What happens when the version of success you’ve been working towards no longer feels like enough?

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by founder and podcaster Caroline Canty for a wide-ranging conversation about success, confidence, fear, personal growth and what happens when we create enough space to start asking bigger questions about our lives.

Caroline shares how her own experiences with anxiety, burnout and health challenges changed the direction of her life and eventually led her into coaching. She talks about losing a close friend at just 27, being confronted with her own mortality and beginning to question where she was going and what she really wanted. 

Together, Emma and Caroline explore the idea that sometimes we simply “don’t know what we don’t know”, and why recognising that doesn't have to mean we've failed. They discuss how becoming experienced or successful can actually make being a beginner again more uncomfortable, why confidence is built through experience, and what can happen when we stop seeing mistakes as failure and start seeing them as part of learning.

Caroline also challenges the idea that we always need to “let go” of the things holding us back. Instead, she talks about understanding where our fears and behaviours come from, learning to work with them and accepting the parts of our experiences that have helped shape who we are.

The conversation explores how our definition of success can change as we move through life. They also discuss leadership, imposter syndrome, the challenges of moving from being good at a job to leading other people, entrepreneurship and the different risks involved in working for yourself versus somebody else.

About Caroline Canty

Caroline Canty is a Founder & Podcaster whose work explores leadership, wellbeing, performance and what it means to be human.

Through Craft Coaching, Caroline works with individuals and businesses, helping people better understand themselves, the way they work and the things that can get in the way of their growth.

Caroline is the creator of Being Human, an immersive coaching experience available through podcast platforms, where she explores the mind, body and soul and the ideas that shape how we live, work and grow.

• Find Caroline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinecanty/
• Listen to her immersive coaching experience channel anywhere you get your podcasts, including: 
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4T0Ze4Znv9TeqIP9qCX0hl 
  • Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/being-human-trailer/id6806562641?i=1000786782671
• Caroline's website: https://craftcoaching.co.uk/

How do we know what we're capable of if we never have to find out?

Inspired by a lyric from Lola Young's Flicker of Light, Emma explores how small challenges can help us discover what we're capable of and why confidence doesn't always have to come before action.

Earlier this year, Emma went to see Lola Young in Manchester. It was her first time in the city and her first time going to a gig alone. It wasn't an enormous act of bravery, but it meant doing something unfamiliar and discovering that not only could she do it, she could really enjoy it too.

Drawing on psychologist Albert Bandura's work on self-efficacy and mastery experiences, Emma considers how actually doing something and getting through it can give us evidence of our own capability.

From competitive swimming to pressing record and publishing this podcast, she explores the difference between something being wrong for us and something simply feeling uncomfortable because it's unfamiliar.

Because sometimes we don't need to wait until we feel completely confident. Sometimes doing the thing is how we find out what we're capable of.

What's something you can do now that a previous version of you wasn't sure she could do?

It doesn't need to be something huge. Think about something that once made you nervous or uncertain but now feels completely ordinary.

What does that experience tell you about what you're capable of?

Then consider:

Is there something you're avoiding at the moment because you don't want to do it, or because you've simply never done it before?

You don't need to go looking for unnecessary challenges or spend your life outside your comfort zone. But perhaps there's one small opportunity to do something unfamiliar and find out what happens.

If you've enjoyed this episode, you can also join Emma through The Purposeful Shift weekly newsletter, where she shares more of the ideas, questions and experiences she's exploring. 

Sign up here or on The Purposeful Shift website: https://thepurposefulshift.co.uk/ 

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift.

What happens when you've been living through something difficult for so long that you start to wonder whether life is ever going to feel different again?

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores what happens when a difficult period lasts for months or even years, and it becomes hard to imagine life feeling any other way.

Drawing on a particularly challenging 18 months in her own family life, Emma reflects on the experience of living with uncertainty, feeling unable to control what was happening and reaching a point where simply getting through one day at a time became enough.

She also explores research into affective forecasting and why we aren't always particularly good at predicting how we'll feel in the future, alongside ideas around stress, coping and resilience.

At the heart of the episode is a piece of advice Emma received when she was close to breaking point: if she couldn't control what was happening, what could she control about how she looked after herself while it was happening?

This isn't an episode about promising that everything will work itself out.

Some circumstances can't be changed and some difficult experiences have a lasting impact. Instead, it's an exploration of how we keep going when we can't yet see the other side, and why the way life feels today isn't necessarily an accurate prediction of how it will always feel.

If you're currently dealing with something that feels outside your control, take a piece of paper and divide it into two columns:

What I can't control

What I can influence or do to support myself

Think about whatever is taking up most of your headspace at the moment.

What genuinely isn't yours to control?

