If you've ever looked for love outside yourself while quietly abandoning the one relationship that matters most, this episode is for you. We're talking about self-love — not the commercialized, Valentine's Day version, but the real thing. The kind you build in ordinary moments by returning to yourself again and again.

I share something I haven't said out loud before. A loss I didn't see coming that cracked everything open — and what I found on the other side when I stopped running from it.

Because here's what I've come to believe: self-love isn't a feeling. It's something you cultivate. And it stands on three pillars — self-compassion, self-trust, and self-efficacy. You'll hear what each one actually means, why self-compassion without accountability is just self-pity, how self-trust erodes so quietly you don't notice until it's gone, and why the most powerful proof you have is your own lived history of doing hard things.

We also talk about the foundation beneath all three pillars: the act of returning. Listening to your body. Honoring your truths even when they're inconvenient. Refusing to tell yourself stories when you know what's real.

The episode ends with a poem I wrote just days ago — about love, loss, and what it means to alchemize pain into something you can actually stand in.

This isn't about having it figured out. It's about choosing yourself anyway, even when — especially when — everything falls apart.

Thanks for joining me where it's quiet. Stay gentle, stay whole, and keep returning to yourself.

If you've ever felt like you're managing yourself into exhaustion instead of actually living, this episode is for you. We're talking about self-leadership — the shift from micromanaging every goal to leading yourself from your highest vision.

I share why I think SMART goals are dumb (hear me out). It's not the goals themselves, but the way they turn us into project managers of our own lives: checking boxes, measuring progress, creating endless lists that drain the joy right out of living. I got so exhausted planning 2024 that I never looked at my goals again.

Something shifted for me in 2025. Instead of quarterly milestones and daily checklists, I set being intentions: be creative, be intentional, be connected. And wow — poetry workshops, dance classes, genuine friendships, aligned community. The magic didn't come from my planning. It came from who I was being.

You'll hear the difference between managing yourself (Am I on track? Did I do enough? Am I behind?) and leading yourself (Is this aligned with my values? Is this my highest self? What's the next true step?). Management creates stress. Leadership creates space for wonder, awe, and spontaneity.

We dive into why visions beat goals: they're vague not specific, felt not measured, lifelong not time-bound, audacious not realistic. For 2026, my vision is to be devoted, healthy, and present — and I've turned those into morning and evening routines that help me step into those states of being every single day.

The episode includes a guided visualization where you picture the life you want and ask: Who do I need to be to have that life? Not what do I need to do — who do I need to be? Because accomplishments are just consequences of character. Go upstream.

This isn't about perfection. It's about promoting yourself from manager to leader, trusting that as you align with your vision daily, the outcomes will follow naturally. When you focus on being instead of doing, you leave room to heal, to be surprised, to let your light shine the way it was always meant to.

Thanks for listening and for choosing to lead yourself with vision instead of managing yourself with fear. Stay curious, stay aligned, and keep returning to where it's quiet.

If you’ve ever felt pulled apart by old triggers, family dynamics, or the loudest parts of yourself, this episode is for you. We will talk about spiritual integration — the slow, daily work of turning insights into real-life habits so your highest self can actually drive the bus.

I share what helped me on a recent trip home: pausing before reacting, checking in with my energy, and using a simple energy-bubble meditation to feel safe and whole. You’ll hear about how I noticed shame creeping in like a runaway train, and how small, gentle conversations with those younger, exiled parts of myself changed everything.

We also get into parts work — a friendly intro to Internal Family Systems — and how shame, anger, or fear can be signals that a part of you needs to be seen, not punished. The episode is full of real-time tools: name the part that’s speaking, ask what story it believes, and invite it back to the table with compassion.

Boundaries come up as a huge piece of integration. When you know your core self, your edges become clear: what’s yours to carry and what isn’t, which conversations you’ll engage in and which you won’t, and what parts of your life are sacred and just for you. I share specific boundary types to experiment with — physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual — and why protecting those edges helps your creativity and clarity thrive.

Integration needs quiet. The episode is a reminder that rest and small rituals such as walks without your phone, journaling, visualization, or engaging in creativity are not luxuries — that's where the real work happens. Try tiny practices: pause and breathe before you answer, journal a micro-conversation with a younger part, or give yourself permission to keep one dream private.

This is not one-and-done — integration is lifelong and seasonal. But the small, steady turns toward wholeness really add up. 

Thanks for listening and for making space to be whole. Stay curious, stay kind to yourself, and keep returning to where it’s quiet.

Today I'm naming something I didn't have a word for until recently: gratitude grief — that sweet, aching feeling when your heart is so full of love and thankfulness it almost hurts. I share personal moments from the Camino, a solo trip through Portugal and France, a surprise engagement, and hosting TEDx Bentonville that opened me up to a kind of joy that felt both overwhelming and unbelievably alive.

We talk about why that happens: our nervous systems can actually protect us from positive overwhelm, and trauma can narrow the window in which we can fully feel. I share how EMDR therapy helped me widen that window so I could experience more gratitude, compassion, and love without immediately bracing for the fall.

