Have you ever wanted to step forward, wear the dress, start the business, go to the gym or simply feel more like yourself, but found yourself holding back?

I know that feeling because I’ve lived it too. In this episode, I’m talking about the shame that can quietly make us shrink, hide and wait until we feel more ready, more confident or somehow more acceptable.

I explore how life changes can leave us caught between who we were and who we’re becoming, why that in-between stage feels so uncomfortable, and how small promises to yourself can start rebuilding confidence.

You do not need to become someone else first. You need to start showing up for the person you are now.

Highlights:

(04:53) - The hidden shame behind why we avoid doing the very things that could help us

(10:44) - Why life changes can leave you feeling like you no longer recognise yourself

(15:31) - The exhaustion of adapting while still trying to hold everything else together

(20:53) - Why clinging to your old self can keep you stuck in an uncomfortable limbo

(30:19) - What happens when you finally name the shame that has been running the show

(34:49) - One simple question that can become your compass when you do not know what comes next

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

I’m recording this right in the middle of the school holidays, when the days are full, the routine has vanished, and the question “What can we do today?” seems to be playing on repeat.

I want to say out loud what many mums quietly feel: you can adore your children and still find the holidays exhausting, lonely, chaotic and mentally relentless.

I talk honestly about social media pressure, running a business with children at home, summer grief, and why keeping one small promise to yourself can help you feel grounded.

I also explore two kinds of compassion: the soft kind that lets you rest, and the firmer kind that gives you the structure you genuinely need.

Highlights:

(02:06) - Why the school holidays can feel so mentally relentless

(04:51) - Feeling lonely even when you are never actually alone

(07:34) - Loving your children and still finding the holidays hard

(09:21) - The reality social media rarely shows us

(14:08) - When summer brings grief, isolation and old emotions back up

(18:55) - Why real self-care sometimes needs boundaries and structure

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

I’m talking about those moments when someone hands you their panic, pressure or emotional urgency and suddenly expects you to carry it. I call it an emotional hot potato, and just because it lands in your hands does not mean it belongs to you.

In this episode, I explore how people-pleasing, weak boundaries and fast reactions can leave us absorbing problems that were never ours to solve.

We’ll look at how to pause, recognise what is genuinely your responsibility and respond with care without sacrificing your own energy, priorities or peace.

Highlights:

(01:30) - The unexpected phone call that sparked this episode

(04:36) - How emotional hot potatoes get passed from person to person

(09:08) - Why people-pleasers become the designated catchers

(13:35) - How to respond without becoming cold or dismissive

(17:57) - Knowing the difference between a real crisis and borrowed urgency

(24:16) - Why someone else’s panic does not become your priority

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

In this episode, I’m asking you to think about who you were before life became so grown-up, complicated and full of responsibility.

I share how I slowly edited parts of myself to become more likeable, more acceptable and easier for other people to understand, and how that pattern followed me into adulthood and motherhood.

We also explore identity loss, the impact of tying your worth to your work, and the parts of yourself you may have quietly left behind.

This is not about becoming someone new. It is about remembering what made you feel alive, trying it on again, and taking one honest step back towards yourself.

Highlights:

(01:54) - The moment I started making myself more palatable

(05:36) - How small moments can slowly teach us to shrink

(10:13) - Losing my career identity after becoming a mum

(15:19) - The parts of yourself you may have quietly put down

(19:59) - Using ikigai as a map back to who you are

(24:05) - Why remembering can be the first step home

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

In this episode, I’m exploring what happens after you decide to ‘let them’. This theory can be a powerful way to stop trying to control other people, but sometimes letting them is only the beginning.

If you are still angry, hurt or walking on eggshells, that feeling may be telling you something important. I’m talking about the difference between irritation, crossed boundaries and genuinely unsafe behaviour.

We’ll also look at why personal growth cannot always save a relationship, how to use anger as information, and why boundaries are promises you make to yourself, not dramatic ultimatums.