Then look at the second column. What choices are still available to you? Is there somebody you could talk to, something you could take off your plate, support you could ask for, or something that could give you a little time away from thinking about the situation?

Finally, ask yourself:

What am I assuming about my future because of how life feels today?

You don't have to force yourself to believe that everything will be fine.

But you also don't know that everything will stay exactly as it is now.

If something in this episode resonated with you, Emma continues these conversations in The Purposeful Shift weekly newsletter, sharing practical ideas, experiences and reflection questions to help you explore your own purposeful shift. 

Sign up here or on The Purposeful Shift website: https://thepurposefulshift.co.uk/ 

Thank you, as always, for listening and for sharing part of your day with The Purposeful Shift.

What happens when everything on your to-do list feels important and there simply aren't enough hours available to do it all?

After exploring procrastination in last week's episode, Emma found herself experiencing it in real life, but this time she began to realise that avoiding individual tasks wasn't really the problem. She was overwhelmed by the sheer number of things competing for her time and attention.

In this more personal episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma reflects on a week when work, study, family life, business changes and a head full of new ideas finally started to feel like too much.

She shares some of the signs she noticed, including working more slowly, cleaning the house, baking cookies and consuming other people's content whilst convincing herself she was being productive.

Eventually, she realised that perhaps the thing she was really avoiding was accepting that she couldn't do everything she wanted to do at once.

That realisation led to a big brain dump and a different question. Instead of asking, "How am I going to get all of this done?", she began asking, "What actually needs my attention now?"

Some things stayed in the diary, some became tasks rather than appointments, some were postponed, and a few ideas moved all the way into 2027. Rather than giving them up altogether, Emma began to see postponing them as a conscious decision to say "not now".

She also reflects on why doing less can feel surprisingly uncomfortable when being busy, capable and able to manage a lot has become part of your identity. Looking back at the expectations she placed on herself from childhood onwards, Emma considers whether being capable of carrying a lot means we need to keep proving that we can.

This isn't an episode about having overwhelm figured out. It's a reflection from right in the middle of it, and an invitation to consider whether everything currently taking up space in your own head really needs your attention now.

Reflection questions

If you've been carrying too much yourself, take a few minutes to consider:

What are you carrying around in your head that doesn't actually need your attention right now?

What could you consciously choose to postpone, rather than allowing yourself to feel guilty that you haven't done it yet?

You might also want to look at your diary and ask whether everything in it genuinely deserves protected time, whether some things could simply become tasks or reminders, and whether anything could be removed altogether.

Creating space isn't about finding more hours but making clearer decisions about what those hours need to contain.

Continue the conversation

If you enjoy these reflections, you can join The Purposeful Shift newsletter, where Emma shares thoughts from the podcast, things she's exploring and prompts to help you reflect on your own life.

Sign up here or on The Purposeful Shift website: https://thepurposefulshift.co.uk/  

And if you enjoy these more personal Living the Lesson episodes alongside the researched solo episodes and guest conversations, Emma would genuinely love to hear what you think.

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift.

Have you ever put something off, even though you knew it really mattered?

Perhaps it's an email you've been meaning to send, a difficult conversation you've been avoiding, a business idea that's been sitting in your notebook for months, or a decision that somehow feels much bigger than the task itself.

Many of us assume procrastination is simply a sign that we're lazy, disorganised or lacking motivation. But what if that's not true?

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores what procrastination really is, and why the things we delay are often the things that matter most to us.

Drawing on her own experience of trying to redefine her business, alongside research from Professor Timothy Pychyl, Professor Fuschia Sirois and reflections inspired by Maisie Hill's book Powerful, Emma explores the growing evidence that procrastination is less about poor time management and more about emotion regulation.

Together, you'll explore why uncomfortable feelings such as uncertainty, fear, vulnerability and self doubt can make even small tasks feel overwhelming, why putting something off often makes it feel emotionally heavier, and how becoming curious about our behaviour can be far more helpful than immediately criticising ourselves.

Emma also reflects on Parkinson's Law, why deadlines sometimes help and sometimes don't, and the important difference between intentionally choosing to delay a task and unconsciously carrying it around in your mind for weeks.

Rather than offering another list of productivity tips, this episode invites you to understand what procrastination might actually be trying to tell you. Perhaps the question isn't, "Why can't I just get on with it?"

Perhaps it's, "What is making this feel difficult today?"

Reflection exercise

Think of one thing you've been putting off.

Then ask yourself:

• What am I actually avoiding here?
• Is it the task itself, or the feeling that comes with it?
• If it's the feeling, what might help me take the first small step with a little more compassion?

Notice what comes up before you judge yourself. Sometimes understanding what's underneath our procrastination is the very thing that helps us move forward.