I also get real about how gratitude and grief can live in the same heartbeat — feeling deep gratitude for my mom and for moments I missed, and letting the sorrow for those years of numbness surface as proof that I'm learning to feel again.

There’s a simple practice I guide you through in the episode: settle into your body, breathe, tense and release, then bring to mind someone or something you're deeply grateful for. Let the memory become three-dimensional, notice sensations, and let gratitude and grief coexist. This kind of savoring trains your brain to tolerate more joy and connection.

My invitation is gentle: let yourself sit in the warmth and the ache. Hold the love, let the tears come if they come, and remember that grief can be the evidence of a heart that has learned to love more fully. Marcus Aurelius said there’s no quieter retreat than the soul — visit it often and fill it with this alive, tender capacity.

If this episode moved something in you, savor it a little longer and maybe share it with someone you’re grateful for. Until next time — stay gentle, stay curious, and keep returning to where it’s quiet.

I walked 200 miles from Portugal to Spain and I'm finally sharing what showed up for me on that path. This episode is me unpacking the small, ordinary moments that feel like tiny miracles: putting one foot in front of the other, learning to swim with the current when life feels like a raging river, and finding the strange beauty in soreness, struggle, and stillness.

On the Camino I fell back in love with reading physical pages, journaling every night, and listening to my body. There were afternoons of hip-flexor stretches in the grass, sunsets that stopped me in my tracks, and conversations that brought out my inner child — all of it reminding me that being matters as much as doing. Your body knows things; when you slow down and feel, it gives you answers.

I talk about the awakenings that changed me: that I can do more than I thought, that craft and creativity are how I find myself, and that we get to choose our hard things. I learned to spot the difference between craftspersonship and perfectionism, and how freeing it is to stop measuring my worth by other people's opinions. There’s real power in learning where you end and where other people begin.

We also dive into the simple stuff — the extraordinary ordinary: a grandmother's voice, wind on your face, a dog running to greet you — and how those tiny things are the heartbeats of a meaningful life. The Camino taught me to break social contracts that keep you small, to make space for wonder, and to let curiosity and play back into adulthood.

This episode is a quiet conversation about boundaries, intuition, creativity, and mortality — a nudge to make time for the things your soul is asking for. If you’ve ever been afraid to go after something hard or felt stuck comparing yourself to others, I hope my walk gives you permission to try, to fail, to create, and to feel.

So, what do you desire? Make space for it. Thanks for walking a few miles of this road with me — there really is so much beauty where it’s quiet.

Hi, I’m Elizabeth — and I’m so glad you’re here for the very first episode of Where It’s Quiet. I launched this podcast on my birthday because birthdays have always felt like threshold moments for me: the chance to look back, look forward, and lean into what actually matters.

This space is about returning — not reinventing. After years of striving and creating a previous show called Elevate Potential, I traded hustle for stillness and started learning what it means to live in alignment and fulfillment. It’s less about proving anything and more about showing up, walking slowly, and listening to what our bodies and hearts already know.

Quiet wasn’t accidental for me as a kid — I used to sneak out to sit on the porch under the stars with my guitar and whatever words wanted to come out. That silence was alive; it gave me room to create, heal, and discover who I was. That curious, creative girl is still inside me, and this podcast is an invitation to rediscover yours.

Much of what I’m talking about comes from being embodied — trusting the wisdom of the body over the endless churn of thought. Small practices like widening your peripheral vision on a walk or simply putting one foot in front of the other can open up intuition and clarity in ways the mind alone can’t.

I walked the Camino de Santiago — 200 miles over 14 days — and it taught me how powerful the rhythm of being can be. On that walk I noticed stories I’d been carrying that weren’t true, let them go, and felt lighter almost overnight. Those quiet moments were where real change and insight showed up, not from overthinking, but from listening.

In a culture that celebrates noise and hustle, choosing quiet feels radical. Here we’ll create space for reflection, journaling, breathwork, and simple practices that help you return to yourself, cultivate flow, and live more aligned — one small step at a time.

Before we go: where do you find your quiet? A trail, your kitchen table with coffee, the car when you’re still for a moment — wherever it is, go there this week and notice what comes up. Thank you for being here with me today on my birthday — welcome to Where It’s Quiet.

Alone time is so important for personal growth. In this episode, we dive into how we cultivate the relationship we have with ourselves and how it is foundational to all other connections in our lives. 

Links to reference:

• Alone by Leon John 

Learn from the founder and CEO of Izaza eyewear and a serial entrepreneur, Space, how to use what you have to get what you want. His story of grit and determination is sure to give you the inspiration you need in the new year! 

Check it out: 

• IZAZA on IG

Fear is something we can never truly escape, but we can learn to work with it and embrace the uncertainty that creates wonder in our lives. In this episode, I share my process for facing fear and some helpful tools I have encountered in my journey. 

  Helpful links:

• Feel the fear and do it anyway 

South African artist Ofentse Seshabela shares with us his journey toward becoming an artist and how to find your voice. Learn from his story how you can learn to embrace your inner artist and discover your potential.