Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by internationally renowned artist Sarah Hardacre for a thoughtful and honest conversation about creativity, identity, courage, and carving out your own path.

Sarah shares her journey from leaving school believing that art simply "wasn't for her" to building an internationally recognised artistic career whose work has featured in collections including the British Museum and Sotheby's London. As Sarah explains, becoming an artist was never part of a grand plan. Instead, it emerged through curiosity, experimentation and a willingness to follow what interested her.

Together, Emma and Sarah explore the limiting beliefs many of us carry around creativity, talent and what it means to be "good enough", and discuss how powerful it can be to find people and communities who help us believe in ourselves when we struggle to do so alone.

The conversation also explores the realities that often sit behind creative careers - balancing financial pressures, navigating imposter syndrome, managing ADHD and menopause, building a portfolio career, and creating a life that feels aligned with who you are.

Sarah also shares more about the themes behind her work, including women's experiences within urban spaces, hidden histories, visibility, identity, and the relationship between women's bodies and the environments around them.

Sarah Hardacre is an internationally recognised contemporary artist whose work explores women's experiences within the urban built environment and the complex relationship between female bodies, architecture and space. Her work has been exhibited widely and is held in collections including the British Museum and Sotheby's London.

Website: About | Sarah Hardacre

Instagram: @hardacre.sarah

• Short Supply
• Thread & Butter Collective
• Woodend Mill Open Studios

• Free The Nipple
• Don't Delete Art

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift.

You can also connect with Emma on Instagram at @thepurposefulshift.

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores the quiet pressure many of us feel to follow the crowd - and the courage it can take to choose a different direction for ourselves.

Inspired by a chance conversation in a glass art gallery in Cornwall, this episode reflects on belonging, conformity, identity and what happens when we realise the life we're living no longer feels fully aligned with who we are becoming.

Emma shares the story of a striking artwork by Cornish glass artist Jo Downs featuring dozens of copper fish swimming in the same direction - except for one. One single fish swimming against the tide. And hidden within the design was a beautiful detail: that fish was the one the artist had quietly signed.

Drawing on psychological theory, Brené Brown's work on fitting in versus belonging, and the famous conformity experiments by Solomon Asch, Emma reflects on why standing out can feel so uncomfortable, even when part of us deeply wants something different.

This episode explores the tension between safety and authenticity, the exhaustion of constantly trying to fit in, and how one small act of courage can quietly inspire others to question their own direction too.

As you listen, you might want to reflect on:

• Where in your life are you swimming with the crowd simply because it feels safer?
• What direction no longer feels aligned for you?
• Is there a part of yourself you've been silencing or squashing in order to fit in?
• What might change look like if you trusted your own instincts slightly more?
• What would “turning the tide” look like in your own life?

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift.

If this episode resonated with you, Emma would love to hear your reflections over on Instagram at @thepurposefulshift.

And if you haven't already, please follow or subscribe so you don't miss future episodes of the podcast.

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores something many of us quietly struggle with - taking action.

We can spend so much time reflecting, planning, researching, and waiting to feel “ready” that we mistake thinking for progress. But meaningful change rarely begins with confidence. More often, confidence is built through action itself.

This episode looks at why taking action can feel so difficult, even when we deeply want change. It explores some of the psychological barriers that keep us stuck - including perfectionism, fear of judgement, overwhelm, and the comfort of familiarity.

Drawing on ideas from Mel Robbins, James Clear and Dr Julie Smith, Emma reflects on how:

• action creates clarity
• motivation often follows movement rather than coming first
• small actions build self-trust over time
• momentum can quietly change the direction of our lives

Emma also shares some personal reflections around launching The Purposeful Shift podcast itself, including the fears, hesitation, and overthinking that almost stopped it from happening.

If you’ve been sitting on an idea, delaying a decision, or waiting for the “right time” to begin something meaningful, this episode is your gentle reminder that you probably do not need to feel fully ready before you start.

If you’d like to explore this further, Emma shares a simple journalling exercise using three columns:

• What I Keep Thinking About
• What’s Stopping Me
• One Small Action

The exercise is designed to help you move from overthinking into gentle, achievable action by identifying one small next step rather than trying to map out the entire journey at once.

• What keeps returning to your mind lately?
• Are you waiting for confidence before taking action?
• What fear might be sitting underneath your hesitation?
• What small action could you take this week?
• What might change if you stopped waiting to feel fully ready?