Sign up for The Purposeful Shift newsletter

If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to continue the conversation through The Purposeful Shift weekly newsletter, where I share reflections, psychology, practical exercises and gentle prompts to help you create meaningful change in your own life.

Sign up here or on The Purposeful Shift website: https://thepurposefulshift.co.uk/ 

Have you ever found yourself feeling like the least experienced person in the room?

Perhaps you've started a new job, launched a business, been invited to speak at an event, or found yourself surrounded by people who seem more accomplished than you. Instead of celebrating how far you've come, you begin questioning whether you really deserve to be there.

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores the experience many of us call imposter syndrome through a very personal story. After being featured as an "Up and Coming" podcaster in Women Who Podcast magazine (https://www.womenwhopodcastmag.com/), what began as a moment of pride quickly became a moment of comparison as she found herself questioning whether she belonged alongside the other women featured. 

Drawing on research from psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, who first described the Impostor Phenomenon in 1978, Emma explores why capable, successful people often struggle to recognise their own achievements. She also shares insights from Albert Bandura's work on self-efficacy, reminding us that confidence doesn't appear before we begin. It grows through experience and the evidence we collect along the way. 

Rather than asking how to overcome imposter syndrome, this episode invites you to consider a different question.

What if you're not an imposter at all?

What if you're simply a beginner?

If you've ever questioned whether you belong, this conversation is a gentle reminder that feeling like a beginner doesn't mean you're in the wrong room. Sometimes it simply means you've had the courage to step into one that's big enough to help you grow.

Take a few quiet moments this week to reflect on these two questions:

Where in your life do you feel like you don't quite belong?

Then ask yourself:

If you stopped comparing yourself with people who've been there much longer than you, what evidence would you see that you've already earned your place?

Think about the conversations you've had, the people you've helped, the skills you've developed and the courage it took to begin.

The evidence is likely already there.

The podcast is where I share conversations and reflections. The newsletter is where we explore them a little more deeply.

Each week I share thoughtful ideas, practical exercises and gentle prompts to help you reflect, grow and create a life that feels more aligned with who you are.

If you'd like those to arrive in your inbox each week, I'd love to welcome you to The Purposeful Shift newsletter.

Sign up here or on The Purposeful Shift website: https://thepurposefulshift.co.uk/ 

Last week, I released an episode about the fear of being seen trying something new. Yesterday, I realised I'd spent the entire week living exactly what I'd been talking about.

So this episode is a little different.

Instead of my normal format, I'm sharing three reflections from my own week. From trying to redefine my business, to reaching out to an artist I admire, and recognising that growth doesn't always mean pushing harder, this is a more personal episode about what happened when I tried to take my own advice.

One thing that struck me this week was how often we make decisions based on assumptions we've never actually tested. We tell ourselves someone will say no. We assume people won't understand a change we're making. We imagine what other people are thinking, without ever giving them the chance to prove us wrong.

I also found myself reflecting on what growth really looks like. Sometimes it's taking a brave step. Sometimes it's recognising that today isn't the day for a difficult decision. And sometimes it's simply looking back six months and realising how much has changed without you even noticing.

If last week's episode resonated with you, I hope this conversation reminds you that growth isn't something we understand once and move on from. It's something we keep practising, one small decision at a time.

Reflection Question

Take a few quiet moments this week to reflect on this question:

What opportunity have you already talked yourself out of before giving someone else the chance to answer?

Perhaps it's applying for something, asking for help, inviting someone for a coffee, or sharing an idea you've been keeping to yourself.

What might become possible if you simply asked the question?

The podcast is where I share conversations and reflections.

The newsletter is where we explore them a little more deeply.

Each week I share thoughtful ideas, practical exercises and gentle prompts to help you reflect, grow and create a life and business that feels more aligned with who you are.

If you'd like those to arrive in your inbox each week, I'd love to welcome you to The Purposeful Shift newsletter.

Sign up here

The Courage to Be Seen: Are You Afraid to Be Seen Trying?

How often have you stopped yourself from doing something, not because you couldn't do it, but because you were worried about what other people might think?

Whether it's starting a business, posting on social media, changing career, returning to education or simply trying something new, many of us hesitate because we're afraid of being seen as beginners. We worry about looking awkward, making mistakes or being judged before we've even had the chance to learn.

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores why the fear of looking stupid can quietly shape our decisions, and why courage isn't about becoming fearless, it's about refusing to let fear make our decisions for us.

Drawing on personal stories, from recording Instagram videos and launching a podcast to converting a campervan with little more than enthusiasm and YouTube tutorials, Emma reflects on why confidence rarely comes first. Instead, confidence grows through experience, curiosity and a willingness to learn in public.

Alongside these reflections, Emma explores the psychology behind the Spotlight Effect, the tendency to overestimate how much other people notice us, and shares insights from Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset, Kristin Neff's work on self compassion, and Elizabeth Gilbert's perspective on allowing fear to come along for the journey without letting it take the wheel.

