The Why Me Podcast

What if you really can have it all—but just not all at once?

On this episode of The Why Me Podcast with host Brianna Spurgeon, Brianna explores the power of margin and why a meaningful, successful life doesn’t require filling every hour, pursuing every opportunity, or operating at maximum capacity all the time.

From a high school lesson about spreading herself too thin to the pressures of her corporate career and her life-changing diagnosis of myasthenia gravis, Brianna shares how she’s learning to rethink ambition, productivity, and what it truly means to make the most of her time and abilities.

Through personal stories, practical insights, and a fresh perspective on work, motherhood, family, faith, and personal growth, this episode explores why leaving room in life isn’t wasted potential—it’s what makes resilience possible. When every bit of time and energy is already spoken for, even a small unexpected change can feel overwhelming. But when there’s margin, there’s room to adapt, recover, help others, and focus on what matters most.

Whether she’s reflecting on corporate burnout, chronic illness, the pressure to do it all, or the challenge of balancing family responsibilities with personal dreams, Brianna offers a gentle reminder: not every good opportunity needs to be pursued right now, and a good day doesn’t have to become an obligation to do more.

In this episode, listeners will discover:

• Why maximizing every hour, opportunity, and ability can leave life surprisingly fragile
• How to recognize the difference between productivity and sustainable success
• Why margin matters for mental well-being, resilience, and navigating unexpected life changes
• How to rethink ambition while balancing motherhood, marriage, career, and family responsibilities
• What living with myasthenia gravis has taught Brianna about energy, capacity, and personal limits
• How to make room for rest, recovery, relationships, and the unexpected without abandoning big dreams
• Small, practical ways to create more breathing room in everyday life

For anyone feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, caught in the cycle of overcommitting, or wondering how to balance big dreams with the realities of everyday life, this conversation offers encouragement to slow down, reassess priorities, and build a life that doesn’t depend on everything going according to plan.

Because sometimes, the thing that interrupts the plan isn’t a distraction from what matters. Sometimes, it’s what matters.

What can farming teach us about faith, hardship, and letting go of control?

On this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon shares seven life lessons she’s learned over the past seven years of being married to a farmer. From unpredictable storms to the uncertainty of every harvest, farming has offered her a fresh perspective on navigating life’s challenges and trusting God through every season.

In this episode, Brianna explores:

• You can do everything right and still face a storm. Hardship doesn’t always mean you’ve done something wrong.
• Good things require sacrifice. Meaningful growth often demands time, effort, and giving something up.
• You can prepare for the harvest, but you can’t control it. Do your part and trust God with the outcome.
• Stop comparing your field to someone else’s. Focus on making the most of what you’ve been given.
• Sometimes the least promising ground produces the greatest surprises. Blessings can come from the most unexpected places.
• Even the best equipment breaks down. Recognizing your limits and asking for help is a strength, not a failure.
• Faith is required when the harvest is uncertain. Some seasons bring abundance, while others teach perseverance, humility, and trust.

Whether you’re navigating a health challenge, a season of uncertainty, an unexpected detour, or simply wondering why life isn’t turning out the way you planned, this episode is a reminder that you can work faithfully, learn from every season, and trust God with what you cannot control.

Because sometimes it’s your year, and sometimes it isn’t. But there is always something to learn along the way.

Do the work. Be faithful with what you’ve been given. And trust God with the harvest.

In this encouraging episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon offers a simple message for anyone who has been afraid to take the leap, start something new, or pursue an idea because of fear, embarrassment, imposter syndrome, or the opinions of other people.

Brianna shares her own experience of starting The Why Me Podcast despite feeling uncomfortable and unsure of what people might think. She explores why feeling like an imposter or stepping outside of your comfort zone doesn’t necessarily mean you should stop—it may be a sign that you’re doing something that matters.

Listeners are challenged to ask themselves: What would you do if you knew no one could judge you? What is the idea you’ve been quietly keeping in the back of your mind? And are you allowing the opinions of other people to keep you from pursuing it?

Brianna also shares the perspective she hopes to instill in her own boys: to seize the one life they have, get back up when they fail, adapt when things don’t go as planned, and never let fear or embarrassment keep them from pursuing something meaningful.

As the year comes to a close, this episode is an invitation to stop waiting for the perfect time and start preparing now. Whether you’ve been dreaming about starting a business, launching a creative project, changing careers, pursuing a passion, or simply trying something you’ve always wanted to do, this may be the encouragement you need to finally take the leap.

What if your purpose isn’t something you have to go out and find—but something that’s already woven into who you are?