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift. If this episode resonated with you, Emma would love to hear your reflections over on Instagram @ThePurposefulShift.

And if you are enjoying these episodes, please consider leaving a review :)

In this special guest episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by spoken word poet Kelly Peters for a warm and honest conversation about change, creativity, and choosing a life that feels more true.

Kelly shares how, after years of working in education, raising her children and feeling as though life had become more about survival than joy, she made a bold decision to leave her home, move into a van, and start again in a new city.

Together, Emma and Kelly talk about van life, coming out later in life, creativity, ADHD, anxiety, community, open mic nights and the confidence that can grow when you begin taking small brave steps. Kelly also shares how poetry helped her reconnect with herself, find her voice, and build a new sense of belonging.

This is a conversation about letting go of expectation, learning to take up space, and discovering that change does not have to come with all the answers already in place.

If you have ever felt quietly stuck, or wondered whether it is too late to choose something different, Kelly’s story is a beautiful reminder that life can shift in ways you might not yet be able to imagine.

You can follow Kelly’s poetry journey on Instagram @kellypeterspoetry 

If this episode resonates, please follow The Purposeful Shift so you don’t miss future episodes.

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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This week’s episode of The Purposeful Shift is inspired by a line from a song you may know, 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' by Oasis.

The line - “You can’t change what’s been and gone.”

In this reflective episode, Emma explores what it really means to let go of the past, stop replaying old stories, and begin trusting what comes next.

Together, we consider why we hold onto thoughts, memories and situations that no longer serve us, how familiar pain can sometimes feel safer than uncertainty, and why acceptance can be one of the most powerful forms of healing.

This episode invites you to gently shift your focus away from what can no longer be changed and towards the future you are still creating.

Reflection prompts from this episode:

• What am I still carrying that no longer serves me?
• What would happen if I loosened my grip on the past?
• What do I want my next chapter to feel like?
• What am I ready to release?
• What am I ready to create?

Future-Focused Reflection Exercise:

Draw two columns in your journal:

• What I Am Releasing
• What I Am Creating

Under “Releasing”, write down the thoughts, fears, stories or expectations you are ready to let go of.

Under “Creating”, write down the feelings, beliefs and energy you want to move towards instead.

If this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear your reflections. You can connect with me over on Instagram at @thepurposefulshift.

And if you haven’t already, please follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes.

Thank you for sharing a part of your day with me today.

Emma

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, we begin to gently move forward.

Following recent episodes that explore around your why, purpose and Ikigai, this episode shifts the focus from reflection to what comes next. It explores future-focused thinking - how to release the weight of the past, realign your mindset, and begin creating your next chapter from a place of belief rather than fear.

We explore why we often stay anchored in the past, how that shapes our thoughts and energy, and how small mindset shifts can help you step into a more expansive and possibility-focused way of thinking.

Affirmations to try:

• I am creating more ease in my work
• I am attracting aligned opportunities
• I am becoming the woman I have always wanted to be

Reflection questions:

• What am I ready to stop carrying into my next chapter?
• What beliefs or fears am I ready to release?
• What version of me am I ready to say thank you to and outgrow?
• What am I ready to release before the summer solstice (21st June)?
• How do I want to feel in the second half of 2026 - emotionally, mentally and energetically?
• What would my future self thank me for doing today?

This episode encourages you to give yourself permission to look ahead, to think differently, and to take small, aligned steps towards the version of you that already exists beneath the surface.

Your future isn’t something you wait for - it’s something you begin creating, moment by moment, step by step, action by action. 

If this episode resonated with you, I’d love to hear your reflections. You can connect with me on Instagram at @thepurposefulshift or add your comments below. 

You can also find out about upcoming in-person workshops where we dig deeper into some of these topics on my website: www.emmabryant.co.uk/the-purposeful-shift/ 

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s episode.

Thank you for sharing your day with me today.

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by writer and songwriter Alison O’Neill for a wide-ranging and deeply thoughtful conversation about intuition, travel, community, spirituality and having the courage to follow a path that does not always make sense on paper.

Alison shares how, in her twenties, she began asking the question so many women quietly ask themselves: “Is this it?” What followed was a powerful journey of travel, self-discovery and spiritual awakening that took her across Mexico, America and Africa, and eventually into a much deeper relationship with nature, freedom and inner knowing.