Rather than waiting until we feel ready, this episode is an invitation to embrace being a beginner again, to see mistakes as part of learning, and to remember that the opportunities we regret are often the ones we never gave ourselves permission to explore.

If you've ever held yourself back because you were worried about what other people might think, this conversation is for you.

Take a notebook, or open the notes app on your phone, and complete this sentence:

If I wasn't worried about looking stupid, I would...

Keep writing without editing yourself.

Then spend a few moments reflecting on these questions:

• What am I really afraid might happen?
• Whose opinion am I giving the most power to?
• What opportunities might I miss if I continue allowing fear to make my decisions?
• What would one small courageous step look like this week?

Sometimes the things we're most afraid of are also the things that matter most. They ask us to be seen, to be beginners again and to trust ourselves enough to learn along the way.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to continue the conversation through my weekly newsletter, where I share reflections, practical exercises and gentle prompts to help you create a life and business that feels more aligned with who you are.

Join The Purposeful Shift newsletter here.

"Fear will always have something to say. You just don't have to let it have the final word."

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma is joined by yoga teacher, menopause coach, and retreat host Louise Pitman for a thoughtful conversation about career change, midlife reinvention, creativity, and finding the courage to follow what lights you up.

Before becoming a yoga teacher, Louise spent 25 years working within the criminal justice system, progressing to senior leadership roles. She shares how a growing sense of discomfort led her to step away from a career she cared deeply about and gradually build a new path that felt more aligned with who she was becoming.

Louise reflects on the unexpected role yoga played in her life following the loss of her mum, how grief became a catalyst for change, and why learning to listen to herself opened the door to an entirely different future.

Together, Emma and Louise explore the reality of making significant life changes, including the fears, practical considerations and mindset shifts that often come with them.

The conversation also explores menopause, wellbeing, creativity, community and the importance of making space for joy in everyday life.

Louise shares more about her move from Wiltshire to Northern Ireland, the retreats she now hosts, and the book she is currently writing about wild swimming, menopause and the women whose stories have inspired her along the way.

Louise's story is an inspiring example of what can happen when we stop asking "What if it goes wrong?" and start asking "What if it's the best thing I ever did?"

You can find out more about Louise's yoga classes, retreats, swimming, and writing below:

Yoga Retreats

Yoga classes

Follow Louise on:

Instagram

Substack

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Pause, and inviting this podcast and conversation to be a part of your day today.

If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to welcome you to my weekly newsletter.

It's a space where I share reflections, ideas and practical exercises that build on the conversations from the podcast, helping you to keep making small, purposeful shifts in your own life.

Join the newsletter here.

How much of your life are you postponing whilst you wait to feel ready?

Many of us tell ourselves we'll start when we feel more confident, when life feels less busy, when we have more certainty, or when everything is perfectly in place. But what if that moment never comes?

In this episode of The Purposeful Shift, Emma explores why progress almost always comes before confidence, and why waiting for perfection can quietly hold us back from the things that matter most.

Drawing on her own experiences of launching a podcast, returning to study, building businesses, converting a campervan, and creating new opportunities through experimentation, Emma reflects on the reality that most meaningful things in life begin before we feel ready. They begin with curiosity, imperfect action, and a willingness to learn as we go.

Alongside personal stories, Emma explores ideas from Brené Brown on perfectionism as a form of self-protection, Carol Dweck's work on growth mindset, Elizabeth Gilbert's encouragement to follow curiosity rather than certainty, and Steven Pressfield's concept of Resistance, the invisible force that often appears when we're about to do something meaningful.

Rather than seeing mistakes as evidence that we're not capable, this episode invites you to see them as part of the learning process. Because every skill you've ever developed, from driving a car to raising children, running a business, or starting something new, began with not knowing what you were doing.

Ultimately, this episode is a reminder that perfection isn't the goal. Progress is.

If there's something you've been putting off because you're waiting to feel more ready, perhaps this is your invitation to take one small step and trust yourself to figure out the next one along the way.

Reflection Exercise

Take a sheet of paper and write down one thing you've been postponing.

Then ask yourself:

What am I waiting for?

Finally, ask:

Do I genuinely need that thing before I begin, or am I waiting for certainty that may never come?

Notice what comes up. Sometimes the biggest barrier isn't a lack of ability, it's the story we're telling ourselves about needing to be more prepared before we take the first step.

Thank you for listening to The Purposeful Shift.

IIf this episode resonated with you, I'd love to welcome you to my weekly newsletter.

It's a space where I share reflections, ideas and practical exercises that build on the conversations from the podcast, helping you to keep making small, purposeful shifts in your own life.

Join the newsletter here.