Thrive Solo

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In this week's episode, I’m talking to journalist and listener to the podcast, Janelle O’Dea. 

Janelle (Jay) O’Dea is a data journalist who lives in St Louis, Missouri with her cat, Phoebe. She works for investigative news non-profit, The Centre For Public Integrity, whose mission is to investigate inequality. She is single, childfree, and loves being both of those things! She also happens to be a listener to Spinsterhood Reimagined - woop!

Topics that Jay & I cover are:

• how passionate she is about her work, and how it’s a big part of who she is; 
• how she has learnt so much about herself through working as a journalist; 
• how her dreams as a young woman didn’t involve marriage and babies; 
• how Jay wants mid-western women in particular to know that there are other options for their lives;
• the serious car accident Jay was involved in when she was 18, and how it impacted the way she subsequently lives her life;
• how Jay loves - and requires - time on her own, and how she enjoyed spending time alone during the pandemic;
• how being single and childfree has allowed Jay to be available for other passions and pursuits;
• the environmental crisis, and how Jay can’t imagine having a child given the uncertainty of planet Earth’s future;
• how the issue of overpopulation is a conversation that needs to be had by everyday people;
• how Jay strongly believes that marriage and babies shouldn’t be the primary focus for young women;
• how she knows herself well enough to know that parenting isn’t for her, and why it isn’t for her;
• how people confuse being alone with being lonely;
• how rather than wanting someone to ‘take care of her’, Jay relishes not having to rely on anybody.
• how Jay isn’t a fan of people saying ‘it was just time to settle down’ in relation to getting married.
• how she’s thinking of starting a podcast!

Follow Jay on Instagram:
@itsjayohday

Check out the company Jay works for:
www.publicintegrity.org  

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

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In this week's minisode, I'm talking about Imposter Syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome is the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications.  People who suffer from it aren't able to internalise and own their successes. But guess what? We all feel it.

In this episode, I talk about how Imposter Syndrome has shown up (and continues to show up) in my own life, including this podcast. I also share what I do to deal with it, and how you too can learn to rise above it so that it no longer stops you from moving forward with your life.

Enjoy!  

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

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On this week's Thursday Thoughts, Polly and I are talking about the trap that we all fall into of “I’ll be happy when…” thinking…

We also talk about mindfulness, breath work, the importance of awareness, and much more!

We had a few sound issues but hopefully you’ll be able to hear us ok…🤞

Love Polly & Lucy x

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

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In this week's episode, I’m talking to life coach, Maureen Paley. 

Maureen is a Financial, Life and Career Coach, the author of the ‘Financial Autonomy for Women: 30-Day Workbook’ and the host of the ‘Financial Autonomy for Women’ podcast. She is passionate about supporting self-identified women, couples and non-binary folk find more clarity, confidence, and peace of mind in their lives. She practices strengths-based, trauma-aware coaching and she believes in, and has benefited from, the power of women supporting each other to level up their lives, finances and careers. Maureen is a Certified Professional Coach and an Accredited Financial Counsellor. She is single, childfree, and lives in Sacramento, US with her dog, Mabel.

Topics that Maureen & I cover are:

• her thoughts around women and their finances; 
• what those women who are struggling with money can do to improve their situation;
• hitting life's big milestones ‘out of order’;
• the lack of role models for single, childfree women;
• how Maureen struggled with her ‘spinster’ status through her twenties & thirties;
• how she would love to have a partner;
• how she was never clear about whether or not she wanted children;
• the way in which Maureen approaches coaching with her clients;
• how feeling good about being single and not having kids is a process;
• Maureen’s experience of internet dating;
• dating red flags, and how someone showing a lack of curiosity is a big one!

Check out Maureen’s website:
www.maureenpaley.podia.com

Follow Maureen on Instagram:
@maureenpaleycoach

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

This week's minisode was inspired by some messages between me and the lovely women in my 'Thrive Solo' membership. They were expressing their frustration with the comments that people often make to us single ladies. 

So...I'm talking about why - as we cannot control what other people do, say, or think, we should aim to change how we respond. That, after all, is the only thing we DO have control over.

Instead of allowing these often insensitive and, frankly, rude comments to bring us down, we're better off working on ourselves so that we can deal with them in a different way. 

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

On today's Thursday Thoughts, Polly and I are talking about one of my favourite topics - the ego.

We talk about what it is, how it shows up in our lives, how it causes us to act from a place of fear rather than inspiration, and how becoming conscious of it helps us to tap into our intuition and our higher selves.

We hope you enjoy this conversation and find something useful in here.