In this episode of the Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon shares a simple 5-minute purpose exercise she learned more than six years ago during a season of career uncertainty. At the time, Brianna was questioning what she brought to the table beyond her résumé, experience, and job title. Her coach gave her a surprisingly simple—and admittedly cheesy—prompt that has stayed with her ever since.

The exercise:

“I am a _____ who _____ so that _____.”

The first blank can be any noun—an animal, object, person, or something in nature. The goal is to identify something you naturally connect with, then explore what it does and why that matters to you.

Brianna’s answer was:

“I am an eagle that soars above to help people understand the bigger picture.”

Years later, that sentence still guides the way she approaches her career, life, change, and even this podcast.

In this episode, Brianna explores how to discover your purpose, how to identify your strengths and values, finding purpose during a career transition, and why looking inward may be more helpful than trying to predict your entire future. She also shares how this exercise unexpectedly became a description of the Why Me Podcast itself—where she takes difficult or unexpected experiences, rises above the immediate circumstances, and looks for the bigger picture and lessons that might help someone else.

If you’re feeling lost, stuck, uncertain about your career, unsure what you have to offer, or entering a new season of life, take five minutes to try this creative purpose exercise for yourself.

The 5-Minute Purpose Exercise:

I am a _____ who _____ so that _____.

Don’t overthink it. And don’t worry if it feels cheesy.

Write down whatever comes to mind. Then ask yourself:

• What am I naturally drawn to?
• What am I naturally good at?
• How do I help other people?
• What do I want people to experience because I was there?
• How can I live that out today?

Your purpose may not require you to become someone entirely new. It may simply require you to recognize more clearly who you already are.

Listen to the Why Me Podcast with host Brianna Spurgeon for this short, reflective episode about purpose, self-discovery, career uncertainty, personal values, strengths, life transitions, and finding meaning in the way you naturally show up in the world.

In this episode of The Why Me Podcast with Brianna Spurgeon, Brianna explores the lost art of telling people what they mean to us—before tragedy, grief, or a major life event forces us to say it.

From Facebook comments filled with “thoughts and prayers” to the disappearing nature of text messages, Brianna wonders whether modern technology has made it easier to acknowledge someone’s pain without truly connecting with them. She reflects on the emotional vulnerability that can come with expressing gratitude, love, admiration, and appreciation—and why so many of us wait until it feels urgent to finally say what has been on our hearts all along.

Inspired by a friend who regularly sends her thoughtful, handwritten letters, Brianna considers what makes a handwritten note feel so different from a text message and why putting meaningful words on paper can make someone feel deeply seen, valued, and loved.

Through personal stories of illness, friendship, old teachers, grief, and the realization that life can change at any moment, Brianna asks a simple question: Why do we wait?

This episode of The Why Me Podcast is an invitation to embrace emotional vulnerability, revive the lost art of meaningful communication, and tell the people who have shaped your life exactly what they mean to you—while they’re here.

The Why Me Podcast with Brianna Spurgeon is a faith-filled, honest and conversational podcast about turning life’s unexpected burdens, questions, and disruptions into breakthrough.

In this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon takes an honest look at self-criticism, negative thinking, judgment, and the exhausting habit of constantly comparing ourselves to others.

Brianna shares a personal realization that the criticism she had been directing toward herself was beginning to spill over into how she viewed other people. From judging our appearance, homes, careers, parenting, and choices to worrying about how others perceive us, she explores how easily comparison can turn life into a mental scoreboard—and why constantly keeping score can leave us feeling like we are never enough.

Through a vulnerable conversation with a friend, Brianna begins questioning where judgment actually comes from, why our first thoughts aren’t always the whole truth, and how we can become more intentional about what we choose to notice. She shares a simple practice for shifting attention toward the good, challenging negative thought patterns, and giving ourselves and others more grace.

This episode of The Why Me Podcast is a reminder that there will always be something we could criticize, improve, or compare—and that peace doesn’t have to wait until everything is perfect. Sometimes the breakthrough is learning to stop keeping score.

The Why Me Podcast, hosted by Brianna Spurgeon, explores the unexpected disruptions, challenges, and “Why Me” moments of life—and how they can become opportunities for growth, perspective, faith, and breakthrough.

What if the setback you’re facing isn’t actually a setback at all—but a redirection?

In this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon explores the unexpected detours, delays, closed doors, and disappointments that can completely change the direction of our lives. Drawing from her own experience stepping away from an AI consulting business just as it was beginning to gain momentum, Brianna reflects on how something she once viewed as devastating may have ultimately redirected her away from a path she can no longer imagine navigating.