Together, Emma and Alison explore what it means to listen to the signs, trust your heart and step away from the expectations that shape so much of modern life. Alison speaks openly about the moments that changed her, the vision she carries for a more connected and community-based way of living, and why she believes this is a significant year for courage, change and speaking up.

This is a rich and inspiring conversation for anyone who feels the nudge to live differently, trust themselves more deeply, or begin following a path that feels more true.

Follow Alison’s work: 

Substack: https://wellspringwisdom.substack.com/ 

YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=lXmGKXgds7g&si=f_zaSCfeBu-dR55V

And you can find Alison on Facebook by searching 'Alison O'Neill'.

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma introduces the Japanese concept of Ikigai, often translated as “reason for being,” and explores how it can help you reconnect with purpose, joy and meaning in your everyday life.

Building on earlier conversations around your why and redefining success, this episode offers a simple way to reflect on four key areas: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for.

Rather than searching for one perfect answer, Ikigai encourages you to notice where these areas overlap and what feels most aligned for you right now, or put another way, if your daily activities have intersected with the four circles, your life should feel more aligned. 

Emma shares a personal example to bring this to life and reminds us that Ikigai is not just about work or big life changes, but also about the small moments that bring a sense of joy and meaning. As described by Ken Mogi, it can be as simple as “waking up to joy.”

Reflection prompts from this episode:

• What do I love?
• What am I good at?
• What does the world need (for me)?
• What could I be paid for?

Follow up questions: 

• Where do I see overlaps or patterns?
• What feels most aligned for me right now?
• How could I bring more of this into my everyday life?

You can explore more of Ken Mogi’s perspective on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHhEq24QNZ-WyDf74yFQHVg 

A version of the Ikigai Venn Diagram can be seen on Alamy: https://www.alamy.com/ikigai-interpretation-of-japanese-lifestyle-concept-a-reason-for-being-as-a-balance-between-love-skills-needs-and-money-vector-venn-diagram-image599250047.html

Or by searching on Google ‘Ikigai Venn Diagram’. 

If you are enjoying these podcasts, please subscribe wherever you listen and get notifications for regular weekly episodes and all bonus episodes!

You can also connect with Emma on Instagram: @thepurposefulshift

Thanks for listening!

Join me on Wednesday 17 June, 7pm for The Purposeful Pause - a free mid-year reflection and refocus session. We’ll gently look back at the first half of the year, reconnect with what matters, and explore what you want the next six months to feel like. If you’re craving clarity, change, or a little more breathing space, I’d love you to be there. Book your free place on Eventbrite.

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In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores the idea of “your why” - not as something you need to have fully figured out, but as a gentle way to understand what might be sitting underneath the changes you’ve been thinking about in your life.

Building on previous conversations around the inner nudge, pressing pause and redefining success, this episode looks at how many of us are very clear on what we do, but far less clear on why it matters to us. Drawing on the work of Simon Sinek and his Golden Circle model, Emma reflects on how understanding your why can help you make more aligned decisions and recognise where life may feel slightly out of sync.

Questions to reflect on:

• What do I want more of right now? 
• Why does that matter to me? 
• And why does that matter? 

If you would like to explore this work further, Emma offers in-person workshops where you can take part in guided exercises to reflect on your values, alignment and what might need to shift. You can find out more at:

https://emmabryant.co.uk/workshops/

If this episode resonated, you might like to share it with someone who’s been feeling a little stuck or unsure about what comes next, and don’t forget to subscribe to be notified of future episodes.

Thank you for listening! 

In this first guest episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by artist, photographer, filmmaker and educator Sue Tansley for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, identity, creativity and what it means to begin again.

Sue shares the reality of leaving a highly respected 20-year career in education, despite loving so much about her role.

From leading a successful department to managing impossible workloads, family pressures, perimenopause and a late ADHD diagnosis, Sue speaks openly about the moment she realised the cost of continuing had become too high.

Together, Emma and Sue explore what happens when work takes over your identity, how it feels to walk away from something you are good at, and what can emerge when you finally give your creativity back to yourself.

Sue reflects on the calm she has found since stepping away, the return of her artistic imagination after decades of putting it aside, and the surprising spontaneity that has appeared in this new chapter of life. She also shares what she is learning about herself now, what freedom looks like at this stage of life, and why her dream is not about status but peace.

This is a thoughtful and inspiring episode for any woman who feels the nudge to change something, but is scared of what stepping away might mean.

Find out more about Sue's work:

Instagram: @lildil.sue.t  

Website: lildil photography