Love,
Lucy & Polly x

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

In today's episode, I'm talking about weekends and loneliness as a single woman.

In this first solo episode for quite some time, I talk about how weekends as a single, childless woman can sometimes be lonely. I share my own experiences of loneliness over the years, but more importantly how I've come to believe that loneliness is actually a state of being, rather than an inevitable consequence of being single.  

I talk about the various ways in which we can combat loneliness, as well as some studies that show what we can do to shift ourselves out of it. I also look at the difference between loneliness and solitude, and how we might start to embody the latter rather than the former.

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

In this week's minisode, I'm talking about the amazing power of the breath...or in other words, breathwork.

Breathwork is something I've become fascinated by in recent months, and I've started incorporating it into my morning routine. Without wishing to state the obvious, our breath is something we all have access to at all times; however, so many of us are unaware of the benefits of more intentional and controlled breathing as a tool to decrease stress, rebalance our nervous systems, and essentially improve our lives. 

I talk a little bit about the science behind intentional breathing, how I use it in my own life, and why I think we should all be tapping into this superpower that we have at our fingertips 24/7.

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

In this week's Thursday Thoughts, Polly and I are talking about confidence, and how to have more of it. Both of us like the idea of thinking about confidence as a verb, something that we can decide to ‘do’, rather than something that we either have or don’t have.

We also talk about subconscious limiting beliefs and how crucial it is to change them if we want to see things shift in our lives.

Enjoy!

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

In this week's episode I’m talking to dog expert, Anna Webb. 

Anna Webb is an expert dog trainer, behaviourist and nutritionist, as well as a podcaster. She is a leading authority in the UK who appears frequently on Television and Radio.

Anna is passionate about natural healthcare and believes you are what you eat. Studying nutrition for dogs and cats at The College of Integrated Veterinary Studies, Anna offers a holistic view fusing training and behaviour, environmental factors with natural nutrition for optimum health. 

She is co-host of the only weekly radio ‘slot’ dedicated to dogs in Europe, BBC Radio London's ‘Barking Hour’, and has contributed as an expert on national and local radio, including BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show, Talk Radio, BBC Radio Scotland. She also writes for magazines including Edition Dog, Total Grooming and Animal Therapy Magazine. Anna’s award nominated podcast, A Dog’s Life, conveys her lifelong passion for dogs and investigates all aspects of modern dog ownership, bringing to life that every dog is extraordinary. She also contributed weekly to ITV1’s The Titchmarsh Show as a Pet Expert, starred on SKY1’s ‘Dogumentary’ A Different Breed, Channel 5’s The Gabby Logan Show as well as co-authored a book called ‘The Barking Blondes’. 

Topics that Anna & I cover are:

• how her father worked at the RSPCA which is how Anna’s love affair with animals began; 
• how she grew up with all kinds of animals in her home, and how she had a particular affinity with dogs;
• how in her adult life, Anna got her first dog, Mollie, when she was 37;
• how Anna created a freelance career in order to fit with having a dog;
• Anna’s beloved cat, Gremlin, who passed away recently;
• how Anna discovered years ago that a relationship doesn’t guarantee happiness;
• how having pets has impacted Anna’s single life;
• how blokes can often add hassle and complication to life;
• how Anna isn’t averse to having a boyfriend, but she finds the idea of living with someone difficult;
• why Anna chose to have dogs instead of children, and how dogs can offer a release of nurturing feelings;
• Anna’s thoughts around the words ‘spinster’
• eating habits when you’re single, and why that is so important to Anna;
• how a sense of humour and wit in a partner is both essential and attractive;
• Anna’s embarrassing story about the time she met Johnny Depp.

Check out Anna’s website:
https://annawebb.co.uk/ 

Listen to Anna’s podcast, A Dog’s Life:
https://annawebb.co.uk/pages/podcasts 

Follow Anna on Instagram:
@annawebbdogs

Support the show

• JOIN MY ITALY TRIP IN APRIL 2027: https://www.explore.co.uk/thrivesolo-italy

• Buy my book, SHINY HAPPY SINGLES (UK) / THRIVE SOLO (US & Canada) at: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/book

• Join my membership community for single women, Thrive Solo: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/thrivesolo

• Download my FREE PDF 'Top 10 Comebacks for the Most
  Annoying Questions Single Women Get Asked'
•  Go to: https://www.lucymeggeson.com/comebacks

• Check out my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivesolowithlucymeggeson 

• Join my private Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1870817913309222/?ref=share

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivesolowithlucymeggeson/

• Email me: [email protected] 

And thank you so much for listening!