Highlights:

(01:44) - Why ‘let them’ can be such a powerful permission slip

(05:05) - When letting them starts to feel like suppression

(09:59) - How to express anger without projecting it onto others

(12:18) - The difference between letting go and setting a boundary

(16:08) - Why abuse is never a ‘let them’ situation

(25:22) - How to decide your boundaries before they are tested

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

I love a bubble bath, a face mask and a bit of chocolate as much as anyone, but they are not always the kind of care that genuinely restores us. Sometimes they are simply a nice moment at the end of another exhausting week.

In this episode, I’m looking at the difference between numbing, escaping and truly replenishing yourself.

I’m sharing why self-care needs to become a daily essential rather than an occasional reward, and how protecting one small, consistent practice can help you rebuild your energy, clarity and spark.

Highlights:

(01:32) - Why the Friday-night bubble bath is not always real self-care

(04:51) - How treating self-care as a reward can keep women depleted

(07:03) - The difference between a nice moment and genuine replenishment

(09:40) - Why your mental and physical health must become the main project

(14:26) - Escape is not the same as care

(16:03) - Choosing one daily non-negotiable that is entirely yours

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

We are surrounded by promises of quick fixes, instant breakthroughs and effortless transformation. But real growth rarely looks like a polished before-and-after.

In this episode, I’m talking about why the inner work can feel slow, messy, painful and exhausting, and why that does not mean you are doing it wrong.

I share what I have learned about stuck periods, emotional integration and staying with discomfort instead of searching for the fastest escape.

Sometimes the flat days are not wasted days. They are the quiet part of the process where something deeper is beginning to shift.

Highlights:

(01:31) - Why real growth is often uncomfortable

(04:53) - The damaging comparison created by polished transformations

(06:45) - Why stuck days are not wasted days

(09:49) - Emotional exhaustion can be part of integration

(12:18) - The hard period that often comes before a breakthrough

(16:04) - The difficult thing you may need to stop avoiding

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

Do you find yourself scanning other people’s moods, replaying conversations and wondering whether someone is upset with you?

In this episode, I’m talking about over-giving, over-functioning and fawning, and how these patterns can quietly leave you burnt out, resentful and disconnected from your own needs.

I explore why being the capable one can become tied to your self-worth, how empathy turns into hyper-awareness, and why asking for help can feel so uncomfortable.

This is not about caring less. It is about bringing some of that care, attention and energy back to yourself.

Highlights:

(02:02) - The question that reveals hyper-awareness

(04:42) - When caring becomes constant emotional monitoring

(08:15) - How over-giving becomes tied to your self-worth

(13:16) - The resentment hiding beneath over-functioning

(15:46) - What fawning looks like in everyday life

(23:57) - Four questions to help you recognise the pattern

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

If getting dressed has started to feel frustrating, flat or strangely emotional, this episode is for you.

I’m talking about why so many capable women end up with wardrobes full of clothes and still feel as though they have nothing to wear.

This is not about fashion trends or buying more. It is about identity, self-worth and creating a wardrobe that reflects the woman you are now.

I share why practical choices, body changes and years of putting everyone else first can disconnect you from your style, and how to begin finding your way back.

Highlights:

(01:32) - Why getting dressed can start to feel like a daily chore

(04:06) - How wardrobe frustration becomes self-blame

(08:05) - What women really mean when they want to look put together

(12:32) - Why random shopping creates a wardrobe with nothing to wear

(20:28) - How to reconnect your clothes with who you are now

(24:27) - Why a wardrobe problem is often an identity problem

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]

For years, I felt as though I was living inside a tiny box, one built from other people’s opinions, expectations and comfort.

In this episode, I’m talking about what shrinking really looks like, from hiding your achievements to keeping your dreams quiet because you are afraid of being judged.

I explore the difference between humility and betraying who you are, why silence from others can feel so painful, and what it costs to keep dimming your light.

This is your reminder that taking up space is not selfish. You are allowed to be proud, visible and fully yourself.

Highlights:

(01:06) - The therapy exercise that revealed my invisible box

(04:59) - When silence makes you question your own achievements

(08:21) - The crucial difference between humility and shrinking

(12:52) - Why making yourself smaller never creates real belonging

(18:27) - What other people’s silence may actually be reflecting

(23:43) - How to begin breaking out without changing everything at once

Connect with me:

Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest - @the.bestselfprojectuk

Website - https://thebestselfproject.co.uk/ 

Email [email protected]