in dating and relationships
12:22 - Confident people can still feel insecure
17:58 - A key distinction: feeling not enough is not the same as being not enough
18:35 - Wondering if you are enough for the relationship you want
22:42 - Why we assume other people are the better option
25:02 - Choosing yourself instead of chasing approval
27:51 - Building a life that adds to your joy, not fixes it
29:16 - Stop moving the finish line every time you improve
30:46 - Wanting more without devaluing who you already are
32:14 - A reminder that you are more than not feeling good enough

More Than Being Hard On Yourself Kristen Luna Smith uses this solo episode to unpack how overthinking often turns into self criticism, especially in relationships, work, health, and everyday life. The conversation is personal and practical, centered on one core reminder: you can be capable, independent, and still have human moments without turning them into evidence that you are failing.

Timestamps:00:00 - Episode seven and the theme of being hard on yourself01:50 - Why returning to routine feels like a reset04:14 - How overthinking turns into self criticism06:13 - The flat tire moment that triggered the bigger reflection09:31 - Missing an ex without wanting the relationship back10:56 - Why Kristen caught herself telling herself not to feel12:18 - Moving forward does not mean never looking back13:12 - The pressure that comes with being the person who figures things out15:10 - Strength, independence, and still needing help16:10 - How self criticism shows up at work18:06 - Overthinking mistakes versus attacking your character20:00 - Productivity guilt and the pressure to always do more22:25 - Why women feel pressure to be successful at everything23:23 - Motherhood, guilt, and doing your best in different life stages27:12 - Health, food, wine, and feeling guilty for enjoying life31:07 - Missing workouts, needing rest, and listening to your body33:31 - Would you talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself?35:56 - Accountability versus beating yourself up38:22 - Sometimes you are not broken - you are just sad40:18 - Healing without imaginary deadlines41:49 - Final reminder to stop being so hard on yourself

More Than Overthinking Kristen Luna Smith opens with a personal mindset check-in after a long work travel stretch, using a flat tire and a stressful return home as the launch point for a broader conversation about overthinking. This solo episode is a candid, practical reflection on how overthinking shows up in work, friendships, dating, parenting, and self-image, and why trusting yourself matters more than chasing certainty.

Timestamps

00:00 - Episode six and the mindset check-in
02:55 - Coming home after 20 days on the road
05:16 - The work spiral: did I do enough?
07:06 - More than overthinking: the next chapter in the series
10:52 - Thinking in circles versus thinking something through
11:50 - Work overthinking and second-guessing execution
14:11 - Email tone, punctuation, and reading too much into replies
16:07 - Trusting your experience and belonging in the room
17:34 - Overthinking personal choices like clothes, food, and routine
20:26 - Turning yourself into a constant project
23:55 - Friendship overthinking and changing seasons
26:18 - Giving people the benefit of the doubt
30:06 - When friendship questions become a real mismatch
33:31 - Kids, fertility, and the pressure to control outcomes
38:31 - Dating, confidence, and choosing from both sides
41:46 - Why certainty is the real thing we keep chasing
44:11 - Thinking versus overthinking
46:37 - Catching the loop sooner and trusting yourself

More Than Feeling Behind Kristen Luna Smith opens episode 5 with a candid mindset check-in from Deer Valley, Utah, then turns into a larger message about why feeling "behind" is often just a mismatch between your real life and the timeline you invented for yourself. This episode matters because it reframes breakup, career, money, and relationship anxiety through one central idea: your life is not late, it is yours.In this episode, Kristen shares:

• Why solo travel exposed a new kind of grief after her breakup, without meaning she wants the relationship back
• How breakup pain is often about losing the built-in life plan, not just missing one person
• Why feeling behind is different from being behind
• How society pressures women with an imaginary checklist for career, marriage, kids, and homeownership
• Why comparing your life to friends, influencers, or previous generations is usually a false comparison
• How career changes, title changes, and starting over can be signs of growth, not failure
• Why finances are easier to compare than understand, especially when you only see what people choose to show
• Why homeownership is not the only marker of success, especially when renting allows flexibility, saving, and investing
• How success can happen at any age, with examples like Kris Jenner, Vera Wang, and J.

• Why this season of life is teaching her who she is outside of a relationship

Timestamps:(00:00) Episode 5 intro and gratitude for listeners
(03:06) New mindset check-in format and a Deer Valley update
(04:33) Learning to travel alone after a breakup
(06:27) Missing the life plan, not just the person
(07:56) Solo time in Deer Valley and proving she is okay
(08:56) Introducing the episode topic: more than feeling behind
(10:21) The pressure of society’s imaginary timeline for women
(11:51) Why meeting your person at 35 is still right on time
(13:19) Comparing yourself to people with different lives makes no sense
(14:47) House poor, debt, and why visible success can be misleading
(15:45) Career changes are not going backward
(19:30) Feeling behind in one area does not mean behind in all areas
(20:30) Career frustration, promotions, and corporate ladder reality
(22:25) Starting over in a new industry can feel like moving backward
(24:11) You are not starting over, you are starting again
(26:07) Why money is one of the easiest places to compare
(27:04) Wealth is not always visible from the outside
(28:27) Renting versus buying and why homeownership is not the trophy people think
(31:26) Success has no age limit
(32:23) Kris Jenner, Vera Wang, and J.K. Rowling as late-blooming examples
(34:20) Your defining chapter may still be ahead of you
(35:40) The college hot tub story and how early the timeline pressure starts
(38:29) Why having milestones does not mean you are ahead
(41:44) What this season is teaching her about herself
(44:39) The real culprit behind feeling behind is comparison
(46:03) Deer Valley as proof that life can look different and still be good
(47:33) Final reminder: your life is not late