She also explores the everyday moments that make us wonder about timing, coincidence, fate, divine intervention, and God’s plan—from missed flights and unexpected delays to the small inconveniences that may cause us to arrive somewhere just a few minutes later than we intended.

Brianna doesn’t claim to know why every difficult thing happens. Instead, she offers a powerful perspective for navigating uncertainty: we may know the road we wanted to take, but we don’t know where that road would have ultimately led.

For anyone facing a setback, disappointment, unmet expectation, health challenge, career change, closed door, or unexpected life detour, this episode offers a different question to consider: What might this be redirecting me toward?

The Why Me Podcast by Brianna Spurgeon is a storytelling podcast about the moments that force us to ask, “Why me?”—and what we do next. Through honest reflections on illness, adversity, identity shifts, resilience, faith, and unexpected changes, Brianna explores how to find meaning and purpose when life doesn’t go according to plan.

What if the best time to prepare for a hard season isn’t when you’re already struggling—but when life is going really well?

On this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon reflects on what happened when an unexpected season of complications after surgery completely shook up her routines, leaving her feeling out of balance and unsure how to find her way back to the things that made her feel peaceful, fulfilled, and like herself.

Brianna explores the importance of studying your good seasons and identifying the systems that support you when life feels steady. Using the Wheel of Life as a framework, she walks through eight key areas of life: family and friends, romance/significant other, fun and recreation, health, money, personal growth, physical environment, and career. Rather than simply asking whether each area is going well, she encourages listeners to identify the specific systems and habits that are creating that sense of fulfillment—and to consider how those systems could adapt when circumstances change.

Because life is going to knock everyone off course at some point. The goal isn’t to build a life without holes. It’s to build a ladder before you need one.

In this episode, Brianna challenges listeners to pay attention to what is holding them together while they’re standing on solid ground, document what works, and create a foundation they can return to when their own Why Me moment comes.

What if getting out of a rut starts with getting out of your routine?

In this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon explores the surprising connection between routine, novelty, memory, and how we experience our lives. When life shakes you up with an unexpected change, disappointment, loss, transition, or difficult season, it can be tempting to retreat into the same routines and environments that keep you stuck. But what if that disruption could become an opportunity to wake yourself back up?

Brianna dives into the idea of breaking autopilot and intentionally creating new experiences—even when you can’t completely change your circumstances. Taking a different route to work, walking through a different door, talking to someone new, visiting a coffee shop, exploring your own town, or simply getting out of the house and observing life happening around you can create small moments of novelty that help shift your perspective.

The episode also explores why highly repetitive days can begin to blur together in our memories, and why creating new experiences and meaningful moments may help us feel more present and connected to our lives. Rather than waiting until you feel better to start living differently, Brianna challenges listeners to change their experience first.

For anyone feeling stuck, overwhelmed, bored, disconnected, or caught in a difficult season, this episode offers a simple challenge: interrupt the autopilot. Get out of your head. Change your scenery. Try something new. Pay attention.

Because sometimes you don’t need to completely reinvent your life.

Sometimes you just need to experience it differently.

The Why Me Podcast with Brianna Spurgeon is about turning unexpected challenges into opportunities for growth, perspective, resilience, and a more intentional life.

Everyone knows the advice: “You should exercise.”

Move your body. Go for a walk. Get outside. Work out. Take care of yourself.

But what if exercise could do far more than improve physical health?

In this episode of The Why Me Podcast, host Brianna Spurgeon takes a deeper look at exercise as a powerful complementary tool for navigating the mental and emotional weight of a Why Me Moment. Whether someone is facing a difficult diagnosis, major life transition, grief, anxiety, an overwhelming decision, an unexpected opportunity, or simply a season that requires more emotional capacity than they feel they have, movement can create space to process, regulate, reflect, pray, and reconnect with yourself.

Brianna shares her personal journey from being someone who hated running to discovering that a simple one-mile treadmill goal became one of her most meaningful rituals for mental clarity and self-care. She also opens up about how being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis changed her relationship with exercise—and forced her to learn one of the episode’s most important lessons: meet yourself where you are.

Because sometimes that means running three miles. Sometimes it means walking ten minutes. Sometimes it means stretching. And sometimes it means resting.

The point isn’t how much you can do.

The point is showing up for yourself in the capacity you have today.

For anyone who has ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, emotionally exhausted, or unsure of what to do next, this episode offers a simple invitation:

Move.

Maybe everyone who has ever told you to exercise was onto something after all.

The Why Me Podcast with Brianna Spurgeon explores the moments that make us ask Why me?—and how we can transform those moments into opportunities for reflection, resilience, growth, purpose, and hope.