This week I asked my 4 year old a question that I realized was actually for me:

How much would it take for you to be happy? 

As I watched him wrestle with this big question, I realized I have the same dilemma he does, the same dilemma all human beings face as we think about how we will love and live: do we surrender everything to discover love? 

Or do we fight for what’s “rightfully” ours? 

Do we defend ourselves and our possessions no matter the cost? 

The conversation stuck with me and got me thinking about a childhood book I loved, about the Garden of Eden (of all things) and about what a life of meaning really requires.

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

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What if the one thing you’re avoiding is the single thing that could get you unstuck? 

In this episode, I admit that I’ve been feeling creatively stuck lately and wondering if I’ll ever get out of this rut.

The truth is I’ve been feeling frustrated, flat and under-inspired. 

I haven’t been writing much of anything. 

I was starting to wonder (after 6 years of struggling) if I was going to be behind this block forever. That’s when the insight for today’s episode came to me. 

Maybe the way out is through the one thing you least want to do. 

Which isn’t about doing something as much as it is about allowing what is to be what is.

Maybe your pain is a portal. 

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you didn’t listen to my episode a few weeks ago about how the worst people in the world sometimes have the most confidence—this week I’m revisiting the topic. 

This time, I’m coming in hot with some real-world examples of how my four and five year old kids taught me about confidence. 

While watching my preschoolers have the quintessential childhood experience of learning to ride a two-wheeled bike, I simultaneously learned about human nature, my own nature, and was reminded where confidence actually comes from.

If you struggle with confidence sometimes like I do, first of all—you’re normal. Second of all, I hope you’ll enjoy these reflections on why confidence matters and what we can do to cultivate confidence everyday.

 

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You are not a problem to solve. 

Your life is not a problem to solve. 

Your body is not a problem to solve. 

It’s easy to lose track of that. 

It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of endless problem-solving, thinking that if you can just think harder, work harder, be smarter, or chase down the right information, you might finally feel at peace in your own life. 

But has that ever worked for you? 

What if your life is speaking to you, right here, right now? 

The question is: are you listening? Are you really hearing what your life is trying to say? 

 

The Power of Writing it Down

A Book in Six Months 

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever had a situation where your mind said “yes” but your body said “no”?

Or vice versa — your mind said “no” and your body said “yes”? 

Maybe someone asked for your help and your mind told you that helping was the kind, generous thing to do but you also felt your stomach tighten, your breath constrict and voice shake as you agreed to be of assistance. 

We’re quick to dismiss our bodies but at what cost? 

The body speaks in whispers; but then when we don’t listen, it speaks louder and louder until it gets its message across. 

What might your body be saying that you aren’t hearing?

How much louder will it have to speak before you listen?

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are only two real responses to suffering:

Push it away.

Or say to it: “yes and thank you”

There is no “right” way to suffer, and in fact, most of us have tried both responses many different times. 

But once you discover what’s possible when you soften into suffering, you can’t unsee it.

In today’s episode I’ll share an update on my health and talk about what I’m learning lately about loss, failure, heartbreak and suffering.

I hope this lesson finds its home with you too. 

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are so many things falling apart right now and if you’re someone like me who likes to:

- Hold things together 

- Bring things together

- Keep things together 

This time is probably uncomfortable at best and maybe painful at worst. 

I’m today’s episode, I’ll share with you something that is currently falling apart in my world and share how I’m coping.

Not because I have the answers. But because sharing stories is how we survive. 

I hope you’ll find the courage to share yours too.

What’s falling apart for you?

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you noticed how the worst people in the world — those with the least character, next to no ethics and the lowest possible bar for human decency — have the most confidence?

They have no issues taking up space, asserting their ideas or taking the lead role.

Meanwhile those of us with huge hearts, a million skills and good intentions sit around questioning our ideas, holding back our gifts and second guessing ourselves after every interaction.

It’s time for this to change. And it starts with us (yes, YOU and me) deciding we have every right to lead, to love and to make a massive contribution.

What if your confidence could shift the world around you? 

What if all of us joining together in confidence could shift the world at large?

Visit abookin6months.com to start your writing journey!

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve wondered again and again how I can make a meaningful contribution during this dark time in human history and I keep coming back to this: 

The power of our breath. 

The simple act of showing up and intentionally breathing changed my life irrevocably many years ago and still continues to sustain me when I’m feeling “off” or desperate or stuck or frustrated that things haven’t gone my way.

Many cultures think of breath as Spirit. 

Even the Christian tradition I was raised in uses the word “breath” to describe God’s Spirit. 

Meanwhile the Buddhist tradition has a meditation practice called Tonglen that is based on the idea that we can transmute complex, thick, unsolvable suffering by simply bringing intention to the breath. 

There are many other things you can do too (like protest, write a book, use your voice, create, call your representatives, march, etc) but… why not also try this? 

In today’s episode, I’ll show you how.

Visit abookin6months.com to start your writing journey!

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes the world feels like it's becoming more dark and depraved by the day. 

If you’re taking any amount of news or current events, you have to be feeling some measure of fear, frustration, rage and helplessness (or you’re not paying attention). 

What do we do with all of these feelings coursing through our bodies? 

On today’s episode, I’ll share the invitation I’ve been feeling. It’s unexpected and not at all intuitive but I think it just might be the way forward. 

Can you soften in the face of this uncertainty?

Host: Ally Fallon // @allyfallon // allisonfallon.com

Follow Ally on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyfallon/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.