More Than What’s Next: Navigating Uncertainty, Change, and New Seasons: Kristen Luna Smith reflects on the fear and freedom that come with major life transitions. She connects her own experience of being newly single with the bigger question of what to do when life no longer looks the way you planned.In this episode, Kristen shares how to sit with uncertainty without staying stuck in it, how to tell the difference between comfort and fulfillment, and how to recognize when a new season is actually an opportunity. She also offers practical perspective on dating again, leaving a job, starting over in a new city, and protecting your sense of self through every major change.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome, gratitude, and introducing the “what’s next” theme
02:52 - Recap of the breakup episode and why speaking about it mattered
04:16 - Why uncertainty creates anxiety in every season of life
09:17 - The engagement that never came and the warning signs to notice
11:24 - Grieving a future that felt real even when it never happened
12:53 - Resilience, quick resets, and finding unexpected freedom
19:57 - What was lost: companionship, comfort, and being fully known
22:44 - Missing him without wanting the relationship back
24:35 - When dating again becomes part of the next chapter
28:55 - Standards, walls, vulnerability, and not rushing healing
33:07 - “What’s next” after leaving a job or being laid off
41:31 - Why your job cannot be your entire identity
42:56 - Starting a new job and adjusting to being the new person
44:54 - Moving cities, rebuilding routines, and creating a new life
49:13 - How marriage changes identity, priorities, and family dynamics
55:03 - Transparent conversations about money and shared finances
56:59 - Maintaining independence inside a committed relationship
59:25 - Motherhood, identity shifts, and making room for yourself
68:53 - Positive “what’s next” moments like engagement, promotion, and homeownership
70:43 - Why the middle of a transition feels uncomfortable for everyone
72:35 - You do not need a five-year answer, just the next step
74:00 - Choosing gratitude for the life a new chapter can provideNotable quotesCopy“The reset’s gotta be quicker than the setback.”Copy“Being single isn’t a waiting room for your next relationship.”Copy“You don’t need a five-year answer. You just have to look at your immediate what’s next.”

More Than Pod: Kristen Luna Smith Intro Episode Kristen Luna Smith introduces herself and sets the tone for the podcast by explaining who she is, what shaped her, and why this show exists. This episode matters because it frames the themes she wants to explore going forward: identity, friendship, family, work, faith, and figuring out who you are outside of life labels.In this episode, Kristen shares her background, her values, and the personal experiences that influenced the way she lives, works, and relates to other people.

Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome to More Than Pod and why this first episode is about getting to know Kristen01:01 - Kristen’s four core traits: loyal, outgoing, persistent, thoughtful02:00 - Why she loves planning, logistics, routines, and getting things done03:28 - Hosting, coordinating, and being the person who brings people together05:25 - Growing up in the Texas suburbs and how travel shaped her worldview06:49 - Lessons from her dad about money, work, and living within your means07:48 - How her mom influenced her upbringing and why family structure mattered08:47 - Bills, Sooners, golf, tennis, and the sports that shaped her household10:16 - Why golf matters in relationships and family life11:16 - Looking like her mom but acting like her dad13:58 - Her decade-long career in industrial sales and why she loves her work15:23 - Learning from the people above and around her at work16:49 - What being an only child taught her about friendship and resilience18:10 - Loyalty, ride-or-die friendships, and why she doesn’t look back after friendships end19:03 - Knowing friends’ families and becoming part of their lives20:30 - Making friends in a new chapter of life in her mid-30s and being single22:23 - How age has made her more intentional with health, fitness, and self-care23:53 - Fitness habits, GLP-1 use, and taking care of her body without apology24:53 - Drinking less on weekdays and balancing work, fitness, and fun26:47 - Fashion, style, and the influence of her mom’s taste27:45 - Skin care, Botox, facials, and why she prioritizes it29:15 - Hosting dinners and making sure all her friends know each other29:44 - Travel, restaurant favorites, and the family values behind how she travels30:38 - Sports, music, and the wide range of interests that make up her personality32:04 - The values that matter most: family, loyalty, faith, work ethic, and showing up34:50 - Why the podcast is about identity beyond labels, losses, and life transitions36:13 - Kristen’s promise to listeners: honesty, encouragement, and not feeling alone37:42 - Closing reminder: you are more than what you settled for

Hi y'all! WOW. Here. We. Go.

Thank you SO much for listening. This is just a sneak peak of what's to come on this podcast & a look into why I started this podcast.

For all you 30 year old women who are not where they'd be- welcome. I'm SO happy you're here! It's just the beginning of our best lives. Let's ride.